Wouxun KG-UV8D: Size Comparison

The first surprise I had was the size of the UV8D. From the pictures I had seen, I thought it was going to be a hefty radio. The reality is different. In the pictures you can see (from left to right) the Baofeng UV-3R, the Baofeng UV-5R, the Wouxun KG-UV8D, and the Wouxun KG-UV1DP.

(And, yes, I found my UV-5R.)

KG-UV920R: Hands on Reports from VA3ISP

Lots of good stuff here... all these posts give me the impression that this radio is no different than lots of the other Chinese radios in that there is a price for being first. Hopefully, they will correct the problems in short order.

Initial review and pictures:

Pros: microphone is also a speaker, split tones - TX and RX settings are independent
Cons: DC noise is very loud when using the remote head, touchy VFO

Thoughts after three days:

"Lack of proper cross-band repeat is a killer for me. I’ve tried all their modes and none of them let me use a repeater on one vfo and simplex on another. It just simply does simplex-simplex repeating. So if you need a simplex cross-band repeater then your in luck."

Crossband repeat fail:

"So I contacted Wouxun yesterday and asked them specifically what steps I needed to take to enable the XBand repeat.

Everyone that has one that I have spoken so has the same problems. (apparently except Ed over at ImportRadio, Somehow he has his working.)

Here is what I got from them.

1. Press MENU+3+1—MENU—UP/DOWN to select ON—MENU—EXIT
2. MENU+3+0—MENU—UP/DOWN to select ON—MENU—EXIT
3. MENU+3+2—MENU—UP/DOWN to select X-DIPRT/X-TWRPT—MENU

So after trying this multiple times, doing a complete wipe of the radio and starting over I can’t seem to get it to work. Anyone else?"

(I will add that Kight Radio also said they could not get the Cross Band Repeat to work - and then they did get it working by selecting x-twrpt in Menu 32.)

Alternator Noise Demo

DC Noise Root Cause:

"[Wouxun] have confirmed that the flat cable included with the radio does not provide adequate shielding ( which we already knew ). They have replaced it with a standard CAT5 cable and RJ45 connectors.

I have done the same and noticed quite a reduction in the DC noise in the audio when my truck is running. My next step will be to add a clip on choke and see if that gets rid of it altogether."

Dual Receive/Same Band Problem:

"I was on my local repeater last night and had a simplex channel that I use with a few friends in the area. Anyway… I noticed that when I have a conversation going on on one VFO the second doesn’t rx anything. They were both VHF."

Wouxun to Fix Dual Receive/Same Band Problem

Adding VA3ISP to my RSS feed now!

 

Baofeng UV-5R: Kight Radio Update

Kight Radio and Electronics posted this update on their site yesterday:

"04/04/12

I would like to mention that one of the best sources of information and radios is Ed at www.wouxun.us Ed knows these radios and he one of the nicest guys I know. He will stand behind the products he sells. Ed has been a guest several times in my home in China. He sells more Wouxun Dual band radios then anyone. He is by far the largest seller of Wouxun in the US.

We are holding off selling the Baofeng UV5 because of some issues with the radio. Black out display problem, receiver being off frequency, and too much transmit audio. These problems should be solved soon and when they are, we will have them available."

 I have been seeing the traffic about the off-frequency problem, but I've not had a chance to digest it all. Hopefully tomorrow I can read through the backlog and put together a summary.

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

Wouxun SPS30 III Switching Power Supply

For those of you who want to have 100% Wouxun shack, you can get a step closer. The Wouxun SPS30 III Switching Power Supply is $75 from BuyTwoWayRadios.com

Specs:
- Input voltage: 110V/220V AC
- Output voltage: 13.8V DC - adjustable between 9.0 and 15.0 V
- Output voltage regulation: less than 2%
- Protection: short-circuit - Automatic current limiting within 30A
- Output current: 30A(max) 20A(continuous)
- Ripple: less than 80mVp-p at rated load
- Fuse: 220V:5A, 110V:8A
- Meter: single volt/current meter - backlit

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Questions

So here are the questions that have been asked of me so far... anything to add?

What is the scan speed like?
Is there a way to leave the display on all the time w/o backlight?
What's different between this and the older Wouxun's?
How's the DTMF paging work?
Can you assign anything to the PF keys on the side, or just a few options?
Does the charger come in 110V only or is it on autovolt system (110-240V)?
Does it have the same X-DIRPT, X-TWRPT Cross band options like the Wouxun KG-UV920P mobile?

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.

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.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Yahoo Group

There is a Yahoo Group for the Wouxun KG-UV920R... 195 members and only 165 messages since it was created in late 2010. I'll join and see if it has anything to offer beyond what we see in the original Wouxun KG-UVD1P (etc.) group.

Wouxun KG-UV8T

Wouxun KG-UV8T at Powerwerx:

"KG-UV8T features Amateur Tri-Band operation (144/220/440 MHz), true dual simultaneous receive (V+V, U+U, V+U), now with Cross-band repeat function, 999 Channels, large LCD color display, CTCSS/DCS encode and decode, and 12.5/25.0 KHz wide/narrow bandwidth selection."

