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talosian

Mar 21, 2004, 8:20 PM

Post #1 of 15 (1174 views)

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Does anyone know WHY

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walkie talkies are not allowed? What is the reason? Is there any way around it such as a permit?

Thanks.

Spock.
"When all logical explanations have failed, we must look to the illogical for the answer.

johanson

Mar 22, 2004, 5:33 PM

Post #2 of 15 (1079 views)

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Re: [talosian] Does anyone know WHY

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What do you mean by a walkie talkie? CB and family radios are allowed, ham radio operators use ham gear.

Tell me exactly what you mean and I will try to help you.

PS we have an active and legal ham radio club along the shores of Ajijic

Adrian

Mar 22, 2004, 8:02 PM

Post #3 of 15 (1051 views)

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Re: [talosian] Does anyone know WHY

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In Reply To

walkie talkies are not allowed?

Huh?

If I stand on the roof of mi casa here in Tampico, I can count about 40 radio masts for private radio communications systems. Before cheap cellular phones, it was the only effective way to communicate with people outside the towns who were off the phone system or for companies to contact their mobile workers etc.

Adrian

raferguson

Mar 22, 2004, 8:42 PM

Post #4 of 15 (1042 views)

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Re: [talosian] Does anyone know WHY

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The FRS walkie-talkies are used everywhere in Mexico, mostly for commercial applications. Not sure about the licences, however. We used them on a car trip to stay in touch, but not sure about the legality.

Ham licences are available in Mexico, but I think that the permits are only good for six months, and cost a few bucks. There was talk about reciprocal licencing, like the US and Canada have, not sure if it ever came to pass.

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

talosian

Mar 22, 2004, 10:30 PM

Post #5 of 15 (1029 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Does anyone know WHY

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Maybe I was wrong. I was under the impression that I read someplace here that walkie talkies were not allowed. I'll double check, not that it is that important. I'll do a search.

Thanks.

Spock
"When all logical explanations have failed, we must look to the illogical for the answer.

Miguelito

Mar 23, 2004, 5:41 AM

Post #6 of 15 (1014 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Does anyone know WHY

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I can get a ham radio permit by application to the proper authority and payment of about $80USD. Good for 6 months only I'm told. You can research this at www.arrl.org if I remember correctly. I did bring a rig and antenna with me but haven't sprung for the payola yet. Also, I read somewhere it may take a few months to process the paperwork (what else is new?).

Los que cantan oran dos veces! (Those who sing pray twice!)

talosian

Mar 23, 2004, 7:22 AM

Post #7 of 15 (983 views)

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This may be the answer.

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I found the following on a Goodle search and it seems logical. This would answer why ham is ok and walkie talkie may not be.

======================== Q: Can I use walkie-talkies in Mexico?

A:No. The walkie-talkies you purchase in the States, or Canada, operate on an assigned frequency established by the U.S. & Canada FCC. The problem is that Mexico has assigned that frequency band for other usage and therefore your walkies could possibly interrupt local communications.

People who use them are subject to a fine and confiscation by both the police and military.

This said... walkie-talkies operate at quite low power and the chances of being stopped and having them confiscated are correspondingly small.

If you get a red light at customs then your bag may be inspected. If the agent finds your walkie-talkies they will be confiscated.

Follow these guidelines if you take walkie-talkies to Mexico:

Pay close attention to whether they receive any broadcasts from local agencies before actually transmitting. If you hear anything over, perhaps, a half-hour of just listening, don't transmit on them.

Do not openly use them in public.
"When all logical explanations have failed, we must look to the illogical for the answer.

sfmacaws

Mar 24, 2004, 1:31 AM

Post #8 of 15 (896 views)

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Re: [talosian] This may be the answer.

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Well, that's news to me. We use ours all the time here in Quintana Roo and do so right out in front of God and everybody. Of course, motorolas that look just like ours are on sale in lots of stores here too. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Ol' Gringo

Mar 25, 2004, 5:28 PM

Post #9 of 15 (784 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Does anyone know WHY

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When you stated Ham licenses are available in Mexico, were you speaking of availability for Mexicans or U.S. citizens? The U.S. and Mexico have a reciprocal agreement.

