| KENWOODUSER |
Rating:  |
2020-02-29 | |
| An outstanding radio - far better than Baofeng |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a really good radio. It's not perfect but I like to think of it as a really good Swiss Army Knife.
The first one lasted a couple of weeks and then got stuck in S9 RX on all bands/channels, and configurations. I sent it back but for a prompt refund but it was such a good radio, I had to get another; hence, not perfect.
It's good because it's highly programmable, it's pretty durable, and it has a wonderful receiver. Why settle for a radio with poor sensitivity and selectivity? 0.15uv is a good receiver. Some of the junk Chinese rigs carry a 0.25uv specification....
I've read anecdotal reviews about the receiver so I wanted to do my own testing. I performed side-by-side testing with Baofeng UV-8HP, UV-5R, Yaesu FT-50, and Icom-2730a and the results confirmed what I read: The Baofeng radios were unable to receive a 5w transmission from a 3el yagi from 5 miles away (not even when holding open the squelch). The Icom, Yaesu, and Quansheng all received the transmissions with ease.
As much as I love the versatility and ease of use of Baofeng (it has its own niche market), I am done with Baofeng. I've tried 6 or 7 radios across all brands and have come to the conclusion that Baofeng rigs are just plain deaf. Even an easy-to-use/fun/cheap/whatever radio having many desirable features does not, for me at least, overcome a very poor or even average receiver; all radios should have good to excellent receivers!
Having said that, this radio will be my new standard HT radio when I don't purchase an Icom, Yaesu, or Kenwood. I've also tried Radioditty and other brands and it seems to me that the same Chinese SDR receiver is in many of the Chinese rigs and the same problems follow them all. Except this one.
That's why this radio (the TG-UV2 Plus 10w version) surprises me.
I've programmed everything by hand and it isn't that bad. It's not as easy as my FT-50 or 2730a, or even the UV-5R, but I won't bother with PC programming at the moment.
Receive audio is good, TX audio is good. The receiver is clearly of a different design in this radio however and it is much better than all of the other Chinese rigs I've tried. Yes, I've tried many. I tossed a Jetway / Leixen in the trash for example.
I'm happy with it. We'll see if this one lasts longer than a few weeks. |
|
| K4DSB |
Rating: |
2018-09-30 | |
| Follow up review 1 year later |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I wrote a review awhile back and gave a 4 star review.. I now give it a 5 star upgrade.. First, after owning other handhelds ( been a licensed ham for 30 yrs) I now realize my complaint of the harder programming wasnt that bad compared to other handhelds Ive owned, I ordered the programming cable and software and found this to be an amazing add on feature.. Also, the battery life on this TG-UG2 is nothing short of stellar! The sensitivity compares or beats anything Ive ever owned and the audio reports are great.. The output wasnt quite 5 watts on my bird wattmeter ( on 2 mtrs) but close at 4.7. I never have trouble getting into repeaters I can hear... The scanner has tons of channels and is pretty fast... For the money this is hard to beat period |
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| ANDREW30 |
Rating: |
2017-06-05 | |
| Not sure what to think of this radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased TG-UV2 in expectations its RX will be miles better (as hinted by other reviewers) to my Baofeng UV-B5, but the opposite is true.
I got TG-UV2 from reputable seller on Aliexpress for $65, which is the average price for the unit as of today. Arrived fairly quickly, in just 14 days.
First impressions consisted of slight disappointment.
RX performance fares on being just average. UV2 failed to extract weak signals from noise, where B5 would gave out 100% copy. Its frontend is fairly resilient to strong narrowband QRM, but fails to impress on wideband scale (in near vicinity of GSM repeaters). In practice, it performs similarly to B5 in challenging situations, maybe slightly better, but that's hard to tell.
The S-Meter is borderline useless, it only indicates in block of 3, that means it'll show either S0, S3, S6 or S9. It's also very forgiving, rating fairly weak signals S9, whereas B5 would give those S5 at best.
