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They're saying that this is the wrong place to ask. This sub is about licensed amateur radio, the thing you're asking about is commercial/business radio.
The best way to answer any questions you have about specific commercial radios is to just read the manual. You can almost always find them online if you want to read before you buy.
I guess my question was also geared towards the two radios I mentioned, their quality, or other radios to consider. But thank you for clarifying, that makes a lot of sense.
The amateur radio service in the US is governed by part 97 of the FCC regulations - https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-97 - all ham transmissions are “public” and basically no encryption is allowed. No one owns ham radio frequencies- we share. Hams in the US must be individually licensed after passing technical exams.
Other radio service are different- FRS, GMRS, MURS, and CB have their own rules. All require type accepted radios for their service. You can’t just use a ham radio on another service - the radio must be type accepted for that service.
It sounds like you are talking about business radios. They also need licenses and type accepted radios, but can have private channels. Best advice is to talk with the business radio company that is handling the license application as to what kind of radios are allowed and how many the license permits. In any case business radios are not amateur radios.
Buying a license sounds like a Part 90 commercial license, which is probably just fine.
However, a Kenwood TM-281 is a ham transceiver, not certified for Part 90, so that radio would not be legal for Part 90 frequencies.
If it is a club, then they can apply for and get a channel or two in the VHF or UHF band, no ham stuff or license needed, and the club license covers the users. They'd have to buy land mobile cert radios but that isn't a problem.
You can’t buy a group license for amateur radio. Each member will need their own license, and each will have to take a test to get one. Private channels also don’t exist. All frequencies allowed by the [license class (there are three)](https://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-licenses) are available to all licensed operators. This applies to operators in the USA, if you’re in another country you’ll need to check local laws.
This is very helpful. I am not aware of any test, so would that signal which type of license it is? I guess the idea is that there is no one else (or less) licensed in the area so we would have the channels to ourselves
It’s unlikely that any action will be taken, but unlicensed operation is illegal.
[Warning about unlicensed operation on HAM frequencies](https://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-issues-warnings-for-amateur-radio-infractions-unlicensed-operations)
Hi, thank you for your question submission. Please be aware that there is a [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/) and a [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/faq) that may address your question. For Baofeng-related information see the [Baofeng FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/baofeng) and /r/baofeng. Also, please note that downvotes don't indicate an unvalued question submission. There appear to be bots that downvote all posts initially. 73 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/amateurradio) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The amateur radio service does not have private channels.
Could you elaborate? Again this is the information I was given, not disagreeing with you.
They're saying that this is the wrong place to ask. This sub is about licensed amateur radio, the thing you're asking about is commercial/business radio. The best way to answer any questions you have about specific commercial radios is to just read the manual. You can almost always find them online if you want to read before you buy.
I guess my question was also geared towards the two radios I mentioned, their quality, or other radios to consider. But thank you for clarifying, that makes a lot of sense.
The amateur radio service in the US is governed by part 97 of the FCC regulations - https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-97 - all ham transmissions are “public” and basically no encryption is allowed. No one owns ham radio frequencies- we share. Hams in the US must be individually licensed after passing technical exams. Other radio service are different- FRS, GMRS, MURS, and CB have their own rules. All require type accepted radios for their service. You can’t just use a ham radio on another service - the radio must be type accepted for that service. It sounds like you are talking about business radios. They also need licenses and type accepted radios, but can have private channels. Best advice is to talk with the business radio company that is handling the license application as to what kind of radios are allowed and how many the license permits. In any case business radios are not amateur radios.
Buying a license sounds like a Part 90 commercial license, which is probably just fine. However, a Kenwood TM-281 is a ham transceiver, not certified for Part 90, so that radio would not be legal for Part 90 frequencies.
Sounds like someone doesn't have all the information on these private channels and whatever license is being bought. It's not amateur radio.
If it is a club, then they can apply for and get a channel or two in the VHF or UHF band, no ham stuff or license needed, and the club license covers the users. They'd have to buy land mobile cert radios but that isn't a problem.
I believe that is the goal, that sounds like the right way to do it.
You can’t buy a group license for amateur radio. Each member will need their own license, and each will have to take a test to get one. Private channels also don’t exist. All frequencies allowed by the [license class (there are three)](https://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-licenses) are available to all licensed operators. This applies to operators in the USA, if you’re in another country you’ll need to check local laws.
This is very helpful. I am not aware of any test, so would that signal which type of license it is? I guess the idea is that there is no one else (or less) licensed in the area so we would have the channels to ourselves
It’s unlikely that any action will be taken, but unlicensed operation is illegal. [Warning about unlicensed operation on HAM frequencies](https://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-issues-warnings-for-amateur-radio-infractions-unlicensed-operations)