Wouxun KG-UV920R: Cross-Band Repeat

An "oops" update from Kight Radio:

"We are going over the Wouxun Dual band mobile now. The radio is working fine in cross-band repeat. Setting are funny and you need to set Menu 32, setting x-twrpt for it to operate correctly. Radio seems to be very nice but I still feel the price is too high."

A little positive news then.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Problems

Posted on Kight Radio last night:

"7/19

The Wouxun Dual band Mobile is out but its got problems. The Cross Band repeat is not setup correctly. It will repeat but will not transmit on the offset needed to access repeaters. The way they have it setup is worthless to the ham. This radio should not have been released. This shows that Wouxun did not have this radio checked ahead of time by USA Hams. The new radio is worthless the way it operates. Looks like Anytone or TYT will be the mobile to buy. Wouxun also tried to fix the price on the Dual band Mobile to be $325 - $350 which is way too high for the Chinese Radio."

It is one thing to be priced high. It is another thing to be priced high AND not work well. So Anytone, TYT, or the BAOJIE BJ-UV55 are looking like the better options. Nate sent me stuff on the BJ-UV55. I need to dig on that one and the Anytone. Anyone got some more hours in the day they can spare?

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Unboxing Video

My Greek is horrible, but you at least can get a look.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Ed Drops A Bomb!

Wow! Wow. Just wow. I got the following e-mail from Ed:

Dear Customer,

Here is the latest news on Chinese dual-band mobile radios.

Wouxun Dual Band Mobile  -  KG-UV920R

On June 21 I was informed that Wouxun would supply a small number of these radios to selected dealers (max of 10).  At that time they also quoted a dealer costs that I thought was outrageous.  The dealer costs was almost what I have always considered the retail price would be.  In an email I told them sternly that with any dealer markup at all, the radio would not sell in the US and I would decline to purchase samples.

Wouxun response was that when full production began, the dealer costs would be lower.  Since I've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars building a market for this company over the past few years, I decided I would not let others bring this radio to market before I did.  I reluctantly placed an order for 10 radios, figuring I would sell them at costs, to get them to market.

After my order was shipped, Wouxun informed me that these sample radios must NOT be sold for less than $320-$330.  They went on to say "If we found you or your dealer's end price was lower this range without our permission in advance, then we will stop supplying this model to you."

For the past two years, I've repeatedly told Wouxun that this radio must sell for no more than $250-$275 for it to be competitive with the big three Japanese companies.  It appears this advice has fallen on deaf ears.

These pre-production radios lack some of the features the full-production radios will have.  These will not be FCC Certified for Part 90 use.  They will have narrow band capability but will not have the 2.5 kHz tuning step required for Part 90 radios beginning in 2013.  The frequency range will be RX:136-174 & 350-480 and TX: 136-174 & 400-480.  They did not indicate if any wide-band receive, such as 118 MHz AM, would be available on these pre-production models.

Although these radios may lack some of the bells and whistles we've expected, I imagine they will still be good dual band radios for the ham market.  BUT, I still don't feel they are worth $325.

Wouxun says I can't sell these for less than $325.  They did not say that I can not include a FREE HT with the purchase.  (Rest assured, they will raise holy crap about it, but I'm used to that)  So here's my plan.  I will place the limited number I have on sale for $350 and include a free KG-UV2D HT in the deal.  I'll profit nothing at this but we'll see what happens.

Anytone Dual Band Mobile  -  AT-588UV

For the past two years, I have consulted with Anytone as they developed their dual band mobile radio.  Anytone send a non-working model of the radio for me to show at the Dayton Hamvention (Wouxun would not send anything).  Anytone is now sending a working model (for free!) and says full production will begin in early August.  Anytone has quoted a price that lets me know this radio will retail in the $250-$275 range.  It will be Part 90 Certified and will have some wide-band receive ranges, including AM aircraft.  I look forward to working with this company and expect their mobile to be a big seller.

TYT Quad Band Mobile  -  TH-9800

This radio covers 10 meters, 6 meters, 2 meters and 440 (only FM mode).  TYT sent a semi-working model for me to show at Dayton.  It would light up with menus working and etc.  Those who played with the display said it is a clone of the Yaesu FT-8900.  I have a close contact at TYT and am told they are working hard to get this radio into production in October.

Conclusion

I will continue to do my best to bring quality made Chinese radios to the US market and will only send these emails when necessary.
This particular email is going to about 5,000 people so please don't expect a quick response if you send me a question.

