Wouxun.us no longer selling (some) Wouxun radios

It seems that US/China relations are a bit rocky for Import Communications, the distributor for Wouxun radios...until now.

PD0AC reports that Ed Griffin (W4KMA) at Import Communications has been unhappy with the support that the Wouxun - pronounced "Oh-sheng" - folks have provided (or rather haven't provided) concerning an issue with the HT's apparently losing their memories at random, among other issues. As a result, he's no longer selling new inventory of Wouxun radios and will be replacing them with AnyTone products, but still under the competitor's site's name.

The (less-than-flattering) message on Wouxun.us's web site

Griffin reports that the Wouxun dual-band models lose memory without warning and that he has replaced approximately 500 radios out of pocket because Wouxun refuses to honor warranties or fix the issue, or replace the defective radios.

What you see when clicking on the KG-UV6D page on Wouxun.us

When you go to Wouxun.us you get a couple of less-than-flattering messages with a message stating that Wouxun radios will no long be sold, but accessories will. The prices that are supposedly "closeout" are about the same prices I paid when I bought my 2 KG-UV2D radios at 2 different hamfests.

While there is no clear distinction as to whether the memory issue is exclusively with the handheld radios or also with their mobile radios, I did notice that the dual-band mobile is no longer offered on the Wouxun.us site. The high price might have had a bit to do with that. Considering the relatively low price of the HT's, I thought that the dual-band mobile radio would have been under $200, but the $360+ price tag kept me away. I could buy plenty of other mobile radios for a lot less. Their quad-band mobile is also not appearing on the site, although the KG-UVA1 dual-band amateur/public service radio is still being offered, as is the KG-703E single-band VHF radio.

While I can sympathize with Griffin if indeed the radios are defective, the graphics used on the site are a bit over the top when trying to make a statement. But then again, I probably would be doing the same thing if the Chinese counterparts I relied on for service and support were treating me the same way.

PD0AC updated that a European distributor of Wouxun radios sold about 500 radios and only had 1 radio with the issue that Import Communications is reporting.

Wouxun came onto the scene a few years ago offering new radios at remarkably low prices, about $110 give or take $10. However, the last few hamfests I've attended, nary a Wouxun was in sight, replaced instead by an even lower-priced Baofeng radio series that has been offering many of the same features for about $50. The only reason I didn't buy one was because they had 2m/440, and not 2m/220.

I own 2 of the KG-UV2D radios with 2m/220 capability and the only problem I've encountered has been that one of the battery packs is now not holding a charge. Other than that I've had no issues with the radios. I don't know if this is isolated to a certain batch of radios that came of the assembly line or with an entire product line, but as this plays out I'm sure we'll find out more about this issue.

Ham Radio business in...TMNT?

Remember the 1990 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The comic book martial arts quartet hit the big screen at a peak in their popularity and the world was introduced to reptilian combat as the four turtles (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, named after famous Italian inventors and renaissance artists, not MPLM modules shipped to the ISS!) battled gangs of ninja thieves plaguing New York City led by the Shredder, a heavy metal bad guy who is intent on ending the pizza-craving turtles.

I was watching it Friday night with my kids when I caught a real quick glimpse of a sign in the warehouse where the "Foot" clan resides, just as their summoned to meet Shredder.

The sign is shown briefly (I only saw it for 2 seconds and stopped and went back on my DVR to look it over) but it apparently advertised a CB/Ham Radio business. See the screen captures I made below:

Screen capture of TMNT just before Shredder (the bad guy) makes his screen debut.

Close-up of the sign

As you can see, the blue part of the sign has a logo (I assume an old Cobra CB Radio logo) and below it the writing states "HAM WORLD" with some indiscernible writing preceding it (I again can only assume it to say "CB & HAM WORLD" but that's just a guess).

If you think I noticed this "right away", I've seen the movie about a dozen times (4 in the last 3 weeks for some reason) and this is the first time I ever noticed it.

