I wonder how long the same gear will be sold with ham band only and a lil software patch to go back to normal.

Also frankly the effort is kinda wasted, "breaching" on other bands was never hard and with availability of cheap SDRs, easier than ever.

Ouch,

> new policy will not apply to gear that operates exclusively on amateur radio frequencies

So almost everything is getting banned, at least the existing hardware.

So that's... kind of all consumer electronics, at this point. (Because of Bluetooth and whatnot.)

How does this even work with test gear? There's a millions tools that would violate this

For people that didn't read the article, listings will need to include the FCC ID. So most consumer goods will still be available.

The purpose of the restriction is to keep people from using hacked baofengs to chat on bands a) they're not allowed to use unlicensed b) could potentially already be in use by another service eg EMS/fire/police.

Amazon UK now requires ID for "bladed items".

https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/amazon-uk-now-requires-p...

Does this now restrict ESP32s since some creative people have figured out how to use them as (limited) SDRs?

Edit: as another commenter pointed out devices with an FCC ID will be fine (for now) which I assume covers these. And you can always DIY a frequency converter: https://hackaday.com/2026/10/15/so-you-want-to-make-your-sdr...

I can see that Meshtastic devices could also be blocked. Also, many don't operate with the FCC rules on the frequencies used.

https://meshtastic.org/docs/legal/

Nothing wrong with that.

Who's going to be the first to vibe code an eBay alternative for radio gear?

More regulation. If it's not regulation it's more taxation.

It appears to be part of the "we can't trust anything from China" project. There do appear to be exceptions for low volume sellers.

RIP all those human person made wideband low noise amplifier boards that cost $5. Now I'll have to buy a $50 minicircuits or whatever alternative with an FCC ID. Despite the fact that I'd only use the LNA for receive, it still could generate and amplifies RF not in the ham bands. So they'll certainly be banned. :\

Why is eBay acting as the FCC? I can still buy lasers that will rip through your retina in the blink of a eye from eBay (lol). The equipment is completely legal to own and operate, and transmit with the proper licensing (which is not required to purchase said equipment).

To be fair to eBay, their banned items policy is quite extensive.

And also for some reason explicitly lists „military aircraft and ships“. Which surely should be allowed just for the comedic value.