In this
comparison of the AnyTone, Yaesu, and Wouxun dual band mobile transceivers, you
will note that the Chinese manufactured AnyTone AT-5888UV (Qixiang Electronics) is a near clone of
the USA-Japanese Yaesu FT-8900R in its user features and functionality. The Wouxun KG-UV920P on the other hand, and
sadly, has a very complicated user interface and on-screen menu, with buttons
seemingly designed for a small child’s fingers!
Here’s an initial visual comparison below.
The
Chinese AnyTone AT-5888UV Dual-Bander
Yaesu Screen
Layout Above • Compare To AnyTone Top Photo
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| Yaesu Button Layout Above Vs. AnyTone Buttons (Top Photo) |
IDENTICAL ANYTONE & YAESU MOBILE RADIOS?
Between the
AnyTone and the Yaesu dual-band FM radios above, you will note that SCREEN MENU LAYOUTS ARE ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL! The design and position of
each icon is exactly the same for each radio’s displays. Coincidence?
Now, before anyone says anything: Yes, I am aware that the Yaesu FT-8900R is actually a QUAD-BAND FM transceiver, operating on the 2M, 6M, 10M, & 70 CM bands. But for our purposes here, I'm going to continue to refer to the Yaesu FT-8900R as a "dual-bander," in order to avoid confusion and also as most hams use this amazing radio on 144/440 MHz bands, rarely on the 6M or 10M bands.
Now, before anyone says anything: Yes, I am aware that the Yaesu FT-8900R is actually a QUAD-BAND FM transceiver, operating on the 2M, 6M, 10M, & 70 CM bands. But for our purposes here, I'm going to continue to refer to the Yaesu FT-8900R as a "dual-bander," in order to avoid confusion and also as most hams use this amazing radio on 144/440 MHz bands, rarely on the 6M or 10M bands.
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| AnyTone AT-5888UV w/ Front Speaker Mic For Portable Use |
As to the KNOB LAYOUT, the AnyTone AT-5888UV utilizes the VERY SAME left-right volume and squelch layout as the Yaesu FT-8900R. This is a very nice and well-thought out
feature, as controlling the volume of each side-by-side band screen is very
convenient indeed. The LOW (output power
adjustment), V/M (VFO/Memory), HM (Home Memory Channel, and SCAN buttons are in
identical placements. The AnyTone,
however, did move the SET button to the upper left-hand side of their
radio. Oh well, you can’t everything! Now, let’s look at the Wouxun KG-UV920P dual-band
FM radio:
THE WOUXUN KG-UV920P
The best way
I can summarize the Wouxun User Interface is this: Confusing. The VFO
(frequency tuning) knob is on the left, while the VOLUME controls on the right are NESTED, for each of the side-by-side
band screens. This makes volume
adjustment a bit tedious. It gets more interesting: the SQUELCH adjustment is made via a SCREEN MENU OPTION. Oops!
 |
| The Wouxun KG-UV920P Dual-Band FM Radio |
THE PRAISE REPORT
These radios
do provide a much-needed alternative to the higher-priced, more rugged
land-mobile VHF-UHF public service radios manufactured by Motorola, Vertex, Harris, Daytron, and others. Inexpensive and programmable, these radios are great for light use by Army-Navy MARS, U.S.
Coast Guard Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol, SATERN, Red Cross, and other emergency
community response radio stations which operate OUTSIDE the FCC Amateur Radio
bands or within the NTIA U.S. Government bands.
The
inexpensive Chinese ($250-$300) dual band rigs – namely the AnyTone &
Wouxun mobile models -- offer multi-colored backlit LCD screens, detachable remote heads,
dual-fans with large heat sinks, FM broadcast reception (most models), DTMF
microphones, alpha-numeric displays, low power consumption on receive, CTCSS/DCS Encode/Decode, cross-band repeat, dual band simultaneous reception, encryption capabilities (scrambler), narrow & wide band, 2.5KHz frequency steps, remote "kill," password protection, and more. Of
the two, my money would be on the AnyTone, mainly for its ease of use.
Unfortunately, the AnyTone AT-5888UV is not available in the USA just yet, as the first batch sent here from China had to be recalled last week for harmonics problems. We should begin to see the final USA model by March. You can pre-order the latest AnyTone dual-bander at www.wouxun.us.
WHAT SETS THE CHINESE RADIOS APART?
