Leaderboard

I'm not sure if any of you ever got a communications license for a business before, but it is really expensive and time consuming. I charge customers around $3,000 per site, for a single frequency, and I'm not even the final coordinator. They charge as much as another $500 per application. I have seen applications take months... even beyond a year in some cases, if the FCC asks for changes or amendments in order to come into compliance. And you can't legally operate until the license is approved. That means all of the engineering documents are submitted, surveys are submitted, etc. You could spend $10,000-$15,000 for a small, local commercial radio system for just one frequency and a few radios. Many businesses find it much easier and cheaper to stick to free services like FRS and MURS for that very reason.

I agree with berkinet, I think you're fine with 1.7 SWR on 462MHz. Perfect is an enemy of good. There is another set of issues when trying to improve from 1.7 to 1.1: - Do you trust your meter; - Are your measurements consistent; - What is the setup, and how much of the effect the environment have on your measurements; - Is your feed line choked enough for 462 MHz (this is related to the question above) - it's not trivial, btw; And there are more and more...

Business, or B/ILT frequencies are all shared with few exceptions. There aren't many using trunked radios which do require exclusive use of channels in an area. The distribution of available frequencies among the many different coordinators is also an issue. All coordinators have their fees but there is an additional inter-coordinator fee charged if you go through one coordinator and the only channel they can find is assigned to another. That means the frequency is coordinated twice. The licensing coordinator and the consenting coordinator both have to agree on the channel selection. Also, certain channels that may show as available in a frequency search by a dealer may be reserved by the coordinator for a particular use such as a specific class or type of business. Each coordinator sets their own fees to the customer so coordinator shopping is worthwhile. When I left the business there were two public safety coordinators that had agreements with business coordinators allowing them to assign both 90.20 and 90.35 frequencies. APCO was the only PS coordinator that couldn't handle business frequencies in house.