Don't misinterpret 'interoperability' references in specs

Seriously, especially if you’re buying a few units of radios with scope for a bigger purchase if needed later, don’t read interoperability as an guarantee of being legally usable, let alone legally import qualifying.

You see, amongst the vast amount of Chinese radios, there’s a whole lot of BS ‘certified’ claims, some being pure sci-fi in the degrees the vendors will try to hide the fact the alleged certification in question is as fake as their competency to be selling/supplying/supporting.

This is one good reason why working with reputable suppliers with a history of supplying into long established system use and can supply and deal with licensing or pre-licensed supply is your best route - these people don’t supply rubbish and won’t risk being in the frame for exploiting a dubiously ‘certified’ radio.

A good example of sheer certification fakery and unfit for purpose (commercial and license-free) use is the obscure, sold though eBay and any number of grey faceless Wish/BangGood/AliExpress and other names, UHF transceiver cheap takes on the Boxchip S series UHF handheld capable cellular phones.

Marketted various ways, the end result is an actual rugged R700/W305 grey, un-upgradable Android walkie talkie radio/cellphone that’s little more than intercom level grade despite actually being g good in audio and not so tatty RF wise.

But the claimed DMR Tier 1/Tier 2, and being analog FM and digital enteries in spec literally means technically compatible and therefore interoperable - it doesn’t mean suitable to legally use for license free or licensed use.

You see they were built for the Chinese PDS/PDTS system use, which is a very bare bones intercom level trunking system that happens to be compatible enough with DMR Tier 2 that you could program the phones through the PTT app (the app controlling the UHF transceiver module and Codec) to use PMR446 analog channels or 446 MHz DMR allocation - but license free/exempt status use is non-existant because the low power setting exceeds the max ERP permitted and you can’t legally license what actually are non-certified radios for licensed legal use.

Add in the total lack of knowledge and support competency of sellers who are exploitative parasites riding a quick revenue opportunity, and it’s clear it’s a bad, highly avoidable path.

Avoid like the plague unless you’re a ham op who just wants a basic few channels repeater access and simplex capable basic walkie talkie phone hybrid. You’d be better of with one of a few cheap DMR pure radios with BT capability, a phone of any grade, and a multi point BT headset or speakerphone H-F setup which is doable for barely much more than a mistake W305/R700.