New Item: Wouxun KG-UV8T U.S. Version Tri-Band 999 Channel Amateur Handheld Radio https://t.co/9viE15T7En pic.twitter.com/OVLZbP8h1Z

— Powerwerx (@Powerwerx) September 6, 2016

Wouxun KG-D901 (DMR): BuyTwoWayRadios.com Unboxing

Hams have a good option in the TYT MD-380, but I'm excited to see the comparisons with the Wouxun KG-D901. If you are already in the Wouxun ecosystem, this may be an easy choice for you since the KG-D901 shares accessories with radios like the KG-UV9D.

Wouxun KG-UV8D: BuyTwoWayRadios.com How-To's

BuyTwoWayRadios.com puts out some good docs...

How to program the Wouxun KG-UV8D

How to reset the Wouxun KG-UV8D to factory settings and English prompts

Wouxun KG-UV6D: FCC Update

There are some new entries on the FCC site for Quanzhou Wouxun Electronics Co., Ltd. (Go the the FFC site here and type WVT for Wouxun in the "Grantee Code" field to see all the files.) I was hoping to see a new entry for the KG-UV920R, but, alas, no. Looks like they want all models of their radios to share the same FCC ID. From the cover letter:

"We declared, added models KG-UVD1P, KG-UVD1P V2, KG-UV2D, KG-UV2D V2, KGUV3D, KG-UV3D V2, KG-UV5D, KG-UV5D V2, KG-UV6D V2, KG-UV6D-E, KG-UV6D-A, KG-UV6D-R, KG-UV6X, KG-UV7D, KG-UV7D V2, KG-UV8D, KG-UV8D V2, KG-UV9D, KG-UV9D V2, KG-UVA1, KG-UVA1 V2, KG-UVA2, KG-UVA2 V2 basis of the original models KG-UV6D. These models are identical circuit, PCB LAYOUT to the original model, only the appearance and name are different. All models sharing the same FCC ID without permissive change would be electrically identical."

Wouxun KG-UV920R: July

So in addition to the stirring of the pot on June 12, this old thread got going again, too.

Thanks to Christopher for pointing out the update on Ed's site:

.......June 15, 2012   Update......

Wouxun has informed me that the mobile radio will be available in July.

Ed also posted to the Yahoo group saying it would be out in July, but no pricing yet.

I just checked the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) page and there are no new listings for Wouxun (WVT). This doesn't mean a lot - we've see radios (UV-5R) hit the street long before they get blessed by the FCC.

KG-UV920R

Ed of Wouxun.us responds to this thread about the "as of yet missing in action" KG-UV920R mobile rig from Wouxun:

"If it was a hoax, it was a nice looking one that weighed about 3 pounds. Last October, I held it in my grubby little hands, turned its knobs, took its picture, even tried to sneak it into my bag, so it did exist. I have my theory as to why it hasn't made it to market but I'll keep that to myself. If it's at the show this October, I'll let you know.

Pictures added to the Photos section.

Ed
www.Wouxun.US"

Below is one of the pics he posted. (Join the Yahoo Group if you want to see the other one.) I think the mobile rig will appear. I am guessing that they have run into some technical challenges, supply chain issues, cost problems, or all of the above that has delayed its arrival. Even if it never shows up, I would not assume it was because the KG-UV920R was a hoax. I think Hanlon's Razor applies.

Wouxun Defects

In addition to announcing the AT-3318UV-A and the end of his relationship with Wouxun, Ed takes some parting shots about the quality of the Wouxun radios, the warranties, and services:

- "flop" of a dual band mobile
- ordering difficulties
- lack of a real warranty, only repairs
- memory loss problem on all dual band radios

The last one has the most direct impact to owners. According to Ed, all dual bands have a chip that may go bad causing the radio to revert to Chinese, display the channel numbers, and sometimes erase the programmed channels. Reprogramming the radio might fix it - or only until the power is cycled again.

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?

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Dayton Appearance?

In response to a post on the Wouxun KG-UVD1 group, Ed said this about the KG-UV920R:

I would say, don't give up yet. If you happen to be at Dayton this year, stop
by North Hall spaces 175-176.

Regards,
Ed Griffin
www.Wouxun.US

I'm guessing that means a demo unit, but nothing for sale. Not sure why Ed is choosing to be vague. If he is under an NDA then he is dancing near the line. If he isn't, I don't see what it would hurt to say either he has a demo or that he will have them for sale.

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

Wouxun KG-UV8D: BuyTwoWayRadios Special

From their webpage:

"The standard KG-UV8D regularly sells for $159.99, but for a limited time, Buy Two Way Radios is offering the standard Wouxun KG-UV8D for a special holiday sale price of only $99.99! 

That's right, the 8D is now available at just under $100! This package includes the Wouxun KG-UV8D with black buttons and all the standard accessories in the box, such as dual band antenna, 1700mAh Lithium-Ion battery pack, belt clip, wrist strap, charger tray, AC cable and owner's manual."