Am I breaking the BC law using my radio and external mike?

[westcoaster]

Sure, but let’s let someone who is actually CLEAR on the law write it. There is a ton of dis-information in all the radio threads. Most of us using radios for personal use are breaking one or more rules every time we do it. I have licensed work radios, but when I use my personal ones, I am breaking a rule. I stick to FRS frequencies, but my radios exceed the maximum wattage by about 25%. I don’t think that’s a bad deal given that nobody should get too uptight about those channels... but technically speaking, mine have too much power. Worst case scenario in my case is the family camping next valley over hears me talking to my hunting partner if they are using the same frequency to keep in touch with little boopsie while he walks their labradoodle puppy.

A guy could quote the law as to how it is written. The problem comes with interpreting the law for the various scenarios.

You read the article as being able to stuff your portable in a console and clip a microphone to your body. I read it as having radio and microphone secured to your body.... (besides the technical issue of the radio having reduced range from being stuffed in a box)
Who is right? I honestly don't know....

The people we have tasked with interpreting the law as it is written are currently getting it wrong (police and lower courts) It would be an uphill challenge for an average guy who has a regular day job to make a decent go of it....

[boxhitch]

Redthies What are FRS frequencies ?
Arctic Lake

ic.gc.ca low power license exempt radio devices

[boxhitch]

Gmrs are limited to 2 watts in Canada

[westcoaster]

Gmrs are limited to 2 watts in Canada

Yup, I got that wrong....
https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gs...g/sf01320.html Edit: skip to "ANNEX E" for FRS/GMRS


Kind of makes those bubble pack radios rather useless.

[Pioneerman]

Use the damn radios off in the bush who cares about these paper rule waving stories. You have it for the bush not roaming a\round town or down paved roads. Is it legal without a license prob not, but then you have the same people telling you to spend way more money on a radio that does the same thing. I know tons of people using Baofeng radios and the powers to be that are going to be hunting your radio transmission down to fine you are few and far between. This is sounding like the covid police turning in their neighbors or threatening them lol You have it for safety so use it for that.Just like bear spray, legal to use fore safety not legal to use in a bank. Flares legal to use for safety not legal of airport lobby

[westcoaster]

Administrative Monetary Penalties....

It looks like most of us would fall under a "type 1" violation

edit:

As noted above, the amounts set out in this table will normally apply to each instance of a violation and, where appropriate, each item, such as a radio apparatus or jammer. For example, an individual who possesses three jammers could face an AMP valued at $4,500, i.e. $1,500 for each jammer.

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gs...g/sf10972.html

Violation Short-Form Description	Penalty Amounts
Individuals		Corporations and Other Entities
1st Violation	2nd + Violation	1st Violation	2nd + Violation
Installation, operation, or possession of any radio apparatus in contravention of any term or condition of a radio licence	$500	$1,000	$1,500	$3,000
Installation, operation, or possession of any radio apparatus without a radio licence or operation of any radio apparatus without a radio operator certificate where one is required	$1,000	$2,000	$2,500	$10,000
Installation, operation or possession of a jammer	$1,500	$3,000	$5,000	$10,000

Violation Short-Form Description	Penalty Amounts
Individuals		Corporations and Other Entities
1st Violation	2nd + Violation	1st Violation	2nd + Violation
Installation, operation, or possession of any radio apparatus without a spectrum licence or, when used for broadcasting, without a broadcasting certificate	$25,000	$50,000	$10M	$15M
Installation, operation, or possession of any radio apparatus in contravention of any term or condition of a spectrum licence or, when used for broadcasting, in contravention of any term or condition of a broadcasting certificate	$25,000	$50,000	$10M	$15M
Installation, operation or possession of radio apparatus in contravention of standards established by Industry Canada to meet Health Canada’s Safety Code 6	$25,000	$50,000	$10M	$15M
Manufacture, importation, distribution, leasing, offering for sale, or sale of any radio apparatus, interference- causing equipment, or radio-sensitive equipment that does not comply with standards established by Industry Canada	$25,000	$50,000	$10M	$15M
Manufacture, importation, distribution, leasing, offering for sale, or sale of a jammer	$25,000	$50,000	$10M	$15M
Contravention of any procedure, standard or condition applicable in respect of a system of competitive bidding	$25,000	$50,000	$10M	$15M

[ACE]

Use the radio in the prescribed manner for your own/others safety . . .
Worry about the paperwork later.

This is a safety issue and trumps the bureaucratic quagmire . . . every time.

