Yet another Hacker News

eBay Restricts Listings of Radio Equipment, but Exempts Ham-Band-Only Gear

97 points 7402 2 hours ago 74 comments

InsidiousWombat 2 hours ago | parent

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.

techjamie 1 hour ago | parent

It might not even be that much depending on what it is. For example, Baofeng radios would have TX in bands they shouldn't have until the FCC cracked down on them coming in.

So they started selling them restricted to ham bands until the user pressed a key combo to factory reset them, which put them back to iirc 136-172.

driverdan 1 hour ago | parent

That's already how it works today. A lot of Chinese radios can either be switched by a key press combo or flashed with alternative firmware.

subscribed 2 hours ago | parent

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.

scrumper 2 hours ago | parent

If I read this right, it's only banning stuff without an FCC ID stamped on it. If you want to list, you have to provide the FCC ID.

I believe the FCC ban doesn't apply to used gear but seems like eBay is taking a harder stance.

phyzome 2 hours ago | parent

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

zamadatix 1 hour ago | parent

According to the title summary, but seemingly not the full details right?

seany 2 hours ago | parent

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

wmf 1 hour ago | parent

It sounds like there's an exemption for used equipment which is what you would find on eBay.

smallmancontrov 1 hour ago | parent

eBay makes waaaay too much skimming 10% off every test gear purchase to be closed minded about this, and in any case they have FCC IDs so they aren't under immediate threat.

tfwnopmt 2 hours ago | parent

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

nubinetwork 2 hours ago | parent

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.

sc68cal 1 hour ago | parent

There are older UV-5R Baofengs that are in demand because they didn't have the software restriction that newer ones have. It's not that they're hacked, it's that they were not locked from the factory

antonymoose 1 hour ago | parent

I haven’t bought a UV-5R since 2024. That one is as unlockable with a trivial sequence of inputs.

Are modern varieties truly locked or just “locked ;)” ?

Manuel_D 1 hour ago | parent

Are newer baofengs locked down? I thought you can still just hold down 3 buttons while power cycling the radio to unlock TX from 400 to 520 MHz.

Regardless, the Quansheng UV-K5 is largely supplanting the Baofeng as the go-to entry level HT, the 3rd party firmware for that radio is pretty impressive.

devin 1 hour ago | parent

I know nothing about this stuff. Is it only chatting on bands that is considered problematic? Are you allowed to listen on any frequency?

ThinkingGuy 56 minutes ago | parent

Licensed US amateur operator here. In general the FCC regulations allow you to listen on whatever frequencies you like, EXCEPT the cellular frequencies (This dates back to the analog era, before cellular traffic was encrypted). Some jurisdictions may also have restrictions on, for example, using a police scanner in a vehicle, that would restrict listening (even though most of that traffic is now also encrypted).

mindcrime 44 minutes ago | parent

Don't quote me on this, but I believe there's some more nuance to the cellular band issue. What's restricted, AFAIK, isn't simply receiving traffic on those frequencies in and of itself, but:

1. Decrypting those communications if they are encrypted

and

2. Selling equipment designed to receive on those bands.

Of course there's not much purpose in sitting around listening to the digital chirping noises of encrypted traffic, but as I understand it, if that's your hobby, that part is actually legal.

(Also a licensed US ham, not not an expert in anything in particular and definitely not a lawyer)

skinfaxi 32 minutes ago | parent

I would be surprised if it were illegal to tune into something being broadcast in public over the air. Decryption is a different story.

ianburrell 1 hour ago | parent

The big problem used to be that people would buy unlocked Baofengs and accidentally use them on licensed services thinking there were generic walkie talkies. The current locked down rules prevent that. They can still get amateur handhelds and use without ham license, but hams police that. It is also easier to get FRS/GMRS handhelds for pubic use, many the same models reprogrammed.

Unlocking handhelds is less of a problem because it requires deliberate action to break the rules. There are fewer people willing and able to do that.

slop 1 hour ago | parent

Amazon UK now requires ID for "bladed items".

