Wouxun radios selling like hotcakes at Dayton Hamfest

[N4JKD]

Sorry for the misspelling

 

[N4JKD]

These radios are used by alot of local volunteer fireman, and was told that the fire cheif told them not to use the battery eliminator, because they have been known to fry the radios. They are instead told to use the battery charger with the DC cord in their vehicles, and with the AC cord at home.

 

[kb0nly]

The Wouxun is ok as a disposable cheapie...

But get the FT-60R you won't be sorry i love mine.

 

[N4JKD]

Once I get the funds saved up, I will get one. The Wouxun will do until I get it.

 

[N4JKD]

I got a Kenwood TH-K2AT, as my first radio but wish I had gotten the FT-60. I may be selling some stuff here soon and will put the money back for it.

 

[BrickOLore]

An 18-month warranty isn't worth the paper it's printed on if there's nobody to back it up. Does Wouxoun have a repair facility in this country? Do they have a repair facility anywhere? Or, as someone else mentioned, do you just throw the radio away if it fails?

Seriously? This US retailer is running the business out of their house and using a party line?

I took that to mean his office phone and his house phone are the same number.

In any case, when I ordered mine, Ed and I were trading e-mails on a Saturday morning. I decided to pull the trigger on the order and he got it shipped that day and I had it on Monday. Quality of service is not a function of size. I've yet to see anyone post a bad experience with Ed, so until I see evidence to the contrary I would rather work with a US company that buys hundreds of these rigs (and therefor has some leverage) than directly with the factory.

Brick
http://www.brickolore.com

 

[k9dc]

I just got back from Dayton and it was Ed Griffin at wouxoun.us selling them for $85, which is an unbelievable price for a part 90 accepted dual band radio with 18mo warranty.

He also had accy specials like the 1700mah batts for $22. I think the other vendors didn't sell very many until Ed sold out. prcguy

HRO was selling the UV3 model for $105 which included a 1700 mah battery in the box (which lasts forever).

DId anyone other than me notice the UVx radio does CTCSS Reverse Burst? Has to be the first rig built for Hams that includes reverse burst! Not mentioned anywhere, that I found, but I noticed a user on my repeater with no squelch crash. This feature usually means the guy is running a commercial rig of some kind, I called him and asked what he was running. He was running a UV1. So I checked my UV3, and sure enough, there is that characteristic bump on PTT release with CTCSS active, and no squelch noise burst. Works solidly on my Kenwood repeaters, and other Motorola gear that supports the feature. I suspect it works on other systems, but that is what I have. Another great little feature in this $100 wonder.

 

[KD8DVR]

Well I got mine from the wuoxan website. I saw it update itstelf on the radio screen. Version 2.0

China Two Way Radios,Handheld Walkie Talkies & Interphone

This is the programming software. (An older version at that) Firmware CANNOT be updated!

 

[sparks40]

Personally......I'd take my Yaesu gear over Wouxon any day of the week. If money's an issue, save the extra cash and purchase something good, IMO.

 

[MTS2000des]

These radios are used by alot of local volunteer fireman, and was told that the fire cheif told them not to use the battery eliminator, because they have been known to fry the radios. They are instead told to use the battery charger with the DC cord in their vehicles, and with the AC cord at home.

This is sad and scary, fireman carrying these plastic crap Walmart radios from China into structure fires and relying on them for life safety communications. Have we really stooped that low? Is the FCC OET asleep at the wheel (I think so).

The Wouxuns are garbage radios that sell for as cheap as $35 on the street in China and Hong Kong. Would you trust your life to one of these road apple radios?

 

[prcguy]

For volunteer firemen its a personal and financial choice and not their employers. What does the FCC have to do with fireman safety? If the radio submitted for type acceptance passes all the tests it gets certified and the build quality has nothing to do with type acceptance.

Have you owned or used a Wouxun to be able to make your exaggerated claims? If not your tossing out blind comments with nothing to back it up and your Avatar pretty much explains your biased and snobby attitude. Where do you think the Motorola MTS2000 is made? (Hint, its not made in Schamberg IL).

I've owned dozens of Motorolas and so far have had way more Motorola failures than Wouxun. And every time I sent a Motorola in for service it came back programmed with newer software and Blotorola expects me to purchase new software every time to program my radio at a cost that usually exceeds the price of the radio.

