How does one unlock the frequencies on this new radio? I purchased one after seeing the YouTube video and was distressed to see the manual stating the transmit ranges were inside the ham bands (as well as seeing that 220 was only 3 watts) Being a first responder (OEM) we use VHF & UHF Frequencies slightly out of the ham bands but within the 136-174 & 400-480 ranges of the other import HT’s we currently use. I guess the color schemes offered(blue-police,red-fire,green-EMS) led me to believe that I could use this radio in my volunteer capacity. Oh well…
Hi, welcome to the forum!
To answer your question,
It’s locked to the ham bands for transmit because it is a ham radio and is clearly labeled as such. We could not legally sell it here in the US if it wasn’t.
This article on our blog explains why these ham radios are locked and why we took this position.
FCC issues advisory against the import, sale and use of unauthorized UHF/VHF two way radios
It is also clearly stated in our Forum Rules.
The average user may or may not be penalized by the Commission for it, but the FCC does take this sort of transgression from a manufacturer or dealer very seriously. As such. we do not have information for unlocking the radio for transmit outside the ham bands, nor do we promote or condone discussion on it in our forum for this very reason. This is to protect you as well as us.
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Thank you for your reply.
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What a shame, this will limit the number of sales for this radio for sure. Bummer.
I doubt the FCC would have grounds to do anything for having a radio that had the ability to be unlocked. They can’t hold you, the distributor/seller/etc, responsible for what consumers decide to do with your product after the fact can they?
Just a thought on how you can justify the boost in sales and customer satisfaction.
This is a business ethics thing. Can a reputable dealer sell items that in Judge Judy episode make them undefendable? So you have these products that are legal? Yes. You then tell customers and anyone else who buys from other dealers, a code that makes them illegal? Yes. Your country has made some products illegal to sell. If they are locked to a ham radio profile, then they are legal. Unlocked they are illegal. That’s pretty clear. Marketing and usefulness are not excuses? If they can transmit places they shouldn’t, then while many people wont press transmit, many will. Sure, it’s rarely an issue, but it’s against your law? It’s a big difference, but is this just the same thing we read about here where some of your legal guns can be modded into a gun that even breaks your laws? Are the modification parts the same as an unlock code?
By the same logic, why do they make cars that go over the maximum speed limit for your area? You’re not breaking the law by driving until you’re speeding. The cars ability to speed doesn’t make it illegal or ethically wrong. A knife is legal until you use it for illegal purposes. A lot of people, me included, like the idea to have a radio, one radio, that can transmit on everything, for emergency purposes usually. There’s no ethics issue here, they’d simply be offering a radio that had an option to be unlocked for legal and ethical purposes. Would some people abuse that ability, sure, just as some people like to speed in their cars.
Personally, I’ve never understood the justification for the FCC’s regulation about radios that can transmit on both HAM and GMRS. Feels like a rule just to be a rule, no real reasoning behind it.
I think we are done here.