TYT TH-9000

[Shriekmau]

So I mounted my Wouxun kg-uv920P-A in my car with the ability to hot swap it out and take it into the house to use as a base station. Unfortunately my inner sloth got the better of me (I got lazy) and I ordered a new mobile to keep in the house. So I picked up the TYT TH-9000 UHF model for $160.00.

 

My initial thoughts:

1. The manual is worse than Wouxun or Baofeng, there are instructions for features where the process does not produce the described result
2. The user interface is just as bad, except the LCD does not display certain letters very well so it leaves you to guess at what it's trying to say
3. The software is a bit better, allowing you to get an idea of the settings but you still need to keep the Engrish manual nearby to get a description of some of the features since they do not match the same naming convention as a lot of other radios
4. The head unit is built extremely well, like a tank even, and it is fairly compact
5. The mic feels a bit cheap and the functions on the mic are easier to perform from the head unit
6. The "P" buttons (P1-P5) have different functions, they are not labeled, and their functionality can be customized from the computer software

Now on to the functionality:

1. The transmit power is nice, not many mobile units I have seen provide more than 40W so with 45W this radio is rather unique
2. Once you figure out the interface (still keeping the manual handy) you can navigate the settings fairly easily
3. The backlighting is bright, and I mean bright, but it can be turned down and comes in 3 colors: blue (too blue, hard to read), orange, and purple (weird right? but it is probably the easiest to read)
4. Transmitting on this unit is nice, I was able to pick up the signal on my mobile crystal clear at 4.7 miles away
5. The receive is where the real problem comes in (for me):
   1. There are documented reports of the squelch not behaving correctly when not using CTC or DCS (DPL) codes, it appears even on the lowest setting it is cutting out signals the have even the slightest chop or static
   2. The recommendation is to set a CTC or DCS for your channels and turn the squelch off, the radio has a setting to listen only to transmissions with these codes and cut out the carrier so you don't get the constant static noise
   3. This seems to work great and my mobile unit comes through just fine, but without doing this little trick my Wouxun mobile has static from just 1.7 miles away
      1. From the same locations I can transmit on my Wouxun KG-UV6D HT to the Wouxun mobile at my house and hear less static on the mobile at the house than when I use my Wouxun mobile to the TYT at the house
   4. The receive does not seem to be as sensitive as others I have used
      1. There is a repeater 31 miles away that I can hit with my Wouxun mobile and hear others on it, when I attempt to key up the repeater with the TYT I can not hear anything back
      2. I have checked the offset and CTC codes, and they match, I also programmed the Wouxun for the reverse of the same channel so they could talk simplex on the repeater channels and could confirm the Wouxun was communicating with the TYT

For me, this unit doesn't meet my needs. Since I live in an area where there are few repeaters in range, I am constantly scanning GMRS frequencies with open CTC and DCS codes. With this unit I either must listen to the constant static or not be able to scan properly.

 

For someone who primarily uses the same channels with the same CTC or DCS codes this unit would work great and at a great price! The product quality seems to be very good and it has nice features. I would recommend getting the programming cable (mine came with one) and software (free to download from TYT) as the UI is rather confusing and the manual is little help.

 

Overall I would rate this unit a 3.5 out of 5 (mainly due to the squelch issues).

[Billy]

Thanks for the report, I am often tempted by the price as in "hey why not".    I took a chance with the Anytone Dual Bander that I did a previous review on, a good radio for the price but I am still not willing to praise it.    For my money the best UHF only radio out there is the Icom 6021 128  ($260)  channel or its cousin the 6011 8 channel ($220).   I have the 6021 mobile and love it.   Loud on both ends and very, very stable.  Great performers, period!  

[captdan]

So just curious ...how do you like the Wouxun kg-uv920P-A you are using as your mobile ?

 

 

Dan

[JohnE]

most radios out of the box will preform well but some require a full tune to operate properly. see if you can find a service manual for it. the RSSI is likely to be too high.

both of my Kenwood repeaters and 8180 needed tuning, but that isn't out of the ordinary for how I like my receivers to work. I had my 8180 too hot when I first did it. couldn't get the squelch to go tight at all. my 850's open at .23uV on their own, w/preamp my private one will do .14-.15.  the city one I never tested through the RX network. one of these days I'll check it and the effective receive sensitivity, should take a half hr to do but I have to take the network off the air to do that.

[Shriekmau]

So just curious ...how do you like the Wouxun kg-uv920P-A you are using as your mobile ?