[Redthies]

Redthies What are FRS frequencies ?
Arctic Lake

As West said, Family Radio Service. You can (like I do) operate your vhf on those frequencies (and GMRS), and while still technically being illegal, you’re very unlikely to be caught doing it. Anyone can buy a pair of the Cobra or Uniden or Motorola Talkabouts for $100 at Canadian Tire and use them unlicensed. The difference is that mine are programable, and are higher power. Again, not going to be much of an issue on those freqs, but being programable, I can also set them to RR channels and monitor for traffic.

If I am going to travel on a RR, I will listen to the channel used on that road for a good 5-10 mins before driving on it to see if it is active. I don’t transmit my movements, but will know where others on the road are, and pull off in a safe spot and wait for trucks coming downhill to pass. Without fail, every time I’ve done that, the downhill vehicle has called out “truck uphill at X km, no radio”. I hear them doing it for me, and proceed. Could I call myself up at the KM markers? Sure. But I prefer to stay off their working frequency if I can. I smile and wave and stay out of their way. You never know when your unauthorized chatter is going to rub someone the wrong way and have them go out of their way to make life hard on you.

I once was going uphill loaded in my tractor with a 50’ x 24” steel tower tube strapped on my 20’ deck. There was 30’ hanging off the back, and on some of the hills, it was dragging on the road. If I stopped, I would likely not get started again (SUPER steep terrain), and could not back up to a flat section due to the tube digging in the road. Another contractor let one of their crew cabs run to the valley with no radio. I was calling out going uphill, and she had no idea I was coming. We met on a hairpin corner. She threw it in reverse and punched it, but the winches on the side of my deck cut that Chevy along the side from front to back. Right through the fender outer, door skin etc. I kept going. She was fine, and was found at fault by the “owner” of the road. This was on a mountain road closed to the public, and a bit of a “Wild West” type of thing. She didn’t need to call out (although it was protocol), just needed to know I was coming and wait at pullouts.

The take away is, you don’t need to fill the airwaves and announce yourself and your quasi legal radio to the world, just monitor the channel before you start up or down, and pull off in a safe spot when you are within a km of other traffic. Obviously if it is a true life or death scenario, then use the radio and deal with any fallout later.

[Redthies]

Gmrs are limited to 2 watts in Canada

Channels 8-14 are only allowed 0.5 Watts of transmission power (ERP or Effective Radiated Power), while 1-7 and 15-22 are allowed 2.0 watts of ERP.

[S.W.A.T.]

As West said, Family Radio Service. You can (like I do) operate your vhf on those frequencies (and GMRS), and while still technically being illegal, you’re very unlikely to be caught doing it. Anyone can buy a pair of the Cobra or Uniden or Motorola Talkabouts for $100 at Canadian Tire and use them unlicensed. The difference is that mine are programable, and are higher power. Again, not going to be much of an issue on those freqs, but being programable, I can also set them to RR channels and monitor for traffic.

If I am going to travel on a RR, I will listen to the channel used on that road for a good 5-10 mins before driving on it to see if it is active. I don’t transmit my movements, but will know where others on the road are, and pull off in a safe spot and wait for trucks coming downhill to pass. Without fail, every time I’ve done that, the downhill vehicle has called out “truck uphill at X km, no radio”. I hear them doing it for me, and proceed. Could I call myself up at the KM markers? Sure. But I prefer to stay off their working frequency if I can. I smile and wave and stay out of their way. You never know when your unauthorized chatter is going to rub someone the wrong way and have them go out of their way to make life hard on you.

I once was going uphill loaded in my tractor with a 50’ x 24” steel tower tube strapped on my 20’ deck. There was 30’ hanging off the back, and on some of the hills, it was dragging on the road. If I stopped, I would likely not get started again (SUPER steep terrain), and could not back up to a flat section due to the tube digging in the road. Another contractor let one of their crew cabs run to the valley with no radio. I was calling out going uphill, and she had no idea I was coming. We met on a hairpin corner. She threw it in reverse and punched it, but the winches on the side of my deck cut that Chevy along the side from front to back. Right through the fender outer, door skin etc. I kept going. She was fine, and was found at fault by the “owner” of the road. This was on a mountain road closed to the public, and a bit of a “Wild West” type of thing. She didn’t need to call out (although it was protocol), just needed to know I was coming and wait at pullouts.

The take away is, you don’t need to fill the airwaves and announce yourself and your quasi legal radio to the world, just monitor the channel before you start up or down, and pull off in a safe spot when you are within a km of other traffic. Obviously if it is a true life or death scenario, then use the radio and deal with any fallout later.

What if someone else operates with the same "I will wait for someone to do my calling for me" theory? Now you have two people headed towards each other expecting the other person to "their " job for them. Seems like accident waiting to happen.

90% of the time there is a sign posted at the start of main FSR roads, not so much the smaller spur roads, that have radio use procedures for that road. Probably better to have a 30 second read then a 5min listen I'm thinking