This reg' is good for communications . These radios are essentially throw away with little control of quality and control of transmissions.

Most transmit a signal that is broad and loaded with spurs and will interfere with other users and/or allow the user to transmit onto frequencies that are dedicated for public safety ( fire, police, aviation).

Today's FCC has little to no enforcement teeth and these radios are taxing limited field officers with numerous out of band / jamming violations.

Prior to the flooding of these cheap radios, users would purchase a brand name that provided quality of signal and control of frequency. Now anyone with a credit card and a Amazon/EBay account is playing around with limited knowledge and certainly questionable gear.

I for one am glad to see something being done albeit late - still better than the 27Mhz mess.

73

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
So, thebthpe listed above from amazon... they are essentially more powerful “walker talkies”? I’m confused if they are legal to use as such.

For instance, would they work for easy communication between vehicles while traveling/caravanning? Is that an appropriate and allowable use or one not allowed and likely to get one in trouble?

Did you read the FCC Enforcement Advisory at the Link?

Sure did. And the listing states that they include the FCC certificate. My question is one of appropriate use and licensing requirements. I don’t wish to operate outside the law but I’d rather have a better quality unit than the cheap “toy” units we’ve tried in the past.

Each land mobile radio service had its own requirements. Amateur, GMRS, FRS, etc. All but amateur require two ways be type accepted, to conform to the requirements of that service.

FRS requirements have been recently revised, so be sure to check that out. There is no license but these cheap UHF/VHF radios are not type accepted for FRS, either.

The Yaesu, Icom, and Kenwood lobbyists earned their paychecks this time.

(shakes head)

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
The Yaesu, Icom, and Kenwood lobbyists earned their paychecks this time.

(shakes head)

I think it will be a short lived victory. The “looseness” of the bands in these radios is in part because they are sold globally and different countries have differing frequency allocations.

I would expect in a matter of months the radios will be reprogrammed into a number of “-X” versions and ones for US market will meet requirements for type approval by FCC. May add $20-$25 to the price but if the market demand is there they will jump through the hoops.

One day the FCC will find a way to explain things to the public in a way people can understand. I personally do not enjoy wading through all the nonsense it takes at times to understand exactly what is and is not legal. Add to that the reality that regulations and frequency allocations change, one can be relatively certain the water is not getting to the end of the row most of the time.

I understand it is our responsibility to know the law. I just prefer things to be as simple as possible.

Just a note re: DX IS - my late FIL, W4CDK, kept a copy in his “shack”.
Thank you, JALLEN; he was a total fan.

Blackhorse4

Thanks, for the heads up. I went ahead and just completed the purchase of a BaoFeng radio I had just sitting in my Amazon prime shopping cart.

quote:

Originally posted by Dad250:
Most transmit a signal that is broad and loaded with spurs and will interfere with other users and/or allow the user to transmit onto frequencies that are dedicated for public safety ( fire, police, aviation)

Hit and miss. I use one for my 70cm satellite uplink and with narrow bandwidth setting and "intermediate" power setting, it's sufficiently clean to work well. Front end is crap but I pair it with a used Yaesu handheld for the 2m downlink anyway. End result is a perfectly utilitarian portable satellite station for under $100 total investment between the two HTs and a handheld yagi. So the Baofengs and their fraternal/identical twins aren't entirely without redemption, IMO... just very susceptible to misuse by the unlicensed, I don't-give-a-crap-and-don't-care-enough-to-tweak-it-so-it's-inoffensive-crowd.

I realize that the same arguments can be used in favor of gun control ("ban 'em for the possibility of their misuse!!!") but the difference is that there are already draconian penalties for ACTUALLY misusing guns, not so much for misusing a cheap transceiver. $29 makes it REALLY easy.

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:

I skipped them and bought a Kenwood.

Henway. You should have bought a Henway.