Hi,

Joe KK0SD wrote:

Has anyone bought and played with one of these ultra cheap WOUXUN dual band hand helds that are selling on eBay? Do they hear well enough for satellite operation?

I also recently got a Wouxun KG-UVD1P and today gave it a try on HO-68. My antenna is a long telescopic whip, Diamond RH-770 (quite similar to Pryme AL-800).

I was very surprised to hear traffic from HO-68 almost immediatelly it was over the horizon. There was many very strong stations and I did not manage to get my 5 W signal through, but at least the receiver-side seems to be very sensitive. There is few quirks in the usage of Wouxun, but with pre-programmed channels and other settings I probably can live with it. Anyway Wouxun's felt quality and usability is sheer improvement compared to earlier HT offerings from China I've seen.

I have not made comparisons with other radios yet, but to me Wouxun seems quite promising. I usually use Yaesu FT-60r with Arrow II yagi for my backyard-portable FM-satellite QSOs.

The SMA-connector in FT-60 feels quite fragile for long telescopic whips (Yes, I know KC2BHO's adapters might provide a solution), whereas Wouxun's casing provides some support even with standard BNC-SMA(F) adapter, reducing the stress caused by a long whip.

In Europe, Wouxun's are available in some reputable vendors, with CE approval (whatever it's worth..). Mine came from eBay, though...

73 de Ari OH3KAV (grid: KP11)