I see a lot of articles on this site for all of the Icom, Kenwood, Alinco, and Yaesu HT's. But no articles of the cheap and maligned Chinese knock-offs of the 2m and 440mhz radios. Pardon me if I missed a review - if one was written. For ther most part, these radios have been largely ignored...
Example of product:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Puxing-PX-777-1...in_0?hash=item3355269cd3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
The price on these are unbelievably cheap.
Well - they are just that - you might say.
"Cheap".
Don't be so quick to dismiss them - eHam has MANY reviews on these little buggers. And according to many Hams that have submitted reviews - they aren't half bad. In fact - quite the opposite is true! They also pass the spec test for TX cleanliness. They are often switchable between 1 watt to 5 watts. Which is great for my needs for use on MURS.
Has any of you tried one of these?
I had been looking for a cheap MURS radio, so that I can use it for the 'Block Captain' program in Cupertino CA where I live. Looking on an eBay link (found at the top of the page on this site), I noticed some unbelievable prices for 2m meter radios that have a 136-174mhz full coverage. That will do the job for what I need it for - and much more to boot. Not to mention, they are also DTCSS/DCS tone capable as well. For about ~$65-90 - you can have a 2m radio that will do everything the 'big boys' will do at a fraction of their cost.
One of the features that one must take care with - is that these aren't type-accepted radios. They will TX out of band! Could be a problem if you don't watch yer @$$! Other than that, they also have programmable repeater access freqs and a myriad of features that one would expect to find on the higher-priced spread. Others come with scrambling capacity - which I'm not sure is kosher with FCC regs. The antenna is a little bit of a dilemma. Some don't use the SMA standard plug - so hooking up an external antenna might be a little troublesome. But for the price - would you be willing to be a Ham and make the mod yourself for this price? I think so. The LiOn battery used are often the 1200ma all-day-sucker variety - so this is a definite plus. They often come with a programming cable, earbud, belt strap, and battery charger.
Cheap? Not really. Depends how one will define that word. Inexpensive but capable equals 'bargain' in my book. But there are some other caveats. One is, that you may need to open up the hole for the mic, as they have been known to vastly limit the audio quality by having a small hole for the mic - or no hole at all. Spend a few minutes with a Dremel tool, and they come alive. Others have claimed that the optional external speaker/mic is great to get with it - and works quite well.
I'm leaning twards the Quangsheng 2m/440 radio myself for that price.
My finger is poised on the 'Buy Now' button!
Check out the Puxing PX-777 Plus for one.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6221
Or the Quansheng for another.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6220
Or check them all out on the eHam site here:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/49
Example of product:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Puxing-PX-777-1...in_0?hash=item3355269cd3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
The price on these are unbelievably cheap.
Well - they are just that - you might say.
"Cheap".
Don't be so quick to dismiss them - eHam has MANY reviews on these little buggers. And according to many Hams that have submitted reviews - they aren't half bad. In fact - quite the opposite is true! They also pass the spec test for TX cleanliness. They are often switchable between 1 watt to 5 watts. Which is great for my needs for use on MURS.
Has any of you tried one of these?
I had been looking for a cheap MURS radio, so that I can use it for the 'Block Captain' program in Cupertino CA where I live. Looking on an eBay link (found at the top of the page on this site), I noticed some unbelievable prices for 2m meter radios that have a 136-174mhz full coverage. That will do the job for what I need it for - and much more to boot. Not to mention, they are also DTCSS/DCS tone capable as well. For about ~$65-90 - you can have a 2m radio that will do everything the 'big boys' will do at a fraction of their cost.
One of the features that one must take care with - is that these aren't type-accepted radios. They will TX out of band! Could be a problem if you don't watch yer @$$! Other than that, they also have programmable repeater access freqs and a myriad of features that one would expect to find on the higher-priced spread. Others come with scrambling capacity - which I'm not sure is kosher with FCC regs. The antenna is a little bit of a dilemma. Some don't use the SMA standard plug - so hooking up an external antenna might be a little troublesome. But for the price - would you be willing to be a Ham and make the mod yourself for this price? I think so. The LiOn battery used are often the 1200ma all-day-sucker variety - so this is a definite plus. They often come with a programming cable, earbud, belt strap, and battery charger.
Cheap? Not really. Depends how one will define that word. Inexpensive but capable equals 'bargain' in my book. But there are some other caveats. One is, that you may need to open up the hole for the mic, as they have been known to vastly limit the audio quality by having a small hole for the mic - or no hole at all. Spend a few minutes with a Dremel tool, and they come alive. Others have claimed that the optional external speaker/mic is great to get with it - and works quite well.
I'm leaning twards the Quangsheng 2m/440 radio myself for that price.
My finger is poised on the 'Buy Now' button!
Check out the Puxing PX-777 Plus for one.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6221
Or the Quansheng for another.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6220
Or check them all out on the eHam site here:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/49
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