Right under our own nose...

[berkinet]

I just noticed a banner ad (Look Up) from buytwowayradios.com for a newly certified GMRS radio from Wouxun.   I wrote newly certified since the radio was actually first certified for Part90 in 2012 and has now been certified for Part95.  There is a lot more information on this Reddit thread.

[berkinet]

I am hoping someone with the right test equipment can get one of these radios to check out the receiver and see if it really is better than the average CCR.

[marcspaz]

I can do it after New Year's day. But my equipment is very old and doesn't have any computer interfaces... so I can only provide data... no images like what Corey gave us in the past.

[RCM]

I saw that too. They also sell a MURS radio.

[berkinet]

I saw that too. They also sell a MURS radio.

Yes. Both radios (GMRS & MURS) are available in two versions: basic and professional. The difference is, the professional version allows setting of PL tones from the menu system and PC programming, while the basic version only supports PC programming for PL tones.

[Radioguy7268]

Better take a look at the FCC Certification. Less than 3/4 of a watt certification for GMRS. That's usually a sign that it was throwing off spurs at higher power levels.

 

There's a reason all those CCR's are showing oddball power & emission certifications for Type Acceptance. It's not because of translation errors IMHO.

[gman1971]

These are not the droids you're looking for...

[berkinet]

Better take a look at the FCC Certification. Less than 3/4 of a watt certification for GMRS. That's usually a sign that it was throwing off spurs at higher power levels.

 

There's a reason all those CCR's are showing oddball power & emission certifications for Type Acceptance. It's not because of translation errors IMHO.

I am certainly not pushing these radios... however, the seller/importer does address that issue on the Reddit page and his own announcement. This is supposedly a revised version of a previously certified radio with the power now set at 4 watts. They claim they can continue to use the old certificate s long as the hardware doesn't change.

[WRAF213]

Increasing the power beyond what the device is certified for, even if in software, voids the type acceptance. If the power were brought back down to what the certification lists, it's legal.

[berkinet]

Increasing the power beyond what the device is certified for, even if in software, voids the type acceptance. If the power were brought back down to what the certification lists, it's legal.

I am not really going to defend this radio, I was just explaining what the seller wrote. If anyone wants information it is all there in black-and-white on the seller’s website. If anyone takes argument what the seller has written, they can take it up with the seller on the Reddit discussion.

 

Just FYI, here is the comment about power and certification from Danny at buytwowayradios.com

The hardware for this radio is the Wouxun KG-703E, which was previously type accepted by Wouxun for Part 95.

When we started this we had to select which base Wouxun radio we wanted to start from. The requirements were a single band model with a display, so we selected their KG-703E. We chose this one because it is similar to the popular dual band KG-UVD1P. We've been selling the KG-UVD1P for years and know it's a high quality radio, plus it was nice that all of the accessories are compatible between the models.

Turns out, the KG-703E had already been Part 95 type accepted. We worked with Wouxun to customize the radio's firmware and programming software, but the hardware is unchanged. Wouxun said that since the hardware was unchanged it wasn't necessary to recertify, and this is consistent with what I've seen previously. As far as the wattage, we tested it to be right at 4 watts. Since the power can be adjusted without a hardware change I suppose a new FCC ID wasn't necessary.

 

And before anyone comments. I have no idea if Danny or Wouxun is right about their assertion that recertification is not required or as to why the original certification was at 741mW.

 

Hopefully, someone will get one of these and put it on a spectrum analyzer so we can see what it actually transmits.

[rdunajewski]

I have one of these units but I haven't had the chance to throw them on the service monitor yet. Danny from BuyTwoWayRadios said they selected this model because it wasn't a radio-on-a-chip design, so the performance should be better than a lot of the CCR's. I haven't been able to independently verify that yet.

 

The radio does work, I programmed it for a repeater a couple miles away and I was able to talk between my Kenwood NX-5300 and this radio side-by-side via the repeater. So even with the obvious desense, they still worked. That's about the extent of my testing aside from scanning around the FRS/GMRS frequencies to see what else I pick up (which isn't much as this area is very quiet now).

 

myGMRS is also selling these on our shop, and we're working on reseller arrangements with several big names that are in the final stages. The goal is to have a GMRS-friendly shop where you can find type-accepted equipment and some non-GMRS equipment as well, like Part 90 and Amateur equipment. But if you're new to GMRS and have no idea what equipment you can buy, we'll have a clearly-marked GMRS section so you can buy something legal without worry.

[Coldwave]

I just received mine and have had it a couple of days. Have compared it to the BTech GMRS-v1. This radio blows it away. RF performance is amazing and I can hit all of my local repeaters from inside my house. One of them almost 30 miles away. The circuitry is way superior to the radio on a chip unit. Wish the buttons were rubber instead of hard plastic. Screen viewing angle isn’t that great either. But the little cosmetic flaws aside it’s RF performance justifies the cost completely.

