Wouxun.US is now ImportCommunications.com

I guess it is official now. I'd figured it out a while ago - not that it was a big secret as far as I could tell. But I have no idea why Ed didn't make some sort of announcement. He could have changed his e-mail signature with a little note or something without even having to do a post about it to the UV-3R or Wouxun Yahoo Groups.

In any case, if you go to ImportCommunications.com, it will forward you to Wouxun.us.

I think the new name makes sense. He can sell radios from more manufacturers now without being locked in to the Wouxun name.

I've mentioned before that I bought a radio from him and was very pleased with his service. Best wishes to Ed with Import Communications!

Wouxun and Baofeng Group Buy

Anyone interested in a group buy of the Wouxun or Baofeng should meander over to the World Wide DX forum.

Wouxun KG-UV6D: Expensive

Main Trading Company has the Wouxun KG-UV6D Dual Band radio, but it is $183. That still seems really high given the limited changes from the previous models. I will be curious to see what Ed's starting price is.

KG-UV6D: Coming to America

Well, it is actually already here. Here being Power Werx. I listed the specs when it was announced that it was coming to Australia, but you can get them on the Power Werx link, too.

The key:

"The KG-UV6D is a compact, high-performance dual band handheld commercial transceiver providing up to 5 Watts of RF power on VHF and 4 Watts on UHF, along with high audio output (500 mW).

Ideal for Fire, Police, FEMA, CAP, security patrols, business communications, schools, construction crews, universities, and other organizations that have FCC licensed frequencies. 2.5 step for FCC 2013 narrowband compliance. FCC Part 90 certified"

Thanks to commenter Chris for the tip.

Win a $20 Gift Card to Nifty Accessories! | AmateurRadio.com

Win a $20 Gift Card to Nifty Accessories! | AmateurRadio.com

I've got a couple of the Nifty cards - one for my Wouxun KG-UVD1P and my IC-7000. They are handy to have around. AmateurRadio.com is giving away five $20 gift cards - all you have to do is leave a comment (assuming you are licenses ham) to have a chance to win. At the time of this posting, you would have about a 1 in 20 chance of winning! Much better than Vegas odds!

KG-UV6D: Coming soon to Australia

So are the Aussies ahead of the game? Andrews Communications Systems has the KG-UV6D on their site with an estimated shipment of August 20.

He lists the specs as:

Superior crossmodulation, intermodulation rejection and strong signal performance guarantees far less received interference compared to all other amateur radios!
Commercial quality and commercial performance, too!
Excellent 0.18uV sensitivity across the 2m and 70cm bands
5W output 144-148MHz (2m), 4W output 430-450MHz (70cm)
High/low output power levels
128 memory channels
Digital FM broadcast band radio
Dual or single frequency display
Dual watch receive; continually checks VFO A and VFO B freqs. Each VFO accepts VHF or UHF
Priority scan in VFO mode and memory channel mode
Dual (V/U) squelch set levels
Dual repeater offsets selectable
Multi-function scanning
Single key for repeater reverse
Repeater offset; 0-69.950MHz
Voice annunciation
CTCSS rx/tx included (50 groups).
DTMF encode included!
DCS (105 groups)
VOX function
7 frequency steps selectable
Battery save mode
Busy channel lockout selectable
Low battery voice prompt
VFO or computer programmable
Wire cloning function
Includes Li-ion 1300mA/h @ 7.4V battery and AC charger
Optional accessories (in blue) just arrived in latest shipment...
Speaker-mic A$29
Li-ion 1300mA/h battery A$29
USB-only programming cables A$29 each (inc. mini-CD)
Car cig. lighter charger A$12
SMA-F to UHF-F (SO-239) adaptor A$15
"AA" battery dry cell case A$15
Leatherette carry case A$19.

KG-UV6D: Evolution of the KG-UVD1P

Ed at Wouxun.us has had a note published for a long time (see pic below) that "2.5 KHz Tuning Step Soon To Be Added." And, now Steve, the moderator of the Wouxun Yahoo group, has this to say:

"Wouxun seems to be finalizing an enhanced version of the KG-UVD1p, a KG-UV6D. The current UV 2 and 3 models are generally considered as slight variations of the UVD1p model including slight case cosmetics and/or a software feature or two. Having a chance to see the draft manual of the new model a couple features come to mind. The KG-UV6D, among other features, includes the 2.5khz frequency step, 199 channels, and boot up message ability. The case form factor is very similar to the current model.

