After briefly considering a VX-8 and laughing about the price, I decided to see how a Wouxun made-out-of-chinese-parts radio compared to a Yaesu, Kenwood, or Icom made-out-of-chinese-parts radio. Pretty favorably, it turns out.
1. What I got
I bought the KG-UVD1P transceiver kit from universal-radio, along with the USB programming it, a spare Li-Ion extended battery and a AA Case. Together with the radio, which comes with a cradle and car charger, I was out about $150 with shipping.
2. What it is
The KG-UVD1P is a true dual-band (ie, 2 VFOs) radio that is made as a general purpose VHF / UHF handheld for public safety, business, and end-consumer use. It is an international radio, meaning that its wide open. And by wide open, I mean WIIIIDE OPEN. The one I ordered will RX and TX on everything between 136-174MHz and 400-470MHz. It goes without saying that one needs to be a little more careful when using this radio than a purpose-built ham radio, because it will happily key up on bands that you have no right to be on.
The radio itself is pretty solid-feeling. While it doesnt have a metal external case like my beloved VX-170, it certainly feels more solid than a VX-3 or FT-60, and any radio made by Kenwood.
The back of the radio reveals it has a die-case frame, which lends it the solidity I wish most Kenwoods had.
The radio is rated IP55 for dust and water resistance, which puts it on par with a VX-3 or FT-60, but not as rugged as VX-8 or VX-170.
3. What it isnt
Its not really a ham radio. Now, it has FCC Part 90 type acceptance, which then means its kosher to use for amateur service, but it was never designed to be only an amateur radio. Some of the things that drive this point home is the fact that it lacks things that amateur users expect: automatic +/- offsets according to the ARRL bandplan when setting up for repeaters, for one. Lots of keypad shortcuts for common functions, for another. This radio requires 3 button presses to change from memory mode to VFO mode. That's a hassle, but I'l get on with that in a moment. You *can* fully program the radio through the keypad, and the User manual was surprisingly Chinglish-free and straightforward, but the menu system (twist the knob endlessly for menu items, or key in menu numbers via keypad) really kinda sucks. Again, its not primarily a ham radio.
4. What I really liked
* This radio sounds GOOD. TX and RX both sound outstanding. I think this radio has a better front-end than my Yaesu. Whether I'm on VHF or UHF, this thing kicks ass when it comes to actually being a radio.
* The programming software. The USB cable was $15 and the software is free from Wouxun. The software has three option-setting windows: memory slot assignment, radio options (how the menus work, what mode the radio powers up in, offset defaults for each band, etc) and what you want to do with the programmable buttons on the side. The software is very easy to use, the memory screen doubly so. You just put in input/output freqs, CTCSS/PL tones, power levels, bandwidth, and a 6-char memory name.
This leads into how I think of this radio: It's a commercial radio that works best when you pre-program it, and run it in channelized mode. The scanning is kind of kludgy, but it works. The menus are kludgy, but they work. But the radio is by far easier to operate if you sit down and key in all your frequencies in advance, and just use it in memory mode. Running it in channelized mode also reduces the possibility of keying up out of band. I sat in my car programming in a repeater by hand, and it was like trying to use an ancient 80's era Yaesu. A hassle.
Now, without getting into too much detail about the real reason I got this radio, take a look at what I've got going on here and how it can be used:
That should speak volumes for the versatility of this radio. I just took 2 radios out of my bugout bag.
For QST's review, see: http://www.wouxun.us/Manuals/QSTReview.pdf
I love this radio. While I cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone use it for MURS or GMRS, it works really well for those too.
ETA: I should also mention that the radio has a MALE SMA connector, which harks back to the old Yaesu days. Be advised of that if you pick up additional antennae along with the radio.
