Many of our fire department users require radios capable of operating in the VHF and UHF frequency bands. Several amateur radios have this capability but the use of such devices on commercial or public safety frequencies is ILLEGAL! The following is an excerpt from a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Public Notice.It is a violation of the Commission's regulations to: (1) import or market a transmitter that is designed or intended to operate on frequencies outside of the Amateur Radio Service (ARS) bands, if it has not been issued a grant of equipment authorization for the radio service(s) in which the transmitter is capable of operating; (2) import, market or operate a transmitter that requires a grant of equipment authorization but for which no grant has been issued; or, (3) transmit on a frequency allocated to a licensed radio service without the appropriate Commission-issued station license.
Violation of the Commission's regulations will subject manufacturers, importers, vendors and users of this equipment to appropriate criminal penalties as provided for by federal law(s), including fines and/or imprisonment. In addition, the equipment described above can be seized by, and forfeited to, the government.
If anyone attempts to sell you an amateur radio product for commercial or public safety use, please contact the FCC Toll Free at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) and file a complaint. Help yourself and others by putting a stop to these activities by those who profit from a lack of knowledge by innocent purchasers.
If you have a need to communicate on both VHF and UHF channels, give us a call at 205.854.2611 for a LEGAL solution.
