Popular low cost Chinese portable VHF/UHF radios with wide tx frequency coverage prohibited in New Zealand and the US.
The NZ regulator recently announced that:
In August, we mentioned creating a prohibition notice for unrestricted two-way radios. This was to limit the availability to the general public for radios that don’t meet the Radio Standards.
The prohibition notice is ready to gazette and will come into effect on 18 October 2018.
The notice will affect the supply of two-way radios like Baofeng, Pofung and Wouxun to the amateur market, but not equipment factory locked to the Amateur bands.
(link here)
This follows a recent FCC announcement:
The Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has observed that a growing number of conventional retailers and websites advertise and sell low-cost, two-way VHF/UHF radios that do not comply with the FCC’s rules. Such devices are used primarily for short-distance, two-way voice communications and are frequently imported into the United States. These radios must be authorized by the FCC prior to being imported, advertised, sold, or operated in the United States.
Many of these radios violate one or more FCC technical requirements. For example, some can be modified to transmit on public safety and other land mobile channels for which they are not authorized, while others are capable of prohibited wideband operations.
Such radios are illegal, and many have the potential to negatively affect public safety, aviation, and other operations by Federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private users.
Download the full FCC document:
Radios that are locked to transmit on 2m and 70cm amateur bands only are exempt in both countries.
Thanks to Southgate AR news and https://swling.com/blog