New GMRS HT Released - Wouxun KG-905G

[Extreme]

17 minutes ago, TRAINS said:

To further cloud the issue on the BTWR website in the February announcement of the 905g there is question posted 24May that asks specifically about the AA pack and the response is it is under development. Yes Alkaline doesn't have the push like the rechargeable but it is a nice backup. I admit I've never had new Alkaline do as poorly as you describe.

I have alkaline packs for my both my 805G and my Kenwood 3170, neither run the radio.  Odd screen error codes on the Kenwood, can't remember with the Wouxun but it wouldn't operate.  Safe to say, I'm done with them.

Battery eliminator for the 805 works fine but I rarely use it now that I have mobiles in my XJ and X4.

[TRAINS]

New estimated ship date of 11 June. That will be pushing my timeline to test it in flight so I hope it gets here sooner.

[Landshark]

After waiting for 2.5 months and many hopeful "expected ship dates"I have given up on looking at "expected ship dates" they will get here when they do

[Lscott]

On 5/25/2021 at 11:08 AM, Extreme said:

I have alkaline packs for my both my 805G and my Kenwood 3170, neither run the radio.  Odd screen error codes on the Kenwood, can't remember with the Wouxun but it wouldn't operate.  Safe to say, I'm done with them.

Battery eliminator for the 805 works fine but I rarely use it now that I have mobiles in my XJ and X4.

What were the error codes you got on the Kenwood 3170? I know the radios with generate a low battery alarm at some point then the radio will shut down at about 6 VDC. 

You can't depend on measuring the open circuit voltage of the battery pack to determine if its completely discharged. When batteries discharge their internal resistance increases so under load the terminal voltage is lower than the open circuit voltage.

I've used an electronic load to test a pile of used battery packs for my Kenwood radios. The test automatically terminates once the pack voltage under load drops to 6 VDC. Then when the now open circuited battery pack is checked the terminal voltage jumps up to 6.5 VDC to 6.7 VDC. The nominal battery pack open circuit voltage is around 7.2 VDC to 7.4 VDC. It will be a bit higher right after you take the radio/battery pack out of the charger, maybe as high as 8 VDC or so.

Even fresh batteries will show a voltage drop under load. Different battery chemistries have different internal resistance characteristics. Some of the worst ones for heavy loads are your common carbon-zinc types.

[Extreme]

Apparently the 'fresh' batteries I put in the Kenwood alkaline pack were not.  New fresh and it seems fine but I wonder how well they'll hold up with the data you have.  The 3170 would simply revert back to the power on screen when I keyed the mic with the others.  Guess I gave up too early.

Will try the Wouxun 805 again with new AA batteries and post results.

[TOM47]

On 4/29/2021 at 7:26 AM, Roadtrekker said:

Ordered mine on 3/24. Still not received. I wonder what would happen if they got a huge bunch of cancellations.

i HOPE SO as, ordered a coplr the middle o May and they said they are illing the orders in the que.

 

[Lscott]

2 hours ago, Extreme said:

Apparently the 'fresh' batteries I put in the Kenwood alkaline pack were not.  New fresh and it seems fine but I wonder how well they'll hold up with the data you have.  The 3170 would simply revert back to the power on screen when I keyed the mic with the others.  Guess I gave up too early.

Will try the Wouxun 805 again with new AA batteries and post results.

I guess that all depends on the capacity of the AA cells.

https://rightbattery.com/118-1-5v-aa-duracell-alkaline-battery-tests/

The rechargeable packs I tested were of three different chemistry types, Nickle Cadmium, Nickle Metal Hydride and Lithium Ion.

The rated capacities were typically 1200mAh, 1450mAh, 1800mAh and 2000mAh. 

To test a battery pack you need to check it at a known discharge rate. Manufactures use several. One common rate is the 0.2C, or called a C/5< rate. That means a pack rated for example 1000mAh is discharged at a constant current equal to the capacity of 0.2*1000, or 1000/5, which works out to 200mA. In general a higher rate results in less usable capacity.

