Hong Litong HL-UV8R

So the question was asked if the $58 Hong Litong HL-UV8R was a tri-bander. Hans and others said that it
was a mono-bander that was available in various flavors. Hans even offered this mini-review:

"These are mono-band radios. Unless something improved over the last year or so,
these are NOT recommended.

My experience with this radio:
- TX audio muffled
- LCD hard to read
- Battery life disappointing (rated 1500mAh, but actually 1200mAh)
- Charging takes ages
- Parts started to fall off within a month or so
- VCO/VXO locking problems"

There is, of course, a Yahoo Group for the UV8R. (Not to be confused with the UV-8R.) No one on the UV8R group seems to know much about the radio.

And now, we have Donald who says:

"got mine yesterday. 

hong litong hl-uv8r:
2 meter,220 and 440
just a little bit bigger than uv3r
easy to program
5 watts 440
6 watts 220
loud rec audio
keypad lights up
100 channels
only has hi and low power out

mine came with bad charger.
im going to exchange it for another.
$44 cant beat it, if i can get one that works right."

That's surprising and based on all the other comments, it would mean something has changed.

Puxing PX-888K

Steve and JLWilkers mentioned the Puxing PX-888K in the comments (here, here) a couple of weeks ago, but Hans (PD0AC) is about to get his hands on one. Quoting Hans, there are a few features that make this note worthy:

• 5 tone selective call (ZVEI,EIA,CCIR). These tones are often used in professional environments, which makes this radio compatible with commonly used professional hand-helds.
• Scrambler, 8 groups. Although banned by law for for use by Ham radio operators, this can be a lot of fun and adds a basic level of privacy. The word ‘groups’ is presumably another word for the various frequencies which are commonly used used in voice inversion systems.

The 409Shop has them for $80. Don't forget: you may want to pick up the PX-888K in bulk to get a free jacket or polo shirt!

Baojie BJ-UV55/HYS TC-UV55

Given the luke-warm reception of the Wouxun KG-UV920R, everyone is looking at some alternatives. Following is a essentially a guest post by Nate as he reviews the HYS TC-UV55 (Baojie BJ-UV55) by watching a video review by Andre Silva of Brazil. These mobile radios were first mentioned in his earlier Mega List guest post. I've done some editing, so assume any mistakes are mine. (Already updated as I've made plenty of mistakes! Hopefully, they are fixed now.)

Many thanks to Nate for the in-depth review!

Here is basically a "second hand" review as the video is not in English and Nate could not understand what he was saying. Basically, he watched the display and compared the specs listed in the catalog page.

This video consists of two parts. It is probably not a complete overview of all the features and menus of the HYS TC-UV55 - some key features weren't even showed. (He was using the pause buttons to check out all the settings, etc). The unit sells for about 2/3 of what they want for the KG-UV920 on AliExpress. Actually, the video is about the HYS TC-UV55 (which is essentially the same radio as the Baojie BJ-UV55 based on the specs and this video).

Part 1 Highlights

- Unique way to enter frequencies, the MHz button actually allow you to change digit by digit, most radios will just allow 1 MHz steps, and then you have to scroll up or down up to 500KHz .
- 36 Menu items (00-35).
- Offset steps - 10 KHz. Same digit by digit entry Offset Frequency (can be set between 0 and 69.9875 MHz in Frequency Mode).
- To switch between VFO and Memory Channel mode, he turned off the radio, held the MENU button while turning the radio on again. This seems odd, but I don't understand what he says. There could be a more conventional way to switch between VFO and Memory Channel. Here is a video from Thailand showing the Baojie BJ-UV88 HT radio and the guy demoing the radio did the same on the HT.
- The display can do VV VU - U+V,U+U,V+V,V+U dual band working mode can be selected arbitrarily Dual Frequency standby in any band.
- The button to the left of the MENU button, is the SCAN button.
- BDR function? TX-AB function?



Part 2 Highlights

- The display backlight can be turned off.
- Separate Tone Squelch or Digital Code Squelch can be set for TX and RX.
- The video gets cut at the end, but no Part 3...




