12 Signs You Need An Internet Break

12 Signs You Need An Internet Break... #10 hits a little too close to home.

TYT TH-UVF9: Now Available

Kight Radio has updated their site today with the news that they are taking orders for the TH-UVF9:

"The TYT TH-UVF9 4 watt HT is Available Now. We have these in stock in our China warehouse and all orders will be shipped from China until we receive stock in the USA Office. If you want one NOW, you can order and delivery time is about 7 - 10 days from China. We should have stock in the US Office in about 2 weeks. I will be adding specs and more pictures today to the site."

The site says out of stock, but has the note about shipping directly from China. Link here, but I cannot see the price on the product page. It is only on the main page: $89.95.

Import Communications

I just saw this note on Ed's Import Communications website:

"Wouxun.US is my domain name. It is not connected with Wouxun-China other than the fact I sell over 500 Wouxun radios per month.

China does not like the fact that other brands of radios are associated with this web site.

Any questions about products on this site should be directed to info@wouxun.us or info@importcommunications only."

I assumed that the name change from Wouxun.us to Import Communications was driven by Ed's desire to sell more brands with a more generic web site/company name. It never occurred to me that Wouxun/China wouldn't like seeing the Baofeng and TYT along side the Wouxun radios. Duh.

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.

Really Worth

I think this applies to ham radios, too.

If I die, someone please...

DIY Arduino

It almost seems like EXTREME DIY!! hacking when you build your own Arduino.

Ham Radio Deluxe

I've given up on trying to keep tabs on Ham Radio Deluxe. There has been way too much drama since the new owners took over. The transition has been a little bumpy to say the least. The Yahoo Group has been flooded with complaints about the pricing and bugs in the newer releases. It seems to have brought out the worst in some hams. From a development perspective, it appears they took the classic "ready, fire, aim" approach.

I expect that things will level out and some lessons learned will make things smoother going forward, but hold on to your hats for now.

4,000+ Android Devices

Wow. More than 4,000 different devices are running Android. Contrast that with a few models of iPhones and iPads.

Baofeng UV-5R: Type 90 Accepted

Chris (NH7QH Radio Supplies) sent me a note saying that the Baofeng UV-5R is now Type 90 accepted by the FCC. He says he has them on order and will be selling them soon.

Quansheng TG-UV2: CHIRP Support

Looks like CHIRP support for the TG-UV2 may not happen in the immediate future:

"Dan replied to my inquiry with the following: " It depends on the radio, of course, but if it is going to happen, it would take less than a week of development time. "

He didn't venture when that week might occur. And that tiny word "if" looms large.

Ian"

I didn't see a way to vote/show support for a particular radio on Dan's site. He's doing this for free, so whatever he decides to do next is clearly up to him. As a quick data point, the relative Yahoo Group memberships are:

TG-UV2 - 431
UV-5R - 1,126
UV-3R - 3,118

[Updated June 29, 2012 - I meant Quansheng not TYT.]