Regards,
Ed Griffin
Wouxun.US  &  Import Communications
www.wouxun.us
www.importcommunications.com

My shooting from the hip response... Ed is fed up enough with Wouxun that he is will to stress the relationship, but he's not done that without a Plan B (name change to Import Communications, Baofeng, Anytone, TYT). It also makes me think that Wouxun may have done us a great service by leading the way, but they may price themselves out of the low cost market - then they will be competing with the big boys on performance and quality. I'm sure the message board will be hopping tonight. I'm going to bed, but there will be interesting reading in the morning I am sure! I'm gonna have to read up on the AT-588UV, too.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Drama Llama

Steve (Founder and Moderator of the Wouxun Yahoo Group):

"I know most all members are excitedly looking forward to release and availability of the KG-UV920R. Many recall this was an oft promised release for the last almost 2 years.

I have just learned from highly reliable sources that Wouxun has chosen to play "hardball" with all/many of its vendors by mandating that their retail pricing not be lower than the $320-330 range. Backing up this threat is Wouxun's warning that dealers violating this practice will be denied shipment of these units. I believe many of us had been led to believe they were working with a price point originally around $250 retail

Wouxun management is a member of our fine group and I am sure they would welcome your views. To avoid clogging this board with your reactions you may choose to email them directly at "wouxun@wouxun.com"

We have numerous vendors and Wouxun management as members and I would welcome their clarification of Wouxun's position if I've misrepresented it."

Ed Greany (1 of 2 Eds that sell the Wouxun Radios):

"I'm sorry I cannot lend any clarification to this matter. This same story came up last year with regards to the handheld unit. I have never been notified by China of such a requirement."

And I agree with Adam:

"This is funny because it exactly resembles a certain case study in marketing I recall.  When your customers are expecting a lower price you temper their expectations by "leaking" pricing info in advance of the release that's much higher than desired, then "cave" to customer demand later, all the while reaping the benefits of free publicity and additional hype. Ed's recollection of a similar story about another unit only supports the idea that this is not much more than a marketing gimmick."

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Problems and Delays

From Kight Radio:

"Wouxun has released limited quantities of their new Dual Band mobile to dealers. All dealers are limited to 10 units at this time because the mobile is not if full production yet. They did release some of the dual band mobile to the Chinese market to test and and Chinese wholesalers reported problems with them and they were returned to Wouxun and were told it would be abother 30 days before the problem is fixed ( this was on 6/2 ) The new radios will not have 2.5 steps and they will not be FCC certified. The sample dealers are being shipped by Wouxun on July 9th so it will be July 13 or 14 before they show up at the dealers. I would watch ebay close, I am sure one will be found there within a few days"

As predicted they are showing up on eBay as David and someone on the Yahoo Group noticed, but the listing has already been pulled.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: July Brochure

Wouxun posted an update to the Yahoo Group with a new brochure for the KG-UV920R. I wonder if "marketed" means available for sale/brought to market or just advertised.

"TO ALL:
WOUXUN FIRST MOBILE RADIO KG-UV920R is marketed this July. Please view the
product information on the leaflet which we uploaded on FILES:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wouxun_KG-UVD1/message/10105
Any suggestions or opinions, please feel free to keep us informed.
WOUXUN Electronics CO. Ltd."

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Price

Matt posted about an update from Ed. To quote a great philosopher... "Ruh roh, Shaggy!" So supply may not be as big of a problem as I thought given the information I highlighted in red below.

....June 30, 2012   Update......

Wouxun has released a limited number of the mobile radio to dealers.
These samples are not FCC Certified yet and do not have
the required 2.5 kHz tuning step required for 2013 regulations.
BUT THE RADIO DOES NOW EXIST.

The samples are
TX: 136-174 & 400-480 MHz
RX: 136-174 & 350-480 MHz
I DO NOT KNOW what the final productions models will cover

If no major problems are found with these samples,
hopefully full production will begin in July.

The costs of these samples are higher than I expected but
hopefully the costs will come down when the radio goes into full production.

Update @7:10 June 30, 2012... Ed also had this to say:

"All I know for sure is what's in my post. The production radios will certainly have the 2.5 step. Your guess is as good as mine as to upgrading. Despite numerous requests, China still continues to use one-shot chips, so I wouldn't get my hopes up."

So don't look for anything else at the moment.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Supply and Demand

Based on this post, the KG-UV920R may be coming out in July, but it sounds like long odds for getting one. I'm on the waiting list for one, but some of the recent Baofeng experiences with buggy initial versions has me gun shy. I don't recall any significant problems with the early Wouxuns, but I wasn't on the bleeding edge with them. And, of course, there is always the hope of something even better on the horizon - TH-9800.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: July

So in addition to the stirring of the pot on June 12, this old thread got going again, too.

