Which Radio License Do YOU Need? 

When I got my amateur license, I looked up my Dad's license and he didn't have an amateur radio license - he had a full-blown "PG - General Radiotelephone Operator License" and shows him as "CM - Commercial Operator". Dad was an AM radio DJ back in the day right after he got back from his second tour in Vietnam and finally got out of the Army. He passed away years ago but the FCC still shows his license as "Active" since those licenses *never* expire.

Great overview of the radio services available along with their relative strengths and limitations. I am a big fan of MURS for local, close in neighborhood use. It's license free, only 5 channels (so simple to use), and you can add a higher gain antenna to improve performance. At $20-$25 a piece they are great to buy in bulk and hand out to your neighbors in an emergency. We're also exploring Meshtastic for the same use case, but with the explicit goal to legally use encryption.

Cars need their own CBs again. It would start fights at first. However, if it became common again, people would be more cordial if they knew they could be roasted on an open frequency. 😂

Looking forward to The Tech Prepper collaboration. Really glad you are using a G90, as I have one too. The detailed setup info will be really helpful. Thanks for serving freedom. 👍

This was ridiculously informative and was explained and stacked in a way that I've never discovered otherwise. Appreciate it, one of the few channels that helps explore the fringes of possibilities within the confines of reality.

Idk if you or someone else is writing these scripts, but the humor sprinkled in is absolutely hilarious 😂. Your delivery is always so casual and dry, yet sarcastic 🤌🏻

Radios and radio licences are like guns, ammunition, and tools. Get all of them, use all of them, train with all of them. That is if you’re truly serious about the subject.

These labs videos are probably the most informative inclusive videos I’ve ever seen, I’ve watched dozens of hours of other RU-vid videos from many sources to acquire just about the same amount of knowledge completely covered in this video

At the risk of being that guy, the driver of a boat is the pilot. The man in charge is the captain, and depending on the size of the boat the captain might also be piloting the boat. Aviation takes a lot from naval tradition. Edit: somebody can't spell, it was me.

Thank you for doing this video! I ran into a similar video back in December and got my GMRS license. Fell in love with the hobby and ended up getting my HAM Technician license this month. I’m in my early 30’s and didn’t have much amateur radio exposure. These videos really help get more people into the hobby and I hope for more people from my generation to join!

Just a clarification: the $35 fee goes to the FCC for the license itself. VECs (Volunteer Exam Coordinators) charge $15 per testing session. If you pass your Technician test and fail the General, you'll pay $15 dollars to the VEC and $35 to the FCC once your paper work has been processed. If you want to re-test for General, you pay $15 to the VEC but since you already have an active license you don't need to pay another $35.

I've had GMRS for the last year and been holding off on HAM because I figured I didn't need it, but you sold me on it. I'll do it this weekend.

Can Trex Arms purchase a business band license and then add all of us as authorized users?

Correction: Extra doesn't give you the ability to administer tests. It's part of it, but you'll need to pass the open-book VE test. Once you pass, General may only administer tests to Tech, Extra may administer tests to everyone.

It was nice to hear CB brought up in a talk about radios, my grandpa always had CBs in every vehicle it came into good use several times

LOVE THE CHANNEL THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING TREX DOES FOR THE COMMUNITY

For ham radio, the testing fee is $15. The license fee is $35. Just got my technician license a few weeks ago, and my GMRS license about 3 weeks before that. I’m loving getting on the radio.

I got my Extra back in August of 2022. Mostly operate HF and VHF, not a lot on UHF, but do occasionally get on a 70cm repeater. I would like to get the IC-905 for SHF, but here in East Tennessee, those bands would be about useless and over $3K wasted. Maybe some time do a voice demo on D-STAR, C4FM, DMR and other digital voice modulation? Having a digital voice radio comes in handy when trying to stay somewhat private on the amateur spectrum. I have two out of the big three digital voice modes, D-STAR and C4FM. If need be, I'd be more than happy to come out one weekend and help out with a demo. Great video and looking to learn some more. W4ISB Mike in Tennessee

This is so helpful. I’m new with all of the Comms stuff. Grateful for the information.

The FCC budget is actually funded by licensing fees. There isn't really any significant tax dollar amount associated with them unless you count any time spent by congress messing with FCC regulations.

This content fascinates me thank you bro!

This helped a lot to kick my butt into gear and start studying, thanks

If you don't mind being a low key outlaw, a high powered CB (usually called a 10 meter radio or export radio, for legal reasons) is definitely the way to go on CB. I've witnessed a 50 watt radio with a big antenna talk 5 + miles through dense trees and low hills, mobile to mobile. Great video as usual! Keep the content coming, please!

CB base stations were a pretty big thing in my area before and even during the first years of the Internet and cell phones ( 80's and 90's) . We regularly communicated with the same old people every day , across town and even several towns away at night .Conditions were always better at night for local talk. Skip was during the day mostly , inconsistent at best , more about conditions and luck (and maybe a little bit of cheating) . Hand tuned radios , directional antennas on electric rotors , maybe some amplifiers here and there (solid state and even vacuum tube) . I have fond memories of that time of my life actually. I met some interesting people.

