For those unfamiliar, Baofeng makes CHEAP, but reliable and highly versatile radios which you can buy for under $50.

It's like having VHF and UHF, off-the-grid, two-radio and scanner in one box that fits in your shirt pocket.

Looks like the FCC is finally getting around to messing this up for us.


https://docs.fcc.g...ts/DA-18-801A1.pdf

Is it possible to still buy one in the time between the FCC issuing their notice and Baofeng ceasing the sale of them, or are they already done?

I'm sure they will still be on Amazon/Ebay/Wish for months or years to come. Either cheaper to sell them off quicker, or more likely far more expensive as the discontinued "better" model.

As a legal Ham, I bought a 6-pack about a year ago so I'm set for life.

Amazon still has them.

Download the CHIRP software and get the cable, you can program them to work simplex or duplex on any freqs in the UHF band tone or no tone power output, narrow or wide FM etc all user programmable. They way I understand they are legal on the GMRS band the problem is they come programmed with all sorts of frequencies some public service.

That being said theyre kinda crappy talkies overall anyway, our church bought some. 2 have croaked outright, and two batteries have bloated up and nearly exploded, the ear piece jacks are hit and miss, some wont even stay plugged in.


A much better alternative cheap radio is the Retevis brand, better squelch, better controls, better audio.

I have the GT-3 and it has been decent for a few years. DigiLily is ordering the GT-5 before anything really changes. For what they are they seem ok, but you are not paying for the big brands.

I wonder if this is a sign for other manufacturers that allow devices to go outside of the band... I had another brand (TYT) that did similar.

Posted by The Digital Cow I have the GT-3 and it has been decent for a few years. DigiLily is ordering the GT-5 before anything really changes. For what they are they seem ok, but you are not paying for the big brands. I wonder if this is a sign for other manufacturers that allow devices to go outside of the band... I had another brand (TYT) that did similar.

Its not just going out of band but even in the band can be a violation.

Baofengs we got came with a hodge-podge of frequencies already installed like I said some were public service channels such as Dallas Police channel 1 was in there, although there was no offset installed for repeater operation

Every channel had a tone squelch on too so its unlikely your average user would know if they were interfering because they couldn't hear anyone else!

FCC now wants $50 per user license for GMRS use, way out of the budget for most warehouses and churches etc. In our area construction guys, mobile home movers regular old truckers all use GMRS without licenses. You could do FRS if you don't mind being limited to 0.5W not enough for large properties and indoor-to-outdoor talkies.

https://www.buytwo...s_frequencies.html

Posted by 2Xplorations Its not just going out of band but even in the band can be a violation. Baofengs we got came with a hodge-podge of frequencies already installed like I said some were public service channels such as Dallas Police channel 1 was in there, although there was no offset installed for repeater operation Every channel had a tone squelch on too so its unlikely your average user would know if they were interfering because they couldn't hear anyone else! FCC now wants $50 per user license for GMRS use, way out of the budget for most warehouses and churches etc. In our area construction guys, mobile home movers regular old truckers all use GMRS without licenses. You could do FRS if you don't mind being limited to 0.5W not enough for large properties and indoor-to-outdoor talkies. https://www.buytwo...s_frequencies.html

Again thats the problem of the wrong people buying the radios, not Baofeng. Non licensed people could buy a Kenwood and cause trouble the same way. I have no idea why Baofeng pre-sets frequencies but it's is a Chinese crap factory so I'm not surprised. These are Ham radios that simply can transmit on the other bands, so everyone buys the cheap junk and messes around in ways they shouldn't not knowing any better. (Or knowing some and not caring)

The FCC wanted $90 for GMRS, it just went down to $50 last year. They also opened all 22 channels to FRS at 2 watts. So you can get OK coverage free and legal with them now. Baofeng still isn't legal on FRS because of the removable antenna, and most models didn't pay for the FCC cert to be used on GMRS, but they should be within the limits.

Original link seems broken, but I found this one:

http://www.arrl.or...horized-rf-devices

I imagine they'll probably keep selling them under a different name. From what I can tell, Chinese company names are 100% disposable and change every few months to escape bad reviews, legal issues, etc. If you look on Amazon you can find the exact same products (electronics, tools, toys, etc) sold with dozens of shell company manufacturer names. Even the ARRL link mentions Foscam/Amcrest/Baofeng being the same thing.

Posted by Freak sold with dozens of shell company manufacturer names. Even the ARRL link mentions Foscam/Amcrest/Baofeng being the same thing.

This pic is from the Donbass War. That is obviously Baofeng UV-5R radios with a KENWOOD label.

Ironically, the guy in the picture goes by the codename "Motorola".

Good points y'all. I have technician class license and have not been that deep lately. It seems a better option to just get licensed and use 2m than FRS.

Posted by The Digital Cow Good points y'all. I have technician class license and have not been that deep lately. It seems a better option to just get licensed and use 2m than FRS.

The FCC only acts if there's a specific complaint and even then, enforcement is at best, spotty. on 2m there isn't much space to hide.

So better still, 70cm. Security through obscurity or simply, the authorities can't find the channel.

The reason being is that 2m is only 4 mHz wide and 70cm is 30 mHz wide. The 20 mHz below 440 mHz is virtually unused.

