Like it or not, Baofeng has brought users into an otherwise dying hobby that they would never have gotten into it if their first radio cost 300 to 400 bucks rather than 29.99.
Yaesu, Motorola, Icom, etc should also thank Baofeng for their current sales.
Yaesu FT-60R -- Old-school dual-band handheld. Reliable radio that meets FCC rules for spurious emissions. Sold and serviced by company with a solid reputation. $155
Yaesu FT-4XR -- New-school radio-on-a-chip handheld. Not on the market long enough to know about it's reputation. Meets FCC rules for spurious emissions. Sold and serviced by company with a solid reputation. $75
Anyone who thinks they have to spend $300-400 on a new dual-band handheld hasn't researched the market.
And, I don't know why Motorola is even in the conversation. They don't sell their radios to the amateur radio market.
But, all we are doing is re-hashing the same debate that amateur radio operators have been having since the first Wouxun radios created such a stir at the Dayton Hamvention 10 years ago. Cheap, Chinese radios are here and cheap hams will continue to buy them. These hams don't seem to care about §97.307 of the FCC rules or even understand what it means. But, technical knowledge is not a requirement to get an amateur radio license which leaves hams at the mercy of opportunistic or unscrupulous retailers and importers who continue to sell radios that don't meet the rules. All that matters is that the radio is cheap. And, the company that builds Baofengs is more than happy to sell their crap to unknowing or uncaring amateur radio operators.
The false premise of this thread is that a "Baofeng HT saves a life". The OP is, apparently, a Baofeng proponent and was trying to make a point. The linked article headline says nothing about Baofeng. The fact is that any amateur radio could have been used in this incident.