On the other hand TX is very good, there are 3 levels of power. On top of that, the power is adjustable by a trimmer inside the unit, so sub 0.5W TX is possible.
Modulation is loud and clear, perhaps too loud as on narrowband setting it peaks way beyond 12.5k. B5 is little too conservative in that regard.
Battery lasts quite a while, UV2 pulls just 20mA on idle, which would translate into 80-90h of operation.
The unit is very well built and does give impression that it'll survive rough handling. Although the mic port and speaker don't scream "water resistant".
No DTMF is a bummer, there are many repeaters in my area with Echolink capability, so not having that slightly cripples the TRX as a whole. Sure, there are workarounds, such as DTMF mic or DTMF app on Android. Neither of these are however too convenient, as they add extra piece of hardware one needs to carry around.
Scanning is slow, not too slow, but still enough to be nuisance. B5 scans a bit faster.
No DSP on superhetero receiver is acceptable, but the speaker on UV2 boost 4-6kHz region, subjectively adding noise to receiving signals. B5 does have DSP, and it helps quite a lot in extracting very weak signals.
Field test with B5 and UV2 and cheapo old PMR Cobra MT-725 in near vicinity of transmission tower revealed following:
50m from tower - B5 is unusable, UV2 struggles but manages to reproduce incoming signal quite well, with 90% copy and some extra noise. 725 passes with flying colours, 59+ as if the person was standing next to me.
100m from tower - B5 started to pickup signal very clearly, giving it S6 in strength, UV2 fared similarly but there was more noise overall. 725, as always 59+, the best result.
The same test with 50mW instead of 500mW on transmitting side:
50m - B5 deaf, UV2 deaf, 725 report 57, 100% copy
100m - B5 report 54, UV2 deaf, 725 report 57, 100% copy
So all in all, UV2 feels like a good radio, and I would have gone all the way and forgive it its shortcomings such as no DTMF, slow scan and S-meter, as long as it would outperform B5 on RX by at least 3dB.
Because as of now, I can't see its worth, being twice as expensive and not really huge step forward compared to B5s.
I'm in close contact with the manufacturer, discussing ways to improve sensitivity. I'll update the review if I somehow succeed.
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|
| KF7WXV |
Rating: |
2016-02-16 | |
| BEST Chinese handheld, hands down |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've owned about half a dozen, and used as many as 20, Quansheng TG-UV2's over the past 5 years. I bought my first one in the spring of 2011 for $92, and my most recent one last week for $67 (Amazon). In the meantime, I have owned and used Baofeng multiple UV-5r and UV-5Re+, Wouxun KG-UV8d, and other Chinese handhelds (as well as serious radios like the FT-857d), and in that time I have tested and compared these radios extensively. This culminated in the following video (importantly, audio) comparison of Chinese HT's:
https://youtu.be/kmlWTrYPAQU
(Sorry - you'll have to copy/paste because eHam doesn't let me link.)
In short, the Quansheng's main advantage over other Chinese handhelds is its receive sensitivity and noise rejection. Its 2m FM receive is very similar to the Yaesu FT-857d. Baofeng and Wouxun radios tested as very significantly worse in their receive characteristics, to the point that a full copy of a voice was obtained on the TG-UV2 while there was no indication that there was even a voice on the frequency using the other Chinese handhelds.
One other small advantage specifically over other Chinese HTs is that the "0" key is where you expect it to be, not off the right side of the keypad.