 

 

Dan

I like it so much that I RMA'd the TH-9000 and ordered another Wouxun

[captdan]

I am very glad to hear that as I just received some along with the 6uvd hand helds - Waiting to install the mobiles next week - so far I am impressed with the hand held.

[Shriekmau]

I was too. I really like mine. They seem to work really well.

[captdan]

Just wondering - what antenna did you use for the mobile install?

 

My installer wants to use this antenna on my truck - http://www.tessco.com/products/displayProductInfo.do?sku=54982&eventPage=2

 

 

Dan

[Shriekmau]

Those are good antennas and I actually looked at that one. I ended up going with a recommendation by Pastor Gary. He recommended this one: http://www.tessco.com/products/displayProductInfo.do?sku=18168&eventGroup=4&eventPage=1

 

I ended up ordering it off Amazon for $59.43. Since this is my everyday driver and I might sell it down the road I used a magnetic mount.

[Guest spd641]

Hey Guys,

 

Keep a eye on your new Wouxun kg-uv920P-A,I am on my 2nd one,the 1st lost all power stopped transmitting and was replaced by the local dealer I bought it from.The 2nd unit has a issue with the alpha-numeric display it will scramble into all kinds of letters and symbols while in manual mode but only on the left side.

 

You can set the left side to say Wouxun with menu 8 and scan with the right side,my dealer replaced the head but after about 2 months the new head started doing the same thing and I find this irritating.I like some of the features especially the non-standard pl tones but do not like not being able to monitor one side while the other is scanning.

 

I thought each side operated independant but apparently it does not at least I haven't figured out how to do it yet.One more thing is if you look at the meter when you transmit it doesn't work at times but you are still transmitting along with receiving a signal you can look at the signal strength and it will open the squelch unless it is a strong signal .I would say this radio still has a few bugs but still has potential with a few upgrades to software and volume control.I hate to hit scan everytine I change volume level plus the UHF side speaker is weaker than VHF even with external speakers.

 

I think both sides should use the same speaker and not rely on 2 seperate controls  for volume.

[Shriekmau]

The two sides do operate independently of each other but only under the following conditions:

1. Neither side can be scanning, it prevents listening on the non-scanning side since the receiver is constantly changing to another frequency
   1. This sounds weird I know, and I have not found a reason for it other than the OS just can't handle it
2. One side must be on UHF and the other on VHF
   1. The radio can not play audio from two different frequencies in the same band
   2. I routinely listen to a GMRS repeater on one side and the local ARC repeater on the other, I only broadcast on the GMRS side since I don't have my HAM ticket yet

[Guest spd641]

 

The two sides do operate independently of each other but only under the following conditions:

1. Neither side can be scanning, it prevents listening on the non-scanning side since the receiver is constantly changing to another frequency
   1. This sounds weird I know, and I have not found a reason for it other than the OS just can't handle it
2. One side must be on UHF and the other on VHF
   1. The radio can not play audio from two different frequencies in the same band
   2. I routinely listen to a GMRS repeater on one side and the local ARC repeater on the other, I only broadcast on the GMRS side since I don't have my HAM ticket yet

 

That is what I find funny that neither side can be scanning.My Alinco DR-635T will scan both sides at once VHF one side and UHF on the other and has different volume controls and use the same speaker.I have never really had any problem using it that way.The book only shows/tells about scanning the main band or sub-band not both but I found a trick to do both and it works quite well,only drawback if you want to use either band you have to stop it from scanning on both side but all you have to do is hit the V/M button to stop it all.To scan both side you set main band VHF to scan the hit the band button and  it switchs VHF to sub band and UHF to sub band just hit scan again and both will scan....William

[Shriekmau]

I tried doing that and when I tried to change to other band it stopped scanning on the first band. So both bands turned on, scanning in VHF as primary, hit the BAND button to switch to other band, when I did it stopped scanning on Primary and didn't even switch to secondary. Tried this with the VFO button as well, in channel mode and VFO mode.

 

Mine does not seem to have the same functionality as yours. The fact they sent the 920P and not the 920P-A finally got to me so I RMA'd the new 920P.

[Guest spd641]

I was told yesterday by my local dealer they would take care of my Wouxun mobile radio and not to worry,the dealer also told me as soon as they sell out of those he will not order anymore unless requested by a customer,maybe this one will actually work as it should for me,fingers crossed...William

[Shriekmau]

Luckily I have not had any real issues with mine. I will eventually retire it and put my Yaesu in the car, but that is after I get the ICOM IC-7100 I have been drooling over. That of course is about 4-6 years down the road.