They certainly are causing these kinds of problems.

Over here, we hear many people using them on the preset "out of the box" frequencies that obviosuly aren't licenced (either for amateur or PBR use) - there's also (possibly coincidental, granted) a large increase in repeater abuse in the area in the last few years.

Additionally, a lot of microlight pilots and hanggliders are using them to pirate 2m and just below (the upper end of 143MHz) rather than get licenced for the airband. Aeronautical mobile use of Amateur Radio is not permitted in the UK.

I also have to warn off the odd person who has bought one as he remembers back when he could listen to the police on his scanner (can't do that here now either, they've gone to TETRA), and I get asked "I can heard people on your repeater, how do I talk into it as well?" The reply being until you have a licence, you don't!

To be fair, I don't see sensible, informed piracy as a big problem. The kind of people who know that the shopwatch repeater isn't used or monitored at night and use it for themselves once all the shops have closed. It's the stupid, uninformed ones that just transmit whereever they like that are a pain.

Ofcom over here permitted the use of LPD handhelds, which are supposed to be 100mW or so, but are more often more like 4W - and are FM, all over the 70cm simplex and repeater input frequencies... so our regulator isn't exactly on the ball either.

That was easy.

Thanks!

As my callsign has changed (twice now!) I need to change my username to match.

How do I do this, or whom do I ask please? Thanks.

I'm not sure about comparing it to the FT-8800 yet.

The 8800 has far wider recieve, plus it has AM airband RX - which the spec sheet for the Wouxun seems to say it doesn't have.

That said, the spec sheet is all over the place. One part says 65-200MHz RX, FM only with 100kHz spacing. Another says 2-30MHz AM.

ML&S say £229 inc. VAT in July - I'm still not holding my breath.

The CHINESE disrepect the entire planet?

Aren't you American?

If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is!

You're basing an entire manufacturer's quality on ONE case?

Wow. THAT'S narrow mindedness for you.

There's been a few bad big brand rigs in the past, I'm sure. Doesn't mean they're all garbage.

Raymond LaForge? Any relation to Geordi?

I got my info from the FCC!

The FCC's website says the Wouxun UVD-1P has been submitted for approval.

You say it hasn't.

I know which I believe.

>> You might call it "anal." Others just call it abiding >> by reasonable rules and regulations.

You should try reading them, instead of making them up!

>> Not a mandatory requirement, of course, to work the FM birds.

No, but a massive help.

>>> ... you generally get what you pay for ...
>>> ... problems ... no DTMF ... charger blew up ...
>>> ... didn't charge properly ...
>>> ... for the money, great radio ...

>>Yeah, right. Sounds like a true bargain ya got there!

New charger (dual battery) was less than £10 delivered.

So yes, still £60-£70 less than an FT-60.

And I thought it was just in the UK some of the old timers were so anal about rules (while completely misreading them themselves!)

To clear up the original question - the UVD1 is USELESS for satellite work.

The tuning's not fine enough, and it doesn't have dual recieve.

To answer the point of Chinese radios being "pieces of fecal matter" - you generally get what you pay for.

Although the UVD1 is half the price of an FT-60, it's certainly more than half the radio!

I won't lie to you - I've had problems with mine. The first one had no DTMF, and the second (UVD1P) had DTMF tones that are too short to be useful, and the charger blew up and then didn't charge properly with the replacement wall wart.

But for the money, great radio. Useless for satellites though.