Amazon will require proof of FCC certification for radios that are being sold

Yep, it's a good thing that the Government hasn't passed a law requiring lunch counter owners to allow others to cook and sell THEIR food at his/her lunch counter.

I don't think it was so much that the Baker didn't want to sell a cake, or necessarily who he sold it to... I think it was the requested penis decoration that he objected to. Has the Government enacted laws requiring Bakers to make penis cakes?

Dan WQ4G

 

Likely enough money to pay off every student loan in this country and still have money left over.

 

it also creates a paper trail for the benefit of the FCC should there be some events worth investigation. this is good, even if Amazon does not verify the document received.

 

We have tested many of the Baofeng HT's with a spectrum analyzer and found the results to vary from compliant to somewhat out of band emissions. Some of them can be programmed to transmit beyond the band they are designed for. I can't help but think we are seeing another issue being addressed. An extreme right, radical group called QAnon has been telling followers to start using CB radio's to communicate because of so much social media censoring of speech. The problem is many do not know the difference between CB and Ham, which has led to the rise in sales of cheap transceivers of all types. It has also been suggested by more credible conservative talk show personalities the ham radio can be used to get the "word" out. It is also know that the owner of Amazon is far left politically, and this is his part to slow down yet another avenue of speech. The timing says it all! Too bad everyone is running around with their hair on fire and not taking the time to read the FCC amateur radio rules. They would soon find out, amateur radio is not a good substitute for social media. We are in the crossfire of extreme left and extreme right wacko's!

 

There isn't much about this topic that is safe to say except yes or no, because the reason behind the action has political undertones. To steal someone else's adjective, this "nothingburger" will likely have a limited amount of beneficial results, and I agree with the other posting that opines it could be in response to splinter/fringe groups using the radios. However, to the latter, the action displays a much deeper issue. AMZ likely knows something we don't, and it is possibly anticipating future use of the "joint and severable liability" legal technique, wanting to get its deep pockets out of the loop ahead of time. Many of you sportsmen may recall J&S was previously attempted in litigation against firearm and ammunition manufacturers as a method to scare them out of producing their wares under fear of bottomless financial ruin. In those cases, the admitted goal was to set a potentially useful precedent of subjugating a Constitutional right via the exploitation of a subordinate decretum. ('Remove the shoes and the army can't march' concept.) Of course, this philosophy of punishing anyone that "enabled" anything could go on ridiculously ad infinitum including against car manufacturers, tools, and any other conceivable product.

I agree that the radios in question will unfortunately continue to exist for quite some time, as prohibitions of any kind usually stimulate grey markets. That isn't political, just an affirmation of human nature.

 

In this case it is Amazon enforcement of existing FCC rules. It does apply to a myriad of products, but for one segment, their ox is being gorerd.

A license to operate in the band spectrum means it is a priviledge. To date it is not a right, although it would make an interestng 1st amendment case. That being said, any individual that passes the requirements can be licensed. I imagine groups can get together to create nets, whether HF or DMR or allstar and have their lively discussions of a personal nature. Their politics aside--as long as folks are operating within the FCC rules and maybe even stetching them a bit...I have no problem. I would think that going a DMR room route, or allstar node route would be the option for people wanting to congregate within a particular subject.

But this is about Baofengs, or is it a broader subject of the great unwashed wanting to talk to each other?

 

You don't know what those words mean. Go look up "authoritarianism" and use that word instead. It's a bigger word, so you get a bigger score anyways.

 

So I can use it as a receiver only?

Nuts. No prior restraint, ever heard of that?

 

Everyone should READ THIS (above) please...

Thanks for posting this, Larry.

 

When was the last time anyone @ HRO/ DX-Engineering or Giga parts asked for your ham license ? Phil KI6PMD..

 

I fail to see how a seller filling out a form for Amazon stating that their radio product confirms to FCC regulations (with any applicable details) would even slow down availability to potential criminals. Sure, the very cheapest non-compliant junk might not be sold there anymore, but there are many other compliant radios in the $80 to $130 range - GMRS, LMR, Ham.

Whether a radio complies with regulations has nothing to do with the purpose it’s put to and retailers can’t reasonably anticipate or suspect what a buyer intends to do with it (absent notice of some kind, such as an inquiry like “what radio should I buy for tactical military use?”, or the recent thread where someone was asking about cheap encrypted radios - for a friend).

I think it far more likely that this is simply what it seems - a small effort to have only compliant equipment being sold on the AMZN platform - or at least a paper trail that claims they are, for legal liability reasons.

 

Yes I stand corrected you are right its been a long time since I ordered anything from the candy stores ! I just forgot ! thanks for the posting 73' Phil KI6PMD..

 

It appears that you are licensed as an Extra. Why would that be an issue for you? And no, I’m not a lawyer.

 

I'm sure we can all predict how this plays out. Unless there is a way to publicly fact-check a vendor's compliance statement to Amazon, the announcement will only end up as another legal footnote to void Amazon's liability.