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!

Nigerian Radio - Kencomsu

There has been a lot of discussion about Chinese radio imports for the amateur market on some of the Yahoo groups to which I subscribe. Discussion may be too generous - rants may be more appropriate. As an owner of a Wouxun KG-UVD1P, you may guess I don't have a problem with letting the markets work.

After seeing the success of the Wouxun ,I did get excited for the business potential of another import when I saw this post:

"The ones that the Nigerian company "Kencomsu" makes, but they can't get them out of Nigeria because they need an export license. In order to get an export license, they need a partner in the USA who will import the radios. So, if someone in the USA will just put up $10,000 for export permits, he/she can get 1000 amateur radios delivered, which the USA partner can sell for a profit and share the revenue with the Nigerian company for all their trouble.

Want me to provide more details?"

Then I realized it was joke. I would love to run a small business like Ed at wouxun.us.

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.

Wouxun KG-UVD1P

An oldie, but a goodie...

"I have 6 (six) variants of this radio with the original UV-1D being my favorite! Back in 2011 when I first became a ham radio op, the Wouxun was the 'cheap' low-cost entry level rig (the world before baofeng). Coming in at nearly $80 less than the stellar FT-60 the UV-1D was right in my budget range. 8 (Eight) Years later, it's still my 'go-to' handi. While it's not my favorite HT (Kenwood TH-k20) it is the one I find myself using anytime I am forced to use a hand-held radio. Over the years I've added a pair of 2m/6m and 2m/220 versions as well as a few spare 2m/70cm rigs. When my eldest passed his tech test last year-he got a New Wouxun HT. As you can see I'm pretty heavily invested in Wouxun, and although I sometimes wonder if I'd been better off with an offering from the Big3 (unattainable in '11), when you add it all up ($) it seems like money well spent. K4CDN"

Baofeng UV-5R: Alphatags

We saw it in the software...

And now that I have the radio, I've seen it on the display, too. I should add that I had to do the alphatags via the software and that my programming cable from my Wouxun KG-UVD1P worked.

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.

Universal Radio Programming Software - CHIRP

Instead of having a program to update the UV-3R and a program (or two!) to update the KG-UVD1P, how about a "one size fits most" application for programming radios. CHIRP will update, as of this writing, three Alinco, seventeen Icom, one Jetstream, seven Kenwood, nine Yaesu, and three Wouxun models. It will not do everything the radio specific software will do, but will update the basic memories for your favorite frequencies. You will still need the appropriate cable for your radio.

KGUVD1P vs TH-UVF1 vs UV5R

John asks which radio he should get. Hans replies:

"Best of the pack: Wouxun KGUVD1P. No real flaws to report. The KGUVD1P is verystrict when it comes to battery voltage though. It will switch off immediately,there's no escape. Switching to low power won't help. Buy a spare battery!

Runner up: Quansheng TG-UV2. Flaws: no DTMF. Not the prettiest design ever (a

matter of taste, of course). Strengths: capable of RX/TX on 350-390MHz. Batterylife is unbelievable.

The stock antennas of these two HT's are as good as they get, no need for areplacement.

The Baofeng UV-5R is interesting because of its price - you can buy two UV-5R'sfor the price of one Wouxun. If you can live with its quirks, you have a heck ofa deal."

Hans also replies on another thread:

"The cheap UV-3R can't be used here on 70cm. Total RX collapse. The UV-5R does alot better and is usable. The Quansheng TG-UV2 does even better, and the champion of Chinese HT's is the Wouxun KG-UVD1P. I hardly notice the influence of a 5+5+10 KiloWatt digital TV transmitter on that one, which is located only half a mile away from my QTH.

Even the best Chinese HT is no match for my Yaesu VX-177 mono band though. Thatone doesn't give a d*** about these signals. And it should, as I can buy fourUV-5R's for the price of one VX-177."

If you don't already follow Hans at his blog, I highly recommend it.

Baofeng UV-5R: Size Comparison

On the left is my Baofeng UV-3R. In the middle is the Baofeng UV-5R. On the right is a Wouxun KG-UVD1P.

Baofeng UV-5R: Stock Antenna

I had only been listening to my UV-5R sporadically and, for the most part, I just left it on the desk. This afternoon I was showing it to a fellow ham and was holding it in my hand. There was an awful lot of noise/interference that I hadn't noticed earlier. I quickly realized that the problem only occurred while I was holding the radio. If I set it down, the problem went away. I don't get the best signal on any of my HTs inside my office, so I went outside and the problem still existed if I had it in my hand.

I was extremely disappointed by this discovery. What good is a handy talkie if you can't hold it?

I was comparing it to my Wouxun and my buddy suggested trying the antenna from the KG-UVD1P. Voila! Using the Wouxun antenna solved the problem. Even without any fancy equipment and testing, I'm thinking I may look for a replacement for the stock radio based on this problem alone.

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!