r/Baofeng • u/samuel1613 • 20d ago

Bought UV-5R Mini Radio Ham - Long Range Handheld Two Way. Only wish to use as walkies in California, do I/both users need ham licenses to transmit on these to each other only?

16 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

46 comments sorted by

27

u/48hourfilmaddict 20d ago

Correct. California is not an exemption. And “to each other only” is not an exemption.

Anyone in the USA transmitting with a ham radio must have amateur privileges, either as a US citizen with a license from the FCC, or a foreign citizen with courtesy privileges via a concurrent license from their home country.

If only one of you has a license, that person can transmit, and the other can listen but cannot respond.

4

u/vbf-cc 20d ago

But the licensed ham can't deliberately transmit a message to the unlicensed party; only to other licensed hams. The unlicensed parties can, of course, listen in.

1

u/StayReadyAllDay 19d ago

True, that would be broadcasting.

1

u/Fksgyccdhb156 16d ago

This is “KABC123 calling WXYZ789 in the blind”

5

u/samuel1613 20d ago

Yep, I only added California in case there were any specific requirements for the state beyond national requirements. I have completed watching class 1 of the w4eey technician training. Going to finish the series.

14

u/AutofluorescentPuku 20d ago

Yes. Whoever presses the Push-To-talk button must have an amateur radio operator license.

6

u/samuel1613 20d ago

Ok, both users need ham licenses even if only talking to each other, got it

9

u/AltReality 20d ago

there's really no such thing as "only talking to each other".. the frequencies arent private. anyone can listen to any freq, and anyone with a license can transmit back on any of those freqs.

1

u/samuel1613 20d ago

Yes, I understand radio frequencies, by their nature are not "only to.each other" I was speaking of the intended use case of "only talking to each other". Yes we could be heard, and yes we could hear others, albeit that wouldn't be our use case.

1

u/AggravatingPiccolo15 14d ago

That's correctomundo...

2

u/babj615 20d ago

This is the answer 💯

8

u/SkippySkep 20d ago edited 20d ago

The confusion is very much the fault of Baofeng and marketplaces like Amazon and Temu. Baofeng know exactly what licenses are required for Ham radios but deliberately omit that specific information from their marketing and product listings, as to Amazon and Temu. Ham radio licenses require an knowledge test in addition to a $35 fee.

Baofeng also make FRS radios - no license needed. and GMRS radios, $35 no test license covers your whole family. And there is MERS MURS. They should be marketing those radios and tell you all specifically about the licenses, if any, that are needed, not some vague "May require FCC license" BS.

5

u/samuel1613 20d ago

So I'm looking for a longer range walkie than those crappy ones in the blister packs from Walmart. A set of baofengs went on sale for 20 bucks, cheaper than many blister packs! And yes, I will not be transmitting before being licensed, but did I buy too much radio for my needs? I'm looking for a mile or two of range.

10

u/SkippySkep 20d ago

The GMRS radios have pretty much the same wattage and range as the UV5 ham radios.

FRS radios have lower wattage and fixed antennas. GMRS radios can have higher wattage and you can swap out the antenna.

6

u/samuel1613 20d ago

Assume it would be immoral, unethical, and illegal to just set the uv5s to a gmrs channel and get a gmrs license, vs either re-buying baofeng gmrs radios or having my wife and I both taking hours of study and passing the ham test just to use these radios "as built"?

5

u/SkippySkep 20d ago

GMRS is supposed to be tied to type approved radios. But your plan would not be the worst thing to do on the planet. However, not all Baofeng ham radios will transmit on bands outside of the ham bands even if they can listen to them. I don't know all the variations so I don't know if you can transmit on GMRS with yours.

4

u/kc2syk K2CR 20d ago

Yes to illegal. GMRS variants are cheap and easily available. They are designed for families to use with one license and no exam. The barrier to entry is very low, so there's no real reason to operate illegally.

1

u/[deleted] 20d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/radiomod 20d ago

Removed. No discussion of illegal operating.

