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Stay away from WOUXUN

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SCPD

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yep, you don't get what you don't pay for.

Cheap disposable radios with no product support. They fail? Chunk em and buy a new one.

A warranty is only as good as who stands behind it. Remember Ginsu knives?

"Lifetime ever sharp warranty"

This is the main reason I stay away from Chinese radios. They do produce a good product when they work, but when they don't, you're SOL, UNLESS you buy it from a reputable dealer like HRO/AES/etc.

And who knows how long those dealers will sell and support a subpar product with high defect rates. Read this and you see why Wouxun are the turd of turds from someone who lost thousands as one of the first dealers in the USA:

Good-Bye-Wouxun

Yup. But anyone has any thay broke and they don't want send Em my way. I like to disable any ptt function and give them to the kids when they are playing cops and robbers or gi Joe outside lol
 

robertmac

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It seems like a few posters here are piling on the anti-Chinese radio bandwagon and not even realizing that the radio in question is a mobile radio and not an HT. The issue is that the OP did NOT get what he paid for. These Chinese mobile radios, unlike their HTs, are not cheap. They might be perhaps $50 cheaper than other radios and maybe not if you know how to shop. They are not 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of their competitors like the HTs are.

I like Chinese HTs, but I really wouldn't buy a Chinese mobile just to save $50.

Well, the problem being the title did not indicate HT or mobile, just Wouxun. I have never tried the mobile because I heard of all the problems when they first came out. Having said that, I do have a couple or a couple of couples of the various HTs models and never had a problem with them. But I mainly use them to dual watch a few frequencies when at work. I prefer any of the Big Three manufacturers radios over the Wouxun. As has been said here a lot, you get what you pay for. Plus, if something does go wrong, and you are not a radio tech., the Big Three are much easier to deal with.
 

MTS2000des

5B2_BEE00 Czar
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Never will forget when a local ham bought a Wouxun KG-UV920P and had it online for a week. During a QSO on a local repeater, he dropped out. About 10 minutes later, he was back on his HT and advised that smoke began pouring out of his Wouxun. It was obviously dead as it let the magic smoke out for no reason at all.

Just weeks earlier he was on the machine asking what mobile to buy. I and others recommended the Kenwood TM-V71A. The ham said "well the Wouxun was only $329" (at the time, the V71A price was hovering around $389). He ordered it from China/Hong Kong off brokenstolenradios.com and had it exactly one week before it died.

He then learned an expensive lesson: when he contacted the useless overseas turd seller, he was instructed to send the radio back at his expense to Hong Kong/China.

Have you priced what it costs to send a parcel of the size and weight of this size via USPS, FedEX, UPS or the Postal Schleps with insurance and tracking to anywhere in Asia?

He ended up tossing it into the trash can. For a cheap disposable portable, sure a $39-59 dual band HT may be worth the gamble, but throwing hundreds of dollars potentially away? Not worth it.
 

countywacker

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Well, the problem being the title did not indicate HT or mobile, just Wouxun. I have never tried the mobile because I heard of all the problems when they first came out. Having said that, I do have a couple or a couple of couples of the various HTs models and never had a problem with them. But I mainly use them to dual watch a few frequencies when at work. I prefer any of the Big Three manufacturers radios over the Wouxun. As has been said here a lot, you get what you pay for. Plus, if something does go wrong, and you are not a radio tech., the Big Three are much easier to deal with.

The model number was indicated on the top, which is a mobile.
 

robertmac

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The model number was indicated on the top, which is a mobile.

But your Thread Title just said Wouxun. Which is a general statement that could include all Wouxuns. Had the title included the model number, I doubt if a lot, including myself, would have bothered to reply. I did read other posts which implied all Wouxuns, HT and mobile. Thus, if others replied about HT, so did I. I still say there is no reason to stay away from Wouxuns.
 

countywacker

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But your Thread Title just said Wouxun. Which is a general statement that could include all Wouxuns. Had the title included the model number, I doubt if a lot, including myself, would have bothered to reply. I did read other posts which implied all Wouxuns, HT and mobile. Thus, if others replied about HT, so did I. I still say there is no reason to stay away from Wouxuns.

Correct with what the title says. The issue is with the company in whole, including the product and customer service.

So the title is correct. Some ASSUMED it was about a portable, when in fact the model listed in the beginning is a mobile radio.

So we all know what ASSUME means. I'm sorry you couldn't figure that out by yourself.
 

robertmac

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Correct with what the title says. The issue is with the company in whole, including the product and customer service.

So the title is correct. Some ASSUMED it was about a portable, when in fact the model listed in the beginning is a mobile radio.

So we all know what ASSUME means. I'm sorry you couldn't figure that out by yourself.

Rebuttal time, and I suppose censorship time. To quote: "The issue is with the company in whole.....". So it isn't just about the mobile. Thus the problem with the title. So don't assume I couldn't figure that out myself. As I did. Along with others that posted about the HT. One shouldn't slam all of a company when they have only slammed part of it. Threads are to discuss experiences. If others don't agree with ones, doesn't mean that one assumes. Instead of making a broad title, be more specific. I do not have MAJOR complaints against Wouxun, other than their scan rate and not true dual receive [other than the 8D]. I stayed away from their mobile because I had read of problems with them when they first came out. Plus other problems posted here and in various internet forums.
 

countywacker

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Rebuttal time, and I suppose censorship time. To quote: "The issue is with the company in whole.....". So it isn't just about the mobile. Thus the problem with the title. So don't assume I couldn't figure that out myself. As I did. Along with others that posted about the HT. One shouldn't slam all of a company when they have only slammed part of it. Threads are to discuss experiences. If others don't agree with ones, doesn't mean that one assumes. Instead of making a broad title, be more specific. I do not have MAJOR complaints against Wouxun, other than their scan rate and not true dual receive [other than the 8D]. I stayed away from their mobile because I had read of problems with them when they first came out. Plus other problems posted here and in various internet forums.

