Having observed how encroachments to bandwidth for GNSS bands threatened critical infrastructure, I appreciate how poor safeguarding of radio bands can lead to serious consequences. Hope that FPV can survive this and fliers can be confident that their off the shelf and builds are not creating problems for others.
Exactly. Spectrum does not work if we all don’t try to play by the rules, FPV isn’t hurting anyone as long as we stay in our lane with all of the other equipment. A vendor who sells a VTX that is illegal enabling someone to blast 2W on L-Bands is just idiotic.
Hey Steve! Great to see you! Yes absolutely! I am sure FPV will survive, could even argue that now with other vendors watching their sale lines even closer, it could make the hobby stronger!
Agreed! Hey Phillip, great to see you sir! It does seem that the lack of even a response to the original order shows the company are headed for the door.
That's something that always concerned me in the back of my mind. BetaFlight even stopped adding VTX Channel tables in their newer versions to negate liability of flying on illegal channels. Hopefully this doesn't lead to tighter restrictions, but I would like to see it push harder for other (hopefully less expensive) digital FPV solutions from players other than DJI.
Hey Mike! Yes, it is a concerning development at a time like this! Hopefully, as you say it will bring out more digital competitors. You would hope with the tech available, we should be able to make analogue obsolete within a couple of years. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, always appreciated!
I look at this as a shot across the bow, a warning to an entity that was once a big player. The FCC is serious in protecting the airwaves but started with an action that will do little to harm the radio control hobby industry in the US while still showing they could.
Thanks for this Sean, I'm not really a follower of FPV but this has come at time when China-phobia is reaching out big time. However, the roots are historical and the concern over RF interference into more serious parts of the RF spectrum is genuine and I support the FCC in shutting it down. Hobbyking can file for protection if they can't/don't want to pay up. You have to ask yourselves why does it take so long to do this? its a safety-critical issue and the equipment should not get past customs. It will (Optimistically) provide another opportunity for a native supplier to fill the gap. Thanks again, William.
Hey William! Hope you are well! Yes, I agree. It seems to be sending a message to the industry, which seems to have worked as many vendors have removed similar devices from sale. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Sean from what I understood flying FPV legally in the US (I believe is classified as beyond line of sight) requires the FPV operator to have a ham radio license. If this isn't the case it's possible that this is the direction they are moving further restricting entry into the hobby.
Hey Ron! Great to see you sir! Yes, this is part of my thinking with this particular story. Seems like there are other motivations as well as the intent of the fine. Could just be a timing thing though.
Hey Lawrence!! Yes, it is a problem with some other tech imports for sure. It will be interesting to see how other vendors react beyond the initial pulling of similar devices.
They will just go bust then change name open up again like UK company's do makes financial sense to go that route than pay fine my local model shop stocks hobby king
Not too concerned, either HK is done or they will ignore it. Either way I avoid using them since almost every other vendor is better in almost every way. At one time this could have been big blow. as it is I don't think Banggood will look up from their clone production long enough to care.
HobbyKing is really hardly relevant in the US market anymore. Their product line is either out of date, out of touch, or the shipping is ridiculous. I have not bothered with them for years now. HK screwed up by importing VTX’s that they never should have. As a general rule of thumb if you see an analog VTX for sale advertising 72ch (L-Band), and greater than 1W it is not legal here. The maximum allowed for non-licensed ("Part 15") equipment is 1W to the antenna. Honestly this stuff is not hard for a vendor to figure out, and we can thank HK for putting the FCC’s eye there a little bit on FPV. Really it was carelessness in not watching what they were selling. Thankfully most of the vendors even the big name ones from China are smart and aren’t selling or promoting illegal VTX units that I have seen these days. So the impact shouldn’t be much if anything at all. When word got out about this any of those illegal VTXes on the market at other places quickly disappeared.
Hey John! Thanks for taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it! Yes, the impact will be limited directly from Hobbyking for sure. They have long since lost their status not only in US market but wider with many countries finding better alternatives. I wonder in more general terms if this will be a greater issue for FPV as the regulators circle in different ways.
