I ordered from wouxun.us last Thursday and it arrived today

I also received the two antenna adapter thingys, AA battery pack, programming cable and microphone.

I've downloaded the driver and programming software.  Unit hooks up fine.

I did a "read from unit" and from what I see it is a simple matter of filling in the blanks then "writing to unit".

I'm going to ask first about this 'just in case' lol:  is it that simple?

Ok now more importantly, what do I program into it and where is the best place for a list?

I'd like to play with amateur satellites so I have the amsat.org website open but so far its been tough just finding a straight list of all the useful satellites for grid EL95us (Miami, FL).  Perhaps they would all apply, I don't know.

I'd like to hit up the ISS, so I have the ARISS site open.  I'm assuming I use just the Region 2 uplink voice of the voice options (the downlinks are the same worldwide).  I know nothing of the packet stuff as of yet.

I suppose some of the repeaters local to me so I have the AARL site open.

?


Edit:  ANTENNA QUESTION

The unit has an 'innie' non-standard connector.  As mentioned I ordered both adapters which are SMA-to-BNC and SMA-to-SMA.  My question is which type should I go with on the antenna side?  Essentially I would like to standardize the connection setup if possible.

I'm looking at two of the seemingly favorite ebay items, the Ed Fong and the Slim Jim, and they each offer a choice of connector at the end.  With the Ed Fong should I go with the 250w option?  
I'm ok with the Get Both option just wondering which one to get first lol.

I'm also looking to build, just for kicks (instead of buying), a Cheap Yagi.



Edit2:  REPEATER QUESTION

I'm having an issue with the repeater concept ........ I think.

I haven't heard a single repeater I've put into the HT.  I'm attributing this to the little antenna (Slim Jim is inbound).
I did hear someone one day on 146.52 when driving home from work but I didn't answer.


In the programming software, going across the top, we have:  

Ch | RxFreq | TxFreq | DecodeCTC/DSS | EncodeCTC/DSS | TX Power | Scan Add | W/N | Busy Lock | CH Name

Going to QRZ and punching in my zip code eventually led me to www.433900.net.

Frequency: 443.900 MHz / 448.900 MHz
ERP: 30 Watts
CTCSS (PL): 94.8

So what I did was:

7 | 443.900 | 443.900 | 94.8 | 94.8 and left everything else on its default.
8 | 448.900 | 448.900 | 94.8 | 94.8 .....................


I'm in the A/B mode with each of the freqs showing but I hear nothing on either one.  I'm reasonably sure the antenna is the factor.

But, for when the Slim Jim arrives, does it matter which one is on top?  Did I program the channels right?  If not how should it be done?

On a sidenote the software will sometimes change the TX freq setting to the RX freq setting even if you put in a different freq.  I think I was able to override it once.

So I'm a little confused lol.

Yep - Pretty much!

I ended up programming identical frequency lists for the "A" and "B" sides of the radio, albeit using alphabetical tags for the "A" side and actual numeric frequencies for the "B" side. This provides a convenient way of switching between alpha and numeric displays, since the radio lacks any quick of doing it via the keyboard.

Some folks have mentioned that there is better programming software available from 3rd-party sources.

Yes, we are in region 2. Look at the AMSAT site under "sat status" and there is a list of satillites and if they are capable of VHF/UHF ops. Them make a list of those sats using UHF/VHF and active. Then look them up individually to see uplink/dnlink freqs. I copied AO-50 last week and the ISS is still up there but not always in rptr mode. AO-27 used to be popular, but I don't know it's status now.

antenna question added

I went with the BNC as 'common' connection.  After you do and un-do the SMA or UHF connector a few hundred times the BNC begins to make sense.





I have the Slim Jim and really have been pleased!

repeater question added

Turn off your CTCSS decode. That is used to block all incoming signals that don't have a tone encoded into the output. Most repeaters don't encode the output. Tones are used on the input to repeaters though so leave the CTCSS encode on.
Some rigs have a default setting for the offset split +/-. Some repeaters don't follow the "standard shift" so you may have a repeater that uses a non standard shift.
Normally on 2 meters for example, the offset is - (negative) if the repeater output is below 147.00 mhz. If the output is above 147.00 mhz the offset is + (positive.
eg: repeater output on 146.600..the input would be 146.00. This is a negative offset with a 600 khz shift.

Frequency: 443.900 MHz / 448.900 MHz
ERP: 30 Watts
CTCSS (PL): 94.8


That's not 2 separate channels. That's the input/output of the repeater. Notice the +5 offset? 70cm uses a 5 offset vs. 2m which uses .6 offset.

You want to program 443.900 as your Rx and 448.900 as Tx on the same memory.

