In the US I was involved in 2-meter Ham radio as well as CB radio . In our area we used to take turns monitoring a channel to help people looking for directions as well as chewing the fat.
Here in Taiwan there would be ample opportunity to use such a service. I’ve spent hours trying to make sense of a certain Romanization of a street or trying to find a shop on a side road. I for one would not mind helping out if I had information to help a fellow driver let alone a foreigner.
We foreigners finally got the right to have Amateur Radio Licenses in Taiwan. There’s one German bloke in Kaohsiung who finally did it. But test is in Chinese only. I know we foreigners can use the low power Family Radio Service but the range only covers a few meters.
Does Taiwan have a any bands that allow personal communications on VHF like the Mobile Business band or like CB that we don’t know about? If we did get the right to get on the air, we could create a “ham radio iike” net and call ourselves the Forumosa information Network.
Alternatively one could just get a GPS unit.
You always need a licence for broadcasting over 1 km in Taiwan on any frequency as far as I am aware.
2-metre ham radio? 
Couldn’t they make them any smaller?
No wonder you took turns monitoring a channel, they must have been damned heavy.
It’s a cool idea!
I’m a little bit naive about radio communications. Would say a 1 watt VHF hand held be able to reach the base from most of the Taipei area?
[quote=“urodacus”]2-metre ham radio? Couldn’t they make them any smaller?
No wonder you took turns monitoring a channel, they must have been damned heavy.[/quote]
Very funny! I did have some pretty heavy Walkie Talkies when I was in High School. There was a great radio surplus store in the neighborhood.
quanonline.com/military/military … /b1000.jpg
Not quite 2-meters. 2-meters refereed to the wave length of the frequency band. That means, if you could see the wave coming out of your antenna, it would be two meters long.
[quote=“petr0lb0mb”]It’s a cool idea!
I’m a little bit naive about radio communications. Would say a 1 watt VHF hand held be able to reach the base from most of the Taipei area?[/quote]
No way, my FRS Radio would not even go two blocks here in a small town in Taiwan. I know we would need a license to get on the air here in Taiwan. All residents with ARC’s are welcome to get their Ham Radio License. Here’s the story.
For most of the world, any ham from a “recognized country” need only present a copy of his or her license and they can get a permit to let them operate with the privileges equivalent to his her or license class of the person’s home country. Since the other countries don’t recognize Taiwan, we can’t have this permit.
So for years we squawked… There are plenty of Taiwanese in America who got HAM Licenses. A few years later they relented… the let us get the local license. But… they said… to make it reciprocal, you must take the test in Chinese. We will also remove all international symbols (OMEGA for ohm) and internationally accepted abbreviations (E-I*R) and spell everything out in Chinese.
Maybe we can ask this guy to have training sessions for us… dl7und.net/eng/Articles/Amateur- … -in-Taiwan
Anyway… My question is this. Is there an other form of licensed personal communication that we can get. In the US, you get get a business band radio license just by filling out the questionnaire that was put in the box of the radio you bought. BTW… the business band radio is located right next to the FRS radio band. It allows you about ten watts of power. They make radios that cover both bands. And they are made in Taiwan.
Dusting this thread off for a quick CB related question.
I have a Cobra CB radio I brought back from the US for my Jeep. The problem is that it transmits at 27MHz. I’ve come to understand that typical mobile CBs radios here in Taiwan transmit at a higher frequency. 140 something MHz I believe. Is my 27MHz CB radio useless here? If so, where can I find a quality equivalent that transmits at the correct frequency? I’m new to this stuff so please use mall words.
I believe there are no legal CB radio’s in Taiwan. That doesn’t stop people from using the radio bands. But that only works for Taiwanese. Truckers and others use the ham radio bands illegally. If a foreigner gets on, unlicensed that it is, he will get asked to get off by authorities. Good news is Ham Radio is open to foreigners. They just need to take the test that is in Chinese only. A friend of mine actually got his license but gave up on the VHF bands because… it is so overrun with "CB’er"s.
Anyway… who do you want to talk to… I’ve seem Family Radio Units for sale in major 3 C stores and I’ve seen them also for sale with extended higher power Business Band Channels and I so now special provision to restrict the sale. Look into that!
I’m talking about UHF bands i believe and only at short distances. One car to another on the highway. No more than … Some friends and I took a road trip down to Kenting a while back (in 5 separate cars) we all used walky talkies that had a magnetic antenna and cord that screwed into them and stuck to the roof of the car Worked fine. No one bothered us at all, civilians or authorities. I’m just looking for a cleaner more permanent version of that. Wish I thought to check what frequency we were using at the time.
