Anysecu WP-9900

[WRTC928]

I wanted a radio for my truck which I could put somewhere unobtrusive, meaning I needed all the controls in the handset. There aren't a lot of options and the 9900 is the least expensive of them. YouTube reviews were mostly positive, and online reviews were generally not complimentary. Not knowing what to make of that, I rolled the dice and ordered one for $109 on sale from Amazon. For reference, I was previously using a Baofeng f8hp with 10' of coax to a Nagoya NMO-HDG GMRS-tuned antenna. With that rig, I could communicate through the only repeater in my area from about 35 miles away over urban terrain on a good day. I could only get that distance from southeast of the repeater, otherwise it fell to about 15 miles.

 

Upon arrival, the radio itself seemed solid enough with an (apparently) aluminum housing and the microphone/control head has a reasonably solid feel. It appears to be reasonably moisture-resistant with the data and external speaker jacks covered tightly by a door held in place by two tiny screws. Be careful not to lose them. You have to pay for the company's programming software, but fortunately it's Chirp-compatible. The first hiccup occurred with programming. The included cable doesn't work with Windows 11 drivers. Chirp directed me to a site to download legacy drivers which wasn't too much of a hassle and worked just fine. When I downloaded the radio to Chirp, I noticed that the frequencies corresponding to FRS 8-14 were blocked and you couldn't program them in at all. Not that it matters very much, but I like to be able to listen on those frequencies when I work some public events. However, when I cut and pasted the programming from my f8hp into Chirp and uploaded it, they appeared. I had "duplex off" on those frequencies and that transferred too. Note: Even if you have reprogrammed the radio in Chirp, when you download it again, it will show those frequencies blocked. I tested them with an FRS radio and I could hear just fine. Maybe it has something to do with FCC type certification? Regardless, the workaround was easy. 

 

The handset screen is reasonably visible, although it washes out quite a bit in bright light. Since it's inside the cab of the truck, that isn't much of a problem. It has the capability to monitor three frequencies at once (!) which I immediately disabled. I set it up with 3 channels I use frequently and can toggle through them using the button on the lower left. Of course, you can punch in any frequency or any channel you have programmed from the keypad, if you want. Interestingly, programming software only gives you the option to select high or low power, but from the handset you can choose low, medium, or high power. At present, I don't have any way to test power, but reviewers have noted that on GMRS frequencies, you will probably obtain somewhat less than the rated 20 watts. Setting volume is a bit of a pain if you follow the instruction manual, but some reviewers found that if you short-press the "power on/off" button which kills the squelch, you can then adjust volume using the "up and down" buttons on the handset, and indeed that worked for me. Some reviewers have reported that sound through the speaker/mic isn't very good, but in my experience, it's on par with most of the other speaker/mics out there. There is the capability to use an external speaker if you prefer. The mic wouldn't reach easily from under the seat to where I wanted it, so I got an aviation radio 8-pin extension cable, and it works just fine.

 

At least one reviewer reported that in use, the radio got really hot, but I haven't had that experience. It gets warm to the touch, but certainly nothing excessive or concerning. As for performance, it seems a bit better than the f8hp but not leaps and bounds better. Of course, power comes in no better than third after terrain and antenna in terms of distance, but depending upon where I am, I get maybe 2-5 more miles over the same terrain and with the same antenna. I do seem to get slightly better clarity both transmitting and receiving, so that's something. Only slightly, but I'll take it. 

 

Overall, I'm satisfied. It's not dramatically better than what I was using, but it's a lot more elegant and convenient than a HT bumping around in the cab and the ability to toggle channels from the handset is definitely an improvement. It's not by any stretch of the imagination a high-end Ham or GMRS radio, but what do you expect for the price? If you understand what you're buying and don't expect it to be something it isn't, it might suit your needs.

[Socalgmrs]

Good to know.  Thanks for the review.  
 

 It also comes in a dual band ham version so the 8-14 wouldn’t be a problem and it could use murs should that be something some one may want.  
With your antenna and coax you should be up from about 14radiated wats to almost 60 radiated watts.  

[WSFL333]

I just received the same radio described as a KT 9900 gmrs radio. 
I had trouble communicating with the radio using the software that I downloaded from the website. It iis listed there as a dual band KT 9900 not a gmrs radio. I sent them an email to confirm that the software is the correct one. it will probably take several days to get a reply 

the software loaded up ok but was unable to see the comm port. I tried various ports but it didn’t recognize any of them and I assumed maybe the programming cable was bad. I reluctantly hand programmed a few channels and confirmed that they were able to communicate with my ht radio. 
 

I like the idea of the 8 pin extension cable since that will allow me to locate the radio body in a more out of the way place. 
 

I will be testing it out later today on the road. 

[WRTC928]

5 hours ago, Socalgmrs said:

Good to know.  Thanks for the review.  
 

 It also comes in a dual band ham version so the 8-14 wouldn’t be a problem and it could use murs should that be something some one may want.  
With your antenna and coax you should be up from about 14radiated wats to almost 60 radiated watts.  

The one I have is a dual band, I just didn't mention it. Despite that, it blocks 8-14. No problem, though, since you can just copy/paste over those channels and get them back. That may or may not be the case with other individual radios. These inexpensive Chinese radios can have quite a bit of "individual personality". It's possible that you could program them in from the handset; I didn't try it. Yes, it does function on MURS frequencies.

 

Yeah, I don't think wattage is my limitation. It's just a matter of being in an urban area with a lot of interference. Ironically, where I live it's actually rural but there doesn't seem to be anyone to talk to. Speaking of interference, I didn't mention that this radio seems to be fairly sensitive to certain types of RF interference. Most of the time I don't notice it, but when I drive past a road construction site, I get a lot of static. Even the ignition systems on heavy equipment can generate quite a bit of RF emissions and this radio is more sensitive to it than some others. Not a big deal to me, YMMV.

[WRTC928]

5 hours ago, WSFL333 said:

the software loaded up ok but was unable to see the comm port. I tried various ports but it didn’t recognize any of them and I assumed maybe the programming cable was bad. I reluctantly hand programmed a few channels and confirmed that they were able to communicate with my ht radio. 
 

I like the idea of the 8 pin extension cable since that will allow me to locate the radio body in a more out of the way place. 

The reason you can't find the comm port is because of the driver issue I mentioned. If you have Chirp, open it, select Anysecu WP-9900, and it will tell you about the driver issue and direct you to a site to download the legacy driver. Read the instructions carefully. According to Chirp, you may have to do this again in the future because Windows will automatically update your driver at the first opportunity. Just keep the downloaded file and run it again as necessary.

 

Be sure you get an aviation radio microphone cable. There's also a "microphone extension cable" that's intended for audio systems. It's also an 8-pin and looks the same in a picture, but it's a little smaller and won't fit. I found out so you don't have to. LOL!