Jerry n5jt (Extra class)

Ol' Gringo

Mar 25, 2004, 5:40 PM

Post #10 of 15 (780 views)

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Re: [talosian] This may be the answer.

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The reason walkie-talkies from the U.S and Canada are discouraged is because most are C.B.'s. Citizen band radios are 11 meter and can be converted (Illegally) to 10 meters which is a Ham frequency. The reason for this is mostly because of shrimp boats and other marine operations. A radio signal carries at 186,000 miles per second and a lot of the shrimpers in Mexico started converting their c.b.'s to 10 meters so they could sommunicate much farther and they were interfering with the ham band.

Jerry n5jt (Extra class)

talosian

Mar 25, 2004, 7:22 PM

Post #11 of 15 (754 views)

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Re: [Ol' Gringo] This may be the answer.

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You say "are discouraged," operationally, what does this mean? Do you know this as a fact or hearsay?

Thanks.

Spock
"When all logical explanations have failed, we must look to the illogical for the answer.

Ol' Gringo

Mar 26, 2004, 5:06 AM

Post #12 of 15 (723 views)

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Re: [talosian] This may be the answer.

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I know it as a fact. I've not only been a Ham radio operator for many years, but also a Petrochemical engineer with the largest Petrochemical construction company in the world. We worked with PePEX constructing many infrastructure projects and I'm well aware of the interferrence from C.B. radios that have been converted to 10 meters. I first moved to Mexico in 1956 after graduation from high school and worked for Halliburton oil well services during the summers. After graduation from college I moved to Spain but worked and lived in Mexico for many years. I retired 3 years ago and am living in Oklahoma at the present because we also own property here. My wife, whom I met in Spain is a PhD and teaches spanish and spanish literature in Houston, Texas and will retire in May. We own property in Mexico and have for a very long time and we're going to retire there this summer. Here is a good website where you can learn about Ham radio. arrl.org

Saludos

Jerry n5jt

mazgordon

Mar 26, 2004, 1:28 PM

Post #13 of 15 (669 views)

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Re: [talosian] Does anyone know WHY

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We use walkie talkies every day in our construction firm in Mazatlan. We rent them for $200 pesos per month per unit from a local outlet. The have a 15K range with good reception.

¡Echar todo la carne al asador!

johanson

Mar 26, 2004, 4:04 PM

Post #14 of 15 (633 views)

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Re: [mazgordon] Does anyone know WHY

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Are we talking apples or oranges here? Walki talki (spelling) was a term used in WW II. Are you talking CB, 2 meter or what? We have commercial 2 meter units that we use that are of a slightly higher frequency than the Ham 2 meter units with the full blessing of cofetel, (equivalent of FCC or CRTC) XE1 ham operators use the same band at a slightly lower frequency with the full blessing of the cofetel. I do remember hearing someone saying that only some CB frequencies are allowed. It's been several years but I think one was allowed to use only channels 9,10, and 11 or something like that. I don't remember. Most of us use the two meter band, you know 146.400 to 146.490 again legally

You will have to be much more specific with your question. Are you talking 2 meter, 70 cm, CB, family radio or what?

Pete

KD7ION No Code tech (that's about as low as you can get)

Marlene

Mar 26, 2004, 5:22 PM

Post #15 of 15 (617 views)

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Re: [mazgordon] Does anyone know WHY

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Hi Gordon,

My neighbors here in Mazatlan use walkie talkies (Pete, that's what THEY call them) to talk to each other from opposite sides of the street, one in the tall house and one in Jose's apartments. They bring them every year just for this purpose, arranging cocktail hour, dinner or simply saying "Goodnight John Boy"... It is quite funny actually. Only in Mexico!

Nice to see you posting here again! I hope to see you stop by the Mazatlan forum to help out with q & a. Congrats on your new venture!