From a design standpoint, the Chinese designers of the AnyTone & Wouxun models got a lot of things right. For instance, most FM transceivers coming out of China -- 50W mobiles & 5W handhelds -- have FM broadcast receive 68-108 MHz built in. Nice feature for listening to your favorite country music station while on the road! The AnyTone models add AM aircraft band receive, which I particularly like. Great for monitoring 121.5 MHz, the aircraft "Mayday" channel. Top-mounted speakers on all mobile models means you can throw your mobile on the passenger seat next to you in your car, plug the 12VDC power cord into a cigarette lighter socket, throw a mag-mount antenna on the roof, clip the speaker microphone to your jacket, and you're good to go mobile!
As an emergency comms backup radio for your "Go Kit," there are a lot of nice features that are hard NOT to like! I already mentioned the speaker-mic feature, air band monitoring, dual band receive and scanning, and dual, thermostatically-controlled rear fans. But the feature I like the most on an emergency comms unit (which is also on the Yaesu FT-8900R) is Full Duplex Cross Band Repeat. Click HERE to view nice video tutorial on how to setup a duplex cross band repeater, using the Yaesu FT-8900R.
As an emergency comms backup radio for your "Go Kit," there are a lot of nice features that are hard NOT to like! I already mentioned the speaker-mic feature, air band monitoring, dual band receive and scanning, and dual, thermostatically-controlled rear fans. But the feature I like the most on an emergency comms unit (which is also on the Yaesu FT-8900R) is Full Duplex Cross Band Repeat. Click HERE to view nice video tutorial on how to setup a duplex cross band repeater, using the Yaesu FT-8900R.
Unfortunately, the AnyTone AT-5888UV is not available in the USA just yet, as the first batch sent here from China had to be recalled last week for harmonics problems. We should begin to see the final USA model by March. You can pre-order the latest AnyTone dual-bander at www.wouxun.us.
A PROGRAMMING NIGHTMARE
There are
TWO popular methods for programming your dual-band FM mobile radio: Windows-based PC programming software or direct-input,
using the DTMF microphone keypad. However,
it should be noted that Part 90 FCC Accepted land-mobile radios may ONLY be “bench
programmable,” that is using a PC computer. No Part 90 “in-the-field” user programming of
frequencies, tones, etc. is allowed, although the Chinese offerings above do
so.
For years
now, Amateur Radio gear could be programmed quite easily -- even “on-the-fly,”
as it were. Yaesu, Kenwood, and Icom,
for instance, allow programming of their mobile radios via the DTMF microphone
keypad in a similar fashion as the programming of their handheld, portable
units via the DTMF keypad on the front of the radio. The “programming transition” between radio
types is pretty seamless, once you get the knack of it.
Enter the
Dragon! When the Chinese entered the
field, my “Programming Dream” became a “Programming Nightmare!” Programming the Wouxun via the DTMF
microphone’s keypad is tedious, to say the least. My biggest complaint is the jumping between
on-screen menu options and the pressing of the tiny front panel buttons to reach a
programmable result. Wouxun’s PC
programming software, although improved recently, leaves a lot to be desired,
as well. All that aside, in an emergency, am I always going to have my laptop handy? Not likely!
Lastly, I
was so please recently to discover that RT Systems has entered the field by providing
USB programming cables and Windows-based software for the most popular Chinese handheld
and mobile radios, such as the Baofeng and Wouxun models. As a ham radio
operator, I have appreciated the intuitive RT Systems software for
programming my HF rigs and Yaesu handhelds for years. Not to go into great detail, but if you have
ever been challenged by not being able to move memory channels up or down or
had the “CSV Import-Export” dilemma drive you batty, you will love the ease and
convenience of RT Systems software! BTW,
the USB cables and software are VERY affordable, too. To see how easy programming your rig can be, visit www.rtsystemsinc.com.
Want to learn more about these fascinating FM mobile radios? You can download and/or view a user manual by clicking on one of the selected model links below:
AnyTone AT-5888UV User Manual
Wouxun KG-UV920P user Manual
Yaesu FT-8900R User Manual
There are many choices becoming available these days for the Volunteer Emergency Radio Communications Responder. My advice? Investigate, ask questions, and most of all, CHOOSE WISELY!
Nice review Jason! Do you think there will be a China version of the ft-857??????
ReplyDeleteVery nice review. One thing to note, AnyTone AT-5888UV IS capable of x-band repeat. See http://wouxun.us/Manuals/AT-5888VU_%20english%20manual_v2_S.pdf for more info. I am thinking seriously about getting one of these for a mobile setup. Crossbanding is a definite must for me as I like to fox hunt and the crossband capability comes in handy for the high-powered fox. 73, Steve
ReplyDeleteI picked up an Anytone AT-5888UV in Dayton. So far it is a great radio. I used chirp to program it and into my car it went. One great feature is the detachable face since my car does not really have a good place to install it. While I am still figureing out all of the features it is a great Mobile for the beginner like me or a spare.
