Question: While importation of wide capable radios is now forbidden, is the use of such radios still allowed, provided they are operated on narrow-band?
This question has come up as there are a lot of Baofeng/Wouxun/Puxing, etc radios that are used commercially that have dual capability. Some say all radios capable of wideband need taken out of service, even though they are narrow band compliant.
Any ideas?
–john
In my personal option yes, provided you are using them on consumer / MURS / ham bands. I have 2 baofengs that I purchased some time ago and while I seldom use them they do come in handy. My feeling is they are not interfering with other radios or transmissions, so why not?
As long as they will operate narrow band - and are narrow banded and are tested to ensure that their within the tolerances prescribed by law - then they are legal.
All two way radios made after 1998 are capable of being narrow banded.
There is no expiration date to take them out of service and at the price of new radios for everyone - there is no way that you could force them to do so. Volunteer Fire Departments survives basically due to money raising events, personal contributions and donations… From time to time the government will give them grants to upgrade / buy newer radio equipment.
This money has to be spent wisely - hence if one place can buy new radios and the old radios - 4 years old is old in radio years, can be resold and refurbished and used again, there isn’t anything out there to stop them from doing so. And if a guy is in the two way radio business and all he can sell is new radios - he isn’t going to be in business for very long. Because the retailer can sell them equipment cheaper then the little guy with the shop in his basement - due to the fact that he cannot get the radios for less money then the bigger shops. The only thing he can control is the price he charges for his services.
I can’t sell you the radio for less then what I pay for it, but I can install it for practically nothing.
A wise man once told me - if your competition wants to give away radios - let them!
Sooner or later they will not be your competition!
I saw the bill once for one of those big shops - where they itemized the bill right down to each and every screw that they used and each and every washer. I do not have to do that. I can just write that stuff off as incidental expenses or add 15 minutes to my labor.
When you get so petty as to charge a fire department $.65 cents a screw - it is time to find a different vocation.
The big counties and the State can afford to be screwed like that because most state agencies has their own radio shops and their own technicians and they can buy equipment in bulk. They don’t buy 5 radios - they buy them 100 at a time. They don’t buy one repeater - they buy 50.
They expect the manufacturer to keep parts and service and technical support for that equipment for at least 10 years after they discontinue that model. When you can’t get the manufacturer to fix it anymore - what good is it?