[amsat-bb] Wouxun KG-UV8D

[Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)]

Hi Terry!

The KG-UV8D can work the AMSAT Fox-1 satellites with
70cm uplinks full-duplex, but not do full-duplex on
SO-50 with its 2m uplink. Even though the KG-UV9D has
a receiver with much more coverage than the KG-UV8D,
I found that the KG-UV9D (this also includes the
KG-UV9D Plus) has a better and cleaner receiver for
FM satellite downlinks than any variant of the
KG-UV8D. I have not tried any of the new dual-band
Chinese-made FM/DMR HTs, but for the rest of the
crop of dual-band HTs from China I think the KG-UV9D
(any variant) is probably still the best performer
for FM satellite work.

John KG4AKV already mentioned a couple of links where
I wrote about the KG-UV8D on AO-85. I also wrote about
it on this mailing list in late 2015 around the time
AO-85's launch. My comments about these Wouxun HTs,
along with two other Chinese-made HTs, appeared on
this list. A summary, which has links to the messages
covering each radio I tried, can be found at:

http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-December/056269.html

After seeing that the KG-UV9D performed better than the
KG-UV8D, I sold the KG-UV8D. I still have the KG-UV9D,
and periodically use it for FM satellite work.

Should you go with either Wouxun HT, be aware that the
radios always have a small current draw - even when
powered off. If you don't use the radio all the time,
it would be advisable to either remove the battery from
the back of the radio, or put a piece of paper between
the battery pack and the contacts on the back of the
radio. This will ensure the pack remains charged and
ready to go, instead of possibly ending up with a dead
battery pack at the same time you want to work a
satellite pass, or use a repeater.

Good luck, and 73!





Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK
http://www.wd9ewk.net/
Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK






On Wed, Jun 6, 2018 at 2:20 AM, Wendy and Terry Osborne <
wandtosborne at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>
> Is anyone using one of these on the FM Sats?
> If so how well does it perform?
> It appears to pretty much the same as the KG-UV9D but without the extra
> wideband receiver ranges.
>
> It seems to be able to do full duplex.
>
>