Best explanation I have seen so far. Very understandable

this is great! been working on getting my comms up and running.

Was literally just looking into this today, so glad my favorite tactical tech channel is talking about them

Awesome info, thanks for putting this together.

So informative! Thanks Isaac

I really like the Lab videos from Issac. I enjoy that more than the regular gun content even. Interesting things and good information. Even that one on the Dune movie. Altogether interesting.

I've been a ham for 11yrs and recently got gmrs. I've been happy with gmrs range for local coms (my primary use case) and have been able to get the family to use them. Midland mxt275 for home base station and vehicles, HTs for ATVs, and a few mars mod radios for just in case. Glad to see collaboration with radio community trex, tech prepper, josh, and not a Rubicon... A how to on a gmrs repeater would be an interesting video

Correction in the FCC fees for ham radio. There is an optional $10 fee for taking this test and may be administered by the testing group during the testing session. The $35 fee is the FCC's administration fee. Once the paperwork has been submitted by the testing group and processed by the FCC, the applicant will receive an email where they can pay the fee.

VE (volunteer examiner) for my local radio club. Exam fee is $15 I believe. The $35 fee is the FCC's most recently imposed fee for a new license grant. General VE's do exist but can only grade Technician exams, whereas you need to have Advanced (old license class no longer offered) and Extra administer General exams, only Extra can grade extra exams. But yes, studying the tests to pass the tests is the easiest way to pass. Anything you don't get right on the practice tests, look up and learn about so you know why you didn't get the questions right and can pass later. That's how I got my license. I passed Tech and General in one sitting, about 6 months later I upgraded to Extra.

As someone who is new, ill stick with 915mhz lora and just reach some locals for a grand total of less than $100

Booyah. This channel is awesome.

Ok, the bit with the editor trying to spell amateur and settling for HAM cracked me up. I don't know why, but it just hit my funny bone!

Excellent content as always

Very well done. Extra class😎

CB is creeping forward too. FM is now legal, and hopefully data will come at some point. Skip is really condition dependent , but a couple of quarter wavelength counterpoise set up in an inverted v or a half wavelength NVIS are pretty convenient because it is a relatively short wavelength.

NOTE on where you said Skip the CB Handheld, I say they are still a good use for them BUT I have the Midland 75-822 as one of my CB setups it is mainly a dedicated car install with external antenna but has a battery pod that converts it to a handheld, so its best of both worlds as i can rabidly convert it to a portable option as needed. I live where there is a lot of logging roads and all the logging trucks use CB still, so any time you go down a logging road you want to make sure and tune into the designated channel for that road (they have signs up noting channels) so you know where the big rigs are so you wont wind up block them and causing a traffic jam, AND on multiple occasions I have come across logging rigs that needed help backing up down narrow roads and i was able to grab my CB convert to handheld and assist in flagging and communicate to the driver making the process a lot easier

Love your coms videos. We need a video on DMR

Great info bro!! 👍🏾

Thank yall for providing this much needed knowledge. My favorite T Rex channel 🦖 🤓

Ok this is officially my new favourite channel. Please make a video on mesh technology available to the consumer one way or another. Things like the Gotenna pro v2 or the new D.o.c.k. System announced by kagwerks (not sure if that one will be available for the commercial market or if they are still at the prototype phase even) or any other company or product that I wouldn’t be aware of. Regardless I am looking for something that will offer mesh radio technology compatible to use Atak/itak off grid. If it offers voice communication through the mesh (which sadly even though it offers everything else through atak like txt msg, location data etc. The Gotenna device does not do voice) that would be the cherry on top of the Sunday. Basically I want Mpu5 capability or as close to it as possible without paying mpu5 money 😂. Please help with your wisdom.😅

Great channel! Thanks for your generosity. BTW, I've heard that the FCC is self funded. That is not to say that license fees add up to much. Used to be the amateur license was free (until recently). Most fees are generated by licenses granted to commercial broadcasters.

i just took my technician test, literally paid the fcc their 35 dollars right before i saw this video, and god i wish i had this video before i did all the studying and testing. i was thinking the whole time i was studying "god i wish there was a whole chart that explained what sections of what frequencies can you do certain things and what requires what licensure". yall wouldn't happen to have a better version of the "hand drawn" graph that actually denotes the specific ranges of the sections of band, what they can be used for, max power levels for certain license level, and what license level, would you?

Thanks Isaac

🇺🇸

love it

This is such a complex issue.

MURS is a highly underrated band for prepared citizens who want something more capable than FRS without a license, and the MURS frequencies are less used. Some MURS radios even offer quasi-encryption by having voice scramblers built in.

From 1977 to 1990 channel 10 on the cb was the call channel in Toronto Ontario, Canada

I have found an Atak alternative for civilians (very cheap setup), 2 radios and 2 phone! I tested different SSTV modes with osmand (map screen shot), and send it offline with my frs radio. So basically its a cheap way to send intel, photos, and gps information!