Thanks to Christopher for pointing out the update on Ed's site:

.......June 15, 2012   Update......

Wouxun has informed me that the mobile radio will be available in July.

Ed also posted to the Yahoo group saying it would be out in July, but no pricing yet.

I just checked the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) page and there are no new listings for Wouxun (WVT). This doesn't mean a lot - we've see radios (UV-5R) hit the street long before they get blessed by the FCC.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Are you a betting man?

I'm not saying it won't show up next month. I'm not saying it won't show up at all. It has just been too long in coming for me to want to put any money on it. I'll stick with safer bets like sub-prime mortgages.

RadioG3OCR says:

KG-UV920R Mobile - It's Here! (Almost)

Martin Lynch & Sons in UK are taking orders NOW - with a delivery date of July this year - yes, next month. Firm price of UK£229.25 (including tax).

Multi-band Transmit/Receive - UHF: 400-520MHz, VHF: 136-174Mhz, FM (RX Only): 65-220MHz, AM: (1) 500-2000Khz (2) 50-500KHz (3) 2-30MHz

• Dual Receive - Dual band simultaneous receiption
• Dual Display - Wide LCD dual frequency display, with independent operation
• Over 999 Memory changes - Different areas division
• Strong and Stable RF Power (VHF: 50W / UHF: 40W)
• Front Panel Separation - Convenient panel separation function simplify special installation
• Cross-band Repeat - UHF & VHF cross-band repeat capacity
• Dual Mobiles Same/Cross-band Repeat
• QT/DQT
• Humanized Speaker Setting
• Caller ID Function - Shows the caller's ID code
• Group Calls, All Calls and Selective Calls
• 1750Hz Burst Tone

http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-main-equipment-mobile-radio-wouxun-mobile-radio/wouxun/wouxun-kg-uv920r-pd-2454.php

If the normal pricing system is followed, that probably means the price in N. America should be around US$250 - The UK sellers can never understand the correct exchange rate!

(G3OCR rushes off to poke the knife through the slot in the piggy-bank to see how much money is in there!)

TYT TH-9800: Dual/Quad Band Mobile

I'm finally getting around to doing a real post about the TYT TH-9800.

First, I do not see it listed on the TYT website.

The KC2RA site posted some info about the TH-9800 when they did the review of Chinese mobiles.

Kight Radio does have it listed, but labels the radio as a dual band mobile. It hints at a surprise and suggests reviewing the spec sheet where the frequency ranges are 28.000 - 29.700, 50.000 - 54.000, 144.000 - 148.000, 430.000 - 450.000. Also, on the 25 MAY 2012 update from Kight Radio, they report the TH-9800 will also have "AM Reecieve on the Aircraft band."

Andrews Communications Systems has the TH-9800 listed on their site with an expected price of less than $499 AUD/$485 USD. Given a price in that ballpark and the quad band capabilities, this would not appear to be a direct competitor to the KG-UV920R. This picture on the Andrews site doesn't look anything like the others below.

This post on the TYT-USA Yahoo Group mentions a unit at Dayton. Martyn (K4TEC) gives a little more detail:

"Re the Quad Band mobile transceiver, this is still under development, a dummy rig was seen at Dayton, Sam (from TYT China) let one float around, this will be an exciting rig and a good price but it is not going to be available until very late in the year if at all this year."

From the 21 MAY 2012 update, Kight Radio also talks about a unit that they had, but it was the dual band. They do specifically mention that the TH-9800 should ship in October. Image from Kight Radio:

Earlier in the month, Nate pointed out in the comments that there could be some photoshop action going on in the TYT TH-9800 Dual/Quad band - a Yaesu FT-8800R screen? It doesn't mean the radio is fake by any stretch as I can image the marketing designer grabbing something convenient to complete the image.

For what might be the single band versions of these radios, there is already Type 90 acceptance by the FCC (ID: X24-MOBILE-V). Again back to the pictures, nothing matches so I don't know what to expect. This is the picture that is linked to the TH-9800VHF documents on the FCC site.

I've copied the features list from Sparky's blog here. He mentions a price of $375 - $450 USD and says it will be available "Winter 2012." I'm not sure of his source, so I am leaning towards Kight's price and date, since he talks about going to China and seeing the various manufacturers and sellers.

