AnyTone Tech

So the smoke is clearing after the Baofeng Tech announcement about their new venture selling AnyTone radios as AnyTone Tech.

Here is my summary of what people are saying from the various forum posts, blogs, comments, and e-mail reflectors:

1. Some folks were disappointed that there wasn't a new, earth-shattering radio. 

2. Some folks were disappointed that the big news was that Baofeng Tech was selling AnyTone radios. 

3. Some folks were confused about Baofeng Tech selling AnyTone radios. 

4. Some folks don't like the names/models (ANILE-8R, NSTIG-8R, OBLTR-8R, TERMN-8R).

In general, there was a lot more time spent discussing the announcement than the radios themselves. That trend continues here for the moment. My thoughts about each of those points.

1. Sure, I'd like to have gotten new models with every feature imaginable under the sun - and for $25. While not revolutionary, I think we are still moving in the right direction. Upgradeable firmware - good. NOAA weather alerts - I want this feature. (A couple of my cars had the weather band and I loved having it.) 

I may buy the TERM-8R depending on it's price. Price is my segue to my big point about Chinese radios in general... value. What has kept my interest in them for so long (starting with the Wouxun KG-UVD1P and then kicking in to high gear with the UV-3R) is that, for the most part, they've offered a lot of utility compared to the price. It started with the HTs and now we are seeing mobiles and HF rigs.

2. If I'm Baofeng Tech and I'm branching out like this - it is big news to me and I'd be excited about it. You want to get the word out. I don't have a problem with them "selling" the news. I was happy to post the teaser. It was fun to imagine what they might be doing. It's up to us to decide if we want to "buy" - the hype, the radios, etc.

3. If you follow anything in the start-up world, people talk about "pivoting." Some times you start out in one direction and then realize that there are additional opportunities (or better ones) that necessitate a change. We saw Wouxun.us move away from Wouxun radios and become Import Communications. Also, there is a difference from the manufacturer/factory and companies that are resellers.

4. I'm not a big fan of the names, but I really understand what they are trying to do. They wanted something that created a family of radios (the "ator" or "-8R"). They wanted something that would differentiate them from other radios and models. As others have said, while not perfect, at least they are trying and it could be worse (UV-3R Mark II Plus+). The way the current ecosystem works, the manufacturers don't exert any control over the names, so that leaves the resellers to battle it out.

So, where does that leave us? For me, I'm gonna watch for the pricing... and I  might add another radio to the shack.

Anytone AT-5888UV III: Tri-band Update

Also from Nate:

"Finally the first Chinese IARU 2 (Americas) Tri-Band (2m, 1.25m and 70cm) amateur radio has a delivery day:
The long awaited AnyTone AT-5888UV III can be ordered now here:
http://www.wouxun.us/item.php?item_id=343 

$330 (includes priority mail shipping, special intro price until 2014-12-15), after which, it`s going to be $395

Can't wait to see some reviews."

Details from the Import Communications website:

AnyTone AT-5888UV III

Frequency Range:
	Left Side RX/TX	136-174 MHz, 200-260 MHz, 400-490 MHz
	Left Side RX Only	AM: 108-134 MHz (Airband)
	Right Side RX/TX	136-174 MHz, 400-490 MHz
	Right Side RX Only	AM: 108-134 MHz (Airband)
Functions:
	Working Mode	Full Duplex - UU, UV, VV   Repeater Mode - UV, VU
	Dual Receive	Side A & Side B
	Output Power	55 Watts VHF, 40 Watts UHF   Low Power Steps, 10w / 5w

first factory run of this radio will be December 1st.

you may order now for end of December delivery

your payment will be processed during checkout

MSRP  $395.00

special pre-order price offer good thur Dec 15th 

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Free Speaker Mic with Purchase

Holiday #HamRadio! Free speaker mic with purchase of Wouxun KG-UV8D! Details http://t.co/WnfBIQQ0vW #amateurradio @brickolore @amatradio
— BuyTwoWayRadios.com (@2wayradios) November 24, 2014

Yes, our Wouxun KG-UV8D is now factory set to go up to 520MHz! http://t.co/WKRebQj3nA #hamradio #amateurradio #buytwowayradios
— BuyTwoWayRadios.com (@2wayradios) November 24, 2014

Anytone AT3318UV-E: Mini-review

A mini-review from Mike on the Anytone AT3318UV (A,B,C,D &E) Yahoo Group:

"I talked a friend into buying two of these tri-band handhelds because of the advertised FHSS (frequency hopping spread spectrum) feature, which turned out to be more of a random frequency trunking feature and probably a misunderstanding of the FHSS term by the Chinese manufacturer.

