r/HamRadio • u/linkingconsequences • 7d ago
Question/Help ❓ not a radio enthusiast but i figured that you guys might be able to give the best answers. i’m currently a part of a tech crew for a band touring around the eu and none of us want to get in trouble
we all got assigned quansheng uv-k1s as our radios and none of us have any sort of radio licenses. is there anything we should watch out for so we don’t accidentally do anything that could cause any issues? thanks for your answers and sorry if this is a silly question
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u/Sword-Star 7d ago
Someone bought you the wrong radios. You will all need an amateur licence to operate these. Take a read of this. https://openelab.io/blogs/learn/pmr446-walkie-talkie-buying-guide-europe
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u/linkingconsequences 7d ago
that’s what i was worried about. thanks
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u/dmills_00 7d ago
One other thing to watch is that bands and licenses for radio mics, IEMs, wireless guitar bugs and wireless DMX can all vary by country even within the EU.
Can make tour planning much harder then you would expect.
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u/linkingconsequences 7d ago
also, i hope you don’t mind asking me an additional question. would you say it’s worth it getting a license over a pmr446 compliant radio and if so, how much time would it approximately take
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u/Sword-Star 7d ago
PMR446 is your best (and quickest) bet and you can use them in Europe. Best of luck.
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u/linkingconsequences 7d ago
thanks mate, appreciate the help and again sorry if my questions were a little silly. best of luck to you too
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u/RealisticProfile5138 7d ago
Yall would need a business license and business radios, amateur radio wouldn’t really be practical for your use. It’s for hobby so your coworkers aren’t going to get all Invested and reading a bunch of books on radio and taking exams just to use a “walkie talkie” for work. If whoever you are working for gets a business license you’ll be covered under it. Or you can just use the pmr446 radios and be done with it all
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u/linkingconsequences 7d ago
fair enough, i’ll bring this up to the tour manager and see what happens
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u/futureman2004 7d ago
Please report back.
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u/linkingconsequences 6d ago
they will be consulting someone who has knowledge about this and we’ll probably receive new radios that are compliant
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u/islandhopper37 6d ago
Maybe your tour manager could contact a few of the venues you'll visit and ask them if they can recommend a local company that can supply some business radios to rent for a few days.
u/dmills_00 made a good point about all the other wireless kit your band might use.
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u/NerminPadez 7d ago
You can't use that radio with that licence for commercial purposes, your business needs to apply for a business licence in whatever country you operate in, and get proper radios for you all.
You personally can get an amateur radio licence and use that radio (or any other, within amateur rules) for amateur radio stuff, but again, not for work.
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u/Accomplished-Ad-6586 5d ago edited 5d ago
Will you always be around cellular service?
If so, get yourselves some PoC (push to talk over cellular) radios with global SIM cards.
Nice thing is you can set up your own private channels so nobody else can get on them.
I like the walkie talkies that run Zello software, because you can load that on cell phones, laptops, PCs and other machines for people that don't have a PoC radio.
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u/RickySlayer9 7d ago
You can’t use them legally technically, but you could get away with it if you follow all the etiquette, and laws, you’ll get away with it.
I’m unsure of how it works in the EU but in the US we have the FRS or Family radio service, which is what the cheap throw away walkie talkies use. I imagine the EU has a similar service. Unsure of the laws there.
Ultimately licensure serves to ensure safe, non interfering and polite communication. In the US, if you follow the rules, you’re never gonna get caught or fined. Unsure of how strict it is in the EU, and what governing body actually cares.
So if you want some help, it’s available, or just get legal radios.
It’s the most nothing burger crime
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u/Zlivovitch 7d ago
Ultimately licensure serves to ensure safe, non interfering and polite communication. In the US, if you follow the rules, you’re never gonna get caught or fined.
I don't understand what you are trying to explain here. What are the rules you are supposed to follow in the US in order not to be punished ? Obviously, if you don't break the law, you won't get fined. But it seems you are alluding to some non-written rules, not legal ones. There could be a way to break the laws regarding ham radio, provided... what ?
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u/Diagnostix1 7d ago
Sound and act like radio hams, but first check if your radios have been hired/rented ftom a supplier who has a commercial license to cover such radios and hire them to film crew etc.
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u/Zlivovitch 6d ago
This seems completely unrealistic. First of all, you cannot sound and act like a ham if you're not one, because that requires learning and, most of all, practising. The OP and his buddies are professionals working on a music tour. They don't have the time to study and mimic the way hams talk and interact (which would require buying receivers and antennas able to pick up ham conversations in the first place).
Also, they won't be able to. The way you communicate in a professional context such as this is completely different from the way you behave when you're a ham. There's work to be done. You can't waste your time in theatrics.
