Contact Nellie Ohr for more details
73s
https://survivalblog.com/transceiver-import-ban-hytera/
gives Amazon links to Baofeng and hytera. chinese, but reasonably priced. If you can use a couple or more, get them now.
FCC type acceptance regulations for radios capable of being used in the public safety and other bands have been in effect for half a century, the Chinese just scoffed at them and exported anyway. A simple software change would have allowed them to offer service-specific product that would have bypassed this whole issue.
The clarification from the FCC after this came out last fall made it clear that these radios (Baofeng UV-5R and other inexpensive Chinese-made radios) can be sold and used by licensed hams on amateur radio frequencies. Unless and until they are certified under Part 95 they cannot legally be used on the FRS/GMRS frequencies in the US.
Searching the above model number will confirm these radios are still widely available, and can still be used on the FRS/GMRS frequencies even though from a legal perspective they are not allowed to be used there.
Here is a link to the FCC:
https://www.fcc.gov/document/enforcement-bureau-issues-advisory-two-way-vhfuhf-radios
I don’t see the word China in the advisory— so it applies to all imported radios.. Basically the FCC is cracking down on radios that can be easily modified to transmit outside of the normal amateur frequencies... which is a lot of radios that may be technically illegal to market and/or sell.
Modifying handhelds from major Japanese outfits to transmit out of band has been around for decades. They are not sold that way though.
Is that really a problem, overall, in terms of spying?
Most radio signals only easily transmissible for a few hundred miles, and China probably couldn’t pick up most of those signals from America.
It just sounds like to me that China simply didn’t block off the transmitters for the signals it uses domestically and it’s not about spying.
I’ve looked at them over the years and considered them on price alone even though I have no ham license.
These are the real thing though, and if you hit that “Transmit” button it can cost you a lot of money when the federales track you down.
We used to get new crystals for police scanners and listen in on early cell phones and corporate radios. Pretty funny some times
My research years ago found that the UV-5R wasn’t compliant as it can broadcast 5 watts on the MURS, GMRS and Family bands.
Likely those radios transmit on bands that are reserved for government use.
Radiohead here,
Thanks!
So it boils down to yet another situation where our laws mean nothing? Great, I’m all for progress./s