The radios were purchased from the exclusive US importer "Import Communications", who notified all buyers about the mistake with the FHSS option and offered a refund if so desired. 

So here I sat with my friends two otherwise good looking and great sounding 2m, 220MHZ and 440MHz plus part 90 certified handhelds as he mulled over keeping or returning the radios. After reading up on the manual, perusing the extensive programming software and living with these handhelds for a week I decided I can't live without it and and purchased one from my buddy who originally bought the pair.

These radios cover 136 to 174, 220 to 225 and 400 to 520MHz transmit and receive plus .52 to 30MHz AM HF (10KHz steps), 64 to 108MHz WBFM, 118 to 136MHz AM and 225 to about 260MHz FM receive only. The radio works surprisingly well in the AM broadcast and HF SW bands with an appropriate antenna and I did not detect any overload problems feeding it with a large G5RV type HF antenna.

The radios have a very extensive but fairly easy to navigate menu system unlike any Baofeng or Wouxun I have used and I love the various banks I can assign to memory channels to scan only specific banks if I want or I can scan the entire memory. There is also a quick talk around feature for your programmed repeater frequencies and all sorts of other nifty features that I don't see on other Chinese brands.

When using the AM/FM broadcast or SW feature, if you receive a call on whatever two way frequency is being monitored the broadcast band will temporarily mute during the call then pop back in about 5 seconds later. You can listen to music or local news and not miss a radio call. 

The receiver performance is also much better than Baofeng and Wouxun radios I've tested. I live in a very RF rich environment and was recently comparing a Baofeng UV-5R, a Wouxun UV8 plus a Yaesu VX-8R and FT-60 at a local hilltop about a half mile from a major repeater site with lots of RFI.

While listening to some simplex activity on 146.52 I noticed both Yaesu radios were hearing lots of things the Baofeng was not. Some of the signals that were almost full quieting on both Yaesu radios just did not exist on the Baofeng UV-5R. I was also playing with the cross band repeat on the new Wouxun KG-UV8D at the same location and noticed it was not repeating things that I could hear clearly on the input frequency on the Yaesu radios. 

I repeated the same tests with the new Anytone AT-3318UV-E and its on par with the Yaesu radios and could hear every weak signal the Yaesu's could in the heavy RF environment. The Anytone also cross band repeated weak signals very well under the same conditions.

I'm not knocking the inexpensive Baofeng radios, for the price they great little radios and they measure very sensitive on a service monitor. But put them in a busy RF environment and their shortcomings will show up. The Wouxun KG-UV8D is also a really nice radio and quite a leap from the first Wouxuns I played with. But the AT-3318UV-E performance is is better and you get 220MHz tx/rx and a lot more features for just a little more money.

Playing with the AT-3318UV-E menus its also apparent that Anytone engineers are familiar with how American commercial and amateur users interface with two way radio equipment. Other Chinese brands have odd and useless features and will not do many things that radio users are demanding. 

The transmit and receive audio is extremely good and better than most handhelds I own including many Motorola, Yaesu, Icom and the like. The receive audio is almost Hi-Fi and people who I know personally come out of the speaker sounding much more like themselves than any other handheld radio I have used in recent times. I also gets great unsolicited transmit audio reports.

The 3318UV-E is also more compact than a Wouxun KG-UV3 type or KG-UV8D, which I had just purchased and sold after playing with the Anytone. So far battery life is very good from the stock 1800mah pack and I can't say enough good things about this very modestly priced handheld, its just a winner all around, despite the misunderstood FHSS feature.

I think the closest competitor to the AT-3318UV-E model is probably the Kenwood TF6a, which runs about $190 more and is not FCC Part 90 compliant, although its HF receive is SSB capable. The TH6a is also a design from 10+ years ago.

So there is my story about a pair of radios purchased for a specific feature and when that feature did not pan out the radios turned out to be so good I couldn't send them back.