I've never had an Avatar but "Blotorola" is sounding good right about now.
prcguy

This is sad and scary, fireman carrying these plastic crap Walmart radios from China into structure fires and relying on them for life safety communications. Have we really stooped that low? Is the FCC OET asleep at the wheel (I think so).

The Wouxuns are garbage radios that sell for as cheap as $35 on the street in China and Hong Kong. Would you trust your life to one of these road apple radios?

 

[N0BDW]

I have owned three Wouxun radios (1xKG-UVD1P and 2x KG-UV2D). I currently only still have the latest KG-UV2D as I had friends who really liked my others and purchased them from me. I've been very happy with them, as have my friends, and they were all purchased from Ed at Wouxun KG-UVD1P - KG-UV2D - KG-UV920R Mobile Transceiver. We only had 1 issue -- one of my friends purchased a speaker mic from Ed and was sent some no-brand (not Wouxun) piece of crap that didn't work. As soon as Ed was notified of the error, he sent the proper Wouxun mic. I don't believe he even asked for the return of the defective one. The speaker mics feel really cheap anyway -- I'm used to the mic on my /\/\ HT1000, which is a serious mic. These feel like toys. But you get what you pay for -- the HT1000 mic cost me 5x as much USED as the Wouxun mic cost new. Overall I've been very happy with them.

As for using them for volunteer fire -- I'm absolutely going to recommend to my fire department that they consider them. Not for department radios, but for volunteers who like to keep a radio in their cars (mostly just to listen). Would it be my first pick to run into a burning building with? Heck no. Would I keep one in my car to listen to fire dispatch instead of trying to mount a bulky /\/\ Maxtrac? Yes. Absolutely. Vehicles are getting less and less radio friendly, and being able to set an HT in a cup holder is a pretty sweet deal.

 

[MTS2000des]

For volunteer firemen its a personal and financial choice and not their employers. What does the FCC have to do with fireman safety? If the radio submitted for type acceptance passes all the tests it gets certified and the build quality has nothing to do with type acceptance.

Have you owned or used a Wouxun to be able to make your exaggerated claims? If not your tossing out blind comments with nothing to back it up and your Avatar pretty much explains your biased and snobby attitude. Where do you think the Motorola MTS2000 is made? (Hint, its not made in Schamberg IL).

I've owned dozens of Motorolas and so far have had way more Motorola failures than Wouxun. And every time I sent a Motorola in for service it came back programmed with newer software and Blotorola expects me to purchase new software every time to program my radio at a cost that usually exceeds the price of the radio.

I've never had an Avatar but "Blotorola" is sounding good right about now.
prcguy

everything, a public safety professional should not put his life or the lives of others in jeopardy using substandard equipment. period. end of story.

Motorola, nor Icom, nor Kenwood, is perfect and all have had their share of lemons. But they are established manufacturers with a proven record of putting out quality products, a wide network of dealers support (not some "guy" who doesn't even publish his phone number on his company site), and have been in the business for at least 3 or more decades. They also sell radio infrastructure not just cheap stamped out units with poorly written instruction manuals and buggy software. No firmware upgrades? Seriously, really. This isn't a professional tool, it's a friggin toy. Fine for hams and GMRS, but people who's life depends on it to work are literally playing with fire. and it will come back to bite them.

my comment about part 90 was simple: how did the FCC allow a full FPP radio to get part 90 cert? other professional radios require hardware modification and special firmware enhancements to support FPP. There is a reason for this ya know. Untrained personnel accidentally putting a radio into FPP and changing parameters can not only put their safety at risk, but the safety of others.

Your comment about Motorola came from where? It was never mentioned. But for the record, all of the MTS2000's I own were made in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. at Plantation. Thanks for the attempt at nothing. Get over it, it's just a brand. I own Kenwood, EF Johnson, Icom and Vertex Standard. I own and maintain a Vertex repeater. So there. Put it back in your pants. No brand loyalty. It's about selecting the right tool for the job. Wouxun is a toy not a tool, and yes, I've held, played with one intimately. It's an obfuscated POS that doesn't even do channel scan correctly. Even a 20 year old Icom IC-32AT or Yaesu FT-470 can accomplish this.

and that's what my comments were about, tools not toys. If these men want to trust their lives to radios being sold out of a basement, so be it. I hope their wives, mothers, sons, daughters, nieces and nephews realize they saved a few hundred bucks on a radio that cost them their or someone else' lives when they never hear that evac tone or the radio fails when it gets too hot or the speaker stops working because it's waterlogged, or the CTCSS/DCS fails to decode. good luck suing the dude in the basement or the Chinese company with their UPS store address.

 

[k9dc]

.
my comment about part 90 was simple: how did the FCC allow a full FPP radio to get part 90 cert? other professional radios require hardware modification and special firmware enhancements to support FPP. There is a reason for this ya know. Untrained personnel accidentally putting a radio into FPP and changing parameters can not only put their safety at risk, but the safety of others.

Its actually quite clever. Simply disable the menu button, and the radio is no longer FPP. A check box in the programming software.

 

[nd5y]

my comment about part 90 was simple: how did the FCC allow a full FPP radio to get part 90 cert? other professional radios require hardware modification and special firmware enhancements to support FPP.

The radio can be locked down with a password protected menu. They can be made non-FPP and the FCC apparently doesn't care about the software being readily available to anybody.

I want to know how a radio that transmits on VHF got Part 90 certification when it can't do 2.5 kHz synthesizer steps.

90.203(j)(1) says:
Applications for certification received on or after January 1, 2005, for mobile and portable transmitters designed to transmit voice on public safety frequencies in the 150–174 MHz band will be granted only if the mobile/portable equipment is capable of operating on the nationwide public safety interoperability calling channel in the 150–174 MHz band. (See §90.20(c), (d) of this part.) Applications for certification received on or after January 1, 2005, for mobile and portable transmitters designed to transmit voice on public safety frequencies in the 450–470 MHz band will be granted only if the mobile/portable equipment is capable of operating on the nationwide public safety interoperability calling channel in the 450–470 MHz band. (See §90.20(c), (d) of this part.)

You can't legally operate on 155.7525 with one of these radios. Being 2.5 kHz off frequency doesn't meet the frequency stability specified in 90.213

 

[prcguy]

Hmm, just about all the Part 90 type accepted radios used by willdland firefighters are FPP or super easy to place in FPP mode like the Racal R25, Guardian G25RPV100, BK handhelds, etc.

I would probably not use a Wouxun in a life or death situation if I had a choice but the Wouxun's are not junk and I feel you get way more radio and capabilities than you pay for. I own some of the highest tech handhelds on the planet and ever since I got a pair of Wouxons the other radios don't seem to get much use.
prcguy

 

[k9dc]

The radio can be locked down with a password protected menu. They can be made non-FPP and the FCC apparently doesn't care about the software being readily available to anybody.
I want to know how a radio that transmits on VHF got Part 90 certification when it can't do 2.5 kHz synthesizer steps.

You can completely remove the FPP ability by unchecking the MENU key on the optional features page, making the key dead. You can program in any frequency you want. No 5KHz step applies (It also does 6.25 and 12.5 KHz steps, making the 2.5 requirement moot)

 

[DaveIN]

At ~$85 this sounds like a great deal was had at Dayton, but I understand version 3 (KG-UV3D) is now available. I emailed the US website only to find out the the radios are the same with exception to the case and cosmetics with some issues reported on the case fit for the microphone and USB connectors on the latest version. The Power Works site mentions updated firmware on V3 and actually looks to be selling it in favor of KG-UV2D. Has anyone used the 3D version yet? Are the changes positive even as a low cost Chinese made HT transceiver? The eHam reviews seem to be slanted toward the positive, but I would like more knowledge from other users as well.

 

[k9dc]

At ~$85 this sounds like a great deal was had at Dayton, but I understand version 3 (KG-UV3D) is now available. I emailed the US website only to find out the the radios are the same with exception to the case and cosmetics with some issues reported on the case fit for the microphone and USB connectors on the latest version. The Power Works site mentions updated firmware on V3 and actually looks to be selling it in favor of KG-UV2D. Has anyone used the 3D version yet? Are the changes positive even as a low cost Chinese made HT transceiver? The eHam reviews seem to be slanted toward the positive, but I would like more knowledge from other users as well.

The UV3 model is the one imported through Powerwerx, as opposed to Wouxun.us. It is what HRO and many of the dealers sell. The case is slightly different, but functionally I have noticed no differences at all. A friend has a UV1, and I have to say it seems like his receiver is slightly louder than my UV3 (bought from HRO). Both work very well. ...and these are the only two I have personally touched

 

[nd5y]

(It also does 6.25 and 12.5 KHz steps, making the 2.5 requirement moot)

Really? Please explain how you would program in 155.7525 then.