In terms of the criticisms which have been made about this radio, they include that its scanning is fairly slow, and that it doesn't have DTMF tones. These are both true (unless you use a DTMF tone hand mic), but neither is very important to me in comparison to being able to really hear things. I have also criticized that its power output varies by frequency and antenna characteristics and may not always be at the full rated power (e.g. across the 136-174mhz area, its "high" might be anywhere from 3w-6w, while I have measured "low power" down to about 0.5w at the lowest). Some people have had trouble with the fact that you don't scroll through a clearly-labeled menu, but instead type in F+[1-9] or F+[01-09]. I don't mind it, since the labels in other radios' menus are useless anyway. ("SFT-D" does not say "repeater offset" to me, Baofeng!) Finally, some people have said that, like other Chinese HT's, the memory programming is not intuitive. I do not agree with this criticism - I think the memory programming is as easy as any other HT, Chinese or otherwise, and of course the USB programming cable is the same for any of these radios with the Kenwood audio connector.
OK, now things about this radio that I love! Where to start... It's not much more expensive than most Chinese HT's except for the very cheapest, and it's much cheaper than big brand name radios (K/I/Y/etc.). It has a battery that will last for days on standby. Its charger (although it isn't labeled) will take 11-15vDC no problem. It's a really sturdy-feeling radio, and nothing about it is flimsy. It took me 4 years until I broke any part of any of them (dropped it down a full flight of hardwood stairs, landing on concrete; corner of screen was cracked but radio was fine). Its dual-watch is real dual-watch, so I can listen to uninterrupted music on FM broadcast until something comes over the repeater or simplex frequency I'm dual-watching. It's wide open, so you can talk to your grandson's (or your grandad's) GMRS/FRS radio... or NOAA weather radio (not advised - hihi). They have a mere mortal SMA jack for using real coax and antennas, and the rubber ducky is good as rubber duckies go. I like having three power settings because sometimes medium is just right.
I don't know my most distant simplex contact with one of these radios, but I have definitely worked a 2 meter repeater 92 miles away with enough RF to spare that I received the same "full-quieting" signal report on high and low power. (External antenna, obviously.) |
|
| WA3LWR |
Rating: |
2015-08-31 | |
| Great Radio at a Low Price |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I own several HTs, including Icom, Yaesu, Alinco, Baofong, Woxun, and Quansheng. The Quansheng outshines them all. It is well made, sensitive, fantastic battery life, excellent audio on both transmit and receive. You can usually get one for less than $90 and it is the best bargain and superior to other similarly priced radios and cheaper units.
It is a little harder to find and not as popular as some, but it is the best.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WA3LWR on 2013-08-03
Just an addition to my earlier rating. The software is available on line, and is a basic Excell spread sheet type. Works ok and easier than manually programming. I wish the radio had the ability to change the pause when scanning to pause until no carrier on frequency, but none of the HTs seem to have that ability, so I cannot mark it down for that. Recently dropped it in salt water and it remained dry inside and no problems. I have seen most of the radios for about $90, so the $110 price is inaccurate.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WA3LWR on 2013-07-15
Have owned the portable for over 2 years, dropping it many times, etc. No problems, fantastic transmit audio, long battery life, and a great deal for $90.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WA3LWR on 2011-11-27
Bought two dual band radios last winter. One from Quansheng and the other from another Chinese company. Both received well. But Quansheng had much better battery life, and far better transmit audio. Many hams mentioned how great the audio from Quansheng sounded. Manuals for both radios were poor, but theRe is a rapid learning curve. Other radio broke, shipped back to, China, at my expensive, ($40) and now they claim it was never received.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WA3LWR on 2011-10-20
About a year ago,I was asked, as the EC for ARES, to help a local hospital purchase amateur radio equipment. I decided to purchase both a Quansheng and a Woxun hand held unit since they had good reviews and were cheap. I really did not expect much for the price but was pleasantly surprised. I liked both radios, but ended up preferring the Quansheng for a few reasons. First, the transmit audio reports were significantly better, actually great, from many hams. Then the battery is 15% stronger. Specifications shows that the Quansheng was very slightly better in output and sensitivity. I preferred the case of the Woxun. THe Quansheng has 199 channels, compared to 99. THe Quansheng was also about $20 cheaper.
In the end, I bought a large number of them to get the price down even further and have been selling the radios to area hams with pleased purchasers. Humorously, at the last hamfest, I won a Woxun.