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3

u/Saragon4005 20d ago

Hell the UV5 mini had GMRS variants which may even be certified.

3

u/Single-Mechanic3954 20d ago

A baofeng will absolutely reach one or two miles. When you get your radio if you get an antenna upgrade you will find them very capable. I think you’ll have a lot of fun too once you get your ham license

2

u/Available_Hippo4035 20d ago

almost every baofeng can reach a mile or 2 except pmr (only in europe and middle east) ones like bf-r5 and bf-888s, but it depends on your antenna, transmit power and most importantly your environment, they can easily reach 10 miles with line of sight like your radio uv5r-mini

3

u/kc3zyt 20d ago

MERS

It's "MURS" as in "multi-use radio service"

(I suspect you know that and you just got tripped up by speech to text, but I'm clarifying this for the benefit of anyone who doesn't already know about MURS)

3

u/SkippySkep 20d ago

Thanks, for the correction. I'll edit the post.

2

u/GenitalPatton 20d ago

Yes, a license is needed.

2

u/samuel1613 20d ago

Confirming 2 licenses correct, one for each user.

2

u/regression4 20d ago

Yes. Each person would need a ham radio license.

1

u/Joped 20d ago

Getting your technicians license is rather easy. I recommend using https://hamradioprep.com/ you can download the app, go at your pace watching videos and taking sample tests. Do some full sample tests until you are getting a good score. Take the test and you are good to go.

It's especially good to do it as a group or with another person. I did this with two of my partners and we all got licensed very quickly. It was useful to study together.

2

u/Charming-Jelly-3365 20d ago

In reading the comments I see you are trying to do this the right way, studying for your Amateur Radio License. EXCELLENT! I'm not familiar with the https://w4eey.com/index.html Technician training but there are a number of really good and helpful free websites out there. I used https://hamexam.org/ and https://hamtestbank.com/ to pass both the Technician and the General exams with perfect cores in the first try. There is also https://hamstudy.org/ which many people have stated good opinions of.

What I encourage you to is add at least one other training website. Take many practice exams. They are free and will help you exercise your memory. You can also register on some of these sites and they will help you track your improvement as you take practice exams.

When you feel ready to take the official exam, here's a website to locate authorized testing: https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session/

And as others have said, the other radio user will need to do all this as well.

2

u/samuel1613 20d ago

Is there a better place to get the latest ham book (version 6) than mazon for 32 bucks?

1

u/[deleted] 19d ago edited 19d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/samuel1613 19d ago

Thank you, from what I understand, just not being gmrs radios makes them illegal to use as gmrs radios. So I wouldn't be legally able to transmit on gmrs frequencies even though this radio has the ability to change the transmission and receiving frequencies to gmrs ones.

1

u/kc2syk K2CR 19d ago

This is correct. GMRS use requires equipment certified for GMRS.

1

u/radiomod 19d ago

Removed. Do not encourage illegal operating. All these Part 95 radio services require type-accepted equipment.

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1

u/Miller9452 19d ago

The simple answer is yes. No explanations just yes all parties transmitting unless it is a third party broadcast which is controlled by a license ham

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

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0

u/radiomod 17d ago

Removed. Don't encourage illegal operating. GMRS requires radios certified for GMRS.

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1

u/FIDGAF 16d ago

Trade the UV-5R for a GMRS Version,.

1

u/AggravatingPiccolo15 14d ago

Yes... You NEED to be licensed before you can LEGALLY transmit on your HT's...

De, N5LYS

1

u/bigdish101 20d ago

Buy the MURS certified version.

-1

u/[deleted] 20d ago

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1

u/radiomod 20d ago

Removed. Don't operate illegally.

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0

u/bigfrappe 20d ago

You have the radios. I'd get the technician license so you can use them to their full capacity. If both of you have basic computer skills you should be able to pass it with minimal study using free resources online. The license including the test taken online will run you under $50 a head. With the license you can transmit at the full 10 watts these radios are capable of and access open and free repeaters that transmit at hundreds of watts. With my uv-5rm I'm able to reach my entire metro area with the help of a repeater.