UK toy radio remote control car--can it work in the US?

So, Marks and Spencers would not allow me to purchase and ship a remote control toy mini cooper to the US. This begs the question, is this because the radio frequency the toy is on is already in use in the US? Is it unlikely that the toy would work there? Would there be too much "noise" for the car to operate properly?

Advice? My husband is convinced there is a UK-Yank who is expert on this. But, all advice is welcome!

I had hoped that my present-for-nephews and niece issue was solved. But, now I'm worried that it's getting worse. After all, I don't want to give them a remote to something peculiar... like the air conditioning. That would be no fun!

I don't really know the answer to your question but I can tell you that we bought my daughter a remote control car and it specifically says on the package "For use in the UK only".

In a nutshell, yes it would work. But it would not be legal. I won't give a detailed lesson on how these operate but...

The frequency bands for RC toys are different for each country. The US tends to use 27Mhz and 49Mhz bands for use without a license. Other frequency bands are used and some do require a license.

The UK uses 27Mhz band mostly but also uses 40Mhz. BUT the channels allocated in these bands are different between the countries.

Strictly speaking frequency transmitting devices for use here are not allowed to be used in the US.

Personally I would not bother. What if it breaks and they took it to a shop for repair. It could lead to a few problems. And probably not get fixed.