[Extreme]

I just received mine and have had it a couple of days. Have compared it to the BTech GMRS-v1. This radio blows it away. RF performance is amazing and I can hit all of my local repeaters from inside my house. One of them almost 30 miles away. The circuitry is way superior to the radio on a chip unit. Wish the buttons were rubber instead of hard plastic. Screen viewing angle isn’t that great either. But the little cosmetic flaws aside it’s RF performance justify the cost completely.

Any updates on this HT?  Looking for a decent (non CCR/Bubble pack) HH radio.  BTech V1 on Amazon says 2W high power?? What happened to 5w?

 

Options and opinions encouraged.  

 

Thanks

[Coldwave]

Not too much to update other than it’s still working great. I’ve been in contact with Wouxun regarding the fact that the backlighting does not time out while scanning. So you have to disable it if you want to scan. That kind of sucks. Considering the GMRS-v1 would time out. A couple of little cosmetic things like some particles underneath the screen lens; I can’t seem to blow them out. The PTT and all other buttons suck. The material is not great. Like a hard plastic with little tactical feedback. I know I’m nitpicking a little. But for the price I’d like something a little more refined as far as firmware and form. However, the RF performance blows anything in its price range out of the water. At least for a Part 95 radio. The superheterodyne receiver has excellent sensitivity and I tested it a couple of days ago on the go and I have got nothing but excellent feedback on my audio through repeaters. Some thought I was on a mobile. Excellent quieting free of static. I also tried with a buddy 8 miles away, yes 8 over simplex. Clear as can be. Now, I had some elevation over him; but still. I’ve only been able to do that with my old Icom 4021 HT. So, the performance of this unit makes you deal with the shortcomings of the radios form. I told Buy Two Way Radios if only the buttons were rubbery and had a tactical click to it and a little more customization with the firmware it would be a damn near perfect low cost Part 95 radio. It’s based off the KG-703E radio and it’s a single band radio. So you have the advantage of tighter filters and a more “tuned” experience than a dual band radio. That’s just my option though. It would be worth checking out if I were you. Danny is the man at BTWR too and he is willing to answer any questions you may have about the specifics of the unit. They provide great support. Yes. When BTech first tried to certify for Part 95 they left the power setting at 5w per the UV-82 spec. They later were required to resubmit at 2 watts to stay in compliance. The KG-805G is a true 4 watt UHF radio with clean output. It’s Part 95 certification is based on the KG-703E since that is essentially what the 805 is with a modified firmware.

[Extreme]

"..the performance of this unit makes you deal with the shortcomings of the radios form."

 

First time GMRS user and waffling between the 805-G at $80 and a used Kenwood TK380 for $95.. my brain's becoming a rattle-trap..lol.

 

Is the 805 an EZ program via cable?

[Coldwave]

The Kenwood is a great radio. But you’d be dealing with used and no warranty. Sometimes that can be a can of worms. Depending on how the unit was treated and what it was exposed too. I treat my equipment very well, some people throw their radios around.

 

It’s super easy to program via cable. Even programming on the front panel is pretty easy. The only thing I could not do on the front panel was omit channels and add/delete scan channels. The buttons on the Kenwood would be better for sure. If you don’t need front panel programming and prefer everything via software. You could opt for the “basic” version of the 805 to save a few bucks.

[Extreme]

Wondering also about the weight difference from Kenwood and Wouxun?  I'm sure the Kenwood is heavy.

 

Would it be practical to have an antenna adapter for the Wouxun and plug it into a rooftop (kayak rack) 1/4 wave antenna for mobile use?  Or would I gain nothing over hand-held?

 

..now I'll wander off to the Kenwood mobile thread I started and ask about getting quick connect power for a TK880 or 863G so I can move it from my pickup to my UTV easily.  I'd just leave power and antenna cables in place on both rigs.  I can leave the mounting bracket in the pickup and have another method to mount the mobile on my rollbar.

 

Reaching out to repeater owners via email in the areas I'll travel (and locally) for permission, even tho' all but 1 repeater is 'open'.  One guy requests a copy of FCC License - can't criticize for that.  I guess he'll send me the Freq for access.

[berkinet]

... Would it be practical to have an antenna adapter for the Wouxun and plug it into a rooftop (kayak rack) 1/4 wave antenna for mobile use?  Or would I gain nothing over hand-held?...

 

Regardless of which portable you end up selecting, it will work much better in your car with an external antenna.  Just for starters, the antenna will be located higher and free of the metal cage of the car body. Also, if your portable's antenna is a stubby or rubber duckie variety, a 1/4 wave will significantly put perform it.

[Extreme]

I am not really going to defend this radio, I was just explaining what the seller wrote. If anyone wants information it is all there in black-and-white on the seller’s website. If anyone takes argument what the seller has written, they can take it up with the seller on the Reddit discussion.

 

Just FYI, here is the comment about power and certification from Danny at buytwowayradios.com

The hardware for this radio is the Wouxun KG-703E, which was previously type accepted by Wouxun for Part 95.

