It says it requires an FCC license. Do I have to have the license prior to buying these? What are the penalties for using them w/o a license? (Not that I’d break the law knowingly.)
Most units of the type you linked two have two sets of frequencies; Family Radio Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). Generally the FRS channels have lower power and shorter range than the GMRS ones.
GMRS requires a license, FRS does not. If the radio in question can operate under GMRS rules then you need a license; if it operates under FRS rule you do not.
A license is $75 for 5 years, btw.
Can I use my FCC Radio Telephone Operator’s License? (It was required to operate the radios when I got my pilot’s certificate.)
Heh, I was wondering the very same thing Johnny.
Nope, the licence you got was for A/C radios. This is a seperate deal.
Get the license. It covers the whole family and is not that costly. Licenced users will be unwilling to converse with an unlicensed user. You’d have to check with the FCC website to find the penalties for unlicenced use but listed penalties in the $10K range are not that uncommon. It’s unlikely you’d get caught though. But that’s not a reason to not have the license though. You could be the one they choose to make an example of.
I actually did check into getting a license for GRMS radios (I have a pair that I have used only once when I halped a friend move, and don’t have a need to use them now), but the application was very long and complicated.
Maybe a while back. I got my license two years ago and it only took a few minutes on line. And a credit card of course!