available on the FCC site (link below in licensing section).
LICENSING ISSUES
Information provided here is informative and is not intended as legal advice.
Note that some sellers (such as dealextreme) carry these radios with no mention of the licenses
required to operate (or in some cases even posses them).
Does use of these radios require a license?
Yes. In most countries, an Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) license is required which usually
requires payment of a fee and taking exams covering technical and regulatory competency.
An exception (in the US) is making a legitimate distress call (but you could be fined if the
FCC doesn’t consider your emergency serious enough). Fines for unlicensed operation start
at $10,000 and go up. A license may or may not be valid outside the country it was issued
in and the laws and allowed frequencies may vary by country. In some repressive countries,
possession of radio communications equipment may be illegal.
These devices allow tuning and transmitting outside the limits of the ham bands in the US
and other countries, so a license does not permit you to transmit on every frequency they are
capable of transmitting on.
Is it legal to use these radios without a ham license if I
never transmit?
In many cases, no. In some US states it is illegal to operate (receive only) or even posses
a scanner capable of receiving police bands in a vehicle or on your person (but fixed home
operation is generally allowed); an exception is made for licensed hams. It is illegal to disclose
information overheard on a scanner. It is illegal to use a scanner in the commission of a crime.
It is illegal to listen in on cell phone transmissions; some cell phone systems use frequencies
within the 450Mhz band which these radios can receive, though not in the US where this law
applies. Laws outside the US are different.
Can I use it as a FRS/GMRS radio?
To do so is technically illegal; however, one is generally allowed to break rules concerning
licensed operation to issue legitimate distress calls when life or property is in immanent
danger provided you don’t interfere with other vital communications and lack other means of
communication. Rules vary by country. Fines could be very stiff.
UV-3R FAQ v. 2012-01-27
Page 33