Bob WA3LWR@epix.net
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WA3LWR on 2011-06-17
I have had the radio for over a year and have never been noted for being kind to a radio. It has survived. Having the dual scan is great. The audio is excellent, and I cannot say a negative about it.
Programing leaves something to be desired, but with the cheap cable ($10) it is easy. Being able to do both commercial and amateur is a plus for all of us who are also volunteer fire and ambulance personnel.
Bob |
|
| K1LSB |
Rating: |
2014-12-27 | |
| Superb receiver sensitivity and battery life |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Outstanding battery life, with a genuinely usable battery level indicator - unlike the Baofeng UV5R+ or Wouxun UV6D, the battery indicator displays a linear drop in remaining battery life - a very welcome feature!
Very solid build, feels perfect in the hand. Unlike the Baofeng UV5R+, you can't access all of the buttons on the radio when it's sitting in the charger.
This radio has outstanding receive sensitivity on both VHF and UHF - the VHF sensitivity is every bit the equal of my Yaesu FT-897D and Wouxun UV6D radios, and the UHF is only the slightest bit less sensitive than the FT-897D but still the best I've ever seen on any HT.
Some good points:
1) IP55 resistant to water and dust.
2) Three power settings (Low, Medium and High).
3) The ability to change immediate-mode power level for a programmed channel (can't do that with a Wouxun UV6D or Baofeng UV5R+).
4) The ability to have the main channel (upper display) in VFO mode and the sub (lower display) channel in memory mode (and vise versa). The Wouxun UV6D and Baofeng UV5R+ can't do that.
And a few cons:
1) The Reverse and Scan functions both require two buttons to activate.
2) There aren't any user-definable keys (which would be nice for Reverse or Scan).
3) Chirp doesn't support this model (and may never).
4) The full menu system is NOT intuitive, and is almost unusable without the manual.
All in all, this radio probably wouldn't be my every day carry HT if only because the operation isn't as intuitive as a Baofeng or Wouxun. But it would be a very good HT to keep in a bug-out bag along with 1) the user manual, 2) a Nagoya 771 antenna and 3) a spare battery.
Given the outstanding receiver sensitivity and superb battery life, together with the $82 price and free shipping on Amazon, I can't rate this radio any less than a 5!
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|
| VK3TEN |
Rating: |
2014-04-06 | |
| Great value and superb battery |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I can't add much to what others have said here and agree with most comments. Just wanting to let others know this radio is also sold as an "NUT AT-UVB", until you realize this radio is the same, information on the NUT is slim.
I have a Windows programming guide on my website:
http://mostlyham.com/wp/programming-the-nut-at-uvb/
I would probably give this a 4.5 if possible as the programming software does not have CSV import, and as others mention the lack of DTMF. But for the price and free programming software I'm leaning to a 5.
Cheers, VK3TEN |
|
| VA1DER |
Rating: |
2013-07-21 | |
| Great sensitivity |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Excellent radio, especially considering the price. It's an exceptionally sensitive unit that comes with a surprisingly good antenna. Audio (speaker) quality is good, as is transmitted audio is great. Versatile settings that seem easy enough to pick up (unless your VCR used to blink 12).
Lack of DTMF is unfortunate, but I work around generating DTMF from my Android phone. The plus side of this is that I can store the numbers for all my local repeaters.
It's also unfortunate (though not Quansheng's fault) that so many places sell programming cables for this (and other Chinese radios) that contain knock-off Prolific USB-to-serial adapters in them. Prolific has been changing their drivers to not recognize the clones. If you are having troubles getting your programming cable to work on recent Windows versions, go to http://www.crercc.com/driver_issues.html and get version 3.2.0.0 of the drivers. Works great on my Windows 7 and Windows 8 64 bit machines. If you don't want to deal with the driver issues, then I recommend buying a full-priced Kenwood programming cable.
