HAY, DID YOU KNOW PEOPLE GET THEIR HOUSES AND CARS TAKEN AWAY FROM ILLEGALLY USING THESE? I KNOW IT’S TRUE BECAUSE AN INTERNET PERSON POSTED THAT.
“Transmitting outside of authorized frequencies violates Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and could lead to the imposition of substantial fines and seizure of radio equipment as well as possible criminal action. up to and including imprisonment.”
Link me one story where somebody went to prison because of this. Last time somebody said your house and car could be taken. They failed to post a story about that too.
Face it, you Hamsters. We’re the new AOLers of Usenet to you. lol
I remember reading back in the day that people were trying to use the ham radio frequencies to make bulletin board systems like from the dial-up days of computing.
Did they ever do that? Do they still?
Yes. And no (at least I doubt it).
Outside all the doom and gloom of the FCC swooping in to take your home, your car, your cat, you can own these without worry. If you use them w/o a license, ie, transmit on HAM repeater bands or use them on VHF/FM inland, you COULD get your wee wee spanked if you get busted doing just that. HOWEVER, they can be used in emergencies (say a tornado ripped through your town and you use these to communicate). You can use them to monitor and scan the freq’s spectrum they operate in. You can monitor the weather forecasts. You can USE them on VHF/FM if on a PWC or boat as there is no LIC requirement to use the Marine bands, as long as you are not sitting in your living room talking it up with your pal down the street. The BIG issue with these radios are, they have a tendency to “bleed” onto other freq’s. Harmonics from these radios is what kind of makes then frowned up on by the FCC and those crusty dudes known as Keybangers or HAMOPS. You can hear them all the time, the guys who can’t be bothered to use the phonetic alphabet for some reason, though they are PROFESSIONALS and will drop a dime on you in a heartbeat if you are causing QRM on THEIR spectrum. So, do yourself a favor, if you get these, it’s fine to stock your go bags with these. But DON’T be blasting the airwaves with “breaker breaker there good budy, whats your 20?” That could get you in hot water. Also, get your GMRS lic if anything. These do xmt on the FRS/GMRS/MURS bands and the $70 almost decade licences will at least make you legal to operate on those bands, but doesn’t make the radio any less compliant, just FYI. I have like 8 or so of this band of radios. I have one in every go bag, get me home bag, shelter in place bag. I’ve used CHIRP to program each one to be all on the same freq’s. They are fun and cheap little radios and has a cult of a following on Youtube. Just remember, if you treat them like those little radios you can get in the blister warp at your local Targets, you could end up in big trouble with the FCC or some old fart sitting in a 10x10 dedicated room known as a “shack” who will hunt you down and break your legs for stepping all over their DX’ng on a Saturday morn. Just saying…
ACTUAL PROOF, including photographs of walkie-talkie offenders:
They lost everything. The FCC took their house and car, sold their children and their shoes.
I hope this makes everyone think twice before using one of these!!
Whats funny is people buy 700hp cars knowing burns outs, speeding, loud mufflers can get you a ticket. It’s not illegal to OWN one, but illegal to use it for it’s purpose such as drive it around McDonlands as a 60 year old reliving your 17 year old youth. Not illegal to drive to Kroger on Saturday to buy a couple cases of TP. But people still buy them, and Chrysler still makes them. Just be responsible. 
But the bottom line is simple, this WOOT deal is a OK deal IMO and if you need to restock your go bags, with what they come with, jump on it. Just get a cable and CHIRP and at least program them to the legal freq’s and power output so lesson the pain in the event you feel the need to “punch it”.
…or… some of the people buying these have their license.
I have 2 transceivers, a Kenwood TS-140S and a Yaesu FT-1900.
Got a great deal on Craigslist for them & they are fun to listen to. I still need to take my test but if the Zombies attack, I’m using them.
Sadly, the antenna didn’t survive winter & I’m just using a Jpole for now.
I was thinking of getting these and giving one to each of the grown kids so that in case of an emergency we could stay in touch, meet up if necessary. I know nothing about this type of radio, can they be used for that or just for listening for weather and emergency announcements? Thanks for your previous info and any additional.
Also, is there really not a bunch of free channels that no one is on? Like using the cheap blister pack radios. If you don’t hear anyone than couldn’t you use it without bothering anyone? The exception being those who want to be bothered of course.
Yes, this radio is great to use for emergencies. But make sure that your family has gotten licensed before using these UV-5Rs.