I am not certain of the expected release or availability dates for this new version. Perhaps one of the "Ed's" wants to chime in."

Emphasis is mine to point out the changes. Anyone surprised that we would see this before the mobile?

SMA Female to SO-239 Jumper for your Wouxun HT

The Comet SMA Female 18" coax adapter jumper to SO-239 for Wouxun Radios looks like a better option than the jumper I bought on ebay. It is actually cheaper (at $14) than the one I purchased on ebay and I would hope that this one would not have the problem of the sheath pulling away from the SMA connector.

KG-UV Commander 0.1.2 Beta

The KG-UV Commander 0.1.2 Beta is now available.

- Fixed crash when multiple decimals inadvertently entered in freq field
- Prevent entry of invalid Encode field
- Errors on CSV import reported with line number
- CSV header detection non-case sensitive
- Fixed mouse scroll wheel scrolling on settings tabs
- Fixed problems with welcome message ("black boxes" and problems in Wouxun software)
- Opened up welcome msg and single receive msg to whole ascii character set
- Fixed problem importing some TW files which imposed maximum tunable memory channel

Wouxun Dayton Surprise

As I reported earlier, Ed from wouxun.us said he would have a surprise at Dayton. He said it would not be the KG-UV920R, but I was hoping for new hardware of some sort... instead, Dayton attendees could pick up a KG-UVD1P for $85! Price of $85 confirmed here. Amazing.

Wouxun Price To Remain Flat

Maybe I spoke too soon about the Wouxun price increase, but Ed is a credible source. The problem is that the other Ed, also credible, says he will not be having a price increase. See the exchange below.

"Actually you're over by 40% in that example.
Wouxun.US will have no price increase for the foreseeable future.

73
Ed Griffin
www.Wouxun.US
Dayton, North Hall #175-176"

Followed by:

"Ed,

We'll see. I was quoted a price increase effective May 1st. I haven't reordered yet this month so we'll see when I do. I hope they don't shoot themselves in the foot by 1) a price increase or 2) more rumors (like the mobile).

Ed"

Wouxun Price Increase?

One of the two Eds that sell Wouxun radios responded to a query about seeing a 40% price increase in the Wouxon HT's with this:

"Mine will go from $100 to $140ish and for a dual band radio like this that is not really unreasonable. We're just selfish and spoiled. They produced a great radio at a great price and now we will have a great radio at a good price. Prices go up. Salaries went up 30% in China. What does one expect? Look in your favorite retail store and TRY to find something made in the U.S. Now try NOT to find something made in China."

If you are thinking about getting one, you might want to do it now. Of course, if this happens, and they are considered too expensive, I would expect another Chinese manufacturer to take their place... perhaps a Baofeng?

KG-UV Commander 0.1.1 Beta

Jim, KC8UNJ, announced that a new version of the KG-UV Commander (0.1.1 Beta) is now availbale for download from his web site. Original post here.

He lists the changes:

- Fixed crash when using TAB key on Config/VFO/FM tabs
- Fixed crash when deleting RX frequency
- Fixed crash when deleting VFO frequency
- Fixed crash when pasting blank line over blank TX frequency
- Fixed CSV import crash bug where it didn't properly handle blank TX field
- Fixed CSV import when CSV file contains no line feeds
- CSV import no longer requires placeholders for all fields
- CSV import now converts imported fields to uppercase characters
- Updated TPE import based on provided files
- Tweak for cut-off line on some printers in Landscape mode
- Fixed bug where mouse scroll wheel did not scroll to channel 1
- Fixed bug where multi-select didn't work for Cut operations
- Changed communication to continue if radio responds to HiWouxun with ID
- Workaround to try and get writing to work without error in WINE
- Small tweaks to communication

KG-UV Commander Yahoo Group

Looks like a Yahoo Group for the KG-UV Commander has been started.

KG-UV Commander

Ed announced on the KG-UVD1 Yahoo group that Jim Mitchell, KC8UNJ, has released the KG-UV Commander software for programming the Wouxun handhelds.



David added some background about how it came to be:

"I was aware that Jim had developed programming software for certain Yaesu and Icom radios, so I contacted Jim last August, asking whether he would be possibly be interested in porting his software to the Wouxun radios. I told Jim that I had already prepared memory maps for the "tw" files and for the internal memory space of the radios (which I was making available to all who are interested). I was so pleased when Jim responded and said that he would be interested in porting his software.

