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Well there are really two issues here. One is cheap labor. Second is cheap design. You can still move manufacturing back to the US and still produce garbage because the design was cheap. The CCR's are the way they are because of both of the above factors. Cheap labor keeps cost down. A cheap design that takes maximum advantage of highly integrated chips which very often results in a compromise somewhere in performance with a trade off in reduced cost. Now you have a really cheap radio with so-so performance. There is a reason why the higher end radios perform better, cost more, than many CCR's is because more effort was made during the design and testing phase with less corners in performance cut. To design high performance hardware requires very careful evaluation of nearly every component used. For a $25 Baofeng just how much R and D money do you think they are going to spend on such a cheap radio? For the CCR's they use a "datasheet" reference design, tweak it a bit. Then try some "can you hear me now tests" and then it goes to marketing.

... or ANY non-GMRS certified radio for that matter. None, zero, zilch, zip, nada, rien, никто. Nobody should buy or operate any radio they are not comfortable with. Whether it is for technical or regulatory reasons. But, this board is made up of adults who, like you, are, presumably, capable of deciding for themselves what equipment they wish to own, operate, and discuss.

Why? B/c those radios don't suck. If you are looking for excuses to keep buying garbage then you are doing a great job, keep it up. Hearing you is just like hearing myself 6 years ago... wasting my money away... Radios Part 90 certified have tighter and stricter requirements than Part 95 toys. Yes, part 95 radios are usually overpriced toys.. its like buying an Airsoft replica vs buying the real gun... which one would you rather have if things go south? Pretty clear answer to me. Using the dubious legal argument to sell P.O.S. radios is just blatantly misleading customers into buying inferior products that won't perform as advertised when you might need them the most. I am using the XPR7550e as an example here, but there are other quality brand LMR radios made by Motorola/Kenwood/ICOM that are also part 95 approved... you just have to look around. I chose the XPR7550e b/c I love how it looks, it has the best audio I've ever heard on any radio and the best range I've ever tested on a portable simplex. To conclude: other people here aren't just exclusively licensed on GMRS, other people here are also hams, or even LMR operators who might hold an Itinerant Business Radio license... where encryption is legal too... G.

I am new here too, and new to the radio world, and this is my first post here. Name is Alex. Have GMRS license and my call sign is WRAE802. Hope to get more knowledge about radio on this great forum.

In my view, you are on the right track. Do consider that at the point at which you announce you are listening that there is no one else actually listening, or that someone may be listening but not in a position to talk or does not want to talk right then and there. Whether I am using my amateur radio or GMRS, my radios are frequently on scan when I am not actively engaged in conversation. So consider too that your announcement may have fallen on deaf ears. When the airwaves are quiet, do not hesitate to announce yourself like normal, then ask explicitly if there is anyone else listening. If there is, this could invite a more prompt response. I have had some success with this. In the lower bands bands of amateur radio (10 meter and lower) they use use a repetitive calling phase that includes the use of the letter code CQ which explicitly means you are “looking for a contact”. This is not practiced on VHF or UHF amateur voice frequencies nor on GMRS, but it is effectively the same as ‘Is there anyone out there?” If repeater actively is frequently dead, perhaps you can change things up by arranging certain times of the day with your friends to get on the radio and start making traffic. Others may hear your conversations and take your lead. Personally, I generally allow about 5+ minutes between any subsequent announcements of my callsign and listening. As a listener, when I hear it more frequently than this during periods where I cannot jump in to talk, I find it an annoying. So I do not do things to others that I personally find annoying. Hope this helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk