When you purchase a two way radio in the United States that operates in the business band VHF or UHF frequencies, the FCC requires that you get a license to operate them. Like all government requirements, paperwork will be involved and it can be confusing and time consuming.

Instead of going it alone through this process, we recommend that you use a licensing coordinator that handles all of the paperwork and processing.  During this process, they’ll ask some questions about your location, the radios you’re using, and how they’ll be used. Then they fill out all the forms and get them submitted to the FCC for approval.

The cost for this is usually in the $400-$700 range per frequency for a 10 year period generally.  Below is contact info for three licensing agencies that we use most often.

CARA Enterprises, Inc.
Doug Thompson
1383 Farm Meadow
Salt Lake City, UT 84117
(801) 278-9728

Atlas License Company & Data Services
Linda Simons
7202 North Shadeland Avenue, Suite 215
Indianapolis, IN 46250
(800) 252-0529

http://www.alcds.com

National License Corporation
9050 Briarclift Road
Indianapolis, Indiana 46256
317-849-5866

http://www.nationalicense.com/

If you want to obtain a license yourself, below is some helpful information:

How to Obtain an FCC License Yourself

Radios that operate on Private Land Mobile frequencies, are subject to the Rules and Regulations of the FCC, which requires all operators of these frequencies to obtain a station license before operating their equipment. Make application for your FCC license on FCC Forms 600 and 159.

To have forms and instructions faxed to you by the FCC, call the FCC Fax-On-Demand system at 202-418-0177 from your fax machine and request Document 000600 & Form 159.

To have Document 000600 & Form 159 mailed to you, call the FCC Forms Hotline at 800-418-FORM (800-418-3676).

For help with questions concerning the license application, contact the FCC at
888-CALL-FCC (888-225-5322).

You must decide which radio frequency(ies) you can operate on before filling out your application. See the table below for available frequencies in the UHF and VHF business bands.

One of the problems with a wired PA (public address) system is that people who are mobile have no way to access it. With a wireless PA system interface device now people on two way radios or wireless intercom base stations can make pages over a wired public address system.

The Two Way Radio Wireless PA Interface receives transmissions from two way radios and then broadcasts those transmissions over a wired PA system. Now people can even be outside the building on a campus or property and still make announcements. This is an especially useful feature in emergency situations.

The Wireless PA Interface connects to the PA system either via RCA Phono Cables if it is located within six feet of the wireless PA system, or via the 600 ohm balanced MIC input on the PA system if it is further. A typical balanced cable contains two identical wires, which are twisted together and then wrapped with a third conductor (foil or braid) that acts as a shield.

The Wireless PA Interface will block out any signals that it receives that are not programmed with one of the selective signaling formats it uses. It can be paged with 2-way radios programmed for Quiet Call (CTCSS), Digital Quiet Call (DCS), 2-Tone Paging, or Selcall paging formats. Each format offers a unique method of paging the receiver and they ensure that not just anyone can use your PA system.

You’ll find this device at www.IntercomsOnline.com.

Understanding Two Way Radio Frequencies

There are two major formats for two-way radios. They are Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radio and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio. Neither frequency band is inherently better than the other. They each have their pluses and minuses. Both formats are effective ways to communicate with another person so deciding on the right radio for you depends on your application.

Two-way radios communicate with each other through use of radio waves. Radio waves have different frequencies, and by tuning a radio receiver to a specific frequency you can pick up a specific signal.

Radio waves are transmitted as a series of cycles, one after the other. You will always see the “Hz” abbreviation used to indicate the frequency of a radio. Hertz is equal to one cycle per second.

Radio waves are measured by kilohertz (kHz), which is equal to 1000 cycles per second, or megahertz (MHz), which is equal to 1,000,000 cycles per second–or 1000 kHz. The relationship between these units is like this: 1,000,000 Hertz = 1000 kilohertz = 1 megahertz.

You may also hear the term “wavelength” when you hear about radio waves. This term is from the early days of radio when frequencies were measured in terms of the distance between the peaks of two consecutive cycles of a radio wave instead of the number of cycles per second. Lower frequencies produce a longer wavelength.

While wavelength measures distance between the peaks of cycles, frequency refers to how long the measured time is between the “crest” and “trough” of a wave arriving at the source. So frequency measures time instead of distance, but they are essentially both saying the same thing.