ReplyDeleteSo.....
ReplyDeleteYou can save about $30 and buy a hard to program Chinese radio with questionable quality and a horrible warranty situation with only 40 watts on UHF....
Or....
You could spend the extra $30 and buy a genuine Kenwood with great quality, a solid warranty, and a full 50 watts on both bands. .
So why on EARTH would anyone buy one of these Chinese radios? What am I missing here?
David, what Kenwood can you get for $330 that does cross band repeat? I'll take one!
DeleteI don't think so. Kenwood single banders are far more expensive then these Chinese dual and quad banders. I think Kenwood is the most expensive name out there and they to are made in China, Taiwan or Malaysia.
DeleteI don't think so. Kenwood single banders are far more expensive then these Chinese dual and quad banders. I think Kenwood is the most expensive name out there and they to are made in China, Taiwan or Malaysia.
DeleteLook up Part90 with respect to public safety and you'll have your answer!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the part 90 cert. and also another reason is the 2.5 kHz tuning steps too. Kenwood only goes down to 5 kHz.
Deleteas of now many of them are Part90 you can even go to the FCC website and look up the grants for many of theses Chinese radio and like what was said many of the BIG 3 are made in China,
DeleteWondering if the Anytone will program split ctcss ,another word's, transmit one tone while receiving on another in the same channel. I tried programming TX ctcss tone say 123 and went to re ctcss tone as 173 and it seems to fall back to the transmit only ctcss mode.
ReplyDeletewhen programming your Radio from the computer were do you connect the USB connector in...the front panel of the 8900 that come of or the radio body and does the power have to be on?
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ReplyDeleteDual band mobile signal
"plug the 12VDC power cord into a cigarette lighter socket":
ReplyDeleteYou plug a radio that can draw this sort of current into your cigarette lighter plug?
"throw a mag-mount antenna on the roof":
Fine if all you want to do is receive, I thought this review for for a Transceiver? Have you tried using a mobile on full power with a Mag Mount? If you do, you'll find melted plastic all over your roof.
Yes, I have and it matched fine. First 40 watts of power won't melt the antenna. 40 watts is 40 watts and a 40 watt light bulb won't melt the antenna. And most of the 40 watts from the radio is radiated, even with a poor match. I think you are just repeating something some highly educated CBer told you. The magnet is just the mount, the coax is still connected to the antenna itself. Proximity to the car roof provides the ground plane...provided the roof is metal. There is no energy used or consumed by the magnet.
DeleteAlso, I forgot. The cigarette lighter in all cars that I have checked has about a 12 gauge wire running to it. Has a 20 amp fuse inline and the heating element draws more than 40 watts that the radio draws. If the cigarette lighter socket is clean it's a pretty good temporary connector. If the lighter draws only half the 20 amps it is using more than 120 watts of power.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteStay that way. You sir are without a key to the clue box!
I have one of these fro use at home and love it. Actualy receives better than my ts-2000.
ReplyDeleteOnly have 2 minor complaints:
1) Can not switch to reverse frequency mode if the display is in CHANNEL/NAME mode.
2) Can not have Frequency mode on one side and NAME mode on the other.
The programming software was not that hard to figure out.
I have two of these in operation. One in the trunk and the second in the house off a powersupply.
ReplyDeleteUsing Chirp, the radio programs fine. And actually switching to VFO mode and setting frequency/repeater offset/CTCSS,etc. isn't really that difficult.
The only major issue I find with the radio is intermod when going into the city. Also, the volume control for low settings does not appear very granular (its either off or loud..).
But for the price it works well.
-J
I meant truck not trunk :-)
Deletecould some kind person please tell me how I can access the air band frequencies on my 5888uv European version. thank you all.
ReplyDeleteFolks...
ReplyDeleteConsider that there is NO mention of WARRANTY on any of these radios. Further, where would you get them serviced?
Chinese answer: No warranty, No service - buy another !!
Contrast that to Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood's service facilities here in the states. Are parts available, yes, even over the phone, yes. I grant you that if your Japanese radio is years and years out of production - parts may not be available - as with anything. But, service for the Japanese radios, even Alinco, are available in the states. Consider this when picking up your Chinese radio at SUCH a savings.
Also, make sure EVERY feature works as advertised with your new Chinese radio, often, QA doesn't exist from the factory in China. The local candy store found a good number of the Chinese mobile radios had one thing or another (feature set) not working on brand new radios.
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ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThe AT-5888UV works for me as both mobile and base. My question. Can the scan speed be increased? I use this radio daily and have for a few years. It is a solid radio.
73