Years ago I bought a bunch of US Government surplus Motorola UHF radios. They would tune up to about 438 mHz So our old "secret simplex" frequency was 425.425 mHz.

Another thing was to program an 800 mHz trunking radio for simplex and hide on frequencies within a commercial trunking system. The trunking system couldn't hear us and we couldn't hear the trunking system. Worked great.

I can't condone non-licensed use of the ham bands, but check your local band plan. Stay off the repeaters and normal simplex area as they are busy. Please also stay off the non-FM area! You can't hear them, but they can hear you! There is also a section set aside for linking repeaters so you might not realize that you are broadcasting over several repeaters covering 100's of square miles! And 432-435 is for satellite use that could transmit your messages to almost half the planet!


Your post isn't quite right. 420-430 is little-used. 430-440 is very busy, but with non-FM stuff! You will be noticed quickly if you play there. I also play on 220mhz and the entire band is dead in most areas. But that requires the $50 Baofeng.

I think this notice is just the FCC reasserting itself. It's been aware of Baofeng/Pufung/TYT/etc. radios for a while now.

This all sounds really interesting, but I'm a little confused as to what this all means. I know a little bit about radios, so this sounds like a cool product, but I don't really know exactly what it does. Would anybody mind explaining to me?

Posted by 2Xplorations A much better alternative cheap radio is the Retevis brand, better squelch, better controls, better audio.

In that regard, they are. They also lack any sort of water resistance so they're useless in an outdoor setting.

I personally have a set of four Wouxun KG-UV6X radios that I use for exploring. They're not nearly as cheap as the Baofeng's, but they can take a beating and keep going. The other nice thing is that they ship with the unit controls locked out to comply with FCC rules, but it's very easy to unlock them from a computer.

Posted by EnvoyToTheMolePeople This all sounds really interesting, but I'm a little confused as to what this all means. I know a little bit about radios, so this sounds like a cool product, but I don't really know exactly what it does. Would anybody mind explaining to me?

Two Way Radios must operate on an approved frequency and be "type accepted" for the intended use.

HAM radios have certain "bands" or range of frequencies, General Mobile Radio Service has theirs, Family Radio Service has its band, public service and utility people some of whom require FCC licensing are just not allowed to operate outside of their prescribed frequency range.

Like almost anything radios can be altered or hacked to transmit on frequencies where they don't belong and with wattage exceeding their government allowed limit.

If and that's a big IF you get caught by the FCC you can face a fine, loss of license etc. Baofengs and more than a dozen others can be programed, I have software to reprogram them but think of the hassle if you got caught operating on a Police Fire Ambulance channel or Heaven forbid, an aircraft frequency. It just aint worth it. The Baofengs come already programmed with frequencies theyre not allowed to xmit on. Dallas Police Channel 1 for example. I bet this got the attention of the Feds.


If youre ever in Dallas Texas driving by the Forest Ln exit on I635, southwest corner of the intersection is about a 10 story office building. Check out all the antennae on the roof, its an FCC listening post. I know a guy that worked there. They can hear everything within range.

Posted by 2Xplorations Two Way Radios must operate on an approved frequency and be "type accepted" for the intended use. HAM radios have certain "bands" or range of frequencies, General Mobile Radio Service has theirs, Family Radio Service has its band, public service and utility people some of whom require FCC licensing are just not allowed to operate outside of their prescribed frequency range. Like almost anything radios can be altered or hacked to transmit on frequencies where they don't belong and with wattage exceeding their government allowed limit. If and that's a big IF you get caught by the FCC you can face a fine, loss of license etc. Baofengs and more than a dozen others can be programed, I have software to reprogram them but think of the hassle if you got caught operating on a Police Fire Ambulance channel or Heaven forbid, an aircraft frequency. It just aint worth it. The Baofengs come already programmed with frequencies theyre not allowed to xmit on. Dallas Police Channel 1 for example. I bet this got the attention of the Feds. If youre ever in Dallas Texas driving by the Forest Ln exit on I635, southwest corner of the intersection is about a 10 story office building. Check out all the antennae on the roof, its an FCC listening post. I know a guy that worked there. They can hear everything within range.

Thanks a lot, that's a great explanation.

Baofeng will never disappear. I highly doubt CBP or CBSA is going to start confiscating them in peoples mail.

Here's a somewhat related question that I've always been curious about- what happens if the average dude buys an amateur radio setup at a yard sale and starts using it without a license... do the ham police come? One of the rally cars our team used to have had a Yaesu (?) rig installed in it, and one of the rally officials had an absolute meltdown because he was a ham operator and we weren't.

We switched it to a marine radio for car to service crew communication and he had even more of a meltdown at the next race when he saw that.

Posted by bandi Here's a somewhat related question that I've always been curious about- what happens if the average dude buys an amateur radio setup at a yard sale and starts using it without a license... do the ham police come? One of the rally cars our team used to have had a Yaesu (?) rig installed in it, and one of the rally officials had an absolute meltdown because he was a ham operator and we weren't. We switched it to a marine radio for car to service crew communication and he had even more of a meltdown at the next race when he saw that.

AFAIK you can't actually get in trouble for possession alone, you've got to be using it to be in the wrong. Using Marine VHF on land is a big no-no and I know people who have been caught doing it. With Marine VHF not only are you drawing the ire of the FCC/Industry Canada but now you're drawing the ire of the Coast Guard in each respective area.