What is significant about wavelength for two-way radios is that it affects transmission range under certain conditions. A longer wavelength as a general rule lets a radio signal travel a greater distance.

Lower frequencies or wavelengths have greater penetrating power. That’s one of the reasons they are used for communicating with submarines. VLF radio waves (3–30 kHz) can penetrate sea water to a depth of approximately 20 meters. So a submarine at shallow depth can use these frequencies.

So from what you read above you may think VHF is always the better choice for a two-way radio no matter where you are using it. That’s not necessarily true. Even though VHF has better penetrating capabilities, that doesn’t necessarily make it the better choice for buildings. Remember the conversation about wavelength above? Wavelength has a big impact on transmission.

To explain this let’s assume we are communicating from one side of a commercial building to the other. In between these two points is a metal wall with a three foot door in it. Metal is an enemy to radio waves and they typically don’t pass through it.

For our example let’s assume that the UHF wavelength the radio uses is about a foot and a half long and a similar VHF radio is around five feet long. These are in the ballpark of their normal wavelengths.

When the UHF transmits its signal the foot and a half long wave will pass through the door since the door is wider than the wavelength. The VHF signal will be totally reflected since it is wider than the opening to the door.

Your microwave oven is an example of this. The glass front door has a metal mesh with very small holes. Microwaves being a very high frequency have wavelengths that are only several inches long. The mesh keeps the microwaves trapped in the oven but it allows you to see inside because light waves have a microscopic wavelength.

Just imagine walking through the building carrying a five foot wide pole. You will encounter the same challenges a VHF signal encounters. Now imagine walking through the building with a pole that’s only a foot and a half wide like a UHF wave. There are lots fewer doorways you couldn’t get through.

The one difference is that wireless signals will penetrate through drywall, masonry, human bodies, furniture, wall paneling, and other solid objects. All these objects will reduce the signal strength though. The more dense the object, the more it reduces the signal. VHF will penetrate these obstacles better than UHF, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that VHF is better for indoor applications as we will talk about in the UHF section below.

In our example above we assumed you had a metal wall with an opening. If you reverse this and you have a three foot metal object in front of the transmitting radio, then VHF would win. Since the object is three foot wide it will totally block the UHF signal whereas the VHF signal will get around it. Lower frequencies such as VHF diffract around large smooth obstacles more easily, and they also travel more easily through brick and stone.

For most applications, lower radio frequencies are better for longer range. A broadcasting TV station illustrates this. A typical VHF station operates at about 100,000 watts and has a coverage radius range of about 60 miles. A UHF station with a 60-mile coverage radius requires transmitting at 3,000,000 watts.

So there is no clear choice for which is better, VHF or UHF. There is a lot of “black magic” to radio technology so it’s not always easy to tell which will work better for your application. To help you decide on the best technology for you, more detail about each one is included below.

To find out more about two way radio frequencies, go to the following address for the free book called Two-Way Radio Success: How to Choose Two-Way Radios,Commercial Intercoms, and Other Wireless Communication Devices For Your Business.

http://www.wirelessintercomsonline.com/downloads/freebook.htm

When economic conditions get tight and businesses look for ways to cut back on costs, everything gets looked at for opportunities.

One expense cutting measure is to use two-way radios for business campus useage instead of cell phones. The per minute charges on cell phones can add up quickly on long conversations between two people who aren’t even that far apart.

Two-way radios have some other advantages too such as no waiting for connect times, broadcasting messages to groups, reachability in natural disasters even when the cell phone network is jammed,  mil-spec durability, and the emergency call (man down) feature.

Go to the following address for the free book called Two-Way Radio Success: How to Choose Two-Way Radios,Commercial Intercoms, and Other Wireless Communication Devices For Your Business.

http://www.wirelessintercomsonline.com/downloads/freebook.htm

There are some situations where placing a phone call to notify an emergency response team is just not fast or reliable enough. What is needed is an emergency notification system that just requires a simple press of a button to notify everyone that needs to know.

A chemical manufacturing facility would be a good example of a need for this type of a system. If a chemical spill occurs, there is no time to make several phone calls. Assistance from multiple people is needed immediately.

At IntercomsOnline.com you can find the MURS Indoor Customer Service Callbox that can be used as a panic button that when pressed sends a recorded message to two-way radios, base-station intercoms, or to a wireless or wired public address system. You can record whatever message you want, or you could simply record a siren sound that plays when the button is pressed. If you have multiple areas where you need a panic button, then you’ll want to make sure you can distinguish between the recordings so you know where to send help.