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

PorciiVorbesc 17 minutes ago | parent

UK laws are like one big comedy skit to us in rest of the world.

iamnothere 1 hour ago | parent

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...

zitterbewegung 1 hour ago | parent

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/

twiclo 1 hour ago | parent

Doesn't meshtastic operate in the unlicensed bands? Would that mean they're blocked? The article says they're only blocking devices that need FCC certification and since meshtastic is unlicensed it doesn't need FCC certification as far as I know.

kevin42 1 hour ago | parent

The band it's operating in doesn't change whether or not it needs FCC certification. wifi operating on 2.4ghz is an unlicensed band, but it still needs certification for instance.

IIRC, Meshtastic has an is_licensed / “Ham Mode” setting that changes the software's regulatory assumptions and power limits so it can be used.

hawaiijoe 1 hour ago | parent

Nothing wrong with that.

RobotToaster 1 hour ago | parent

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

usefulcat 1 hour ago | parent

That's the trivially easy part. The hard part is convincing potential buyers and sellers that most participants are legit and not trying to scam people.

wewewedxfgdf 1 hour ago | parent

Software is worth nothing anymore in many cases.

behringer 1 hour ago | parent

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

mixologic 1 hour ago | parent

Ah, yes, that pesky FCC for regulating a public shared frequency spectrum. Im sure everybody will just behave in a vacuum of rules and wouldnt possibly do anything bad.

ErroneousBosh 59 minutes ago | parent

> Im sure everybody will just behave in a vacuum of rules and wouldnt possibly do anything bad.

It seems to work okay over here in the UK.

topspin 32 minutes ago | parent

> It seems to work okay over here in the UK.

Has Ofcom been abolished? If so, that's pretty recent. Based on interference complaints to Ofcom, they were prosecuting and convicting people as recently as 2023. And while that was 4 years ago, the truth is that FCC enforcement actions aren't all that frequent either, relative to the number of opportunities the FCC could pursue.

[1] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/interference/ofcom-investi...

krunck 1 hour ago | parent

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.

superkuh 1 hour ago | parent

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. :\

eBay simply does not have employees with the domain/technical knowledge to decide which things actually require an FCC ID to be displayed. As such they'll just ban anything and everything re: RF, like the example above.

The FCC document from page 97 on has these tables full of extremely inaccurate ass-covering data pretending that >80% of all electronics sellers that might be effected by these new FCC rules are large firms (>1000 people) and that's simply not true. If they counted ebay sellers there'd be more human sellers than firms by far.

Uncle_Brumpus 1 hour ago | parent

This sounds bad for me, a person who just purchased their first SDR yesterday. What unfortunate timing.

0x1ch 1 hour ago | parent

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).

charcircuit 1 hour ago | parent

The FCC made up rules for marketplaces and now ebay is forced to follow it.

socializer 1 hour ago | parent

Because these companies have large legal departments essentially in charge of minimizing regulatory and reputational risk. It's the same reason they've been progressively cracking down on firearm accessories, BB guns, knives, fireworks, laboratory chemicals, erotica, pill presses, and a bunch of other things over the past 20 years. All of that is legal but makes lawyers and PR people queasy. It's not just marketplaces, Paypal has asinine rules on what you can and cannot pay for. So does Google Pay, Zelle, Venmo, and so on.

I don't think it's useful to point out inconsistencies; the bottom line is that lasers will be on the chopping block within our lifetime too.

ErroneousBosh 53 minutes ago | parent

You can't buy firearms parts or tooling on eBay in the UK because quite frankly if you're a gunsmith you're probably not buying stuff on eBay, and it's unlikely that anyone who isn't a qualified gunsmith is buying them for anything legit. Similarly, there are age restrictions on buying bladed items, just as there are on buying bladed items in shops. Turns out that all those 13-year-olds buying 14" butcher knives weren't actually filleting venison with them, who would have thought it?

Yer cheapy Chinese radios though? Baofengs are currently about £19 each on eBay, with a discount for quantity.

mmmlinux 1 hour ago | parent

Because the FDA doesn't give a shit about regulating lasers. Yes, The Food and Drug Administration.

Spivak 1 hour ago | parent

Because the FCC is puppeting Ebay through regulation, the author is deliberately painting this as evil large corporation because I assume that gets more clicks, the real title would be "FCC Enacts Rule Restricting Sale of Radio Equipment, Marketplaces Like Ebay Forced to Pull Listings."

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-adopts-rules-strengthen-rul...

> Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain…

Yeah… a foreign adversary is totally going to be thwarted by FCC certification. The Russian's are probably just kicking themselves for buying at Walmart.

MBCook 50 minutes ago | parent

Puppeting?

If they’re pushing eBay not to allow the sale of devices which allow transmitting on illegal bands, is that really puppeting?

Or is that just saying “stop helping people do illegal shit or we’re going to have to start investigating you”?

FabCH 1 hour ago | parent

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.

brudgers 1 hour ago | parent

I kind of remember MiG’s on Ebay was part of the news cycle after the Soviet collapse.

But my memory is hazy from time and limited direct interest.

eddythompson80 1 hour ago | parent

I always found the difference between ham radio operators and computer hacker community interesting.

There is obvious large overlap. Both are nerdy and techy and attract similar base groups. But the ham space is dominated by people who want to be "good citizens" through collective action, while computer hacker is more about cyberpunk "if I could do it, then it's allowed".

Perhaps it's the clearest example of "The medium is the message" concept.

kstrauser 1 hour ago | parent

A lot of that is because airwaves are a finite and shared resource. Me abusing them means that you can’t legitimately use them.

jameshart 53 minutes ago | parent

Yes that would never happen to the internet

eddythompson80 19 minutes ago | parent

yep, we can just throw a cloudflare turnstile on everything instead.

sans_souse 1 hour ago | parent

Just look at the community around https://2600.com vs that of https://gbppr.net the contrast is stark.

RobotToaster 1 hour ago | parent

It's also a generational thing. There's a lot of geriatric sad hams who's only enjoyment in life is playing radio police.

xattt 56 minutes ago | parent

To be fair, HAMs are typically empowered by actual telecommunications agencies with legislative authority to enter premises and what have you to resolve issues, whereas script kiddies just make up their own shit.

Xirdus 1 hour ago | parent

I think it might be because ham radio is still barely legal and the community wants to keep the few freedoms they have so they try not to piss off any groups of interest. Whereas pretty much everything hacking-related is already a felony thanks to DMCA and other similar laws, so they don't have much to lose.

alnwlsn 1 hour ago | parent

It is very strange that when you come across anything radio related, people seemingly come out of the woodwork to tell you not that you are necessarily, actively doing something against regulation, but that there is always potential to be breaking the law.

Take this Hackaday article from the other day:

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/15/so-you-want-to-make-your-sdr...

The subject is mostly academic, but in 18 comments no less than 3 different people are warning about doing something against the rules. It's weird. I don't know of any other subject that provokes responses about "the rules" like this. I could understand if the article title was "How to Aim Laser Pointers at Airplanes", but attach a long enough wire to an oscillator and people start to get uppity.

On the other side of things, I don't know if you've turned on a shortwave radio recently, but the only thing I hear on mine is switch-mode power supply noise.

iamnothere 52 minutes ago | parent

I see this in basically every interesting domain now, from construction to software development to 3D printing to starting a business. There’s a huge cohort that’s always ready to jump on other people for doing something interesting, offering “friendly” discouragement at the earliest moment, often while simultaneously defending bad behavior from incumbents or their half of the political class.

eddythompson80 32 minutes ago | parent

Like I said, "The medium is the message"

One bad transmitter in your neighborhood can cut you off from the hobby. Someone who's into linux and computers can follow an online tutorial to rig together an SDR. Look at a bunch of numbers or static, shrug and move on to a different project without disconnecting that anttena breaking an entire band for all of his neighbors. Then it's on those neighbors to go build a directional antenna and buy portable radio gear and then do their own "in the field investigation" to isolate which house is doing that, then go try to explain to the random person they are polluting a band and hope the person is friendly and cooperative.

In a perfect world the FCC would do that, but getting the FCC to act on small infractions like that is a slow and long process and often goes unanswered. Especially if you're not near a marina or a federal building or an airport. So one hackaday reader can take down ham operation in an entire area because they were just interested in a weekend DIY project.

People throw that "against the law" to limit the damage. But actually getting the FCC to prosecute these issues is a challenge in itself.

