From time to time, a cheap radio will come out of China. These radios have been coming out with quite a bit of frequency as of late, and they will often hit the markets before they get Type Approval to be sold to licensed Amateur Radio Operators. This is perfectly legal, as Part 97 does not require Type Approval... Despite this, many Part 97 licensees still get a bit queasy if a radio doesn't bear a Type Approval sticker, and it will often be cited by critics as a reason to never touch the radios.
The lack of Type Approval happens for many reasons, but more often than not, it has nothing to do with spurious emissions... The radios seem to be of good engineering design, and will often gain type approval shortly after release. As means of an example, might I suggest the Wouxun KG-UVD1P: A very popular radio by all accounts; I carry it as my primary portable radio, and so does my wife. We are both fans; Living on a college budget, we can't afford the big name radios, and certainly can't afford the risk of them being stolen. As of late, the Beofeng UV-5R has beat the Wouxun's price point and filled the same void for a new round of users. Both models were sold initially without Type Approval stickers, and were met with skepticism; More recently, both have been carrying Part 90 Type Approval stickers, proving that no spurious emissions are produced, and the criticism was silenced.
Part 90 is a commercial radio service; Licenses are sold to businesses, schools, public safety, and government agencies. The business is licensed for the frequency, and the business gives out radios to their employees. The operators themselves are not licensed, and are not required to know FCC rules; As such, they can not be trusted with the power to modify the radios settings. No, it's nothing RF related that prevents these radios from getting type approval. Rather, it's the ease with which the radio can be modified to another frequency.
Licensees under Part 97 of the FCC rules, on the other hand, ARE individually licensed, they DO know the rules, and they then can be trusted with a frequency agile radio. Further, Part 97 operators are encouraged to experiment and to modify their radios. As such, type approval is not applicable, and is not required.
It's important to note, that in the form I received my Wouxun KG-UVD1P, it can not be used in Part 90 frequencies. In order to do so, it must have it's firmware modified. This restriction satisfies the FCC's rules governing Part 90 devices, and so it received Type Approval. In order to be used in Part 90 frequency space, a qualified technician must modify the radio's software to cover those frequencies, and enable a software lock that prevents users from modifying the settings. All the Type Approval sticker means is that the qualified tech is authorized to do so with this radio.
Don't get me wrong, Part 90 type approval is a nice addition to a radio... It proves conclusively that, as the radio comes from the factory, it doesn't produce spurious emissions But as a Part 97 user, it's far from necessary and far from something to prevent one from buying the radio.