MRS 3 - Every 3 hours on the hour - for 3 minutes Even if you don't have a license, you should have this capability

Pretty good run down other than yer bit bout CB. Pretty clear you've spent little to no time on 11m and know no truck drivers somehow. Very few truckers on 11m anymore outside a few Metro areas that it's still popular with the locals, really its more a play place for a different kind of radio than HAM, sometimes a bit more crude and rude sometimes just less formal. Good jumping of place for some regional HF comms if you have a group where not everyone wants to test though for sure and can be a bit cheaper than HAM kit out. Long distance is possible just like 10m depending on conditions and kit.

Unlicensed UV5R users unite!

TL;DR: Get them all

The Trex Talk podcast logo on Apple has the photoshop cursor in the bottom center. Literally unlistenable.

I miss having a cb in my car. Lol and that was like 2014.

The first test before you get any of your licenses is navigating the ancient FCC website.

Heh, you're not wrong! HF can do amazing things, but if you don't know what you are doing your more likely to mess up your equipment than make contacts, fm is a lot more friendly thanks to the cheap Chinese radio market, but if your trying to do stuff in the ham band you still need to know things like repeater offset and ctcss tones, because simplex is exactly the same line of site as gmrs without the repeaters. (Gmrs with repeaters is wanna- be ham radio operators... Go take the technician test already!!! Then you have a lot more people you can talk with, also you can use things like hotspots and digital mode devices to talk all over the world from anywhere!) Business stuff is boring and unbelievably expensive unless you're repurposing it from some garage sale find to play on a hotspot (pending you found programming software and cable... Good luck!😂) Shortwave so you can hear someone calling cq in Spanish half way through an evangelist broadcast station!😂😂😂😂

I’ve learned more radio knowledge from two Isaac Botkin videos than hours of research 😅

Some clubs will not allow you to retest, if you fail. They are donating their afternoon, not wanting to be there longer than necessary. You need a minimum of 74% correct to pass. I would study and practice test unil you can do 90% or more, reliably. Just my opinion.

How would they catch you using wrong equipment for different channels such as removable antenna? Or if you do encrypt

Xiegu G90 mafia checking in.

What hytera model do you use?

For short range comms ham is not needed. GMRS and MURS are fine.

Newbie here so I apologize if this question is meh..... What about DMR?? Where does that fit in?

Most all truckers are currently sticking to 19 for all communications

Can a Holder of the Technician's License just re-new it and not go up to the General.......? =)

Around here even truckers don’t use CB anymore, everyone is on vhf radios

Who’s in here remember the Novice, Tech+ and Advance license? 😜

What are you doing with these radios? Who’s actually on them?

🙏🇺🇸🙏

Ive been using gmrs, ham, murs, frs for years without a license. Its not hard to jail break radios if avaiable and easy to program one radio to do all of them. Antennas are aesy to change out. Just dont be a jerk on the air.

Doesn’t Walmart use MURS?

Bare minimum you need a General and a GMRS license. But you should get the Amateur Extra upgrade.

I don’t need the governments permission to use something they didn’t create. I’ll pass on any liscense and use what I want.

I thought ham tests cost $12?

Soup Can

Pilot of the boat not driver

That's the neat part. You dont=)

The chad option is to antagonize the local diabetic boomers with your unlicensed transmitions. Take the notarubicon pill

You must have me mistaken with someone that trust politicians and their FCC licensing. ⚠️I will NOT buy a license or permit to talk on my 2 meter HAM radios ! What part of 1st 'Amendment Freedom of Speech' don't you understand ????

You don't need any of them, haha, unless you'd like to have them.

I just cant seem to find any reason to get licensed to use free radio waves. 🤷‍♂️

We need no license. It's about time FCC needs to catch up with the time and forget about this nonsense.

My hang up for ham and gmrs is giving my address to the federal government with a bright neon sign saying “hey I have com gear at this location” and down the road when they want to enslave the citizenry they come a callin. Is there a way to not be an outlaw and get your license but not actually Having my address on a list?

It is illegal to broadcast in amateur radio.

All antenna laws are an infringement lol

IMO the licensing system of armature radio is an outdated relic of the Cold War. Back then there would have certainly been a real concern of espionage, but there was also no such thing as relatively inexpensive Chinese made radios that allow anyone to "plug and play" on the radio without causing problems. The technician license should not require so much technical jargon to study just to jabber on the radio.

WW3 looming and you guys still think a license is important?

You don’t need a license in an emergency, given we are at war on our own soil and it’s only looking to get worse id consider this day and age one of emergency id skip the license and learn comms quickly

Realistically, you don't need any license. It's the responsibility of free men to disobey unjust law..

You shouldn't need any license. This country is becoming a joke.

NONE NONE NONE NONE NEVER NOONE NEVER GETTING IT NEVER NEVER EVER NO NO NO NO NO NO

Why do people continue to use the word Broadcast? it's actually illegal to Broadcast unless you're running a commercial or shortwave station. Broadcasting is transmitting to a wide audience songs or information

@thenotarubicon Wait I thought a didn’t need a license. Now I’m confused.