Quad Band Radios?

[SpugEddy]

I wasn't sure which area to post this question, but since
it's crossing the waters into that God awful place called
11 meters I decided to post here.

I saw something that tweaked my interest lately and that is
the Wouxun KG-UV950p radio. In my area CB still has a pretty
heavy presence. I literally live right over the Walt Whitmann Bridge
from Philadelphia. I have 2 radios in my car right now and it's
even starting to get on my nerves (you know it's already on my
wife's last nerve) I quite purposefully bought 2 small radios because
of limited space in my car. I have an Icom IC-F420 for GMRS
and a Cobra 18RV for 11 meter comms. I read that the Wouxun
KG-UV950p does Quad banding which includes both GMRS
as well as the 11 meter channels as well.

Question 1 is: Do I need two antennas with a switcher if I want
to talk on GMRS and CB? Or is the radio designed to work from
1 single antenna I currently have a Larsen 450-470 with magnet
mount for GMRS (thank you MMckenna) and a real cheap Little Wil(son) for CB
If I need a new antenna for both bands, suggestions would be appreciated.

Question 2 is: Does anybody know of any other radios that will
do the same job? I like options!

 

[N8IAA]

It will be hard for the AM CB's to copy FM from the 950p. Will work on 10 meters though.
Larry

 

[kf4eyr]

from the reveiws i read on eham.net,,, i see why they are not popular,, it seems you have to have an antenna for each band you move to,,, and with 999 frequency memory you can use pc to set it up,,,not a radio i would want,,,

 

[SpugEddy]

N8IAA.. According to a few sites, they say you have to
"Enable" AM mode in the programming and it will transmit
on 11 meter AM (Not sure about 10 meter AM)

kf4eyr.. Not really a radio that I would "go after" but I
do like the ability of both bands (GMRS and CB) in
an all-in-one package. I personally don't want to turn my
Veracruz SUV into a clown car with 5 antennas

 

[mmckenna]

I saw something that tweaked my interest lately and that is
the Wouxun KG-UV950p radio. In my area CB still has a pretty
heavy presence. I literally live right over the Walt Whitmann Bridge
from Philadelphia. I have 2 radios in my car right now and it's
even starting to get on my nerves (you know it's already on my
wife's last nerve) I quite purposefully bought 2 small radios because
of limited space in my car. I have an Icom IC-F420 for GMRS
and a Cobra 18RV for 11 meter comms. I read that the Wouxun
KG-UV950p does Quad banding which includes both GMRS
as well as the 11 meter channels as well.

So, legality issues are:
Radio does FM on those frequencies, which isn't permitted on CB.
I'm willing to bet it doesn't have FCC certification on Part 95d.

But hey, it's CB, so who cares....

Question 1 is: Do I need two antennas with a switcher if I want
to talk on GMRS and CB? Or is the radio designed to work from
1 single antenna I currently have a Larsen 450-470 with magnet
mount for GMRS (thank you MMckenna) and a real cheap Little Wil(son) for CB
If I need a new antenna for both bands, suggestions would be appreciated.

Yeah, antenna will be a challenge. There are "quad band" antennas, but they are designed for amateur use, so 70cm, 2m, 6m, 10m bands. Not going to be a good performer on CB, might sort of work on GMRS.

You could do separate antennas, in which case you'd need a diplexer suitable for the frequencies you'd want to use. At minimum you'd need one that would split the antenna output to give you an output for the CB band and one for everything else. This might actually be easier to find than a suitable single antenna. You'd also need a CB antenna and a UHF antenna. Not a big deal there.

Question 2 is: Does anybody know of any other radios that will
do the same job? I like options!

Not legally. There are several amateur transceivers that could potentially be hacked to open up the transmit frequencies to include CB and GMRS. They'll do AM, SSB, FM, etc. Not going to be cheap though.

 

[jwt873]

The radio is overkill to use for GMRS/FRS. As mentioned above it's FM only so no CB. There's not much at all on 29 Mhz and 50 Mhz FM other than hams and the odd ham repeater if you're lucky enough to have one in your area. If you're in to scanning, there are some commercial FM services just above 29.7 Mhz.

If I weren't concerned with the legal aspects of using a non certified radio for GMRS, I would go with a simple dual band Chinese wonder. If you're partial to Wouxun, the KG-UV920P would be more in line with what you want to do.