When we started this we had to select which base Wouxun radio we wanted to start from. The requirements were a single band model with a display, so we selected their KG-703E. We chose this one because it is similar to the popular dual band KG-UVD1P. We've been selling the KG-UVD1P for years and know it's a high quality radio, plus it was nice that all of the accessories are compatible between the models.

Turns out, the KG-703E had already been Part 95 type accepted. We worked with Wouxun to customize the radio's firmware and programming software, but the hardware is unchanged. Wouxun said that since the hardware was unchanged it wasn't necessary to recertify, and this is consistent with what I've seen previously. As far as the wattage, we tested it to be right at 4 watts. Since the power can be adjusted without a hardware change I suppose a new FCC ID wasn't necessary.

 

And before anyone comments. I have no idea if Danny or Wouxun is right about their assertion that recertification is not required or as to why the original certification was at 741mW.

 

Hopefully, someone will get one of these and put it on a spectrum analyzer so we can see what it actually transmits.

Hmmm..

 

I found the FCC ID from the 805G Operators Manual, copy/pasted into FCC ID Search and came up with this:

 

https://fccid.io/WVTWOUXUN08

 

The Grant was approved 7/20/2012 which leads me to believe the new 805 is piggybacked on a previous radio (as stated in the quote), just a 'confirmation'.

Whether completely above board, who knows?  I hear the FCC isn't ultra-strict on GMRS and out here in the wild West (low density population) I don't know that it would ever come up.  It might be scare to find someone to talk with let alone cause interference enough to get reported, admonished, or hunted down and fined.

The optimist in me says the above document is cover for the consumer and it should be the responsibility of the manufacturer and the FCC to ensure things are compliant, not the end-user.

 

Or.. am I just over-thinking all this.

[berkinet]

...Or.. am I just over-thinking all this.

 

Yes.

[Extreme]

Ok, I just ordered the 805G, high cap battery, programming cable w/free software, a HT belt case.  Got frequencies sorted out so I can program this thing right away and cleared the way for repeater use.  My new obsession.. hope it's fun.

 

Good news is, I've never owned anything but the blister pack radios so I have nothing of comparable quality to compare it to (other than the Motorola HT we used at work) so it should be just fine.

 

Thanks for all the help.

[Coldwave]

Ok, I just ordered the 805G, high cap battery, programming cable w/free software, a HT belt case.  Got frequencies sorted out so I can program this thing right away and cleared the way for repeater use.  My new obsession.. hope it's fun.

 

Good news is, I've never owned anything but the blister pack radios so I have nothing of comparable quality to compare it to (other than the Motorola HT we used at work) so it should be just fine.

 

Thanks for all the help.

Nice! I think you will like the 805. I was going to try a case for it. Did you get the case that buytwowayradios.com offers?

 

Let us know how it works for you at your locations and how your repeater access is.

[Coldwave]

I have one of these units but I haven't had the chance to throw them on the service monitor yet. Danny from BuyTwoWayRadios said they selected this model because it wasn't a radio-on-a-chip design, so the performance should be better than a lot of the CCR's. I haven't been able to independently verify that yet.

 

The radio does work, I programmed it for a repeater a couple miles away and I was able to talk between my Kenwood NX-5300 and this radio side-by-side via the repeater. So even with the obvious desense, they still worked. That's about the extent of my testing aside from scanning around the FRS/GMRS frequencies to see what else I pick up (which isn't much as this area is very quiet now).

 

myGMRS is also selling these on our shop, and we're working on reseller arrangements with several big names that are in the final stages. The goal is to have a GMRS-friendly shop where you can find type-accepted equipment and some non-GMRS equipment as well, like Part 90 and Amateur equipment. But if you're new to GMRS and have no idea what equipment you can buy, we'll have a clearly-marked GMRS section so you can buy something legal without worry.

Rich, what do you think of the buttons? The material and the feedback? Just curious if I’m the only one that doesn’t like them.

[Extreme]

Nice! I think you will like the 805. I was going to try a case for it. Did you get the case that buytwowayradios.com offers?

 

Let us know how it works for you at your locations and how your repeater access is.

Yup, case from buytwoway.

 

You can be sure I'll be posting how it works for me.  I have 2 repeaters line-of-sight from my house (5 miles or so) so should be able to hit them.  There are 2 more some 40 miles away and the owner says he can hit my local repeater from his house at that distance, and I think he meant without using his repeater.. interesting. 

So I'll have lots to play with.. once past programming and the learning curve.

 

Elementary question:  Other than announcing my License # when I go on-air,  is there a code or comment I throw out looking for ANY response from anyone (ala: "Radio Check")?  Still need the FAQ list on acronyms..lol.  Did I read something about "CQ". 

 

Did I screw up ordering from buytwoway?  Meant to order from myGMRS but thought it linked me to BTWR??

[Extreme]

Elementary question:  Other than announcing my License # when I go on-air,  is there a code or comment I throw out looking for ANY response from anyone (ala: "Radio Check")?  Still need the FAQ list on acronyms..lol.  Did I read something about "CQ". 

 

Found what might be helpful:

 

https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/1081-etiquette-for-communication-using-gmrs/