Prwlr,
Thanks for the question. I should have said a bit about licensing.
The FCC licenses private citizens/non-profit groups/commercial enterprises for those radios/frequencies. = IF you are a farmer (as our family is) you can get an "agricultural license" easily. Similarly, IF you are a contractor, trucker, work for/own a company that has commercial vehicles & are involved in a lot of other commercial/industrial businesses, you can get licensed for 2-way commercial radio fairly easily/quickly. = As is usual for the feds, you must fill-out some "blank forms", pay a small fee & wait to receive your license before operating LAWFULLY.
(As police/fire/emergency medical departments have mostly moved to VHF-High & UHF, there are FEW currently licensed radio systems below 50MHZ in 2018. = Our farm is the ONLY "agricultural radio system" that is currently licensed on "low band FM" in Northeast TX & we essentially have 2 "private channels" near 25MHZ.)
Note: During "hay season" our family is ON the radio nearly 24 hours a day to "get the hay in" (while the weather is good) & sold. = We once had a VHF-High pair of frequencies that was shared with a local DVM's office. = Our constant "chatter" about cutting/raking/baling/storing/sale of/transport of our crops "drove the DVM's wife nuts", so we got re-licensed on a pair of "unoccupied channels" by the FCC.
(Our main business is primarily selling HIGH QUALITY bales of hay to the horseracing industry.).
Also a "ham ticket" at the Technician or General levels are EASY to get, too, with only a relatively simple "multiple choice" test. = NO Morse code test is required anymore.
Suitable Low-Band FM commercial radios are relatively inexpensive, if purchased used & in good condition.
(Fwiw, I paid 40.oo each for 12 radios, in GOOD condition, from a nearby volunteer fire department, that was "moving up" to trunked 800MHZ equipment, for the farm's radios that we have on all of our tractors, trucks, PUs & heavy equipment. We have since bought 4 handhelds on our pair of frequencies for about 60.oo each. - I saw NO reason to buy new radios, given the easy availability of crystal-controlled/used "low band FM" radios.)
Good-working "ham" radios start about 50.oo used & go up to several hundred/thousand dollars each, depending on how "fancy" that they are.
yours, tex
Last edited by satx78247; 07/07/18. Reason: typos
