Editorial Policy

Independence

• Commissions never set a score or pick a winner. Scores come from the published rubric on How We Rank.
• No paid placements. No brand pays to be ranked, and no brand sees a page before it's published.
• We don't accept free radios or accessories in exchange for coverage. If that ever changes for a product, the page will disclose it next to that product.
• When the right radio for a job isn't sold on Amazon, we say so and link the maker with a plain, non-earning link.

How picks are chosen

The rubric comes first. A page starts from the reader's situation (a hilly lease, a two-truck convoy, kids at a campground) and the question that situation raises: how far, over what ground, and license or no license. Every candidate radio is then scored on the same weighted rubric, and only radios currently sold in the US are considered as picks. The buy link is added last and never decides anything. Every pick is labeled Researched, carries a license badge, and names a reason you might skip it.

Sources

• FCC rules: primary sources only. That means fcc.gov's FRS, GMRS, personal radio services and fee pages, and the rule text of 47 CFR Part 95. License fees, terms, eligibility and power limits are quoted from those pages with the date they were checked, never written from memory.
• Product specs: the maker's own product page, manual or datasheet. When a figure isn't published, the page says “Not stated by manufacturer.” When a maker's documents disagree with each other, we show both and say which we used.
• Range: the maker's box figure is quoted word for word and labeled “advertised.” Realistic range comes from the maker's own terrain figures, the FCC's stated expectations, or named third-party measurements, each with a link.
• Emergency planning: Ready.gov and FEMA when we cite them. Radios are presented as a way to keep in touch, never as a replacement for 911.
• Forum anecdotes, star ratings, review counts and other sites' lists are never cited as evidence.

What we don't claim

• Lab results, range measurements or ownership of any radio. Radios we claim to have lab-tested: 0.
• Credentials, titles or experience the author hasn't shown you.
• That a radio is legal for GMRS unless its maker says it is certified for GMRS.
• Prices we didn't pull live from the retailer, with an “as of” time.
• Testimonials, ratings or review counts of any kind.

Corrections

If something on a page is wrong, email mike@blackironathletics.com or use the contact form and tell us the page and the figure or rule. We check the correction against the source, fix the page, and add a dated note to that page's “What changed” list saying what changed. Corrections are made whether or not the error favored a product we link to.

When a page counts as updated

The “Updated” date on a page changes only when its content really changes: a pick added or removed, a spec corrected, an FCC rule or fee revised, new guidance written. It doesn't change for a routine redeploy, a design tweak or a fixed typo. Roundups are re-checked quarterly and FCC guides every six months, as set out on How We Rank.

How pages are produced

Pages are researched from the cited sources: maker pages, manuals and datasheets, and the FCC's own pages and rules. Drafting and fact-checking can involve software tools. Every page is held to the same rule however it was drafted: each fact links to a source you can open, and nothing is published that those sources don't support. If you find a line that fails that test, tell us.