Hi Folks
I would like a cheap setup to get started.  Do any of these Chinese radios come in a desktop version and that also talk?

KI4ARK
John Sherrer
[log in to unmask]



On Jan 8, 2014, at 2:51 PM, Scott Gillen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Anyone know the transmit frequency range of these radios?  If they go where I=
> need them I may be able to use them in the New Zealand commercial band or FM=
> CB band.=20
> 
> 73
> Scott
> ZL1CHM / N0NOK
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On 7/01/2014, at 11:46 AM, "Mike Duke, K5XU" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Im not Bob and i dont play him on TV, but Ive somehow=20
>> managed
>> to become Mr. Chinese Handheld Radio Guy. Heres what I know=20
>> about
>> these.
>> =20
>> If you want best price, its far and away the Baofeng UV5R,
>> which can be had from Amazon for $29. Yep, really.
>> =20
>> If the information Ed posted about the Wouxuns is correct,=20
>> it might be
>> well to stay away from it. According to Ed, they all have=20
>> this small
>> problem where they may possibly lose their memories. Ive had=20
>> mine for
>> something close to four years and this hasnt happened to me.=20
>> Yet. But
>> maybe you dont want to take the chance.
>> =20
>> I would stay away from either of the TYT radios. I have a=20
>> TH-UVF9, and
>> it really isnt as usable as the others are, mainly because=20
>> important
>> things like CTCSS, deviation (wide or narrow), and step=20
>> size, are not
>> directly settable from the keypad, meaning you have to set=20
>> them using
>> up/down arrow keys, and theres no way to know where you are=20
>> in the
>> setting.
>> =20
>> Now, for usability, thats a hard question to answer. Here=20
>> are some
>> observations that may help though.
>> =20
>> The Wouxun radios time out very quickly when youre in the=20
>> menu. So
>> youd better work quickly, or youll have to do your=20
>> programming
>> over. And by quickly,  I mean three seconds. Both the=20
>> Baofeng and
>> the Puxing PX-UV973 take a lot longer to time out. The=20
>> Baofeng is a good
>> 10 seconds before the menu times out, and the puxing is=20
>> similar.
>> However, you dont get any audible warning from the Puxing=20
>> that the
>> menu has timed out, where you do on the Baofeng.
>> =20
>> All three, Wouxun, Puxing, and Baofeng, allow setting of=20
>> CTCSS or DCS
>> tones from the keypad. However, the Baofeng and Puxing allow=20
>> you to
>> directly specify the tone, such as 1862 for a 186.2 tone,=20
>> where the
>> Wouxun requires that you select from a number list, where,=20
>> for instance,
>> 36 is 186.2. Setting tones on the Puxing is also a little=20
>> more
>> difficult, but not by much. I need to hurry up and write the=20
>> Puxing
>> eyes-free thingy.
>> =20
>> The Puxing is the only radio of the three that offers a true=20
>> dual
>> receive. However, its a little difficult knowing which band=20
>> is
>> active, as there isnt any audible indication of this. You=20
>> can work
>> around this by setting the volume of the secondary band=20
>> differently from
>> the primary band; also, if you turn off the dual receive,=20
>> youll
>> always return to the main band, so you can always get back=20
>> to a known
>> state.
>> =20
>> All three radios have similar frequency coverage.
>> =20
>> The Wouxun and Baofeng keypads are kind of sideways, with=20
>> ABCD across
>> the top, and 1,2,3,* 4,5,6,0, 7,8,9,# in rows of four.
>> =20
>> The Puxing has
>> ABCD across the top, and a standard layout 12 key touch tone=20
>> pad below.
>> =20
>> The Wouxun has a nice locator dot on the 5 key, but the=20
>> others do not.
>> =20
>> =20
>> All of them have drop-in chargers. The Baoffeng has the best=20
>> battery
>> selection, coming with an 1800 MA/H battery and having a=20
>> 3800 MA/H
>> available for less than $20. The Puxing has the smallest=20
>> battery at 1200
>> MA/H. 1800 MA/H is available from China on eBay if you look.=20
>> (It might
>> be 1600 MA/H, but whats 200 MA/H between friends?) All of=20
>> them have
>> good long battery life, but especially the Baofeng if you=20
>> put on the big
>> battery, which makes it feel a bit more like HTs of old.
>> =20
>> Oh, one other thing. Programming repeater channels is a bit=20
>> more
>> convoluted with the Baofeng, requiring that you program in=20
>> receive and
>> transmit frequencies separately. This effectively means you=20
>> program each
>> channel twice. Wouxun and Puxing remember repeater offsets=20
>> just fine.
>> =20
>> All of the computer software is pretty horrible, except=20
>> perhaps the RT
>> Systems software, which costs as much as or more than the=20
>> radio itself.
>> I dont have the RT Systems software for any of these myself,=20
>> sorry.
>> =20
>> =20
>> Pricing. As mentioned before, the Baofeng can be had for as=20
>> little as
>> $29 from Amazon. The Puxing is between $75 and $80. The=20
>> Wouxun is around
>> $100, but Ed no longer sells it. Lots of others do, though.
>> =20
>> I dont have much information thats of any use about the new
>> Anytone AT-3318UV, sorry. Hope to find out more.
>> =20
>> Vy 73, de KB5ELV
>> =20
>> =20
>> =20
>> =20
>> Mike Duke, K5XU
>> American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs
>> =20