Misc Notes
- A lot of similarities to the Baofeng UV-5R (The menu system is actually the same as the Baojie BJ-UV88 handy talkie).
-The Menu button is used to enter the item/save the change.
-The display shows a used memory channel the same way the Baofeng UV-5R does: CH-001 - used channel 1, 002 - empty memory channel 2.
-Like with the Baofeng UV-5R, programing a channel for the second time, the second frequency will become the TX frequency, the first will be the RX frequency, the display will show +-

MENU ITEMS - Default - Options
00 SQL - 5
01 BAND - UHF0 / VHF
02 TX-AB - OFF / A / B
03 BDR - OFF
04 TXP - LOW / HIGH - TX power (VHF 45W/UHF 35W)
05 TOT - 60 (Transmit Over Timer)
06 STEP - 10.00K - Channel Step(5K, 6.25K, 10K, 12.5K, 25K)
07 WN - WIDE - (Wide:25kHz ,Narrow: 12.5kHz)
08 R-DCS - OFF
09 R-CTCSS - OFF
10 T-DCS - OFF
11 T-CTCSS - OFF
12 ABR - ON
13 BEEP - ON / OFF
14 ANI-SW - ON
15 OPTSIG - OFF
16 SPMUTE - QT - Multi-kind mute modes(QT/AND/OR)
17 ANI-ID - 80808 - ANI code display(caller ID)
18 RING-T - 5 - Ring alert function
19 DTMFST - DT+ANI
20 S-CODE - 1
21 SC-REV - TO - 3 kinds of scan mode(TO/CO/SE)
22 PTT-ID - OFF - PTT-ID Function(BOT/EOT/BOTH)
23 PTT-LT - 5
24 MDF-A - FREQ
25 MDF-B - FREQ
26 BCL - OFF (Busy channel lockout)
27 AUTOLK - OFF
28 SFT-D OFF / - / + - Shift direction
29 OFFSET - Offset frequency 10KHz steps
30 MEMCH - Store VFO frequency into memory channel, second store will be for a separate TX frequency
31 DELCH - Delete memory channel.
32 WT-LED - PINK
33 RX-LED - BLUE
34 TX-LED - RED
35 RESET - ALL

LED back-light options: OFF / PINK / RED / BLUE


Links

HYS TC-UV55
QUANZHOU TRUEST COMMUNICATION CO. ,LIMITED
Catalog Page
Alibaba Listing

(Notice in older pictures the FM button was the power button).
Note how in some places the model number appear as TC-VU55 (instead of TC-UV55), even on the company's own website, on the radio in the picture the model printed is TC-UV55, and in the catalog it says: "Dual Band In-vehicle Radio TC-VU55"

Quanzhou Truest Comm Co. has a similar radio, the HYS TC-UV66, but with a knob instead of the frequency up/down buttons. The HYS TC-UV66 catalog page says: "Dual Band In-vehicle Radio TC-UV66," one line below: "Model No.︰TC-VU66," and in the picture it says: TC-UV66 - anyway, I think that the TC-UV66 is not in mass production yet. (You see it only in Alibaba, not AliExpress )

HYS TC-UV55 - Pricing
Price on AliExpress: $239.90 to $244.21
At the official QUANZHOU TRUEST COMMUNICATION CO LTD AliExpress store it is $242
Price for quantity or dealers: $100 - $200

Baojie BJ-UV55 - Pricing
Radiomart.biz - $219
Radiomart.biz - $239 - w/US B programming cable
There are currently five offers on Ebay - from $299.62 to $329.99 all free shipping.
Price on AliExpress: $207.86 to $237
At the official Quanzhou Baojie Electronic Co.,Ltd AliExpress store it is $207.86
Price for quantity or dealers: $100 - $189

244 9V Batteries

Beware the geek with time on his hands... and a few batteries.

marksenk Snap, crackle, pop! Fun with a few 9V batteries. (244 of them): youtu.be/8hwLHdBTQ7sWed, Jul 25 09:20:21 from The Visitor Widget

Wouxun KG-UV920R: 409Shop

Thanks again to Steve! He sent me the link to the 409Shop listing for the KG-UV920R. 409Shop is selling it for $375.

Green iPads

tim Using an iPad for a year costs less in electricity bills than the average lightbulb my.epri.com/portal/server.… via @jackWed, Jul 25 12:24:35 from web

Baofeng UV-5R: 1800 mAH Battery

marksenk Baofeng UV-5R 1800 mAH battery powers FM radio and flashlight for over 8 hours - Who will test transmit duration? #hamrWed, Jul 25 04:35:24 from SenseTwit

Hillbilly Shakers

You can continue to round out your hillbilly bar with these Mason Jar Shakers.



Via Uncrate

Wouxun KG-UV920R: eBay

Steve pointed out that the KG-UV920R is available on eBay for a mere $389.80. The listing says more than 10 available. You can add a warranty for $53.99.

A Topiary Death Star

From the "you don't see that everyday" file... a topiary Death Star.