Mike"

Wouxun KG-UV950P: 800 MHz Receive

BuyTwoWayRadios reminds us that the Wouxun KG-UV950P quad band radio will also receive from 700.000 to 985.000 MHz. The trick is to make sure you are using the "A" side of the radio to hear the 800 MHz band:

"To access the 800MHz band, simply press the A/B button and switch to A, Press the 2 Key (MHz), and enter a frequency from 700.000 MHZ to 985.000 MHz. Once entered, you can also scan the entire range of those frequencies on the A side by pressing the * (Scan) key for two seconds to initiate the scan."

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Firmware Update and Green Buttons

The latest version (firmware v1.03) of the KG-UV8D is available at BuyTwoWayRadios:

"First, the KG-UV8D is now available with 2.5k step. Early versions of this radio were only available with a minimum 5k step. Of course, an eventual update to a 2.5k version was expected, and Wouxun recently brought addition of the smaller step to market."

"The KG-UV8D comes standard with a 1700mAh battery pack in the box. However, for a limited time, Buy Two Way Radios is replacing the stock battery pack with a FREE high capacity battery upgrade!" 

"Demo versions of the KG-UV8D featured green A/B and EXIT buttons on the keypad. When Wouxun officially released the radio to market, the buttons were black. Those who were expecting the KG-UV8D to ship with green buttons were disappointed to find they were black. 

"Well, due to popular demand, Buy Two Way Radios worked with Wouxun to bring back the green buttons, and now we have them! This is a limited run, and we only received one hundred of them, but now you can get a KG-UV8D with green buttons while supplies last. Whether we are able to get more in the future with green buttons depends on the demand."

Some people are already getting their new ones.

Wouxun KG-UV8D: HRO Version

HRO is advertising a version 3 of the KG-UV8D, but according to Wouxun this is not really an upgrade. HRO mentions black buttons (instead of green) and I think this may create some fake drama around the various versions.

(Based on recent traffic on the Yahoo Groups, I expect someone to ask if swapping one color of buttons for another will allow them to transmit/receive on 11 meters.)

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Software Problem Update

I traded messages with the guys at BuyTwoWayRadios.com about the software problem with the KG-UV8D.

They've seen a problem where the radio shuts down when transmitting. They aren't 100% sure, but the common factor seems to be that the customers had used the frequency adjusting software. They are working with Wouxun to find out more, but that will take some time.

It sounds like they are working hard to keep their customers happy, but I would recommend avoiding the frequency expanding software just in case.

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Software Problems

So according to these posts, there is a problem with the software:

"So i just got off the Phone with buytwowayradios.com because my radio has issue I found out that if you download the Software on Miklor.com it can screw up the radio but making the sound muffle and shutting it down and they said there is no way to fix the problem at the moment.Do not download the software.They said they have had multiple people complain.But they are still going to exchange the radio for me.Great Customer Service."

Company Names

There is something to be said for having a company name that is not tied to a specific brand. With the change of Baofeng to Pofung, it would be better (at least in my mind) to be something like BuyTwoWayRadios.com instead of BaofengTech. You've got all your eggs in one brand basket.

I think we saw another example of this with Wouxun.us and Import Communications when the relationship developed problems.

Wouxun KG-UV8D: How to check version

Via Miklor on the KG-UV8D Facebook page:

UV8D Keypad/Display...
By pressing and holding the 3 Key while doing a PowerON,the UV8D will display the Model, Version and Date.

XLT Painless Programming Cable for Baofeng, Kenwood, and Wouxun

$20 for a genuine FTDI chip is probably a bargain for most considering the amount of time some have invested in trying to get a knock-off to work with their radio. Heck, if everyone had one of these, the number of posts to the various Yahoo Groups would drop exponentially.

And a related post on reddit: Does anybody know why modern radios still use serial connectors for their data cables instead of USB?

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Win One

Win one here.

Wouxun KG-UV8D: 2.5K Steps

BuyTwoWayRadios has the updated KG-UV8D with the 2.5K Steps. They are also including a free 2600 mAh battery upgrade for $159.99 (free shipping.)

Wouxun KG-UV8D

First and foremost, thanks again to the guys at BuyTwoWayRadios for loaning the KG-UV8D to me.

