Wow .. sure have faced a bunch of hostility from "friends" here (grin).
No one has cited any specific US/FCC Code on any aspect of the matter - except for me, of course.
I have a conference call set up for Tuesday with the FCC's OET and another department. We all can agree that "pure amateur radios" are exempt from Part 97 certification procedures. But I will be documenting - with facts and direct legal citations - whether or not U.S. hams can use non-certified commercial gear (HTs that cover 138-170 and/or 400-470) on the amateur bands in the U.S.
I will not be reporting my findings here. I'll post it on my amateur site's blog. And have been approached by two publications (well, two print mags and one online mag) to write an article on this, which is in the works.
Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com 909-241-7666