Legal: what procedure do I need to follow to relocate my station to the States?

Since I am scheduled to attend graduate school this fall in the States, I want to know what kind of procedure should I follow to relocate by station from China to US (and back after I graduated?) I have several radios that I want to bring along with me:

• Baofeng UV-5R 1st generation,
• Baofeng DM-1801, with modded firmware (OpenGD77,)
• Kenwood TM-471A, native ham band equipment, repaired,
• Kenwood TM-271A, native ham band equipment, repaired,
• Kenwood TK-8100-1, two of them, repaired and ham modded.

(I have been buying used professional radios, fixing them and modding them for ham use.)

 

You should be able to bring the radios in without problem, you will need to obtain an FCC amateur license before using them here.

 

So I can just pack them along with my personal belongings and bring them in? Do I need to, for example, have them all listed on my Chinese station license? (The Kenwoods are recent acquisitions and repairs so they are yet to be officially listed. The Baofengs are already listed.) Is there a quantity limit or can I bring in all six of them?

 

There is no requirement in the FCC amateur radio regulations for license holders to maintain any kind of list of their equipment.

Likewise, to the best of my knowledge there are no U.S. Customs regulations or tariffs involved in bringing electronic equipment into the United States for personal use.

Also as stated in your other thread, there is no reciprocal licensing agreement between the U.S. and China, so you will have to obtain a U.S. license to operate here.

If you haven't already done so, start by reading through the FCC amateur radio regulations:
https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-i...ode=47:5.0.1.1.6&idno=47#47:5.0.1.1.6.1.157.1

 

The only thing you might have to do is declare them for customs. Other than that, the FCC doesn't care. As was noted, you will need to obtain an FCC license in order to transmit from the US.

 

I think the most important thing here is to have an address serviced by the US Postal Service. It's required for the US license.

 

Correct.
But the OP states that he's coming to the US to attend graduate school, so presumably he will have a US mailing address.

 

Welcome! I hope your stay in the US will be enjoyable.

As mentioned, there is no requirement to list or register radio equipment with the FCC.

Customs: You will need to declare your radio equipment in your 'household goods". However BE SURE to mark them as "Used" if appropriate, so it is understood that you are not importing new equipment for resale.

When traveling I mentally plan to be able to pay 5-10% of the value of purchases I bring back into the US. US Customs has seldom charged me, and seldom charged that much.

Bottom line: Always be honest when dealing with US Customs and you will have no problems. 73, bill

 

& ALL addresses (U.S. & U.S. Possessions) are serviced by the U.S. Postal Service, no matter how rural/remote. (some are still served by Horse/Mule and/or Watercraft)

 

Just to be nit-picky: not ALL US and US Possessions are serviced by the US Postal Service.
One example: Baker Howland Islands (KH1) are a US Possession, uninhabited and have no US Postal Service. Nobody has an issued KH1 call sign.
A DXpedition could obtain one for a short-term activation or sign /KH1 while there.

There may be others.


Regards,
-Bruce