Is the Puxing UV 973 there top of the-line dual band radio?  It's a bit hard to keep them all straight. I'm also trying to work out what's the point of an HT with crossband repeat

Scott
ZL1CHM / M0H0K

Sent from my iPhone

On 9/01/2014, at 12:03 PM, Buddy Brannan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> 136-174 and, usually, 400-480 or 420-520.=20
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
> 
> 
> 
> On Jan 8, 2014, at 5:51 PM, Scott Gillen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> Anyone know the transmit frequency range of these radios?  If they go =
> where I=3D
>> need them I may be able to use them in the New Zealand commercial band =
> or FM=3D
>> CB band.=3D20
>> =20
>> 73
>> Scott
>> ZL1CHM / N0NOK
>> =20
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> =20
>> 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=3D20
>>> managed
>>> to become Mr. Chinese Handheld Radio Guy. Heres what I know=3D20
>>> about
>>> these.
>>> =3D20
>>> If you want best price, its far and away the Baofeng UV5R,
>>> which can be had from Amazon for $29. Yep, really.
>>> =3D20
>>> If the information Ed posted about the Wouxuns is correct,=3D20
>>> it might be
>>> well to stay away from it. According to Ed, they all have=3D20
>>> this small
>>> problem where they may possibly lose their memories. Ive had=3D20
>>> mine for
>>> something close to four years and this hasnt happened to me.=3D20
>>> Yet. But
>>> maybe you dont want to take the chance.
>>> =3D20
>>> I would stay away from either of the TYT radios. I have a=3D20
>>> TH-UVF9, and
>>> it really isnt as usable as the others are, mainly because=3D20
>>> important
>>> things like CTCSS, deviation (wide or narrow), and step=3D20
>>> size, are not
>>> directly settable from the keypad, meaning you have to set=3D20
>>> them using
>>> up/down arrow keys, and theres no way to know where you are=3D20
>>> in the
>>> setting.
>>> =3D20
>>> Now, for usability, thats a hard question to answer. Here=3D20
>>> are some
>>> observations that may help though.
>>> =3D20
>>> The Wouxun radios time out very quickly when youre in the=3D20
>>> menu. So
>>> youd better work quickly, or youll have to do your=3D20
>>> programming
>>> over. And by quickly,  I mean three seconds. Both the=3D20
>>> Baofeng and
>>> the Puxing PX-UV973 take a lot longer to time out. The=3D20
>>> Baofeng is a good
>>> 10 seconds before the menu times out, and the puxing is=3D20
>>> similar.
>>> However, you dont get any audible warning from the Puxing=3D20
>>> that the
>>> menu has timed out, where you do on the Baofeng.
>>> =3D20
>>> All three, Wouxun, Puxing, and Baofeng, allow setting of=3D20
>>> CTCSS or DCS
>>> tones from the keypad. However, the Baofeng and Puxing allow=3D20
>>> you to
>>> directly specify the tone, such as 1862 for a 186.2 tone,=3D20
>>> where the
>>> Wouxun requires that you select from a number list, where,=3D20
>>> for instance,
>>> 36 is 186.2. Setting tones on the Puxing is also a little=3D20
>>> more
>>> difficult, but not by much. I need to hurry up and write the=3D20
>>> Puxing
>>> eyes-free thingy.
>>> =3D20
>>> The Puxing is the only radio of the three that offers a true=3D20
>>> dual
>>> receive. However, its a little difficult knowing which band=3D20
>>> is
>>> active, as there isnt any audible indication of this. You=3D20
>>> can work
>>> around this by setting the volume of the secondary band=3D20
>>> differently from
>>> the primary band; also, if you turn off the dual receive,=3D20
>>> youll
>>> always return to the main band, so you can always get back=3D20
>>> to a known
>>> state.
>>> =3D20
>>> All three radios have similar frequency coverage.
>>> =3D20
>>> The Wouxun and Baofeng keypads are kind of sideways, with=3D20
>>> ABCD across
>>> the top, and 1,2,3,* 4,5,6,0, 7,8,9,# in rows of four.
>>> =3D20
>>> The Puxing has
>>> ABCD across the top, and a standard layout 12 key touch tone=3D20
>>> pad below.
>>> =3D20
>>> The Wouxun has a nice locator dot on the 5 key, but the=3D20
>>> others do not.
>>> =3D20
>>> =3D20
>>> All of them have drop-in chargers. The Baoffeng has the best=3D20
>>> battery
>>> selection, coming with an 1800 MA/H battery and having a=3D20
>>> 3800 MA/H
>>> available for less than $20. The Puxing has the smallest=3D20
>>> battery at 1200
>>> MA/H. 1800 MA/H is available from China on eBay if you look.=3D20
>>> (It might
>>> be 1600 MA/H, but whats 200 MA/H between friends?) All of=3D20
>>> them have
>>> good long battery life, but especially the Baofeng if you=3D20
>>> put on the big
>>> battery, which makes it feel a bit more like HTs of old.
>>> =3D20
>>> Oh, one other thing. Programming repeater channels is a bit=3D20
>>> more
>>> convoluted with the Baofeng, requiring that you program in=3D20
>>> receive and
>>> transmit frequencies separately. This effectively means you=3D20
>>> program each
>>> channel twice. Wouxun and Puxing remember repeater offsets=3D20
>>> just fine.
>>> =3D20
>>> All of the computer software is pretty horrible, except=3D20
>>> perhaps the RT
>>> Systems software, which costs as much as or more than the=3D20
>>> radio itself.
>>> I dont have the RT Systems software for any of these myself,=3D20
>>> sorry.
>>> =3D20
>>> =3D20
>>> Pricing. As mentioned before, the Baofeng can be had for as=3D20
>>> little as
>>> $29 from Amazon. The Puxing is between $75 and $80. The=3D20
>>> Wouxun is around
>>> $100, but Ed no longer sells it. Lots of others do, though.
>>> =3D20
>>> I dont have much information thats of any use about the new
>>> Anytone AT-3318UV, sorry. Hope to find out more.
>>> =3D20
>>> Vy 73, de KB5ELV
>>> =3D20
>>> =3D20
>>> =3D20
>>> =3D20
>>> Mike Duke, K5XU
>>> American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs
>>> =3D20
>