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Powerwerx DB-750X Dual Band VHF/UHF 750 Channel Commercial Mobile Radio

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I bought one at HRO, just because it was there. Curiosity, and I wanted to show it to our county emergency manager, as something budget friendly he could put in the ECOMM room that was good for PS freqs and Ham.

I've run mine across a good bit of the frequencies its' good for. Power output was constant across both bands. No complaints from stations on the other end. It's programing software is RT Systems. I already use it on 3 other radios, so found it a natural to run.

The functions/entries philosophy seems to run along the lines of Yaesu and Alinco. About the only complaint I can offer, is the feel of a couple of the buttons/knobs. As you reduce the volume to nil, it has an abrupt cutoff to silent, vs fade to silent. So if you wanted it set at a super low volume, not happening.The rotary knobs have the feel of the Yaesu FT8000, which I think are too loose. i.e. I wish they had a higher resistance to movement, or higher friction. Hey, I realize this isn't Motorola.

Aside from that, it seems a decent rig. I added it to my gobox to add flexibility and capability.
 

robertmac

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groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/db750x/conversations/messages
And can look at a couple of reviews on eham.net
 

Batt54

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Jun 25, 2011
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Veneta, OR.
I've picked up two of these radios now. One is in the car and one in the house. I am having one issues however that I can't put my finger on. It seems that when I'm scanning on one side, and have the other side on a channel that I monitor the scan will lock up on a random channel after awhile. A good example is I left the radio on to listen and fell asleep, when I woke up a few hours later it was locked on a channel like it was receiving a signal (Showed busy but S-0) Has anyone else noticed this?
 

robertmac

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If I understand this correct it could be a harmonic or image frequency. Some radios allow adjustment of the CPU "clock" setting to avoid this. But there is a possibility it can not be avoided. RTFM might comment on this as I know some other dual band radios cover this subject.
 

ladn

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Oct 25, 2008
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Southern California and sometimes Owens Valley
It's my understanding that the Powerwerx DB-750X is the same radio as the Anytone 5888UV although the control head looks different. The Powerwerx is shipped "locked" (to amateur frequencies) and requires the optional software purchase to unlock it.

I'm curious if anyone has tried unlocking the Powerwerx radio with the free Anytone unlock software and what the results were.
 

KA9QPN

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Dec 19, 2002
Messages
99
Location
Sandwich IL
Not bad at all

I picked one up after flipping one Wouxun because of horrendous audio and being somewhat unhappy with a second KG-UV920R-A because of raspy audio and slow tone squelch release. The firmware was nice and the hardware pretty. But, I wanted something that didn't hurt my ears.

All in all, it appears to be a nice radio for the price. Got it from HRO who had it for $20 cheaper than everyone else. They also threw in a separation kit which is going to sit for now. I did buy the software, which ends up being RT Systems V4 and cable. I've been quite happy with RT's software for ICOM and Yaesu, so this was no exception. There is some quirkiness particular to the DB-750X like the 'Squelch Mode' selection in software. It seems to be redundant to the 'Tone Mode' selection or I just don't understand it. Sadly, the Help file is the one common to all V4 software, so you are on your own for the individual header selections and menu items. One thing that the DB-750X does not have compared to the rest of the Chinese radios is the ability to have one display show alpha characters and the other to show frequency, I find it helpful if my shorthand for the alpha falls out of my head. I can usually remember the frequency. So, for a workaround, I left the amateur freqs to display with frequencies and the public safety ones on alpha. Works for me. Something that the radio does have that others do not is both 2 and 5 tone encode/decode. Our EMA still uses pagers and 2 tone encode for warning siren activation, so this was a Big Deal to me. The variable/mixable display colors are a unique solution to a nonexistent problem. Ultimately, I ran all three up to max to produce a white display with a slight blue cast. Operationally, it performs as advertised. Audio both transmitted and received is very pleasant. I'm going to forgo an external speaker on this radio for a while. The buttons are a little small and you really have to be sure of what you are pressing. The PTT on the mike is a bit finicky and wants to be hit squarely to function. The VHF receiver has some strange artifacts which cause the S meter to bounce on certain freqs. I live in a rural area, so I'm discounting intermod. Again: it's a $300 radio.

I'll leave the test equipment gyrations for others. What I have found so far, I (mostly) like. The Wouxun is going on the for sale block and the DB-750X will become the radio that I put in the car when I need it for storm spotting and such.
 

Batt54

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Joined
Jun 25, 2011
Messages
9
Location
Veneta, OR.
Hey, I have an issue with my Powerwerx. I have my programming broken into banks or groups based on use (Fire vs. Ham etc) But whenever I change banks and return to the original bank and channel I have it programmed to by default (RT Software) and turn the radio off. When I turn it back on. the radio reverts to the other bank until I turn the channel knob. Any thoughts?
 
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