THis is how you should program it:

Ch | RxFreq | TxFreq | DecodeCTC/DSS | EncodeCTC/DSS | TX Power | Scan Add | W/N | Busy Lock | CH Name

RxFreq =443.900

TxFreq =  448.900 (Notice this is 5MHz higher than the Rxfreq/Repeater output frequency. This means that the repeater has a +5Mhz offset between output and input freq. 5MHZ offset is standard on 440/70cm)

DecodeCTC/DSS = leave this blank, you DON'T want a tone here. If you have a tone here then you will only hear comms that have that tone and most repeaters strip the audio of these tones.

EncodeCTC/DSS =  94.8 as a ctcss/PL tone NOT a DCS. This is normal. This is the tone that is transmitted with your audio to "open" the repeater. This makes sure you are a real person and not interference.

TX Power = default or HIGH power setting on a HT. You can always turn it down if needed.

Scan Add = Yes if you want to add it to be part of your normal memory scan.

W/N = "Wide" or "Narrow" FM receive mode, set this to "Wide"

Busy Lock = ???

CH Name = this is where you can give a name to the channel and you will see it on the display, like "HM REPTR"

I do not know anything about your specific rig, this is how I would interpret it from programming two other rigs (HT and mobile) recently.

Others, please correct me if I messed anything up.

Ok. I did manage to get the program to accept the different freq. when I get home I'll change to narrow.

How soon after a test can one transmit?

Is it really less than a week for the call sign to show up in the FCC database?

As soon as you find your new call in the online FCC Database

Maybe less, Maybe More lotsa variables

I went through the same learning curve with the same radio a month ago.  It was my first ham radio (just got my license)

With regard to narrow vs. wide bandwidth, I set mine to narrow to be conservative.  However, I pinged the statewide repeater coordinator about it, and he said I should set it for wide.  Here is his response:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
urrently, wide band is considered to be a radio which transmits with its deviation or transmit audio set to 5 KHZ. Narrow band is considered to have the radio's deviation or transmit audio set to 2.5 KHZ. It is safe to say that almost every 2 meter and 440 repeater are currently running in Wide band mode and that will likely be the case for some years to come. To somewhat complicate matters, most of the less expensive portables and mobiles currently available on the market, when switched between wide band and narrow band, only reduce the transmit deviation by half and do nothing to reduce the receiver's IF pass band to half as they should do. Reduceing the transmitter's deviation in half makes the radio legal when in narrow band mode because it meets the narrow band specification when its transmitting. Some of the more expensive radios do switch both the transmit deviation and receiver IF bandwidth when switched between wide and narrow band modes.

In summation, when you switch to narrow band with your portable, you're reduceing your transmit audio to half deviation meaning that you are not fully modulating your carrier and your audio will be harder to copy, especially under conditions where you might not be full-quieting into the repeater's receiver. The 146.880 repeater uses custom designed transmit audio processing which takes a person's transmit audio and levels it to 5 KHZ deviation, if the audio being transmitted by the mobile or portable is to low, the audio processing in the repeater pulls the audio back up as best it can. So, when you are on 88 talking, your audio probably appears to still be just fine because the repeater's processing pulls it back up.

You should always run the portable in wide band mode unless you do discover a repeater that is running in narrow band mode and I know of none on 2 meters currently that are running that way.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-

And...another cool thing.   You can pick up NOAA weather stations with it.   It turns out that NOAA only uses about 7 frequencies nationwide, and your radio can pick them all up.

See this link:
NOAA

You can program them the same way you do repeaters.   However, be sure to leave the TRANSMIT space empty, and leave them out of your scan list (otherwise, they'll hang your scan).

I can pick up 2 or 3 NOAA weather radio stations from my house using the rubber ducky antenna that came with the radio.  I use the weather stations to make sure my radio is working and to adjust the volume when the repeaters are quiet.

I need to try the satellite thing.  I have not done that yet.

This is a very clever idea.   I gotta try that!

I've had success with the Commander Software llinked here!

I use the KG-UV Commander software, and like it more. It was easier for me to understand and get to programming.

Good information, I will edit my post above.

Go to radio reference dot com and search your area.  

It will pull up all the freqs you need.  Fire, schools, hospitals, EMS, you name it.

I did that yesterday, no joy on any channel.

for the ISS is there a PL/CTC?

dan-email inbound

Sorry for being brief, I'm on my iPhone.  I can't help you with the Wouxun.

Another +1 for the commander software.  That's all I use.

I found the wouxun to be pretty easy to use and set up...  Just have to play with it a lot to figure out the menu functions...

No pl/ctcss tones into the ISS. We are in region 2 so all freqs in green are worthy of programming in your rig.