For the TLDR crowd, I'll sum up by saying that I think this radio is the next step in the evolution of the Chinese handheld transceivers. I say this for a few reasons. First, I think we will start to see a lot more color displays. The true dual receive is a step forward as well. While I don't believe that cross-band repeat will now be available on every new radio, it does demonstrate the potential capabilities coming out of China. And little things like the blinking phone icon for activity (that I discuss next) also add up to make this an great evolutionary step.

As I mentioned, I'll start with a small thing that makes a huge difference and makes me wish all my radios had this feature - the blinking phone icon to indicate which frequency had the most recent activity. Such a simple thing, but when you aren't staring at the screen and are monitoring two repeaters owned by the same ham, it eliminates any confusion about where the activity was.

And for what it's worth, I do like green for the "A/B" and "EXIT" buttons. It just makes navigating a little easier. I don't know why the new radios have all black buttons - saving a penny in the manufacturing cost?

From a subjective perspective, I really like how the radio feels in my hand. It isn't that much thinner than the KG-UV1DP, but it feels better. I also like the feel better than the Baofeng UV-5R.

The dual receive works perfectly. While my brain/CPU can't always follow two conversations at once, it allows me to hear both and then easily pick one to monitor using the RPT button to switch to the single frequency mode.

As for the cross-band repeat, I did not encounter any problems using it. I think it is a great feature/option to have, but not something I will use all the time. For temporary usage I think it is perfect, but I cringe anytime I read about someone trying to make this a "permanent" repeater.

Speaking of options, the KG-UV8D lets you customize the functions of some of the keys, so you can tailor it a bit to meet your preferences.

People always ask about the S meter on these radios. Between my good QTH and mostly listening to some great repeaters, I don't see much besides a full meter. Here is a short video here showing something besides zero and full strength.

Scanning is fine for my use, but by others' standards it is still too slow. A sample is here, so you can decide for yourself.

John has a mini-review on the Yahoo Group:

"Receive sensitivity is very good- about 0.25 microvolt.
Transmit power- 5W VHF, 4W UHF
True Dual Band Rx- you hear both upper and lower simultaneously
Easy to setup XBand repeat
Nice large multi-color display 

Annoyances:
Back light stays on during scan- same as other Wouxuns. Seems it should be OFF during scan and ON when it stops on an active channel.
Scan is still not professional- scan stops when any button is pressed. As a result, if you think you are scanning but bump any button, scan stops and you don't know it. The scan button should start and stop scan period, unless it is in SE mode where it automatically stops on any active channel.
The 8D is a very nice radio and it will replace my aging (but still working) 4 year old KG-UVD1P."

My test unit would do 135 to 174.995 and 400 to 479.995 out of the box. Miklor has the software to expand the frequencies (134 to 174 and 400 to 519), but you do so at your own risk.

Hans has the KG-UV8D on his test bench (along with the Puxing PX-UV973) and reports that harmonic suppression and sensitivity measurements are where they should be expected. He goes on to say:

"preventing both oscillators of interfering with each other
Here both radios fail miserably. For some reason both manufacturers weren’t able to to get this right, resulting in an awful lot of spurious emissions up and down the carrier. 

The problem is most evident when you’re receiving around the third harmonics of your transmit frequency."

His post indicates more information will follow.

Wouxun KG-UV899: Available and Unboxing

BuyTwoWayRadios is shipping the KG-UV899 now.

Wouxun KG-UV899:

You can pre-order the Wouxun KG-UV899 for $79.99 from BuyTwoWayRadios.

I like that it isn't as thick as the KG-UV1DP:

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Miklor Review

Spoiler alert - he likes the KG-UV8D.

Wouxun Memory Loss Fix

Interesting...

Replacing the surface mounted 24C64 eeprom to fix the memory loss problem:

"I have the KG-UV2D radio at work; connected to a battery eliminator (in place of the battery) - which is connected to a 12vdc source and an external antenna. The reason I went into detail about this is because every evening when I power-down my work bench for the night - the12vdc source that runs the radio is also powered down. So, I am completely removing the power source from the radio every night - with the radio sitting dead for 12 hours before being powered back up again (and it's even for longer over the weekend). It's been 2 weeks since the repair, and my Wouxun has kept it's memory programming; without the slightest burp."

Via AmateurRadio.com

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Crossband Repeat

So, it works. It was no trouble to get going... this was just a super quick and dirty test.