Frequency Asked.
Licensing, turnaround, supported equipment, and where the legal lines are.
Yes. The FCC requires a GMRS license to transmit. The good news is there's no exam — you apply and pay a fee, and the license covers your immediate family for ten years.
Most programmable GMRS and amateur radios, including Baofeng, Wouxun, BTECH, Retevis, and TYT. If your radio can be programmed from a computer, we can almost certainly help.
GMRS channels are programmed only on Part 95-certified radios. If yours isn't certified for GMRS, we'll tell you what it can legally do instead.
Remote sessions are usually scheduled within two business days and run 45 to 60 minutes. Mail-in radios are normally programmed and shipped back within three business days of arrival, and we'll confirm the schedule by email before you ship.
We use secure screensharing while your radio is connected to your computer with a programming cable. We handle the software configuration and write the file to your radio while you watch — so you can repeat it yourself later if you want to.
We can program them receive-only, so you can monitor local traffic and NOAA weather alerts. We do not configure transmit on public-safety, business, or other frequencies you aren't licensed to use — that applies no matter what the radio is technically capable of.
No. Receiving isn't licensed. A license is required to transmit, and which one depends on the service — a GMRS license for GMRS channels, an amateur license for the ham bands. If you only want a scan bank, no license is needed.
We tell you at intake, before you've paid or shipped anything, and we suggest equipment that can do it legally. We'd rather lose a booking than hand back a radio that's configured incorrectly.
During a remote session we access only the specific software needed for radio programming, and sessions are one-on-one. We keep only the details needed to complete your request — see the privacy policy for specifics.