...And it seems to work ok.



Stopped by the Atlanta HRO yesterday to look for a new HT (I've been using a Radio Shack HTX-202 for the last fifteen years).  Was intending to pick up a lower-priced dual-band Yaesu, but apparently "low price", "Yaesu", "dual-band", and "water resistance" are three terms that don't belong in the same sentence.



The Wouxun KG-UV3D was less than half of what a comparable (feature-wise) Yaesu would cost, and came complete with a desk charger and an eighteen month warranty.  An external microphone was only sixteen bucks additional.



The sales propaganda implies that it is waterproof, and lists some obscure (possibly phony) specification–– "IP54 waterproof".



There are 128 memories, and a six character name can be applied to each.



Oddly enough, it comes with a built-in led flashlight, a stopwatch , and a broadcast FM radio.  Output is 5 or 1 watt on two-meters, and 4 or 1 on 70cm.  The display and keys are backlit very well.  



Possibly its best selling point is the sexy female chinese-accented voice prompts for all the commands .  I was really hoping that I could reprogram the "welcome" message with "Me love u long time", but apparently not .



Anyhow, I just wanted to share.





pic grabbed off the 'net; that's not my call.

I don't have a license yet, but I've heard good things about that HT. I also read on here they're supposed to be releasing another model soon.

I've been thinking about getting one to back-up my old FT-50R.
How fast does it scan memory channels ? ? ? ? ? ?
I like to use them like a bearcat scanner.
also,...it doesn't receive AM Aircraft band, correct?
 

Ip54 is like splash proof or rain proof. I'd be leary in rain.

You can open up the receive into aircraft freqs and I have heard of guys pulling in AM reception on the wouxun. You're sol on TX.

Not licensed yet but studying hard. Getting ready to pull the trigger on one of these units this week.

ETA> one thing I noticed was that just about any received signal is shown as full-scale, making the S-meter pretty much worthless.  That is hardly a big deal, however.



Other gripes––

-The only way to adjust the squelch is through the menu.  PITA.

-It does not automatically select the correct offset nor the offset direction.

-The backlighting stays on continuously during scanning, wasting battery power.

-In dual receive mode, there is no way to tell which of the frequencies is the one you are hearing.

-The only way to adjust the transmit power is through the menu, and once a freq has been set into memory, the power can no longer be changed.  That sucks.

-There doesn't seem to be anyway to lock out a frequency or memory location while scanning.  So, all it takes is for one of the repeaters to be on continously (seems to happen constantly on the local repeaters around here) for the scan function to be pretty much useless.

-Six characters is often insufficient to properly label a memory location.



Some of these issues might just me being unfamiliar with this rig, admittedly.

Hmmm...

I might spend a bit more and get the FT-60R,  I'm happy with the FT-50 and FT-7900 scan speed.



still....these are a hell of a deal for $119

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wouxun_KG-UVD1/message/4982

You can designate a freq non-scan in the programming software.  I did that for the weather channels I programmed.

THANKS



 

Anyone happen to know if the bare radio is available separately anywhere in the US?

Had been thinking about getting a second one, but don't really need two drop-in AC chargers - or even two Li-Ion battery packs, what with the $8 AA cell adapter.

not sure about US sellers but i think you can get just the radio off ebay. you can do an advanced search to limit the search to just the US.

In for no other reason than to say Hi Gunny! I haven't seen ya post in a month of Sundays –– good to see you. (Maybe I've just missed recent posts)

I've been going to school non-stop since I retired.  When I get home, my brain was fried.  So, I've mainly limited my posting these past couple years to where there is no brain power required–– GD.  Pretty much the only time I've touched a radio in that time were on the last two field days.



Times are a changin', however.  



Good to hear from you, too.

+1, Call Ed!  Great dude...

For OP=lots of post here in re: these radios, search around for some discussion.  I've got one that I really dig! hard to beat for >$120

IP is a proper water resistance standard. It stands for Ingress Protection. It's the industry standard for enclosures and isn't particularly obscure

The first digit refers to ingress of solid matter and the second against liquid. The highest possible rating is IP68

IP5_ means "Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact"
IP_4 means "Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect." The specification is 10 liters per minute at a pressure of 80–100 kN/m² for 5 minutes.

In other words, that radio should be OK to use in the desert during a dust storm and in the shower Just don't press any buttons when it's being exposed to the elements.

Ed's response earlier this evening:



Sorry, Ed - Wrong answer.

Was thinking...if you did get a kit with radio and charger, I'd be up to buy the charger to have a spare for the Barn/EMCOMM Box