[amsat-bb] Re: WOUXUN Radio

[Ari Kosonen]

Hi,

Joe KK0SD wrote:
> Has anyone bought and played with one of these ultra cheap WOUXUN dual band
> hand helds that are selling on eBay?  Do they hear well enough for satellite operation?

I also recently got a Wouxun KG-UVD1P and today gave it a try on HO-68.
My antenna is a long telescopic whip, Diamond RH-770 (quite similar to
Pryme AL-800).

I was very surprised to hear traffic from HO-68 almost immediatelly it
was over the horizon.
There was many very strong stations and I did not manage to get my 5 W
signal through,
but at least the receiver-side seems to be very sensitive. There is
few quirks in the
usage of Wouxun, but with pre-programmed channels and other settings I probably
can live with it. Anyway Wouxun's felt quality and usability is sheer
improvement
compared to earlier HT offerings from China I've seen.

I have not made comparisons with other radios yet, but to me Wouxun
seems quite promising.
I usually use Yaesu FT-60r with Arrow II yagi for my backyard-portable
FM-satellite QSOs.

The SMA-connector in FT-60 feels quite fragile for long telescopic whips
(Yes, I know KC2BHO's adapters might provide a solution), whereas
Wouxun's casing
provides some support even with standard BNC-SMA(F) adapter, reducing the stress
caused by a long whip.

In Europe, Wouxun's are available in some reputable vendors, with CE
approval (whatever
it's worth..). Mine came from eBay, though...

73 de Ari OH3KAV (grid: KP11)