NUT AT-828UV

The description says it is a Quansheng, but I just had to post about the NUT(ty) AT-828UV radio.

Quansheng TG-K4AT(UV): Video

Continuing my in depth analysis of this radio... the box is pretty.

Updates from Hans

KSUN KS-8R
What's different from all the others? Two memory banks with 128 spots each.

Quansheng TG-620
What's different from all the others? 245 MHz for Thailand or somewhere similar. I thought they had to be red, too.

Tesunho/EDCGear TH-UV7R
What's different from all the others? Colors for the operator who operates in operations. I want to build one of my AR-15 lowers in FDE, so maybe I need one of these to match.

Best Chinese Dual-Band HT

Hans says with 100% absolute certainty that the answer to the question, "What's the best Chinese dual-band HT?" is:

It depends.

Quansheng TG-K4AT (UV)

Nate has been following up on the Quansheng TG-K4ATUV that he first talked about here. (Following is Nate's research with some edits from me - so assume any mistakes are mine.)

This is a radio I've sent you the link for, a long time ago, but there wasn't much discussion about it. Now there is a short video:



And a 26 minute full un-boxing, comparison and demo video in Russian:



Can't speak Russian, but minor things like language barriers didn't stop me before:

Highlights:

- Seems like he is happy with the quality of the plastic.
- The battery label reads: 7.4V 2000mV
- The radio is slightly larger than the Baofang UV-5R (slightly taller and wider, roughly the same thickness), including the display, which will be easier to handle for all those who say that the UV-5R was too small. I think the display is clearer/easier to read too (nice side by side picture at 07:50).

* Note that in the video he is also comparing the radio to the TG-K4A - a mono-band radio that, ahmm, 'resembles' the Yaesu FT-50.

- The charger he got (European plug) had the AC plug going directly to the charger's base (no wall wart like the UV-5R).
- The charger has an indentation at the bottom that enables you to charge the battery without the radio (very useful if you use multiple batteries).
- He is talking about the layout of the keypad which is 0 at the button, "like in a telephone'.
- The rubber that protects the accessories jacks has a hinge, it doesn't hang on a band like the one in the UV-5R.
- All in all the quality of the build seems very similar.
- Has both 2.5KHz and 6.25KHz steps.
- Keypad operation is the same as the Baofeng UV-5R.
- A/B operation, if I understand correctly, if you started in A, and a signal made the radio go to B, it will eventually go back to A after 3 seconds of inactivity (I think the A/B on the UV-5R stays where the last signal came from).
- The flash light LED can light up as usual, but it can also be in flashing mode (like the UV-82).

Quansheng Electronics

Nate has been looking around and done some research on the Quansheng (QS) Electronics radios. We've talked about the Quansheng radios before - the TG-Q5 Lucky Stone and the TG-UV2 (that Hans likes). Following is Nate's research with some edits from me - so assume any mistakes are mine.

========= New radios by Quansheng Electronics Ltd =========

I've noticed few days ago a new dualband HT on 409Shop. The very cool looking TG-K4AT(UV) -  It costs $67.

Quansheng has updated their website recently.

*     TG-K4AT(UV) (as above): Looks like they borrowed some of the Baofeng UV-3R+ / UV-5R looks. No eHam.net reviews yet for the dual band - only the single band TG-K4AT mixed in with other Quansheng radios.

*     TG-620: Looks like a single display face lift for the old Quansheng TG-UV2, or if you will, the ham radio version of their commercial single band TG-360/860 - I wonder if the batteries are interchangeable, as the ham version is advertised with a 2000mAh battery and the commercial with a 3200mAh battery (they do promise a whooping 300 hours of work with these 3200mAh batteries). No eHam.net reviews. The Quansheng Alibaba page shows another version of the TG620 radio that they have yet to put on their main website: TG-620 (color). This one has red Up/Down buttons and yellow Menu and Exit buttons, while the rest are plain.

*     The old TG-UV2:  - Weird looking, very hard to program using the keypad (unlike the Baofeng UV-5R, which is relatively easy to program via the keypad). 47 eHam.net Reviews with an average score of 4.6/5.