The time from the beginning of the test to the voltage level used to end the test is measured. So a pack that reaches the test termination voltage after 4 hours in the above example results in a total of 4*200mA= 800mAh, 80 percent of the new rating, of "usable" capacity.

For my tests I used 6.0VDC since that's where the Kenwood radios will automatically shut down. This particular voltage is based on the pack's cell type and the manufactures recommended lower limit where the cell is almost completely discharged.

The generally accepted value of 80 percent is used as a cutoff between a pack that is still serviceable verses one that is considered EOL, end of life.

It's not unusual for a handheld radio to draw as much as 1.5 amps to 2.0 amps from the pack at the 4 to 5 watt TX power level. The RX current draw is considerably less. Even a crappy battery pack may seem to last a long time when a radio is just simply sitting around on standby with the squelch occasionally opening up when a signal is present. But the pack my quickly die after a few minutes of use when the TX function is engaged.  

Of course if you know what the capacity is, even if it's below the 80 percent mark, the pack may still be useful so long as you plan for it by carrying extra packs.

[WRMH343]

Just got my shipment notification!  UPS confirms receipt of package.  Hopefully everyone else's will ship soon too!

[eieio1]

Received shipping notice today.  Ordered on April 11.

[Landshark]

I got the notice that mine have shipped, I ordered them on 3/18

 

[MacJack]

Happy for you guys getting your 905G.... I have had my 905G for over 3 months and it is a great radio... If you need any pointers from a user who had to figure it out, feel free to ask me and we will get you up and running.

Enjoy your radio, to me the best feature is grouping channels to scan...  Love it.

Jack

[Landshark]

Finally my 3 905Gs have arrived, feel very solid, even a little chunky, the 3200mAh extra battery is the same size as the standard 2800mAh, thankfully all work fine. Looking forward to using them with the family on our offroad, camping and road trips together.

Hopefully they will be worth the wait.

[MacJack]

10 hours ago, Landshark said:

Finally my 3 905Gs have arrived, feel very solid, even a little chunky, the 3200mAh extra battery is the same size as the standard 2800mAh, thankfully all work fine. Looking forward to using them with the family on our offroad, camping and road trips together.

Hopefully they will be worth the wait.

Enjoy your 905G great radio.

[MozartMan]

11 hours ago, Landshark said:

Finally my 3 905Gs have arrived, feel very solid, even a little chunky

Yes, it is a little clunky compare to 805G and UV9G.

[MacJack]

I would call the 905G beefier and manly over my 805G.  But hiking I will take my lighter 805G with me for comfort in carrying.  

[MozartMan]

1 hour ago, MacJack said:

I would call the 905G beefier and manly over my 805G.  But hiking I will take my lighter 805G with me for comfort in carrying.  

That's why I setup my 905G in the car as mobile radio, using battery eliminator that plugged into cigarette lighter, connected to mag mount antenna that sits on the trunk, and with Wouxun mobile style speaker/microphone plugged in. Works great.

[MacJack]

That is how I set my 905G as well... NOW I'm thinking of added a https://baofengtech.com/product/amp-u25/ in my Jeep to give it more power instead of purchasing another radio because I use several HT in my Jeep.

Food for thought...  If this works for the way you will be using your Jeep as a base unit.  I would look at a Cross Band Repeater unit so can get more walk around or hiking area using a HT to communicate to your parked Jeep in my case which will reach a repeater from the Jeep mobile unit with better antenna and more power.  Still studying this option.  Have not picked my mobile radio yet or just do a GMRS Amplifier for UHF (400-480MHz), 20-40W Output (2-6W Input), Analog and Digital Modes, Compatible with All Handheld Radios.  

Keep in touch... and if anyone has a Cross Band Repeater setup for GMRS let us know...

