Hi
welshy9,
The licence you've bought is known as an
Ofcom Simple UK Licence. The
Ofcom Simple UK Licence, as you're probably aware, allows you to use a business radio
anywhere in the
United Kingdom and
Northern Ireland, but
not Republic of Ireland. The frequencies allocated by the Simple UK licence are commonly called
General Business Channels (or Frequencies) and are the same for everyone.
On the
Ofcom Simple UK Licence you are issued 5 low band, 2 mid-band VHF, 5 high-band VHF and 3 UHF frequencies (known as PMR449). There's no need to black these out as they're the same for everyone. I.e. Just like PMR446, every business radio user on the
Ofcom Simple UK Licence uses these published
General Business Channels (or Frequencies):
simple-uk.png
The question we get asked all the time is: If everyone is on the same channels, why don't you get interference and collisions?
The theory is that everyone who uses these
General Business Channels is using a maximum 5w VHF (or typically 4w UHF) and is on a portable radio*. Then each radio fleet uses its own randomly selected CTCSS tone (
see Wikipedia) which works like an advanced squelch and only opens the squelch when a signal is received with a known CTCSS tone.
This is a very good approach and allows you to operate unlimited business radios on a very "Simple" licence which has simplified the licence process for basic business use enabling basic business users to quickly and easily get up and running without complicated licensing boundaries.
* You can use a fixed or mobile vehicular radio, however on the terms of the
Ofcom Simple UK Licence, the power must be restricted to 5w and the antenna must be no more than 1.5m high.
welshy9 wrote: ↑02 Nov 2017, 21:43
Hi guys ive just paid for a Business Radio license , ive had the emails etc but unsure on what frequency they have given me as they given me a few
here is what i have do i use just one or do i chose what frequency i can use or can i use them all and they are allocated to myself ? its only for handy to handy
So in answer to your original question. You can use any one of these frequencies depending on what radio you have. By far the most popular is VHF and UHF as in the two right columns in your / our image.
welshy9 wrote: ↑03 Nov 2017, 01:46
thank you for that info im trying to find out now what handys i can use that don't break the rules of my license any ideas ?
You can use almost any business radio. And that includes digital radios on the
Ofcom Simple UK Licence. You will find some great older radios on eBay. Look out for the
Motorola CP040 and
Motorola GP340 which are both discontinued but are by far the most popular of the previous generation of Motorola radios. You can also look at some cheap entry level radios such as the Baofeng BF-888S as a starting point.
However, the best advice would probably be to future-proof yourself and buy an analogue and digital hybrid radio. That way you can operate on analogue for now and when the whole world goes digital your radio will also have that capability. The best value analogue/digital hybrid radio is the
Motorola DP1400 (digital version) as its cost effective and DMR digital compatible, but if you really want to treat yourself and push the boat out take a look at the
Motorola DP4600e or a
Hytera PD785.
You'll find the right radio for you. But start with something cheap and easy and work up from there.