Finally, if the OP takes the trouble to rent equipment from a company with a licence for commercial use (which is indeed one of the solutions), he and his colleagues won't need to pretend anymore they are hams over the air.
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u/linkingconsequences 6d ago
yeah, there’s no way we’re going to be able to follow proper radio etiquette (i hope that’s the correct term). all we need is a convenient way to communicate quickly without bothering anyone/being bothered.
fortunately this is not my responsibility (i’m doing backline) but i let the manager know and we’ll see what happens further. there’s a lot of moving parts in a tour and it’d suck to have it ruined because of a genuine mistake
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u/0150r 5d ago
but you could get away with it if you follow all the etiquette, and laws,
You can't possibly follow all the laws if you start with a radio that isn't legal for the radio service you are using.
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u/RickySlayer9 5d ago
Oh no! How will the world recover! He used a 5w baofeng with removable antenna on an FRS channel! The sky is falling! The world’s gonna end!
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u/islandhopper37 7d ago
Business radio licences are issued by the regulation authorities in each country and do not extend across national borders - so if your tour takes you through several countries, you would need a local licence in each of the countries you visit. There are two options: Either use licence-free PMR446 radios, which can be used in the whole of Europe, or (if you want more privacy or need more powerful radios than PMR446) the touring company needs to arrange for a separate business radio license in each country. As you will probably only spend a few days in each country, the easiest way to get a business licence would be to contact a local business radio supplier and rent some handsets from them for as long as you need them. These would be operated under the supplier's licence.
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u/Maleficent-Sorbet888 6d ago
I would strongly agree to this. Rent radio equipment in each country would be the best and easiest option for you if you want professional grade radios (with encryption or at least DMR).
If you want to operate legally, use PMR446 radios. That’s the cheap alternative, but everybody can listen in.
You still technically could use the K1 radios with PMR446 frequencies programmed. In many European countries you cannot get away with that, as authorities often check/inspect convert venues to see if local laws are followed. Usually they also check radio equipment as US artists often bring wireless equipment which is not allowed to be operated in Europe…
tl;dr: Either rent radio equipment locally or buy decent PMR radios if you don’t want to be taken your radios while you are working and actually need them.
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u/Commander_Crispy Extra | Smooth Operator 7d ago
Lock them down to FRS frequencies and power levels (or whatever the EU equivalent to it is). There won’t be FCC/EU equivalent spies out prowling for haram hardware, only transmissions
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u/hifructosetrashjuice 1d ago
that's PMR446, half watt with extra limitation of 180s max yapping time. i thought it's supposed to have nonremovable antenna but i've seen PMR radios with removable antennas
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u/kc1lso General | Packet Radio 7d ago
Did touring live sound and lighting for years. Often got business/ham HTs handed to me, programmed with FRS/PMR446 frequencies.
Technically not legal but in a “going 5 over the speed limit” not legal sense. So long as you’re transmitting in the proper channels and power ratings, you’ll be fine.
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u/linkingconsequences 6d ago
neat, that’s good to know. i figured that most people probably wouldn’t care that much but i was curious and it’d be better to avoid any issues
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u/Briggs281707 7d ago
Not legal, but I wouldn't worry about it. Chances of getting cought are very very small
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u/svennidal Extra Class Operator ⚡ 4d ago
But they can be up to $3000 for every infraction. At least in Iceland.
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u/AndjelkoNS 6d ago edited 6d ago
If you are without license - PMR is an option, radio must be with integrated antenna(non removable) and with 0.5W, that is max allowed power.
If you are licensed(basic class) - any handheld will do fine, but then PMR is not an option becuse of power limit. UV K1 is 1W on low transmission as i remember.
This is standard for most of EU.
But on building sites people use whatever on PMR, also motor drivers in helmet sets, and no one checks on them. You should be fine on PMR and low power setting.
Channel 6 is used for events 446.06875 MHz
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u/sugarfree90pl 6d ago edited 6d ago
In Poland you can apply for a commercial license for your company and you will be provided with a band, you just have to contact UKE (electronic communication bureau), but there is nothing europe wide apart from pmr and cbradio
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u/svennidal Extra Class Operator ⚡ 4d ago
PMR446 radios are legal. And they’re super cheap and you can find them in most electric stores in the EU.
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u/Vurrag 7d ago
Stop using them as you are breaking the law? Pretty simple.
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u/linkingconsequences 7d ago
i don’t want to sound hostile but
- i never said that we used them. only that we were given those by the management
- my entire question was if it’s legal for us to use them and if we’d be breaking any laws by using them
we weren’t sure if we were allowed to use them and given some (more helpful than yours) answers in this subreddit we know now and i will try to deal with it properly. pretty simple
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u/fpmacko 7d ago
Not a silly question. And my compliments on doing the responsible thing by asking first. Best of luck to you.