DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
Staying legal is possible without buying multiple radios but it requires an understanding of the rules and dreaded technical speak.I have been interested in an MXT275 for a bit, although I think it is silly that we have to buy multiple FM radios because radio X can only Tx here and radio Y is only allowed to Tx here, when they do the same thing and one of them is perfectly capable of transmitting in the other ones frequency range. But alas lets follow this arbitrary law so they don't come take our frequencies.
The FCC requires radios used for business, GMRS, FRS, CB, etc to be submitted for testing and certification. This is known as "Type Approval."
Business radios are certified under Part 90 of the FCC regulations, GMRS, FRS and CB are Part 95. A manufacturer may submit a radio for approval for any service for which it meet the requirements so a single FCC ID can be approved for multiple uses, if the OEM wants to pay for the testing.
Amateur radio is the only exception to this rule. We operate under what's known as Part 97 and our radios do not require manufacturers to submit for any approval. The license holder is responsible for reviewing or performing tests that verify a radio meets technical requirements and the radio is operated consistent with the rules.
Point is if a radio is submitted and approved for Part 95 it's legal to use on GMRS. Done and done.
If the manufacturer submitted it for Part 90 it'll necessarily cover a wide range of frequencies and be programmable due to the nature of the use (there's a very wide range of business frequencies that can be assigned). This frequency agility can be leveraged to legally program and use it for ham if it falls within the range.
So if you have Parts 90 and 95 from the manufacturer you get Part 97 for free. If you search the FCC database you'll find some that meet all these criteria. I haven't personally verified them to say 100% they cover 420 to 470 MHz, the range required for ham and GMRS, but they could be used for both if they do.
The primary problem is finding a radio that covers both VHF and UHF (thus 2m ham and GMRS) with all type approvals. That is exceedingly rare, if there are even any at all (I don't know of any personally).
Motorola Mobile (Grantee ABZ):
M1225
Motorola HT (Grantee AZ4):
Spirit (MU11, MU21, MU24)
Kenwood Mobile (Grantee K44):
NX-800, TK-5820, TK-8180, TK-8302, TK-8160, TK-860, TK-880
Kenwood HT (Grantee ALH):
NX-300, TK-3180, TK-3130, TK-3100 series, TK-278/378, TK-2200/TK-3200 series
Vertex-Standard Mobile (Grantee K66):
VX-4207, VX-5500, VX-3200, VX-2500
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