Geeksvana oh I think that they are going to have their hands full with other issues. if Ligado ever uses the spectrum they have been finally given after Fighting the FCC for years. You should do a story on that subject. That has the potential to blast a lot of our GPS equipment in use today rendering some of our drones useless. Even the department of defense has come out and said the FCC is nuts giving that company what they wanted even with a 23mhz band guard.
Marti Blagborough (youtube) Flying and crashing Mavic Mini first hovering over then attempting to chase a bus down a main road. Another nail in the responsible drone operators coffin. ;-(
Hey Independent Observer! Greta to see you and thanks for sharing this one. Yes, it appears that Mr 'Blagborough' has a channel focused on rule breaking and disorder. Thankfully it appears the police involved are aware it is more about him antagonising than the hobby in general. It will be interesting to see what action they take. I am sure the authorities will want to be seen to act without giving him too much air!
HobbyKing should have stopped selling in the US, since they aren't even a key player here. I don't know a single person that's ever ordered from them here in the US. I don't think the fine is fair though, as it's near impossible for them to account for the transmission specs of all the UAV's they sell.
Hey RADER FPV! Thank you for taking the time to comment! Really appreciate it! Yes the reach of Hobbyking into the US market is limited these days with the competition from other providers. It does seem a large amount doesn't it. It remains to be seen if this will have any impact on other suppliers. Although how the FCC could regulate sellers on eBay etc would be interesting!
Having observed how encroachments to bandwidth for GNSS bands threatened critical infrastructure, I appreciate how poor safeguarding of radio bands can lead to serious consequences.
Hope that FPV can survive this and fliers can be confident that their off the shelf and builds are not creating problems for others.
Exactly. Spectrum does not work if we all don’t try to play by the rules, FPV isn’t hurting anyone as long as we stay in our lane with all of the other equipment. A vendor who sells a VTX that is illegal enabling someone to blast 2W on L-Bands is just idiotic.
Hey Steve! Great to see you! Yes absolutely! I am sure FPV will survive, could even argue that now with other vendors watching their sale lines even closer, it could make the hobby stronger!
Thumbs up ere' Sean, another good news report about the drone market - that's a huge fine. Many thanks for sharing the info :)
Cheers Shaun! Thanks for all your support! Hope you are well.
I look at this as "catch me if you can" I see HobbyKing hopping on last train out of here.
Agreed! Hey Phillip, great to see you sir! It does seem that the lack of even a response to the original order shows the company are headed for the door.
That's something that always concerned me in the back of my mind. BetaFlight even stopped adding VTX Channel tables in their newer versions to negate liability of flying on illegal channels. Hopefully this doesn't lead to tighter restrictions, but I would like to see it push harder for other (hopefully less expensive) digital FPV solutions from players other than DJI.
Hey Mike! Yes, it is a concerning development at a time like this! Hopefully, as you say it will bring out more digital competitors. You would hope with the tech available, we should be able to make analogue obsolete within a couple of years. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, always appreciated!
Very interesting it’s probably a warning to everyone else to sit up and take heed 👍🇬🇧 cheers Sean thanks for sharing cheers
Hey Rodpiker! Great to see you! Really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts! Which I agree with!!
I look at this as a shot across the bow, a warning to an entity that was once a big player. The FCC is serious in protecting the airwaves but started with an action that will do little to harm the radio control hobby industry in the US while still showing they could.
Hey Johnny J! Spot on! Very well put. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! Shot across the bow is perfect!
Thanks for this Sean, I'm not really a follower of FPV but this has come at time when China-phobia is reaching out big time. However, the roots are historical and the concern over RF interference into more serious parts of the RF spectrum is genuine and I support the FCC in shutting it down. Hobbyking can file for protection if they can't/don't want to pay up. You have to ask yourselves why does it take so long to do this? its a safety-critical issue and the equipment should not get past customs. It will (Optimistically) provide another opportunity for a native supplier to fill the gap. Thanks again, William.
Hey William! Hope you are well! Yes, I agree. It seems to be sending a message to the industry, which seems to have worked as many vendors have removed similar devices from sale. It will be interesting to see what happens.
@@Geeksvana Yes there is nothing like a shot across the bow to grab your attention!