You said Car to car… in a small group. Probably FMRS (Family Radio Service). But I can find out everything you need if you can give me a few clues…
Like… where did you borrow or rent these gizmos? What are the brands of your radios you used. How many channels did you have access to. Ask your friends or browse the web to jog your memory. (PS: If I get any tech gizmo, I push the buttons and would remember this kind of info… ).
I’m isolated here. I live in the country. My wife’s family are non tech. My Chinese is not the greatest but I do have a few local tech friends but they are involved in computers and not radio but if you give me enough info. they will be able to help me do research.
I actually need such a set up…
Hey, I just opened a thread on Cars&Motorcycles looking for people like you who can easily answer my questions… 
Basically I have a couple of VHF walkies that i use with my gf when we make “long” travells with the bikes. I´m thinking on getting a couple of antennas, but I don´t know much about what´s worthy and what´s not. i also don´t know about lengths (both antenna and cable). Any suggestion would be much appreciated.
I also would like to give it a shot to these repeaters over the island… but I don´t know if they will help at all on the road.
[quote=“jesus80”]Hey, I just opened a thread on Cars&Motorcycles looking for people like you who can easily answer my questions…
Basically I have a couple of VHF walkies that i use with my gf when we make “long” travells with the bikes. I´m thinking on getting a couple of antennas, but I don´t know much about what´s worthy and what´s not. i also don´t know about lengths (both antenna and cable). Any suggestion would be much appreciated.
I also would like to give it a shot to these repeaters over the island… but I don´t know if they will help at all on the road.[/quote]
Don’t just say UHF or VHF radios, they have to be part of some kind of band, like (Family Radio Service or General Mobile Radio Service). How many channels do you have on them?
Antennas? When you are dealing with antennas you have to get things right. Though you probably don’t have enough power to burn out your radios, wavelenght (size of the antenna) and length of the feed line is important. It all depends on the frequency or your radios I’d go a store in the city and ask. You have to get the right antenna for the wavelength and anyway… let the store guys fix you up. Bring your bikes, bring your radios. They may hook you up with a nice magnetic mount antenna. (Though I’m not sure if scooters can handle that, you may need to have some holes drilled… )
I live on the road to Kenting so I see some interesting things go by. Once I saw a couple of guys with in helmet audio set up. Really cool. I’m afraid I live in the middle of nowhere when it comes to electronics. So please… post what you know about those VHF radio things and anything else you might know.
PS: If you are in Kaohsiung, there are a whole bunch of communications and electronic parts stores, in a neighborhood to the right of the main tran station. Face the train station, walk to the right until you see some streets, turn left down the first street. You will see some streets on the right side. Those streets should have the communications and electronic shops you need.
Well, I use UHF walkie talkies (I said VHF, my mistake), which means frequencies between 430 and 440 MHz. How many channels? It depends on the frequency step you set, but let’s say “enough” . I ended up getting a couple of antennas that I think have slightly improved rx/tx. I mounted mine on the luggage case and hers on the plate, but wiring needs some improvement yet.
What you saw on that helmet most likely was a communicator, bluetooth something. I don’t really know much about them, but yeah, wireless stuff is always cool and convenient.
I’m from New Taipei City, so Kaohsiung it’s kinda far from here
[quote=“jesus80”]Well, I use UHF walkie talkies (I said VHF, my mistake), which means frequencies between 430 and 440 MHz. How many channels? It depends on the frequency step you set, but let’s say “enough” . I ended up getting a couple of antennas that I think have slightly improved rx/tx. I mounted mine on the luggage case and hers on the plate, but wiring needs some improvement yet.
What you saw on that helmet most likely was a communicator, bluetooth something. I don’t really know much about them, but yeah, wireless stuff is always cool and convenient.
I’m from New Taipei City, so Kaohsiung it’s kinda far from here [/quote]
OK Jesus80. As a ham radio operator, I know what I’m talking about. You can’t go broadcasting willynilly. This is a real country and like a real country, everything has allocations. You could be stepping on the police, military or hospital bands. Being a foreigner gets you extra attention and penalities. Locals can get away with it… maybe…
What band is it? Is it the ham radio 440 band? At best… you a non licensed individual is only aloud to transmit on the Family Radio or perhaps the General Mobile Radio Service. That’s 14 to 26 Channels. YOu can get your ham license but the test is in Chinese. That will be my project if my Chinese ever gets to par. Tell me more. Be careful though.
Amateur Radio Personnel Qualification Test: submit
- Amateur Radio Personnel Qualification Test Application Form
- Original ROC Citizen ID Card (returned after inspection)
Hey guys, I’m aware that I do need a license for using it. But… guess what. I can not take that license because I can’t speak Chinese. At least I barely use the walkies… I mean once in 5 months?
Even though I don’t see to get a license as an option, I’d like to know which frequencies I should stick to. I’m sure that there’s a list of frequencies and their use somewhere. This information could be really helpful, not only for me but potentially for some other people… so if anybody could bring it here… 
[quote=“jesus80”]Hey guys, I’m aware that I do need a license for using it. But… guess what. I can not take that license because I can’t speak Chinese. At least I barely use the walkies… I mean once in 5 months?
Even though I don’t see to get a license as an option, I’d like to know which frequencies I should stick to. I’m sure that there’s a list of frequencies and their use somewhere. This information could be really helpful, not only for me but potentially for some other people… so if anybody could bring it here… [/quote]
The thing is. Without a license, you should not be operating at all. It’s a Federal Crime. Yes, the local people do it. But, you are a foreigner and they would enjoy busting and expelling you. GO to a motorcycle shop or communication store and get the proper radios or the answer to your questions. YOu better be sure that you are not broadcasting on any public service frequency…
Both in Taiwan, we have the Family Radio Service and The GMRS service. THe FMRS has 14 channels and next to it is the GMRS. In the US, you get a licence for the GMRS by just filling in an application card and paying the fee that comes in the box. I’m really not sure about Taiwan. I did see what looked to me a dual band radio for sale in one of the big 3C companies . It has FRMS plus additional channels but I can’t be sure what it was. I’m busy in other things now and now time to research.
If they are for sale at a general 3C shop, I’d assume you can use it. But anyway… go a local communications store in your town. It won’t be hard to find, All the same stores like to cluster together in thier own district here in Taiwan. Get a Chinese speaker and ask your questions. Then share it plesae. I’m itching to get on VHF and UHF again. But I don’t know enough Chinese so, I"m stuck with the cell phone. I’m a bicycle rider and would love a radio set up to keep in touch with my kid so she can go a head at her own pace while I’m minding the others. Actually FMRS would do that, but I’d love to have a cb like set up in my car to talk to strangers and practice my Chinese. GMRS may be the ticket.
I’m sorry to say this, but no way I’m giving up my radios and getting some others. They are good, they are mine, and they are the minimum potency I’m willing to use. I use them very rarely, but I’m not substituting them by something smaller. I can try to avoid certain frequencies, but for that I need to know which ones are already assigned to what.
If you had a license back home, you can get something here by showing it at the government office, so you wont have problems for getting that VHF/UHF license. Give it a shot.
[quote=“jesus80”]I’m sorry to say this, but no way I’m giving up my radios and getting some others. They are good, they are mine, and they are the minimum potency I’m willing to use. I use them very rarely, but I’m not substituting them by something smaller. I can try to avoid certain frequencies, but for that I need to know which ones are already assigned to what.
If you had a license back home, you can get something here by showing it at the government office, so you wont have problems for getting that VHF/UHF license. Give it a shot.[/quote]
Hey, do as you wish. I’m just saying it’s a federal crime to operate. But, be cautions at least find out what frequencies you are choosing. Post them. (OK frequency range, you really don’t want to post the exact freq you are on.
What’s the brand name?
Which country are you from. What you said about having a license back home it true. Very true. It’s called a reciprocal agreement. I went to apply for one and they said the key word is reciprocal. Oh… the US doesn’t think we are a country so… you can’t have a license. Sorry. But we’ll give you this certificate saying you can speak over an other ham’s radio just as long as the local ham pushes all the buttons. You’ve got an operators license, not a station license.
There is stood for a few years… then we got word that Taiwan finally opened the license to all legal residents. We kept bitching that Taiwanese citizens pick up ham licences in the US, why can’t us. Finally wish was granted. I went to get the sample copy of the test. What… it’s all in Chinese. There aren’t even international symbols like omega for ohms, or R for resistance. Nope… all the symbols are spelled out in Chinese. I complained and they said… What language do the Taiwanese take the test in in the USA. English. .so you can take the test in Chinese. That’s as it stands… Only the few allies of Taiwan are eligible for reciprocal treatment.
Good luck with the walkie talkies… I always get busted when I try to do something like that. Post you radio information such as frequencie range and brand, and I will tell you who owns that slice of radio spectrum. TTYL.