 

[SpugEddy]

I understand the legality of these radios. Or is
it the illegality? It comes down to morality in my
opinion. While I'm not a habitual law breaker, I don't
see a whole lot of harm in using one of these radios
for GMRS if it is used properly. As for CB, who
even cares anymore? It's a free for all out there and
I certainly wont be running 100+ watts like so many out
there now. I just like the small size of the radio and
both bands being available in 1 radio.

Here is a link to a video on how to program. At about
6:35 is where he shows you to turn on AM and a text
comes on screen about CB (27.185mhz)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT8Ghaubwj8

 

[jwt873]

Here is a link to a video on how to program. At about
6:35 is where he shows you to turn on AM and a text
comes on screen about CB (27.185mhz)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT8Ghaubwj8

I see it will receive AM air band too.. I guess they keep the AM part a secret

It would be interesting to see how it performed transmitting on AM.. Since it's a 50 Watt FM radio, I'm guessing the AM output would be around 15 watts.

 

[SpugEddy]

Mid 1 (H) / Mid 2 (L)


Frequency Low Mid1/Mid2 High
26.000 MHz 4.0 9.5 / 9.5 9.5
27.000 MHz 3.6 9.5 / 9.5 9.5
28.000 MHz 3.7 9.0 / 9.0 9.0
29.000 MHz 3.7 9.0 / 9.0 9.0
29.995 MHz 3.5 8.1 / 8.1 8.1
52.000 MHz 2.8 13.1 / 6.8 32.2
145.000 MHz 4.2 20.0 / 9.5 42.7
435.000 MHz 3.5 14.5 / 7.5 35.3

I never run my mobile radios on anything but low.
Every now and then on Mid when I have problems
getting into a repeater. Never on High

 

[KK4JUG]

I understand the legality of these radios. Or is
it the illegality? It comes down to morality in my
opinion. While I'm not a habitual law breaker, I don't
see a whole lot of harm in using one of these radios
for GMRS if it is used properly. As for CB, who
even cares anymore? It's a free for all out there and
I certainly wont be running 100+ watts like so many out
there now. I just like the small size of the radio and
both bands being available in 1 radio.

Here is a link to a video on how to program. At about
6:35 is where he shows you to turn on AM and a text
comes on screen about CB (27.185mhz)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT8Ghaubwj8

Not getting caught or maybe not affecting anyone doesn't make it right.

 

[SpugEddy]

You're right KK4JUG. I never implied that is was
right. In fact, I admit it. I do find the use of these radios
more of a morality issue. I guess it's sort of like owning
a handgun. While everybody is running off about gun
control and bans on handguns, owning one is not illegal.
Using it to hurt people is illegal. The issue comes down to
morality. Am I going to buy a handgun? Am I going to use it?
Am I going to use it to shoot targets or people? If I use it
responsibly and to shoot targets, who am I hurting? Just
an analogy of course, but still the view from my side.
If I were an actual ham operator then the game has changed.
I would certainly be flying a much straighter line.

 

[chief21]

Back to the AM issue... As indicated in the referenced youtube video, the radio can do AM, although I believe that it's only AM receive. This is common for lots of ham radios. But if you intend to program the radio to actually talk on AM frequencies, I'd double-check to confirm that it actually works because it would be VERY unusual.

...my two cents.

John

 

[SpugEddy]

Thank you John. Your 2 cents are worth at least a dime
LOL

 

[SpugEddy]

Update.
As it turns out, this radio IS capable of transmitting
on 11 meter AM with the use of a program opening
up the Xmit limits of the 11 meter band. It will transmit
on AM and FM.
There are also a few other "hacks" that cane be done to the
radio. I think you can open up 4 meter but at the expense
of closing either 2 or 6 meter. In any event, pretty good band
coverage.
108 - 179 mhz RX
136 - 179 mhz TX

26 - 29 mhx RX
26 - 29 mhz TX

50 - 53 mhz RX
50 - 53 mhz TX

400 - 479 mhz RX
400 - 479 mhz TX

700 - 985 mhz RX
320 - 399 mhz RX

All air bands RX only
I've only looked at the programming so far with very
minimal testing. I did, however, get feedback from
2 people on GMRS. The reports were the same. Sounds
better than my Motorola CDM 1550 LS+. (WHAT???)
and only "very slightly" better than the Icom IC F420.
They say my modulation is "richer" sounding.
I will update with wattage outputs and SWR readings.