I then discussed this project with Ed Griffin, proprietor of wouxun.us, and Ed very generously contributed radios for Jim to use in developing the software.

For the last eight months Jim has been working on this project, and a small group of beta testers have been playing with interim versions of the software and providing feedback to Jim. On April 30 Jim released a version which he is making available to the public.

The KG-UV Commander software is a very impressive package. I believe that it empowers the user to program literally every programmable feature of the Wouxun radios (including modifying band limits, which until now has required the separate unlock program). The Commander software reads and writes TW files, and also reads and writes CSV files (which are easy for Excel programmers and others to read and write for any future special programming applicatoins). And the program even reads ARRL TravelPlus frequency files! Furthermore, the program has a great user interface, and includes the normal spreadsheet editing features such as Add, Edit, Move, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Sort."

I must say the software is a huge leap forward. I needed to add some frequencies to mine, so this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. I had an Excel spreadsheet with some data I wanted to copy over. It wouldn't let me do multiple rows at once - in fact, it was like the app wasn't taking the latest information from the Windows clipboard. I ended up adding the entires manually, but with the auto-offset feature enabled, it just took a minute to do it.

The sort works great - you can sort all the entries or just select a few rows. I used that feature to keep my favorites at the top of the list and independent of all the others that I just wanted sorted by frequency.

There is also a function to search for duplicates. The search is really slick. You can tell it to ignore duplicate frequencies if one entry has a tone configured while the other does not.

The software really levels the playing field with the big boys. It reminds me of the software I have for my VX-3R.

Jim did a great job and this is just another example of how Ed continues to support the community and why he will get my business/endorsement.

Wouxun Mobile (KG-UV920R) - Vaporware?

I've been hoping for the release of Wouxun's KG-UV920R for some time now. Speculation was rampant that it would do for mobile radios what the KG-UVD1P did for HTs - a low price and lots of features.

Ed Griffin, from www.wouxun.us, recently posted this on a radio forum:

"No word on the mobile. But I will have a surprise at Dayton, and no it's not the mobile."

Ed Greany, another reseller who provides a lot of support to the Wouxun community, had this to say on the same forum:

"Personally, I'm REALLY tired of hearing about it. It's been over 6 months since it was leaked and there is absolutely NO word from China as to 1) IF it exists, 2) WHEN it will be released, 3) IF it will be Certified or 4) WHAT the price might be.

I stopped answering these inquiries. I suggested long ago that people STOP inquiring about it since that only drives the price up due to the spirited interest. High demand = High price. Some people just don't understand the evonomics of that principal.

Basically, all the U.S. dealers want it to come out and want to sell it. That's what we are in business for. None of us know any more information than you presently know right now. My most recent inquiry was "it is still in testing." Does that mean Wouxun's Test Lab or FCC Certification Lab or some highschool kid's chemistry lab. Nobody knows!

For now, pretend it was a dream and it really does not exist."

Makes me think I should start looking for alternatives for a dual band, dual receive, cross band repeating mobile rig.

Nifty Guide for the Wouxun KG-UVD1P

The Nifty Guide for the Wouxun KG-UVD1P is now available. I guess this means the Chinese radio is now officially a player.

From Brick O'Lore

Echolink near Knoxville

From the 470 ARG Newsletter:

"Hopefully we will have our ECHOLINK up and running by this WEDS going through our club repeater of 443.225, thats one reason the news letter is a little early.. the link will be KJ4HPM-R on the search bar at ECHOLINK."

As I mentioned earlier, I think that EchoLink is a good way to get into the hobby without a lot of expense. We are just waiting for TNJeff to get his ticket, so he can sign-up. The air waves will never be the same. I believe both my IC-7000 and the KG-UVD1P will work on 70 cm.

Also, Paul (W4PGM) will be talking about the Flex Radio on Thursday night. And, they are thinking about doing an Extra class. I'd really like to do that, but I'm not sure I have the time.

A quick look at my mobile rig

Just the basics...



I bought the radio from Ed at Wouxun.us. You can find the same radio for slightly less, but Ed was fantastic. He was very responsive to pre-sales questions I asked. I ordered on a Saturday and had it on Monday! He is an active participant in the Wouxun Yahoo group, too.

UPDATE: The original video had audio problems, so I've replaced it.