If you don’t already have a PA system, then the MURS Wireless PA System can receive calls from the callbox and you won’t have to run expensive cabling to install it. If you already have a wired intercom, then the MURS Commercial Intercom can also receive calls, plus it has an audio output that you could run into your exisiting wired PA system.

No matter what your industry, if there is a situation where an emergency can occur, this system makes sure help occurs rapidly.

Anyone who operates a nursery that grows trees, shrubs, flowers, or any other plant life knows that they don’t spend a lot of time in the office. The problem being the office is the first place a visiting customer will go to find someone to talk to. If they can’t find anyone, they may just leave and take their money with them.

There is an easy solution for this problem that can quickly pay for itself. The MURS Callbox XT Outdoor Intercom paired with a two-way radio solves this problem. The customer simply  presses the button on the callbox and the nursery operator can instantly respond.

If the nursery grower has existing two way radios, there are models in both UHF and VHF frequencies that can be programmed to work with those radios. Otherwise, you can get unlicensed MURS radios that work with the callbox.

With this system, nursery growers won’t have to miss another sale.

When you hear the term two-way radio there are a lot of products that could fit this generic term. You’ll also hear the terms walkie-talkie, handy talkie, hand-held radio, base station radio, mobile radio, land mobile radio, private land mobile radio, family radio service, specialized mobile radio, and commercial mobile radio service. All these terms are essentially referring to a radio that allows you to have two-way communication.

The differences between all these two-way radio products amounts to the quality of the construction of the radio, the frequencies used, and the features available. You can get a cheap pair of radios for $50 or you can spend a few hundred for ones that meet military-tough standards and has all the features you would want and then some.

Two-way radios are essentially available in three types: hand-held portable, vehicle-mounted mobile, and desktop base station. There are also unique two-way radio devices such as indoor and outdoor call boxes and one-way radio receivers for wireless paging that we will cover in other sections as well.

Handheld portable two-way radios are the walkie talkie type of radios you see people carrying around. As ruled by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), handheld radios may not have more than 5 watts of power.

Vehicle-mounted mobile two-way radios mount in a car or truck and they use the vehicle’s battery for power. They may have their own antenna, but better range is achieved by using an externally-mounted antenna.

Desktop base station radios use wall AC power and they too may have a built-in antenna, but this antenna may be disconnected and then connected to cable that leads to an external-mounted antenna. The higher the antenna is mounted, the better the range. The vehicle-mounted mobile radios are usually used as base stations by just adding an AC to DC power converter.

Mobile and Base station radios are usually more powerful than hand-held radios and may have as much as 100 watts of power.

To help you through the confusion of buying them, you can find a two-way radio guide at www.IntercomsOnline.com. It reviews all the technical details about two-way radios, plus it tells you about some of the unique applications you can use them for.

When looking for a two-way radio you’ll come across terms like UHF and VHF. UHF stands for Ultra High Frequency and VHF stands for Very High Frequency. These are different bands of radio frequencies with UHF being in the 300 MHz and 3000 MHz range and VHF in the 30 MHz and 300 MHz band.

The question most people have is which is better, UHF or VHF. The answer is neither and both. It depends on how and where you want to use them.

To give you a quick and dirty generalization, if you are planning on using your two-way radios mainly inside buildings, then UHF is likely the best solution for you. If you are mainly using your two-way radios for communication outside, then VHF would be a good choice. Either radio technology can work for you if you don’t really have a long range to cover. In that case you may want to choose VHF for it’s lower cost.

There’s a much more detailed article on UHF versus VHF you can read by clicking on the link in this sentence.

You can also find two-way radios at http://www.intercomsonline.com

The day of the actual event for an event coordinator is a busy day and communication is of the utmost importance to pull the event off successfully. That’s where a good communication system can help.

If the event is in a large venue then handheld two-way radios are required. Usually there is a “command central” or a base office where the coordination is orchestrated. A base station intercom such as the MURS 4 Mile Range Intercom is a good choice for communicating with the two-way radios. The base station sits on top of a desk or table.

If radio communications need to remain silenced, then the two-way radios can be equipped with headsets. A high-quality two-way radio like the MURS J-V110 Two-Way Radio fits this need nicely because it has available headset options. It is also a very durable radio that will withstand the rigors of many events.