[Landshark]

I just had a KG-1000 installed in the jeep, will use my KG-UV9G PRO in the RV as a mobile and then the 905G will be both a walk around HT with the jeep and a mobile the rare times I would need on in the wife's car

[WyoJoe]

4 hours ago, MacJack said:

Keep in touch... and if anyone has a Cross Band Repeater setup for GMRS let us know...

You can't set up a cross-band repeater in GMRS, because doing so requires two different bands (typically UHF/VHF). GMRS is entirely UHF, so there is no VHF band to cross over to within the GMRS band.

You could set up an in-band repeater in your vehicle and remain within the GMRS band. This could be done with either the Retevis RT-97 Repeater or a custom build consisting of two radios, a duplexer, and for some builds, a controller. The second option is simply a mobile version of a regular GMRS repeater. I suppose a third option would be a Vertex VXR-7000 or some other commercial repeater unit, but it would likely be rather large for a mobile application.

Any of these options would obviously also require an antenna.

[Landshark]

Well I just added a 805G to the radio family for the wife to use on her hikes with the dogs. I bought it because the 905G is so much more bulky, she would just leave it behind, for me however the the 905 just feels so much more rugged so it will be my HT. Reception wise they feel similar but I may be wrong but the 905 sounds a little better to my ear, I also like the knobs more lees chance of them moving.. I think the 805 is great but for me the ()% seems well worth the extra cost, it just like a better radio, very happy with mine

[MacJack]

57 minutes ago, Landshark said:

Well I just added a 805G to the radio family for the wife to use on her hikes with the dogs. I bought it because the 905G is so much more bulky, she would just leave it behind, for me however the the 905 just feels so much more rugged so it will be my HT. Reception wise they feel similar but I may be wrong but the 905 sounds a little better to my ear, I also like the knobs more lees chance of them moving.. I think the 805 is great but for me the ()% seems well worth the extra cost, it just like a better radio, very happy with mine

Your observations is so right on...  I have two 805G and the girls love them.... Lite and easy... But my maleness likes the way I can program the 905G to scan the way I what and still talk to the girls...  So we are in the same camp on the use of 805G and 905G..

MacJack

 

 

[kg6jxz]

Bought a 905, nice radio but having an audio issue on repeaters only.

hitting the repeater and breaking squelch, no audio being heard on the other end.

Does appear defective, acts more like a setting is wrong.

any suggestions, our repeater uses split CTCSS

[kg6jxz]

Does not appear to be defective, sorry

[KAF6045]

FYI: the three dots on the top right of posts... If the post is yours, the dots should give you an Edit entry, so you can go back and make changes to a post, rather than making a follow-up just to state the correct text.

For the actual matter... I presume "split CTCSS" means one needs to send one particular PL* tone to get into the repeater, but the repeater sends using a different PL tone. Have you had listeners try using rigs with NO PL tone configured -- that would let anything transmitted by the repeater get through. Otherwise, I'd first verify you are /sending/ the correct tone by testing simplex settings with another receiver. Then have someone who claims to have a functional setting for that repeater try to contact you (start with no PL tone, again, so anything gets through). Then set receive PL tone.

 

* Yes, I know Motorola's "Private Line" nomenclature is anything but... but PL is much faster to type then CTCSS

[WRQW589]

20 hours ago, kg6jxz said:

Bought a 905, nice radio but having an audio issue on repeaters only.

hitting the repeater and breaking squelch, no audio being heard on the other end.

Does appear defective, acts more like a setting is wrong.

any suggestions, our repeater uses split CTCSS

Are you experiencing receiver desensing?

 

If I transmit to a repeater, with another radio in the same house receiving that repeater, it won't "hear" the repeater because of the desensing caused by the transmitting radio in close proximity. If I walk 50 yards away and try again, the receiving radio hears the repeater just fine. This can be a fairly common issue.

 

If you eliminate CTCSS on the output (receiving) radio and it doesn't change anything, then it's most likely desensing.