This will be interesting to see how it all plays out, I can see the fine being lowered as a "deal" though
Hey Mia! Hope. You are well! Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your thoughts! Good point!
Sean from what I understood flying FPV legally in the US (I believe is classified as beyond line of sight) requires the FPV operator to have a ham radio license. If this isn't the case it's possible that this is the direction they are moving further restricting entry into the hobby.
Hey Ron! Great to see you sir! Yes, this is part of my thinking with this particular story. Seems like there are other motivations as well as the intent of the fine. Could just be a timing thing though.
Very interesting. The problem is China will sell anything for a $$$ they're not exactly known for following the rules in other countries
Hey Lawrence!! Yes, it is a problem with some other tech imports for sure. It will be interesting to see how other vendors react beyond the initial pulling of similar devices.
@@Geeksvana they will comply but not immediately they will comply as soon as they can reproduce bootleg parts for remote ID
They will just go bust then change name open up again like UK company's do makes financial sense to go that route than pay fine my local model shop stocks hobby king
Hey Thomas! Great to see you sir! Yes, in fact I think that is what the company did pre2001. A common solution in this kind of situation for sure!
Not too concerned, either HK is done or they will ignore it. Either way I avoid using them since almost every other vendor is better in almost every way. At one time this could have been big blow. as it is I don't think Banggood will look up from their clone production long enough to care.
Hey Fraser Steven! Great to see you! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! I love the line about Banggood! 😂
HobbyKing is really hardly relevant in the US market anymore. Their product line is either out of date, out of touch, or the shipping is ridiculous. I have not bothered with them for years now. HK screwed up by importing VTX’s that they never should have. As a general rule of thumb if you see an analog VTX for sale advertising 72ch (L-Band), and greater than 1W it is not legal here. The maximum allowed for non-licensed ("Part 15") equipment is 1W to the antenna. Honestly this stuff is not hard for a vendor to figure out, and we can thank HK for putting the FCC’s eye there a little bit on FPV. Really it was carelessness in not watching what they were selling. Thankfully most of the vendors even the big name ones from China are smart and aren’t selling or promoting illegal VTX units that I have seen these days. So the impact shouldn’t be much if anything at all. When word got out about this any of those illegal VTXes on the market at other places quickly disappeared.
Hey John! Thanks for taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it! Yes, the impact will be limited directly from Hobbyking for sure. They have long since lost their status not only in US market but wider with many countries finding better alternatives. I wonder in more general terms if this will be a greater issue for FPV as the regulators circle in different ways.
Geeksvana oh I think that they are going to have their hands full with other issues. if Ligado ever uses the spectrum they have been finally given after Fighting the FCC for years. You should do a story on that subject. That has the potential to blast a lot of our GPS equipment in use today rendering some of our drones useless. Even the department of defense has come out and said the FCC is nuts giving that company what they wanted even with a 23mhz band guard.
Hey John! Yes, we have a similar issue here. It is a crazy situation!
Marti Blagborough (youtube) Flying and crashing Mavic Mini first hovering over then attempting to chase a bus down a main road. Another nail in the responsible drone operators coffin. ;-(
Hey Independent Observer! Greta to see you and thanks for sharing this one. Yes, it appears that Mr 'Blagborough' has a channel focused on rule breaking and disorder. Thankfully it appears the police involved are aware it is more about him antagonising than the hobby in general. It will be interesting to see what action they take. I am sure the authorities will want to be seen to act without giving him too much air!
HobbyKing should have stopped selling in the US, since they aren't even a key player here. I don't know a single person that's ever ordered from them here in the US. I don't think the fine is fair though, as it's near impossible for them to account for the transmission specs of all the UAV's they sell.
Hey RADER FPV! Thank you for taking the time to comment! Really appreciate it! Yes the reach of Hobbyking into the US market is limited these days with the competition from other providers.
It does seem a large amount doesn't it. It remains to be seen if this will have any impact on other suppliers. Although how the FCC could regulate sellers on eBay etc would be interesting!
Meh, USA is in the financial troubles is it? 😅
Hey Enigmatt, thanks for taking the time to comment. The financial issues are with the Hong Kong company.
HK should just purchase one of Hunter Bidens art works. I'm sure the whole matter would disappear then.