Manuel_D 52 minutes ago | parent

RF usage is governed by the FCC. Amateur Radio exists at the mercy of the government, and if there is widespread abuse or careless operation by amateur radio operators then that will likely jeopardize the continued existence of amateur radio.

paxy 52 minutes ago | parent

One community operates in a heavily regulated space while the other doesn't.

raffael_de 41 minutes ago | parent

almost, but not quite ... the difference between those is that the stereotypical ham radio enthusiast is obsessed with following regulations and laws to the T. while the stereotypical hacker is all about gray zones, loop holes and questioning rules.

jazzyjackson 32 minutes ago | parent

Also I doubt computer hackers would want to publicly post their name and address before being licensed to use a compiler

walrus01 5 minutes ago | parent

> There is obvious large overlap. Both are nerdy and techy and attract similar base groups. But the ham space is dominated by people who want to be "good citizens" through collective action, while computer hacker is more about cyberpunk "if I could do it, then it's allowed".

I work professionally in point to point licensed microwave radio and there is very little overlap in our community of ISP/telco/network engineering people with analog ham radio enthusiasts. I don't know a single person who submits FCC coordinations and does high capacity PTP microwave who is also a "licensed" ham.

There is a bit of a disdain in serious radio work for things that operate in purely analog methods (we really only care about things that have native gigabit ethernet or better interfaces on them and can carry IP data), and the concept of not being able to use basic crypto either at the radio level or as a data payload is also anathema to professional use.

grendelt 1 hour ago | parent

The upshot is there's been an incredible reduction in the amount of utter crap listed when searching for ham radio gear. Instead of countless pages of Baofengs and all manner of accessories, I can actually find some gear.

When I first saw this shared on the ham radio email reflectors, I went to eBay to have a look. I was actually enticed to buy a radio I hadn't seen or considered prior. That posting is only visible now that the noise floor has dropped dramatically.

prometheus1992 1 hour ago | parent

not trying to be controversial here; but isn't it weird that you can buy semi automatic guns and there's restrictions on radio equipments bc these equipments can mess with the bandwidth used by public services - but similar arguments hold for guns as well.

MBCook 48 minutes ago | parent

So we have decided as a society, it seems. No one ever said policy had to be coherent.

zardo 44 minutes ago | parent

Radio didn't make the date cutoff to be a right in the US.

mindslight 55 minutes ago | parent

Given that the underlying motivation here isn't merely bigcorp aggressively following regulation (in which alternative marketplaces can spring up), but rather some arbitrary diktat from the regime for which enforcement will be gradually cranked up (physical reality, logic, and Constitutional rights be damned), the real question is what the overall eventual scope is here, in other words what it makes sense for hobbyists/DIYers to stock up on before the destructionists are able to fully strangle it.

Definitely - LoRA/Meshtastic, SDR transmitters, cheap prepper radios that technically require a license to use, maybe even just cheap antennas that you could make yourself but would rather not have to?

Maybe - ESP32, nRF and other competitively-priced wifi/2.4Ghz microcontrollers/devboards if the China Bad marketing chant really ramps up here? Especially with the recent AI-facilitated reverse engineering to gain SDR-ish functionality. Might have to worry about receive-only SDRs too, since it's not like these people really know the difference.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head, but I've never been heavily into RF. Anything else?

zackmorris 54 minutes ago | parent

There's a smell about this so close to the US election.

It sounds like someone is worried about people buying personal radios for Meshtastic or LoRa to use in case cell phone service doesn't work at protests, or there is unrest if the election results are called into question by the current political establishment that doesn't want to cede power. So they got eBay to roll over and more companies could follow.

Ordinarily I wouldn't take a conspiracy theory like this seriously. But in these times, corruption is so rampant that the most convoluted answer tends to be the right one.

Whatarethese 48 minutes ago | parent

That's fine. I'll just stick to TikTok shop for my radio equipment purchases.

mindcrime 41 minutes ago | parent

Lots of interesting discussion here, but let's cut to the real question:

1. Since people are still going to find a way to buy items the FCC doesn't want them to have, what's that new outlet going to be? I saw somebody mention TikTok. OK... what else? Facebook groups? Craigslist? Private old-skool phpbb forums? Usenet? Mastodon? AliExpress? Something that hasn't been invented yet?

itomato 11 minutes ago | parent

If you outlaw radios, only outlaws will have radios.

jimnotgym 11 minutes ago | parent

Ahh an anti-boafeng rule