I found this terrific YouTube video, which does show and outline the pitfalls of buying a cheap Chinese Amateur Radio Hand Held.
Most of us Hams who have been licensed for a while now (I'm still a newbie too, 15 plus years), have a cheap Chinese Handheld or two..
Yep.. me too.. but.. I have like many found that the cheap Chinese Handhelds just can't always do the distance compared to the known Japanese brands like Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood to name a few.
So.. if you are just getting into Ham Radio, this is a good watch for you..
It does point out the Spurious frequencies these cheaper radios transmit on. Plus, many of these cheap units are not approved by our ACMA, (FCC in the USA).. so be aware, check first.
Note: The Youtube clip prices mentioned, are USA based.. And there is references to the FCC in the USA.
Perhaps some of the Amateur Radio Guru's that read this, would like to add a comment or two to help guide the many newbies coming into our wonderful hobby.
You just cannot go past the Japanese Brand Radios such as:
Icom
Yaesu
Kenwood
Alinco
You will have these for years and years and much more support for them.
Hope this is of help.
Craig
vk3ncr
