Hi y'all,

Just got one of these Wouxun KG-UVd1P radios on Saturday. There's at least one distributor in the US that sells them; he doesn't have prices posted or an online shopping cart yet, but he takes Paypal and was very prompt in Emailing. Also very nice to deal with, and interested in how the radio works for blind hams. Yes, the radio is legal for the US market, and is Part 90 (commercial land mobile) type accepted, so it's just fine to use on the ham bands; no trouble with it, or getting it. While it's a few dollars more to buy from Ed at http://www.wouxun.us he handles warranty service (which means he deals with the factory in China, so you don't have to), which is worth something to me. Fewer delays, one would suppose, should warranty service be required, than would be the case if ordering from one of the many online places or eBay sellers in Hong Kong, such as 409shop.com. Also, if ordering from Ed, you won't have to worry that your radio might get nabbed by customs and help for extra brokerage fees, since the HK places declare them at low value and marked as "gift", to avoid paying higher import taxes. Also probably worth something. 

Even at that ($107 for the radio, plus $13.50 shipping for radio plus any accessories you buy, and Ed doesn't trow in the PTT earphone), and $24 for the spare battery, other accessories are a little more from Ed than from 409shop, it's a real bargain. And I got it in two days, as opposed to two weeks. Even with buying a second battery, USB cable, AA battery holder, and DC cigarette lighter adapter, and even after paying the Paypal fees and shipping, I still spent less than $200. The battery was the most expensive accessory at $24. 

This feels like a solid radio, and it has a nice loud speaker. It definitely packs a bit more of a whallop than the Kenwood TH-F6A, certainly more bass and less tinny. As Christian said, all menus can be programmed with numbers, which is good, because there is no beep at the beginnings or at the default positions. Not all the menus have voice tags either, so a cheat sheet is probably a good idea. (I need to get the menu listing.) It isn't too bad to program from the keyboard. And the software is fairly usable with a screen reader, though not so nice as the Icom programming software I used from RT Systems; it does require some navigation with the mouse keys to get to the channel programming, and sometimes the screen reader guesses at the control labels wrong, but once you get the hang of it, it's OK, but you'd better be familiar with your screen reader's mouse navigation. I used it with both Window-Eyes and with System Access, and Window-Eyes is a little bit easier to work with. 

I would recommend, if you get the software, to set a reset password, so you don't accidentally reset the radio. I did accidentally reset mine, and it came back up talking in Chinese. Fortunately, I'd saved the programming out, so restoring it was easy enough. Still, better not to accidentally do it in the first place.

One other thing. You will want to find an SMA gender changer if you want to use something besides the standard antenna the radio comes with. Its SMA connector is backwards from Icom/Kenwood/Yaesu, in that the threaded bit is on the antenna, while the bit with the center pin that you thread the connector into is on the radio. IMO this is probably a better arrangement than the other way, but it's still backwards from all the available aftermarket antennas. 

I plan on working up a use document for blind hams for this thing. As radios go, it really is pretty accessible, even if as much stuff as we'd like doesn't talk. Most of what does is only marginally useful, but even so, it's more than the big three have done thus far. 

Also, thanks to Christian, SM0UWV, for initially turning us onto this radio. If anyone still has his Word doc with the manual in it, I'd be ever so grateful if you'd send it; I've unfortunately lost my copy. Between it, what I've found out on my own and from others, and a nice little getting started PDF that Ed sent me, I should be able to put together a nice document for us. 
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Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY