Wouxon KG-1000G Fan Behavior Question

[mikebrown58]

Question for any other owners of the Wouxon KG-1000G radio. I recently got one and have it set up as a base with a 30amp power supply. All is working fine, however the Fan on the KG-1000G turns on instantly every time the PTT is used to transmit, "even after the radio is just powered up".

Per the manual, it says there are 3 options for setting the Fan. One of them (default setting) says the fan turns on "when the temperature of the radio is high during transmit". That's what mine is set to. That would appear to indicate the fan "would not" turn on immediately after powering the radio on, right? There is another fan setting that turns the fan on "when transmitting". That is how the radio appears to be acting. It's almost as if there is a bug in the radio with the default fan setting.

Looking for confirmation from other owners that their unit operates in a similar fashion...or not. I have asked Buytwowayradios to confirm this as well. Thanks in advance!

[mbrun]

I believe the accompanying description in the manual to be misleading.

 

TX = Fan on while transmitting only.

HI-TE/TX = Fan on when temperature is high or when transmitting.

ALWAYS = Fan Always On, regardless of temperature or transmitting.

 

In effect, the fan will always be on when transmitting, period. Beyond that, the fan is on when temperatures are high; always when you set it as such.

 

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

[mikebrown58]

Thanks for the reply Michael.  Was hoping it was some kind of a setting bug, but guess not.  For a radio of this caliber (cost), it’s disappointing to hear a relatively loud fan noise with every push of the PTT. 

[MacJack]

Thanks for your review... on fan issue.  I do not have a 1000 yet and was thinking use it as a mobile not a base.  If the fan is a issue can you mount the radio somewhere else as it has a xx foot wire to mount remote head else where?  I'm asking as I'm look at my location so if the fan is an issue.  But wait I'm so old I have ringing in my ears now and I may not hear the fan over the ringing in my ears...  not joking, 

Jack

Question for any other owners of the Wouxon KG-1000G radio. I recently got one and have it set up as a base with a 30amp power supply. All is working fine, however the Fan on the KG-1000G turns on instantly every time the PTT is used to transmit, "even after the radio is just powered up".

Per the manual, it says there are 3 options for setting the Fan. One of them (default setting) says the fan turns on "when the temperature of the radio is high during transmit". That's what mine is set to. That would appear to indicate the fan "would not" turn on immediately after powering the radio on, right? There is another fan setting that turns the fan on "when transmitting". That is how the radio appears to be acting. It's almost as if there is a bug in the radio with the default fan setting.

Looking for confirmation from other owners that their unit operates in a similar fashion...or not. I have asked Buytwowayradios to confirm this as well. Thanks in advance!

[mikebrown58]

Thanks for the reply Jack.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of real estate in the office area where the radio is located and I would have to move the power supply as well.  At first I thought the fan noise was coming from the power supply, but after a few minutes I realized it was the radio.  Power supply is whisper quiet.  Thanks for  the suggestion though.

[MacJack]

Well this forum is all about what you discover so we can learn... Keep us informed so we can lean as well.

Jack

Thanks for the reply Jack.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of real estate in the office area where the radio is located and I would have to move the power supply as well.  At first I thought the fan noise was coming from the power supply, but after a few minutes I realized it was the radio.  Power supply is whisper quiet.  Thanks for  the suggestion though.

[BoxCar]

You can always try replacing the fan with a different design. It  shouldn't be too difficult to find a 12V fan of that size.

[mikebrown58]

Thanks. Some other owners have reported the same behavior and a request for a firmware fix has been submitted to Buytwowayradios. Their customer service (US Based) is very responsive and everything else about the radio is excellent.

[mbrun]

Thanks. Some other owners have reported the same behavior and a request for a firmware fix has been submitted to Buytwowayradios. Their customer service (US Based) is very responsive and everything else about the radio is excellent.

BTWR informed me months ago that there will be no user upgradable firmware for the radio. They did not confirm whether they would update the firmware of the radio if it was sent back to them should a new version become available.

 

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

[Mikeam]

Thanks for your review... on fan issue.  I do not have a 1000 yet and was thinking use it as a mobile not a base.  If the fan is a issue can you mount the radio somewhere else as it has a xx foot wire to mount remote head else where?  I'm asking as I'm look at my location so if the fan is an issue.  But wait I'm so old I have ringing in my ears now and I may not hear the fan over the ringing in my ears...  not joking, 

Jack

Wait until you get yours the fan does come on but it is not real loud and in a JEEP I doubt you will ever hear it. Have mine so far on far a bench learning how I want to set it up as there are lots of options. The squelch actually works and weak annoying signals on scan can be drastically reduced. My Jeep is wired for a Kenwood with a bracket near the roof and all of the wires run through the plastic to the firewall so I am looking for a power cord converter from 2 prong round to T shaped spade connecters! So I can switch back and forth if I want/need to. I have to say it works as advertised so far. The free software actually works as good as Chirp and allows you to set buttons to your preference! Good luck!

[MacJack]

Keep us posted as you go along... You did read Micheal post above on firmware upgrade...  Hope that helps.

Jack

Wait until you get yours the fan does come on but it is not real loud and in a JEEP I doubt you will ever hear it. Have mine so far on far a bench learning how I want to set it up as there are lots of options. The squelch actually works and weak annoying signals on scan can be drastically reduced. My Jeep is wired for a Kenwood with a bracket near the roof and all of the wires run through the plastic to the firewall so I am looking for a power cord converter from 2 prong round to T shaped spade connecters! So I can switch back and forth if I want/need to. I have to say it works as advertised so far. The free software actually works as good as Chirp and allows you to set buttons to your preference! Good luck!

[mikebrown58]

As others have noted in their replies, the fan noise is less likely to be an issue when mobile in a vehicle.  Especially with the ability to mount the radio away from the dash/front passenger area by using the detachable face and long extension cable.  For my situation and others who plan to use it as a base, the fan noise will be noticeable when transmitting.  That may still not bother some owners, but I wanted to share the behavior here in this forum given the radio appears to be popular.

 

It’s a really nice radio with a ton of features and I’m very happy with the purchase (albeit don’t like the fan behavior).  When speaking with support at BTWR, I requested they push my feedback up the chain and inquire about the possibility of a FW upgrade/fix.  At a minimum, they should clarify the manual and other marketing material regarding the fan.  In a nutshell, it is only “partially” configurable.  It’s either on all the time or every time you PTT (even when the radio is cold)

 

Thanks for the many replies.  Much appreciated.

 

Mike
WKRT553

[OldRadioGuy]

I notice my Yeasu FT-7900 ham mobile radio does pretty much the same thing. 

So maybe it's just "a thing". ;-)

 

Vince

[DonErle]

I have mine set to always on. That way I don’t notice it when I hit PTT button. One thing I have noticed, however, is when it is cold outside, the fan is really loud for about a minute after starting my Jeep. Once I’ve  driven a block or so, the noise is barely noticeable. I also have a Midland MXT500 and Wouxan KG-XS20G. Neither have a fan. Hasn’t been a problem this winter. Most of these radios, I thought, are designed to shut down at high temps. Also, keeping your rag chewing to reasonable lengths can help!

[donniefitz2]

My conclusion is, these radios are not very good as a base. For two reasons: 1) the fan is really loud if you're sitting in an office (shack?). 2) The variability in the volume from 0 to 1 is ridiculously high. It's either silent or loud, no in between. Neither of these are big issues in a mobile install where the radio is remotely mounted. 

[frankinshine]

i am very new to GMRS and i just bought a kg1000g.   i used to be a CB'er when i was younger. i have 'nt had any radio in quite a few years until i got interested in GMRS.

when i bought the radio it scanned all thirty channels, the last eight were listed as repeaters.

i dn't know what i did but now it only scans 22 channels.

is there a setting for scanning repeaters?  i went through the whole book and couldn't figure out what i changed?

any suggestions?

thanks

frankinshine

[lazarus1024]

I appreciate some of the thoughts on the KG-1000g. I've been considering one as a base station. The volume variability sounds like more of a problem than the fan. One thought on it, if you are using it as a base station is consider making a mounting box for it and a larger fan. So long as you mounted it so it is pulling air through the chassis as well as over the radio, that'll probably keep it fairly cool. then you could use a quiet 60mm fan or similar rather than the tiny little 25mm fan that it is equipped with. I've thought about something like that for my DB-25g. The fan there only kicks on when it gets warm, but that's after maybe 15-20 seconds of Tx at full power and it'll typically spin down after maybe 10 seconds of ceasing Tx. I've yet to talk for a REALLY long time to see how hot it'll get and how long the fan will stay on, but in reading a couple of reviews you can talk long enough it'll shut down from heat. If it has been used a fair amount, the fan will kick back on after just a couple of seconds of Tx.

 

its fairly noisy, but not oppressive.

[donniefitz2]

Maybe it's just mine, but the fan is so loud, I can hear it in another room. I have it remote mounted. You're right on the solution, if it's going to be used as a base, just disconnect the factory fan and use something quieter. I just sold my 1000G. After getting my HAM license, the radio is just too restricted, and I tried to open up the frequency range to no avail. 

[wayoverthere]

6 hours ago, donniefitz2 said:

After getting my HAM license, the radio I tried to open up the frequency range to no avail. 

I've been curious about both that and then newer handhelds. The 805g is pretty easy (though uhf only), while the btech 50x1, no luck.

[WRPZ296]

You might consider a remote install; which is one big benefit of that unit. It may or may not be an option on your vehicle; but I actually have mine installed inside my dash. Still gets plenty of airflow but I can't hear the fan. The faceplate is installed where I can see/access it, but the unit itself is tucked away.

The faceplate attaches with a standard Ethernet cable so as long as you can get your antenna connection and power to it; you can install it absolutely anywhere that has decent airflow and no water. Trunk, under a seat, inside the dash, glovebox, inside an enclosed trailer that you pull behind your vehicle everywhere you go (I mean, technically it would work...)

[WRPZ296]

On 4/3/2022 at 8:12 PM, frankinshine said:

i am very new to GMRS and i just bought a kg1000g.   i used to be a CB'er when i was younger. i have 'nt had any radio in quite a few years until i got interested in GMRS.

when i bought the radio it scanned all thirty channels, the last eight were listed as repeaters.

i dn't know what i did but now it only scans 22 channels.

is there a setting for scanning repeaters?  i went through the whole book and couldn't figure out what i changed?

any suggestions?

thanks

frankinshine

The repeaters are all on shared frequencies. For example, what's labeled "Channel 15" and "Channel 15R" in most radios (with the R suffix being a repeater) is exactly the same listening frequency.

What makes it a repeater channel is a +5MHz offset on the uplink. 

What that means in essence is that if there's a repeater nearby transmitting on 462.550 (for example), you'll hear it on both Channel 15 and Channel 15R. But the repeater won't hear you unless you change to Channel 15R (Channel 15: TX/RX on 462.550. Channel 15R: RX on 462.550, TX on 467.550). But given that the vast majority of GMRS repeaters (at least that I encounter or are listed on RepeaterBook or here on MyGMRS) have a 'tone' set, you likely won't be able to just 'tune' to a repeater channel and then use the repeater. You'd need to identify the repeater, look it up, and program the tone in. At which point best practice is probably to create a 'new' channel specific to that repeater.

So tl;dr, the way you're currently scanning is probably the best way to scan. Otherwise you're scanning through redundant channels.

However, the actual answer to your question is to go to the repeater channels (15R, 16R, etc.), press 'Menu', and then scroll until you see "SCAN-ADD", then make sure that's 'ON', then those channels will be included in the scan. If that setting is already 'on', then you'll want to get the programming cable and connect to the software on a PC and adjust the 'Scan Groups' (or try to do that through the on-screen menu). But again, I personally wouldn't. You'll hear every repeater in range scanning as you currently are; adding the repeater channels to the scan group will just slow it down.

If you're interested in repeaters and don't already have a programming cable; I'd get one. Then program in local repeaters or those you think you'll encounter (999 memory slots; you've got lots of space). Then they'll be ready to go. I haven't tested it, but I believe if you set receive tones for those repeaters and then put all those repeaters into a scan group; you can scan JUST through the repeaters and it'll ignore all other traffic except for what the repeater is transmitting. (Meaning simplex communications that aren't a part of the repeater won't be picked up by the scanner)

[WRPZ296]

On 4/8/2022 at 1:04 PM, wayoverthere said:

I've been curious about both that and then newer handhelds. The 805g is pretty easy (though uhf only), while the btech 50x1, no luck.

The FCC has been sending some nastygrams to vendors and manufacturers lately, specific to GMRS radios. The FCC seems more concerned with GMRS radios that can transmit on ham bands than ham radios that can transmit on GMRS. Or at least; that's what it seems like.

Most of these GMRS radios are functionally identical to their ham counterpart but have a locked firmware. Interestingly enough; it's often a lot easier to modify the ham variant to transmit on GMRS than it is to modify the GMRS variant to transmit on Ham.

You shouldn't have any issues programming in LISTENING channels though (just leave the transmit cell blank in the software). 

[wayoverthere]

40 minutes ago, WRPZ296 said:

The FCC has been sending some nastygrams to vendors and manufacturers lately, specific to GMRS radios. The FCC seems more concerned with GMRS radios that can transmit on ham bands than ham radios that can transmit on GMRS. Or at least; that's what it seems like.

That seems consistent with the idea that the FCC kind of trusts the hams to know what they're doing, and gmrs users, less so...kind of the impression I got from the last tightening of the certification regs related to the ability to transmit on ham bands.

 

[WRPZ296]

7 hours ago, wayoverthere said:

That seems consistent with the idea that the FCC kind of trusts the hams to know what they're doing, and gmrs users, less so...kind of the impression I got from the last tightening of the certification regs related to the ability to transmit on ham bands.

 

That’s probably true. 

[Screech]

If you are looking for being able to fine tune the volume, I would highly suggest getting [an] external speaker(s) with [its](their) own analog volume control(s).

I've got this radio on order. Plan is most likely to put it in the truck with the base of the radio behind the rear seats and the fan set to hot or TX. I'm would really like an option to route the audio from the speaker output of the 1000G into the truck sound system, but not found a good option for that with the Ranger. I've considered the 3.5mm to FM devices (thinking of routing area A to left channel and area B to right channel), but not sure how good of an option that will be. In theory if I'm TXing I'm not listening, but not sure if it will push out the weak FM signal from the little device enough to get static on the radio or other noise while TXing. I may just have to test it.