Pros: Outstanding sensitivity, very good audio quality, price, accessibility to non-ham frequencies (Marine for us Navy people is nice)
Cons: No DTMF, display won't show channel names with frequencies, cheap programming cables can be hard to find drivers for. |
|
| N2OBS |
Rating: |
2013-07-10 | |
| Basic Radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Unless you have owned or operated the foreign made radios my advice is get the programming usb cable and study the manual. It's a nice, compact transceiver but if you look for cheaply made radios there are quality points that will suffer. One I discovered is there is no offset that one can program manually without the software giving aide, is this correct or have I overlooked? |
|
| KD7OQC |
Rating: |
2013-03-03 | |
| Worth the Price. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Pros
- The dual watch feature functions exactly as I would expect, in contrast to the similar feature on my FT-60 that has too long of a delay.
- Dual frequency display and the ability to switch between two displayed frequencies with the press of the [Main] button.
- The 2000 maH LIon battery is excellent. It holds a charge when not in use, and when used often lasts a reasonably long time. (Why are Yaesu/Icom/Kenwood still shipping radios with 1100 to 1500 maH NiMH batteries!?)
- Being able to receive broadcast FM stations.
- The ability to program in FRS/GMRS frequencies.
- The little LED light is very handy. Yaesu/Icom/Kenwood should add this to future HTs.
- The drop-in charger works nicely.
Cons
- Unlike my FT-60, I cannot see exactly how many volts the battery produces during transmit, or what the battery voltage is at all. There is no real indication that the battery is becoming too weak for reliable, full-power transmission. The battery charge indicator is a tiny, 4 bar icon like you would find on the cell phone.
- As I said in my previous review, the build quality is adequate for the price, but this radio certainly wouldn't be my first choice for EMCOMM or when I really needed it. The plastic case and belt clip give you a pretty good clue about this. This is true of all of the Chinese radios I've seen.
- Lack of adequate environmental seals. There is no seal around the battery pack. The antenna has three seams for potential moisture intrusion.
- As I said previously, listening to FM is acceptable, but you pick up more digital squeal - like static from your body or clothing than any radio that I have ever heard.
- Programming is cumbersome at first.
- No DTMF.
- No Automatic Repeater Shift.
With all that said, they are worth the price because they have functionality that none of the big-3 radios have. My 8 year old has been using one for a year and half, and my wife has had the other. Nothing has broken on either radio yet.
I like these better than all of the other Chinese radios (Wouxun, Baofeng) that I have seen or used.
As long as you aren't expecting the build quality of a Vertex for under $100, I would definitely recommend them. They are worth the price. I think it is a 4/5 overall. (Since I gave it a 3/5 1-1/2 years ago, I'm giving it a 5/5 now.)
See my September 2011 review for a more detailed review.
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Earlier 3-star review posted by KD7OQC on 2011-09-24
I ordered a TG-UV2, a speaker mic (Kenwood pin pattern), an SMA to PL-259 adapter and an SMA to BNC adapter from Radiogearpro.com, a Hong Kong company for $125 with shipping included. It took about 3 weeks to come in, which started to make me nervous but was reasonable for the cost. E-mail inquiries were answered promptly for their time zone. One inquiry I sent in the morning was answered by the next morning. Another inquiry I sent at 7:00 PM central time, was answered that evening before I went to bed. The box is full color like you would expect to see on the shelf in a consumer electronics or computer store, in contrast to the plain brown boxes that Yaesus and ICOMs come in.
The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was that the battery doesn't have O-ring to keep out dust or moisture. Once the battery is installed the base of the radio is nice and flat, so the radio stands on the counter without wobbling. The width of the radio would preclude the creation of a AA battery pack for backup use. It does look like they could make one that took 6 or 7 AAA batteries though. For about $15- they do make a "battery replacement" module that plugs directly into the cigarette lighter or 12VDC jack in a vehicle. The clip that secures the battery pack is connected to an internal metal chassis.
