Speaking of which, which Baofeng-friendly frequencies are legal for anyone to use?
The FRS (Family Radio Service) freqs do not require licensing, and the Baofengs will operate on them, but I believe that, legally, you are supposed to use a radio type accepted for the service, and I doubt that Baofengs are type accepted for FRS (but don’t take my word for it, you may want to check it out).
Of course, in 3 days the government of the United States is going to be illegitimate, and the FCC is an arm of that illegitimate government, so I’ll leave it to you to decide how much those requirements actually mean.
Resistance can take many, many forms.
These guys are the experts on that.
“Speaking of which, which Baofeng-friendly frequencies are legal for anyone to use?”
The only legal way to use a Baofeng is on amateur (you know, ham) frequencies, and you must be a licensed ham.
Every other transmission on them is illegal.
But that hasn’t appeared to stop anybody.
The FRS frequencies at a max of 1 watt.
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Technically, NONE. I’ll try to explain. Most Baofeng analog VHF/UHF transceivers span a range that will permit usage of 2 meter HAM (144-148MHz) and 70cm (420-450MHz). In addition, it’s also possible to set up channel configurations for FRS/GMRS (UHF) as well as MURS (VHF). HOWEVER... according to the FCC, you can ONLY use a “type certified” radio for the applicable band. IOW, the radio has to be approved BY the FCC for use within a particular band. So for example, in order to transmit on MURS freqs (according to the FCC), you MUST have an FCC “approved” MURS radio... which adheres to the “rules” for MURS... which is something like... handheld transmitter power output capped at 2 watts, external replaceable antenna is permitted, narrow band keying (12KHz) is required... and there are FIVE freqs for MURS right around the 150MHz range for use. Data IS permitted. So by the FCC rules, IF you use a Baofeng radio intended for use with amateur bands, you’ll break the law by using it to communicate on MURS, FRS, or GMRS freqs. But can you do it?! You BETCHA. Should you? That’s something I can’t answer. I CAN tell you that if you don’t draw attention, that nobody is going to care. Moreover this, too many off-roaders than can be counted use this same strategy. They buy cheap Chinese radios (including Baofengs)... program them up for MURS... push a couple of watts (no MORE than 5), and nobody is any worse for wear. Technically, there’s absolutely no way to discern that a non-type-certified Baofeng is transmitting on MURS. Even at 5 watts, you have to be pretty close to determine that the power output is above the legally mandated maximum. So what you “can” do and what you “should” do are to completely separate things. But again, to answer your question simply, there are NO frequencies for just anybody to “use” on a Baofeng amateur FCC type-certified radio. Technically speaking, IF you transmit on a Baofeng HT.. on VHF or UHF frequencies without an FCC amateur radio operator’s license, you will be breaking the law.