*    TG-286/TG-486: Mono band mobile radios, 2m and 440MHz respectively (Also comes as the TG-386 for 350MHz). No eHam.net reviews.

(The following cute/weird radio - this hides under a different page where they keep their older models - mostly ham mono bander HTs.)


*     TG-R20:  - Dubbed "Cute radio" - has only 3 buttons on the radio where the (M)emory, (F)unction and Menu buttons are arranged to look like eyes and a nose of a cute small animal, (the large menu button even have painted nose and whiskers). - no specs, one picture shows it as having a single frequency display, while another shows a dual display. No eHam.net reviews.

Best

Best Morse Decoder - maybe I should look into that since I can't even spell – · – ·  · – – .

China's Best (and Worst) Ham Gear from Hans

Quansheng TG-Q5: Unboxing Video

In July I was hoping for a video and now we've got one. Here is the 409Shop listing. I would be interested in a VHF version of something like this. There are a handful of repeaters that I listen to most frequently, so a "lucky stone" in my pocket would be even better than a UV-3R.

Quansheng TG-Q5: Wisdom

People have pointed out the "Lucky Stone" label on the Quansheng TG-Q5, but I think it is more important to consider the deep, philosophical message that is also on the marketing materials (see image below):

"Infinite realm begins from communication."

 Either they are talking about radios or prayer. Given the lack of an obvious speaker, microphone, or display, I am going with the latter.

Quansheng TG-Q5: 409Shop

Anonymous pointed out that the 409Shop has the Quansheng TG-Q5 for $38. I wish they would release a video, so we could see more of the radio in action.

Quansheng TG-Q5

Maybe we can soon have it all. We can get tons of features thanks to Moore's Law and through the miracle of SDR. And we can get some snazy looking radios like the Quansheng TG-Q5. Hams will never have been so well dressed.

Credit to Hans (PD0AC) for finding this radio.

KGUVD1P vs TH-UVF1 vs UV5R

John asks which radio he should get. Hans replies:

"Best of the pack: Wouxun KGUVD1P. No real flaws to report. The KGUVD1P is verystrict when it comes to battery voltage though. It will switch off immediately,there's no escape. Switching to low power won't help. Buy a spare battery!

Runner up: Quansheng TG-UV2. Flaws: no DTMF. Not the prettiest design ever (a

matter of taste, of course). Strengths: capable of RX/TX on 350-390MHz. Batterylife is unbelievable.

The stock antennas of these two HT's are as good as they get, no need for areplacement.

The Baofeng UV-5R is interesting because of its price - you can buy two UV-5R'sfor the price of one Wouxun. If you can live with its quirks, you have a heck ofa deal."

Hans also replies on another thread:

"The cheap UV-3R can't be used here on 70cm. Total RX collapse. The UV-5R does alot better and is usable. The Quansheng TG-UV2 does even better, and the champion of Chinese HT's is the Wouxun KG-UVD1P. I hardly notice the influence of a 5+5+10 KiloWatt digital TV transmitter on that one, which is located only half a mile away from my QTH.

Even the best Chinese HT is no match for my Yaesu VX-177 mono band though. Thatone doesn't give a d*** about these signals. And it should, as I can buy fourUV-5R's for the price of one VX-177."

If you don't already follow Hans at his blog, I highly recommend it.

QuanSheng TG-UV2: Unboxing Video

I usually have the sound muted when I watch the 409Shop videos, but noticed they've jazzed this one up.

QuanSheng TG-UV2

QuanSheng TG-UV2

More than once, I've seen people post about the Quansheng TG-UV2 as an alternative to the Baofeng radios. So, I thought I would actually take a look. The eHam reviews seem pretty favorable for this UHF/VHF HT with a 4.7/5 rating. Hans, PD0AC, gives it the once over in a review - his conclusion:

"Pros: little money, great fun, excellent quality, well built, rain proof construction. I tried to be as picky as possible, but the lack of DTMF is the only con I can think of"

Some odds and ends about the radio on the http://tg-uv2.blogspot.com/ site. And, unsurprisingly, there is a Yahoo Group for the TG-UV2.