Features:

• Outstanding 0.2uV sensitivity across 10m/6m/2m/70cm bands

• Brilliant crossmodulation, intermodulation rejection and strong signal performance – similar to commercial radios!

• Commercial quality and commercial performance, too!

• 256 memory channels

• DTMF mic included!

• Digital FM broadcast band radio

• High/low output power levels

• Reverse frequency selection

• Dual (V/U) squelch set levels

• Dual repeater offsets selectable

• Multi-function scanning

• Repeater offset selectable

• Keypad lock function

• Channel name editing

• CTCSS/DCS encode/decode

• Dual Band/Dual Receive: (Full Duplex)

• Cross Band Repeat

• TX Power: 5-50 Watts

• Memories: 256

• Antenna Connection: Two SO (UHF)

For the quad-bander, two antenna connections makes a lot more sense.

Given the lessons of the KG-UV920R, I'm not going to hold my breath for this one either.

Kight Radio - Post Dayton Updates

More updates from Kight Radio posted on 21 May 2012:

"We are back from a long trip to Dayton. We have the TYT Dual Band Mobile now (This was displayed at Dayton Hamvention) I will be taking pictures of it in the morning and then its going back to TYT in China. Thank you TYT for letting us have this to show at Dayton. (TYT was happy to supply the Dual band Mobile, Wouxun was not interested in having theirs on display ???)"

I'm not sure which specific model he is referring to when he says the "TYT Dual Band Mobile." I thought the TH-9000 was a single band radio. The TYT TH-9800 is supposed to be the quad band mobile. He mentions it below. I need to finish my post about the TH-9800. I spent a few minutes looking and didn't see the dual-band pictures on his site either.

I thought there might be some news from Ed about the Wouxun KG-UV920R - I was predicting that he would have a demo unit. Based on the current chatter (here and here), no response from Ed (to his credit he is usually really good about engaging with the on-line community), and comments like the above, maybe we should be looking at TYT or Vero for the amazing value in mobile rigs.

"We also had the New TYT Th-UVF9 4 watt HT. Ed and I both have one and testing it now. This will be available within a couple weeks. I will post detailed pictures of it on this site in the morning. I will also post the New Specs for the TYT mobile too on the catalog page. They added AM receive coverage for the Air Band. This F9 HT does have the dot matrix readout."

Air band. Cool. Dot matrix readout. Also cool. I don't see the pictures and specs on the catalog page. Maybe I need some glasses or more coffee.

"TYT DUAL BAND MOBILE expected to ship in October. This is the mobile to watch for ... its actually a Quad Band Mobile covering 10, 6, 144 and 440. The other Chinese mobiles are only 144 and 440. Those of you that have waited for the Wouxun mobile should wait for the TYT first before buying one."

Earlier in the month, Nate pointed out in the comments that there could be some photoshop action going on in the TYT TH-9800 Dual/Quad band - a Yaesu FT-8800R screen? It doesn't mean the radio is fake by any stretch as I can image the marketing designer grabbing something convenient to complete the image. At least there is hard date for availability - October.

I'll keep looking and see if he posts any additional information.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Dayton Appearance?

In response to a post on the Wouxun KG-UVD1 group, Ed said this about the KG-UV920R:

I would say, don't give up yet. If you happen to be at Dayton this year, stop
by North Hall spaces 175-176.

Regards,
Ed Griffin
www.Wouxun.US

I'm guessing that means a demo unit, but nothing for sale. Not sure why Ed is choosing to be vague. If he is under an NDA then he is dancing near the line. If he isn't, I don't see what it would hurt to say either he has a demo or that he will have them for sale.

Not a Dual Band Chinese Mobile Part 2

The Ten-Tec 539 QRP Transceiver gets a little closer to shipping. An update from Ten-Tec via the QRPer:

"We will have a fully functional 539 on display at Dayton. Pre-orders at Dayton? I don’t think I will be confident enough on a real ship date yet to be able to take orders at Dayton. I don’t want to take orders at Dayton, promise a ship date, and then have it delayed for parts reasons."