The first time I put the radio in the charging base, I slid it in slightly crooked, so it wasn't until 2 hours later that I realized that one of the contacts wasn't touching. I reseated the radio in the charging cradle and 1-1/2 hours later it was fully charged.
Overall the build quality is comparable to an FRS radio or a cell phone, in other words, it feels like a piece of consumer electronics as opposed to military or industrial grade radio like a Yaesu or ICOM. The body is all plastic, as opposed to the aluminum casting of most ICOMs and Yaesu handhelds that I am familiar with.
The LED light is bright and very usable. The bottom button on the left side of the radio (as you look at the display) toggles the light on or off. If the radio is off, the light won't come on, so that prevents it from accidentally coming on and staying on. The Japanese radios should incorporate this simple feature into their radios.
I haven't had any trouble programming in frequencies using the manual, so I haven't used the software yet. With that said, I would not buy this as a first radio, or suggest it for a new ham.
There is no automatic repeater shift, so you have to select + or - offset and save it. Then program in 600 khz as the offset amount ... and save it. Then program in the pl tone ... and save it. Then you can save the frequency with that combination into memory. There are no memory banks to separate the frequencies, no one-touch WX button, no emergency identification feature, or automated transponder system.
To listen to commercial FM radio, simply key in the frequency. For example 94.1 would be 094100. After you key the last digit, the radio tunes to that frequency and begins to play the audio. When listening to a commercial FM station the receive quality is comparable to the 9 volt AM transistor radios of yesteryear. The reception is a lot weaker than an inexpensive dedicated FM radio. For example, a clock radio on my coworker's desk picks up all the local stations just fine, while the TG-UV2 will only pick up a few of the local stations. In the truck, in some places reception was crystal clear, while a 1/4 mile up the road I would pick up AM style crackly static, while the radio in the vehicle had clear audio. In my car, I would intermittently get a flurry of digital chirps. I don't know if they are related to my route to or from work, or related to some of the factory electronics in my car. I do not have these on my other handhelds. I also noticed static on occasion on the local NWS weather frequency, while on my Yaesu there was no static. It even picks up static in the house from my clothing.
The SMA to PL-259 adapter that I ordered with the radio doesn't seat flush in the radio or screw fully into the antenna cable of the mag-mount antennas (MFJ or Diamond) on my truck or car. The net result is that if I use it in the car with a mag-mount, I am concerned that I will stress the antenna jack.
The single knob is On/Off/Volume. Audio is 500 milliwatts.
I haven't gotten around to changing the squelch, which is done through the menu. Frequency is changed by use of the up/down arrow buttons or by direct frequency input on the keypad.
The "MAIN" button switches you from VFO A to VFO B. F + 1 toggles you through the three power settings. (Low >= 1 Watt, Med >=2.5 Watts, High >= 5 Watts) The current power setting is represented by an L, M or H on the right hand side of the display. F + 2 sets the receive CTCSS or DCS tone. F + 3 sets the transmit CTCSS or DCS tone. F + 4 sets the repeater shift direction (none, +, or -) and is indicated by a + or - on the display. F + 7 switches to reverse. F + 8 is for Scramble, which appears to be disabled. F + 9 turns on Dual Watch, which works great when you are listening to an FM radio station and someone starts talking on a repeater.
To get into the other menu settings you key F + 0 + another number. This is detailed in the manual. For example, F + 0 + 2 allows you to set the 600 khz offset necessary for most repeaters.
I still haven't gotten around to trying all of the other features or finding out if the radio actually does cross-band repeat, or if that is simply a mistranslation in the literature.
At this point in time, my gut instinct is that the build quality of the radio is comparable to a cell phone or other consumer electronics. This does not instill the confidence in the bomb-proof like durability I've experienced at home and at work with the Vertex, ICOM and Yaesu HTs.
As I have more experience with the radio, I'll include additional updates.
73 - Mike |
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