Wouxun KG-UV950P: Pics and QSO

I got the KV-UV950P settled in the shack and took a couple of pics while I was talking on some of the local 2 M repeaters. Audio reports were good. Thanks again to BuyTwoWayRadios.com for letting play with the 950 with absolutely no strings or pressure. More to come...

Wouxun KG-UV950P: Time to Play

Thanks to the kind folks at BuyTwoWayRadios.com, I have a KG-UV950P to play with for a few days. I don't have a sophisticated bench to do a lot of in depth analysis, but put your requests and questions in the comments if you want me to look at something specifically.

Wouxun KG-UV950P: Hans on Review

Hans reviews the KG-UV950P. Lots of words and pictures - even a graph. I've not read it yet as I just saw it was I was heading out the door before school kicks my daughter to the curb!

Wouxun KG-UV920P: Field Test Video

Via Hans and Hans (not to be confused with these guys), a quick look at the KG-UV950P.

 

Wouxun KG-UV950P: US Distributor

Wouxun says that CheapHam.com will be the US distributor for the KG-UV950P. I reached out to CheapHam and they responded very quickly to my request for information about the timing and cost with the following:

"We just started evaluation. No data as of yet.
Very limited quantities currently available, we expect production to pick up towards the end of the year.
We are looking at a selling price in the low $300s probably $319 to $329 range."

Wouxun KG-UV950P: Update

Hans is closer to getting his hands on the KG-UV950P. He's such a tease with his talk of price rumors and features.

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.

American Wouxun

I just noticed that Ed Greany had a URL in his e-mail signature. He is one of the two Eds that were always so helpful - especially in the early days - on the Yahoo group when the Wouxun HTs were just entering the market.
Check out his site: http://www.americanwouxun.com/

Wouxun Factory Yahoo Group

YAYG - Yet Another Yahoo Group... but this time it is the Wouxun factory folks. I'm not sure if this is a good way to reach if they want to primarily provide updates. It will, and already has, become a place where people are looking for support. That's fine, if help is provided.

"Dear All, 

Please feel welcome to join our Yahoo Group according to the following Groupinginformation here.

Group name: QUANZHOUWOUXUNGroup home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QUANZHOUWOUXUNGroup email: QUANZHOUWOUXUN@yahoogroups.com

best regards,

Quanzhou WOUXUN Electronics Co., Ltd"

And...

"Yes, any latest information about WOUXUN new products and technicial discussionwill be shared here timelessly...."

Wouxun KG-UV950P: Yahoo Group

That didn't take long... Wouxun KG-UV950P Yahoo Group.

Wouxun KG-UV950P: Quad Band Mobile

I got an e-mail from Wouxun this morning.

"Latest mobile radio model:KG-UV950P with QUAD bands:

1. Multiple RX/TX frequency ranges:
RX:
28.000-29.795MHZ
50.000-54.995MHZ
108.000-180.995MHZ (AM/FM)
320-480.995MHZ
65.000-108.000MHZ

TX:
28.000-29.795MHZ
50.000-54.995MHZ
136.000-174.995MHZ
400.000-470.995MHZ

2. Same or different band(s) simultaneous reception: UU, VV, UV or VU

3. Remote control setting

4. Four levels of output power:
VHF 50W/20W/10W/5W
UHF 40W/20W/10W/5W

5. 8 Groups scrambler plus 2 groups customized scrambler"

They also mention a new HT.

"Branded New Designed Handheld(with undetermined model number)： 

1.Dual band, dual standby, simultaneous reception: UU, VV, UV or VU. 

2. Full duplex cross-band 

3.Customized CTCSS; DCS encoding/decoding(Including 105 groups standard DCS and 50 groups normal CTCSS)"

Wouxun KG-UVD1P: Display Problem

So I had been using the KG-UVD1P as my mobile rig (video here). Over time, the heat in the car must have taken its toll on the radio as the display does not work. I'm not the only one who has had this problem. Sorry for the poor iPhone video, but there isn't much to show, so I think it will suffice.

 

Wouxun KG-UV920R: $280

moleculo The Wouxun KG-UV920R VHF/UHF mobile is now available at universal radio for $280. Wouxun must have backed off their stupid high price #hamrFri, Dec 21 17:23:56 from TweetDeck

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

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Relationships

I e-mailed a US dealer and asked if they would be selling the updated KG-UV920P. They replied that they would not sell the KG-UV920P if it was the best radio in the world. And they included the following to emphasize their point:

Being low cost and having a good product are important if you want to be a successful company, but they aren't the only things. Wouxun should want their re-sellers being evangelists for their products.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: KG-UV920P

Hans follows up his day one review of the KG-UV920P with some more information in Part II. He adds some pictures and a wish-list for furthur improvements, but closes with the following comments:

"The strongest point of the Wouxun KG-UV920P is the quality of the receiver. On the frequencies that matter this receiver does what it’s supposed to do. And it better be good – we lost all those RX bands we originally drooled over."

And

"Wouxun finally competes with the big three."

Wouxun KG-UV920R: KG-UV920P

Hans got the new sample and his first tests for the version P (KG-UV920P) has got him excited - no problems with second or third harmonics on 2M or 440 and the rotary encoder problems are gone.

It is such a shame that these things start out so bad. I think the marketing teams get too far a head of engineering and manufacturing.

Anytone AT-5888UV: PD0AC Review

I noticed that Dale sold out of the radios in three hours this week. I saw this morning that Ed has more of the rigs for sale and then I saw the review from Hans. Please go to his site to read the entire review.

First, Ed reports these changes:

- Updated Microphone -- Added a built-in speaker in mic's front & a switch to defeat the Channel Up/Down button (which was easy to accidently hit). This switch was also supposed to lock all buttons on the mic, but not sure about that yet.
- Bracket for mounting detachable control head.
- Updated Firmware -- Several menu functions have been added. See the owner's manual for all functions.
- FCC Part 90 Certified -- ID # T4K-5888UV

The first item may address one of the concerns in Hans' review regarding the buttons, but I don't think it would change his conclusion:

"If I may be blunt: many flaws are impossible to live with. If I transmit, I want to be heard. If I listen, I don’t want to be annoyed by noise, distortion and high pitched tones."

He even goes on to recommend the Wouxun at this point:

"If I would like to own a Chinese mobile radio, I’d rather put my money in an improved version of the Wouxun KG-UV920R."

I think this reminds us, as it certainly is not news, that the Chinese process for design and manufacturing is to roll out models as quickly as possible, let the early adopters identify problems, and then fix the problems in subsequent releases.

Fakes, Knock-offs, Seconds, Early Models

Kight radio warns of a knock-off Yaesu FTM-350AR being sold as the Luiton FTM-350AR. They've warned of Wouxun fakes before, too. Hans also had concerns about early versions of radios being dumped.

I still stand by what I said then about going cheap as like most things, these decisions are compromises. But occasionally  you get burned - more on that soon.

Yahoo Group Numbers

The Yahoo Group for the Baofeng UV-5R is insane.

Since it started nine months ago, there have been over 11,000 messages - averaging almost 1,250 per month. September and October will both be over 2,000 each. At this point, it is almost unusable for me. I don't have the time to wade through that many messages - especially when they are mostly repeat issues. Most of which could be solved by searching the group or visiting sites like http://www.miklor.com/uv5r/.

A couple of points of reference...

The UV-3R group had about 3,000 messages over the same nine months. It broke 1,000 messages in a month once (Sept.). The Wouxun group had just over 2,000 for the same period and has never had more than 1,000 messages in a month going back to its start in 2009.