Nigel,
On Wed, Feb 23, 2022 at 1:54 PM Nigel A. Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF nigel@ngunn.net wrote:
OK Chris. In most radios that come pre-programmed by the manufacturer, as opposed to the random channels that a manufacturer seems to leave in there after testing, I believe they are locked by the firmware in order to comply with a country's frequency allocations and get type approval in that country. Don't know if the FCC insists on that.
This isn't my experience. The majority of GMRS radios sold by Chinese vendors/dealers are not locked in any way. It is only by use of the OEM CPS that the radio masquerades as being a frequency locked radio. Underneath, they are nothing more than your typical UHF (400-470+ MHz) handheld radio. The same can be true for several MURS, PMR and FreeNet models. I've even got one that is a dual-band model disguised as a GMRS radio. It seems that it isn't very hard to fool the FCC.
Jim KC9HI