Not a Dual Band Chinese Mobile

If it was a certain dual band Chinese mobile, it wouldn't actually be shipping.

moleculo Just got word that the 1st #Elecraft KX3 kit is shipping for field test tomrw. I suppose I should have mine next week if all is well #hamrTue, May 01 19:50:01 from TweetDeck

Wouxun KG-UV6D: FCC Update

There are some new entries on the FCC site for Quanzhou Wouxun Electronics Co., Ltd. (Go the the FFC site here and type WVT for Wouxun in the "Grantee Code" field to see all the files.) I was hoping to see a new entry for the KG-UV920R, but, alas, no. Looks like they want all models of their radios to share the same FCC ID. From the cover letter:

"We declared, added models KG-UVD1P, KG-UVD1P V2, KG-UV2D, KG-UV2D V2, KGUV3D, KG-UV3D V2, KG-UV5D, KG-UV5D V2, KG-UV6D V2, KG-UV6D-E, KG-UV6D-A, KG-UV6D-R, KG-UV6X, KG-UV7D, KG-UV7D V2, KG-UV8D, KG-UV8D V2, KG-UV9D, KG-UV9D V2, KG-UVA1, KG-UVA1 V2, KG-UVA2, KG-UVA2 V2 basis of the original models KG-UV6D. These models are identical circuit, PCB LAYOUT to the original model, only the appearance and name are different. All models sharing the same FCC ID without permissive change would be electrically identical."

Chinese Radios - The Center Part II

A commenter on yesterday's post about which Chinese manufacturer is really making all these radios pointed me to this link at Kightradio. (He is the one offering the TYT TH-UV3 for sale.) There are multiple updates on the page:

03/19/12 "The TYT TH-UV3 Dual Band HT is on the way to me now. I will update everyone as soon as I receive them."

So he could have the TYT TH-UV3 any day now. We do live in interesting times.

02/20/2012 "Baofeng UVD-5R Dual Band 4 watt HT was just released for sale in China. This is a nice little Dual Band rig but as of now, the menuis only in Chinese. This is howthe first UV-3R started out and then they made the english menu later. I would like to note that this radio looks exactly like the TYT F8 Radios. In talking with TYT I found out this is a COPY and not a radio made by TYT and sold to Baofeng. TYT has a patent on the case so we will see what TYT does about this later. So if you buy one of these on the internet, BEWARE, its menu is ONLY IN CHINESE and hard to figure out. I have one to test and I am having the menu translated and I will update you later on this.

Dual Band mobiles are not anywhere close to being released. I would not look for them at Dayton this year. Maybe if we are lucky, a few months after Dayton but this is just my personal guess with info I hear in talking with the MFG's every few days."

We know that are now versions of the UV-5R that do Chinese only, Chinese & English, and English only. And he has been told that Baofeng is ripping off TYT's case. More interesting is his claim that the dual band mobiles (KG-UV920R anyone?) won't be available for a few more months.

No Date "We attended the Hong Kong Electronics Fair and the Canton Export Fair Oct 15,2011

We will be updating the site in a few days with all the New Goodies we found at the show. Lots of exciting things in the works so be sure to check back with us and get updated.

We are in China now so if you have any special radios you would like us to purchase for you, contact us and we will be glad to purchase for you.

Call 405-227-9980 (Our time is opposite the USA time so when its 11 am in the US, its 11 pm in China) Please call late evening your time to reach us.

We can get you the latest versions of Wouxun,TYT, Baofeng and others at Hong Kong Prices."

Pretty cool that he offers to ferry radios back from China. Shipping and wire transfers can make a good deal go bad very quickly.

11/11/2011 "Wouxun is going to raise the price effective now of the KG-UVD1p & UVD3 about $22.00 This is because of dealer requests to add 2.5 steps to those models. Its seems more like a move on Wouxun's part to increase the retail price like they have been wanting to do for sometime. They also increased the min wholesale order to 500 units. This is going to put the Wouxun HT's in a higher price class and TYT and others will have the advantage. Hong Kong will have a much lower price and attract more customers. As far as the Dual Band mobile, I would not look for it anytime soon and when it does come out, I am anxious to see the price. Wouxun is not aware of other companies working on Dual Band Radios because they pay little attention to their competition."

Build your brand and demand higher prices. It is the American way!

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Soon? Price?

Matt is hearing rumors that the KG-UV920R is soon to make an appearance. I would think his sources were pretty good. He is also speculating about the price. I think $250 is a good guess. When we first heard about the KG-UV920R, my guess was $200, but it seems that prices are rising as the Wouxun brand becomes stronger. At $200, it is a no brainer for me. At $250, I'm gonna do a little research as I might forgo a few features and get a Yaesu or Icom rig for similar money.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Digital Insanity Images

So I just posted about a summary of the Chinese mobiles, but I wanted to point out one link to Locura Digital (Digital Insanity) and their images of the KG-UV920R.

I've said it before, if they don't hurry, we'll all be buying Baofeng mobiles!