The radios are being banned because they don't conform to regulations regarding the bands they can transmit on. The bands are still there and can be used by other radios that are properly type accepted.
There are two main problems IMO.
First, the radios aren't good at filtering noise (internally or externally generated), so you'll get random bursts of static that a better radio right next to it won't exhibit. The audio quality is poor as well. Second, these radios will transmit on frequencies they're not legally allowed to (amateur rigs on FRS freqs for example) or their signal will be wider than the allowable bandwidth for a particular frequency. This translates into interference on adjacent frequencies or on frequencies you have no legal right to be on.
Hams, in all their geekery, are obsessive about putting out clean signals and being copyable even when the signal is weak. These Chinese radios do neither. They're basically high powered walkie-talkies that transmit all over the place.
If you're serious about good comms, there are lots of other options out there. If you don't want to bother with licensing, get MURS or FRS. If you don't mind a small license fee, go with GMRS (same freq band, but different freqs as FRS, but with more power and other features). In all three cases, good gear will be GOOD and cost less than $200/radio (less than $50for FRS). If you want to go full retard, it's easy to get an amateur radio license (the tech license is a low bar and free most of the time). A good amateur handheld, new, will run about $100 if you get a basic 2m radio (Yaesu FT-25R is $70 at
www.universal-radio.com). As you add features and bands, it goes up, but a basic 2m rig is cheap. Mine was Yaesu's top of the line in 2008, which was overkill, but it has served me well and lasted 11 years and counting (even the rechargeable battery is still good).
Chris
Originally Posted by LittleLebowski
"Piss off ham radio operators" is what I heard, thereby strengthening my resolve to impulsively buy
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Also, the overlap with FRS/GMRS is exactly why they are being banned. That is a no-no. Each (FRS/GMRS/Amateur) have separate and distinct rules. For example, FRS is limited to low power (less than 1.5w IIRC and cannot have a removable antenna, but doesn't require a license. GMRS requires a multi-year license of nominal cost, but allows for higher power (5w IIRC), removable antennas, and base stations in addition to handhelds. Both frequencies are limited to the 4xxMhz band (don't recall the exact) but operate on different frequencies as channels. Amateur radio, at the technician level, allows broad access to 2m (134mhz) and 70cm (440mhz) bands via handhelds as well as others if you move to mobile or base station equipment (no regulatory limit to those bands on handhelds, it's a suitability issue). You're also less limited on power and can have upwards of hundreds of watts in a radio (my 2m mobile runs 70w, allowing for point-to-point comms over multiple miles with a good antenna).
