446 MHz licence free transceivers - NOT amateur radio

 

As an ex-PMR engineer, I am amazed how they can produce a pair of these radios with chargers so inexpensively. There are plenty on Amazon for not much more than £20 a pair. Both the manufacturer and Amazon will be making profits on these too!  In other countries than the UK, there are probably similar licence free UHF bands.   

Had these been available 60 years ago I wonder if I would have got a ham licence?

446 radios - NOT amateur radio

It amazes me that these are so inexpensive!  I have seen them as low as £22.99 for 2 on Amazon!! There are probably units that are even less expensive.

How do they makes profits?

See https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0967M841N

How do they do it?

 

On Amazon Prime I noticed this UHF (446MHz?) transceiver for £11.95.  Included are a charger and earpiece /mic. 

Another supplier has a pair for just £16.99 a pair.

When I worked at Pye Telecom we would struggle to make the charger for this price! Things have changed a lot in the last 20 years. It must be sheer hell being a UK PMR manufacturer these days. I am sure there are even cheaper ones if you look.

Assuming they ship across the world and make a profit, just how do they do it?

So, HOW do they do it?

Recently, I looked on Amazon and saw 2 rechargeable 446MHz handsets with base chargers for just £20.39 a pair with free earphones and free delivery. That is just over £10 each with free rechargeable battery, charger and earpiece for a UHF handheld. I did not look, but there are probably less expensive ones available. These probably retune to 70cms.>

When I started designing UHF portables in the 1970s, I seem to recall they retailed at about £700 each without the chargers and earphones. I know that the level of integration must be far higher nowadays, but I am amazed anyone is able to make profits at these prices and sent them half way around the world for free!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07M68Q7YM/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07M68Q7YM&pd_rd_w=yfquf&pf_rd_p=454d2892-a6d1-488a-b5c1-57058b38bc92&pd_rd_wg=SgLOd&pf_rd_r=JAD48SBY9377XPHQHBVJ&pd_rd_r=eba820a8-294f-11e9-a4d6-bbce9bcb58e6

446MHz in the UK

Quite a few of these licence-free radios are available in the UK for silly prices. Some are also available I believe for licence-free use at 70cm, but don't ask me which ones! I have zero experience of 446MHz radios, so have no idea how busy these channels are. If you are an infrequent professional or casual user of 2-way radio, I expect these are an ideal fit. I am pretty sure there are alternatives in other countries.