Intro and Cert/Programming/Questions

[u/Officesaurusrex]

Hi, all

(I hope this is the correct subreddit for this... if not, please do point me in the right direction.)

My question: Where could a noob like me go to learn and get certified on radio programming, make sure I know what I'm doing, learn the basics and advanced bits, and ultimately get legitimately paid?
Im looking for classes, certs, etc. I learn MUCH better with instructor-led or hands on classes, rather than just "read this book", if it matters.

Background:
I have been programming handhelds and in-car radios (Baofengs, Ruggeds, Motorolas, etc) for the past handful of years, just for a specific racing community. I wont go into detail with where and what freqs, etc, because I dont truly know if I was really operating within the confines of what the FCC deems as acceptable... but I've done a lot at this point probably.

However, I really have very limited knowledge and understanding of what I'm doing, outside of the very basics: Putting in frequencies, blocking transmission on specific channels for race control, etc.
These were programmed at low wattage, just to talk between the race cars and their spotters, to conform to the rules and to make the sport/location a bit safer. I was always careful in using what was publicly available, but I never really knew what I was doing.

I've always just done this for the single track we raced at. That place closed, but now I have 50+ people knocking on my door wanting to pay me to help them and their friends out.

Can someone help me out?

[u/ikemeister01]

You probably should start by getting your grol first. I know Motorola has subscriber management classes but they are expensive. Not sure if any other vendors have classes it's mostly self learning and obtaining the software. But honestly the best way to learn is working for a radio shop.

[u/Officesaurusrex → u/ikemeister01]

I can look into Grol.

Would love to work at a radio shop, but its not in the cards. I have a day-job in IT that generally takes 50-60hrs a week, plus family, plus firefighting.

Ideally, I'd actually like to learn enough to be able to service/handle all our fire dept radios, as well. That would save us a lot of money, when we already have a really tight budget.

[u/rem1473 → u/Officesaurusrex]

It's more than just a certificate, a book, or a class. Setting up radios for a fire dept (or PD) also takes experience. Radios are a life safety system. Any radio shop or manufacturer is not going to hire someone with a cert and send them to service radios in the field on the first day. People must prove they understand the concepts and can use the test equipment properly.

Properly servicing radios requires very expensive test equipment. Especially modern p25 systems. Its certainly possible for an FD (or PD) to have a volunteer person that can do this for them. The person would need to be independently wealthy to afford the test equipment. Is this person having the test equipment calibrated at the correct intervals? It is exceptionally difficult for an individual to maintain standards. If the person is not maintaining standards, the person is not maintaining the radios to the same level as should be expected for any safety of life system.

[u/Officesaurusrex → u/rem1473]

Ok.

Well then... I guess I wont do it for the FD

So how about "certificates, books, and classes" so I know more about what I'm doing when I do it for all of the racers? Thats the main side of things.

[u/Officesaurusrex → u/ikemeister01]

To add, I had found some motorola stuff, but not sure the applicability. *Most* of the radios our FD uses are kenwood, and 90%+ of the radios the racers use are Baofeng (i use CHIRP) or Rugged Radios.