Again the title is fine and the issue is with the WHOLE company. So the stay away, that's what I want people to do, and then I list the experience I had.

So again read everything in whole first. Don't skip any part, and if you don't know the model number listed in the beginning. Google can help you I'm sure. Or just ask me, ill give you the answer.
 

jonwienke

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But your Thread Title just said Wouxun. Which is a general statement that could include all Wouxuns. Had the title included the model number, I doubt if a lot, including myself, would have bothered to reply. I did read other posts which implied all Wouxuns, HT and mobile. Thus, if others replied about HT, so did I. I still say there is no reason to stay away from Wouxuns.

You might want to look into the reasons why you can't buy Wouxun radios from wouxun.us. (Good-Bye-Wouxun) Seems like avoiding the brand altogether is a reasonable position to take.
 

robertmac

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You might want to look into the reasons why you can't buy Wouxun radios from wouxun.us. (Good-Bye-Wouxun) Seems like avoiding the brand altogether is a reasonable position to take.

Sorry but I disagree. Far too often the internet is the place for the squeaky wheels to vent. I'm sure just about everyone on eHam has said stay away from Yaesu, Icom, Baofeng, etc.. Again, I do not think the Wouxun HTs are great radios, but neither to I think they are junk and one should stay away from them. They do fit a spot that I need and have used them for over 5 years without one single problem. I have had problems with Kenwood radios, but I'm certainly not going to go around and say stay away from them. I have had problems with Icom but again, I am not going around saying stay away from them. Before I jump into them, I do search the internet and talk with other users. Other than Wouxun.us what other US based companies have stopped selling them?
 

prcguy

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I know Ed who has the wouxun.us site and he was the first and largest importer of Wouxun radios in the US. He is not a squeaky wheel but the wheel itself. I know a couple of dealers that bought lots of radios through Ed and what he and his dealers say about Wouxun is completely true.

Ed had to swap out a couple of Wouxun handhelds for me so I have experienced the high out of the box failure rate and also the great service he provides. More than likely Ed was never properly compensated for the bad radios I returned or radios from others tha failed within the original 18mo warranty period.

I stated before that the key to success and happyness with any of the Chinese radios is your local dealer and the support they provide. At some point if the Chinese mfr has unreasonable terms or raises the price of new products beyond what the US market will bear, your local dealer will move on.
prcguy



Sorry but I disagree. Far too often the internet is the place for the squeaky wheels to vent. I'm sure just about everyone on eHam has said stay away from Yaesu, Icom, Baofeng, etc.. Again, I do not think the Wouxun HTs are great radios, but neither to I think they are junk and one should stay away from them. They do fit a spot that I need and have used them for over 5 years without one single problem. I have had problems with Kenwood radios, but I'm certainly not going to go around and say stay away from them. I have had problems with Icom but again, I am not going around saying stay away from them. Before I jump into them, I do search the internet and talk with other users. Other than Wouxun.us what other US based companies have stopped selling them?
 

jonwienke

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I'm sure just about everyone on eHam has said stay away from Yaesu, Icom, Baofeng, etc.

Yaesu and Icom aren't generally considered to be in the same category as Baofeng; they're hardly "cheap Chinese radios"...
 

prcguy

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No, because of Wouxun's factory warranty/repair policy with dealers, known problems with handhelds they refuse to admit, their out of touch pricing on mobiles and other problems.

The bottom line on Chinese radios is the price and who will honor the warranty. If its cheap enough then warranty doesn't matter, toss it and buy another. Wouxun has priced themselves above the disposable range but does not treat their dealers fairly on warranty problems.

Personally I really like the new Wouxun UV8D but there are other brands that are well supported in the same price range, so I'll join Ed at wouxun.us and not buy anymore Wouxun's.
prcguy


All this because a cheap radio doesn't hold up? Shocking.
 

KD8DVR

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Columbus, Ohio
All 3 of my Wouxun radios now have issues. They are also going on 3 years old. One just totally lost its receive. One lost its display... the standard fixes failed. One clicks after the receiver drops, and the voice annunciation is gone. As of yet, my Puxings and Wouxuns are working fine.
 

robertmac

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Yaesu and Icom aren't generally considered to be in the same category as Baofeng; they're hardly "cheap Chinese radios"...

I didn't say Yaesu and ICOM were CCR. What I said was on eHam, there are people who say they will never buy Yaesu, ICOM or Kenwood because they have had a problem, generally with just one model. Or have had problems with service. What I also stated was I had problems with Kenwood, but would never say stay away from them as my problem may have been isolated compared to experience of others.
 

Rred

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This is why we have warranty laws in the US, as most of the world does.

Without debating the merits of what wouxon.us now says...

I would bet the OP's "dealer" was not an authorized dealer but was just one of the many guys buying wholesale and selling them "as is" with no further warranty.

And IIRC the manufacturer's warranty is pretty simple: Send it back to China, pay the return postage, and they'll fix it.

If that's the case, the complaint is just sour grapes. Cheap stuff is usually cheap for a reason.

You buy a Rolex, it may come with a worldwide guarantee that any Rolex-authorized repair station will honor. You buy a Nikon, Olympus, or a Canon, top names in cameras? Sorry, that's Nikon-US, Olympus-US, Canon-US that you bought it from, if you bought it from an authorized dealer in the US. Bought it gray market? Need service in Tokyo? Too bad, your warranty may be with the US franchise, it isn't global unless the papers say it is.

Folks who play "global village", buy gray market instead of from authorized channels, and fail to read the warranty? Really have no complaint when they get the service they paid for.
 
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