If anyone wants to take a guess as to what ham radio/CB store in Manhattan that this belonged to, fire away.

Radio Shack wants your input

If ever there was a better opportunity to give Radio Shack your opinion of what products they should be carrying, now is the time.

They're looking for input on what would make them a better company, and this is an opportunity for hams to give them input on bringing more products back to "the Shack"

I gave them my opinion. Click here to give them yours.

Speaking of 220 MHz...

Continuing on from my previous post, while I'm on the subject of 220 MHz (1.25 meters), I welcome more 220 radios into ham radio. It seems like the 220 MHz market is thin, but there's an obvious reason. Very few countries have privileges on the 1.25 meter band; the US, Canada, and Mexico primarily here in Region 2, and no other countries in regions 1 or 3, except Somalia in Region 1. Because of this limitation, the big companies (Yaesu/Vertex, ICOM, Alinco, and Kenwood) don't deal much in the way of 220 simply because they cannot readily modify the equipment for other countries in order to sell the same model radios.

It's basic economics, really. Take a Kenwood TS-2000 HF/All-mode transceiver. This radio can be modified slightly (mainly in the power plug) in order for it to be sold in other countries like Japan, the UK, and Australia. Most of these countries have the same privileges for most of the bands that radio can transmit. Since they can sell these radios to several countries, they can manufacture more of them. Because they can manufacture more, they can buy parts in greater bulk, lowering the price of producing, thus lowering the price they can sell for a profit.

Radios with 220 capability will not be manufactured in larger quantities, so the parts cost more to order in less bulk, and increase the costs to manufacture. The higher the cost to produce, the higher the price in order to turn a profit.

It's a double-edged sword of sorts. There is a demand for more 220 radios, but the prices are higher than desired for many on a budget like myself. The prices are high because the manufacturing costs are higher for 220 than for 2m/440 dual-band radios. Unfortunately the threshold for the demand does not exceed the incentive to lower the prices to more competitive levels and invite more hams onto the band.

Yet, the band's inactivity results in a constant threat to that band being sold off to other services. It partially happened around 1988 when a portion of the band from 220-222 MHz was sold to UPS (though never used).

That's why I welcome the Wouxun radios. They offer use of the 220 MHz band at a great price and they hopefully will re-ignite interest in the band. 2 meters is already overcrowded in many parts of the country, and the 70cm band (440 MHz) is used, but has more limitations, namely in distance.

I'm hoping Wouxun will make a 220 MHz mono-band radio (HT and mobile). The prices they offer should be completely affordable and it might spark other companies to not only manufacture more 220 equipment, but also at an affordable price, same as 2 meters.

220 is a great band, with good propagation, signal quality, and the ability to continue use inside a building. Hopefully Wouxun will get the market for 1.25 meters in a renaissance of sorts, and we'll be able to drop the argument that no one is on that band.

Wouxun to make a dual-band mobile?

It looks like the folks over at Wouxun are trying to get a dual-band mobile type-accepted by the FCC.

The 2m/440 KG-UV920R is not in production (yet) but a photo appears on the Wouxun homepage labeled "Coming Soon" and a note on the side of the image says that the company's head of US distribution (Ed Griffin) is in China until the end of the month (maybe to finalize the deal with this radio?).

A promotional flyer of the new rig with some preliminary specs can be found here.

Along with 2m/440, it looks like they may try to build a 2m/220 mobile radio as well!

I don't (yet) own one of these radios, but I'm saving my pennies to get one. Two radios, in fact. Maybe three. One for me, my wife, and daughter, the 2m/220 HTs.

I've been very interested in these radios since they debuted a few years ago. The low price is obviously very attractive, but my initial skepticism was that it was priced too low (as in, "you-get-what-you-pay-for") but the overall reviews have been for the most part positive regarding these radios, and the price is very hard to pass up, considering that the cost of a dual-band radio is the same (if not lower) than most single-band radios (especially 220MHz radios).

Keep your eyes on this company, folks. They may change the market on ham radios in a very good way.