Wouxun base station

[Doctnj]

So ive been running a wouxun mobile as a base station for over a year now.  It has earned its spot in my ham shack having no issues in over a year.  I am getting a couple other brand radios to cover some ham frequencies.  Several times in this past year Ive tried to find a reason to dislike this radio that many of the super powers in this forum call junk.

i havent run across any to date.  We set up and use repeaters which are in very close proximity to very important repeaters.  The radio equipment that are being used for the actual repeaters and link radios are a different brand and that is mainly a duty cycle performance of known components.  But I have used the repeater with my wouxun radio with no interference in either direction,

Some of my ham buddies have switched to the 1000g to run gmrs.  One in particular has ove 50 years in the radio world and he describes the 1000g as being solid.  So much so that he ordered some more wouxun to run as mobiles. He runs radios for hours every day and continues to say they are solid.  I agree completely. 

So if you are on the fence about this brand, I would say with malice that the 1000g is a great selection for gmrs. 

WRMK691, KI5UCM  

[OffRoaderX]

I have learned that anyone that calls something "junk", or worse, "cheap Chinese junk!!" without ever even using the device is an idiot, and should be ignored.

I have several Wouxun radios, including multiple KG1000Gs, and I have many friends that also have them.  The radios aren't perfect, and there is always a chance of getting a dud, but assuming you purchase it from BuyTwoWayRadio, they have great support and will always take care of you.

The KG1000G is my favorite high-power Part 95 mobile radio, I dont care what the "expert" radio-bigots say.

 

[donniefitz2]

I think the 1000G is a solid radio for sure. My original intention was to use it as a base station, but I found that it's much better suited as a mobile radio. As a base, the fan is very loud in an otherwise quiet environment (office/shack). I even tried remote mounting the main radio on a shelf a few feet away, but that fan is just annoyingly loud.  Also, not sure if it's just mine, but the volume variability from 0-1 is too loud for the same type of quiet environment.

But, in my Discovery, it's great. The main radio unit is under the seat so the fan can't really be heard and the volume level is just fine coming through the mic. 

[DuncanHynes]

So stupid question, what is the best way to power the unit at a home?  Can a simple whip antenna tuned to GMRS be placed outside (not on a roof but out of the room the unit is in)?

[wayoverthere]

10 minutes ago, DuncanHynes said:

So stupid question, what is the best way to power the unit at a home?  Can a simple whip antenna tuned to GMRS be placed outside (not on a roof but out of the room the unit is in)?

Power wise, there's lots of options at various price points, the key is making sure what you get can provide enough current to support what you want to run. Less expensive power supplies may scrimp on filtering (read, interference) or features. Dx engineering has a few options here link while se of the Tekpower on Amazon are well regarded as well.

Antenna wise, indoors or outside below roofline are varying levels of less than ideal, but that doesn't mean they won't work to some extent. Haven't tested simplex, but I get into the local repeater fine with a small 5/8 wave whip indoors on a bookcase, mag mounted on a piece of sheet metal.

[DuncanHynes]

Ok thank you.  I'll look at possibilities...was looking at hand-held units and will still get either a 905 or 916 (or maybe) a KG-UV9GX but realized the most useful setup would be a mobile unit in my vehicle of 20 or 50 watts and a base at home of the same.

[wayoverthere]

1 hour ago, DuncanHynes said:

Ok thank you.  I'll look at possibilities...was looking at hand-held units and will still get either a 905 or 916 (or maybe) a KG-UV9GX but realized the most useful setup would be a mobile unit in my vehicle of 20 or 50 watts and a base at home of the same.

Handheld definitely has convenience on it's side...power can help too, though line of sight is even better. If using a smaller antenna let's you use a better/higher mounting location, it's likely worth it. A 1/4 wave for gmrs is just a little 6" hatpin.

depending on your choice of radios, it's nice when you can just make one common code plug (term for the file of programming) to use on both radios (base and mobile).