Wouxun KG-UV3D Dual-Band Radio Review

One thing I do not like about this radio are the buttons. The bottom buttons on the keypad all pretty much feel the same, smooth to the touch, a little too close to each other, and not overly clicky. Move up and to the right and the green TDR button is even smaller but has a more pronounced click, which I like. Now move over to the left side of the Wouxun KG-UV3D and you find the A/B button. It, too, is small like the TDR button, but is a little difficult to press. It feels like the button is too far inset into the surrounding plastic, and you almost have to use a fingernail to press it.

The knobs on the top of the Wouxun KG-UV3D are a different story, with the volume knob providing just the right amount of resistance and the center knob providing excellent click feedback without being too hard to turn.

Now we switch to the PTT button, which needs to be pressed right in the center to be activated. High and low presses just don’t seem to work at all.

One of my favorite aspects of the Wouxun KG-UV3D, like almost all Wouxun radios, is the battery. Slightly bigger than the 1500mAh UV-5R battery at 1700mAh, it is one of the few Chinese radios that I have tested that actually come out with more mAh (1810) than they are rated for. I also really like the release mechinism, two spring-loaded latches, one on each side. Grab and pull down to release, set the bottom in and snap the top into place, doesn’t get any easier than that.

The screen on the Wouxun KG-UV3D is about the same size as on a UV-5R and appears to have the same resolution with the same size fonts, so it is no better or worse to read. Using the menu options is about the same experience as a UV-5R except you can use the center knob on top to scroll through the menu much faster. Overall, I much prefer this experience to the typical Boafeng menu navigation with just the two arrows.

One down-side to the screen is where it is placed. Since it is much lower on the radio than with a UV-5R, and the area above the screen bulges out a little, this makes it more difficult from above like when it is fairly close to you on a desk. Laying the Wouxun KG-3D on its back, or placing it on a desk stand, eliminates this issue.

Wouxun radios typically come in nice boxes with slightly better than average Chinese radio manuals. What I mean by that is the physical manual is very nice with glossy heavy card stock and full color printing on the outside, and nice heavy paper on the inside. The English translation, however, still leaves a lot to be desired.

Another thing I really like about the Wouxun KG-UV3D is that right in the box it included a dual charger (radio with battery attached, and second battery without radio), a programming cable (works with CHIRP), and a nice laminated folding quick reference card.

Performance:

The antenna that comes with the Wouxun KG-UV3D is not at all bad, putting in pretty good numbers for 2m and better than terrible numbers at 70cm. Antennas are always a tradeoff, and this one has a hard lean to the 2m band. Of course many of us use a better antenna anyway so that may be a moot point.

As far as signal is concerned, that is pretty disappointing. While the power output of 4 watts on 2m and 3 watts on 70cm is on the high-end of average for this size radio, the spectrum analysis reveals a messy and inconsistent from the second you press the PTT.

I am not sure how, but the audio transmitted by the Wouxun KG-UV3D is surprisingly clear and understandable. It must do a far better job encoding the audio than other radios, as looking at the spectrum I would have thought the audio would be pretty bad.

Images:

Radio Specifics:

Test Images:

• 1750 Hz burst tone
• DTMF encoding
• CTCSS/DCS scan
• VOC and SOS functions
• Flashlight
• Digital FM radio
• Priority scan
• 20 groups CTCSS / 105 groups CCTCSS
• IP 55 waterproof
• Superheterodyne receiver

You might think I am being overly picky, putting the English manual translation in the cons field above. After all, what Chinese radio has a good manual? Two points in response to that, the Wouxun KG-UV3D is not your average Chinese radio, it is far more expensive, so I would think that they would take more time with the manual. As for what Chinese manufacturer has good English manuals, try Btech and QYT just off the top of my head.

You pay a premium price, you expect a premium experience.

Conclusions

Would I recommend this radio? Well it isn’t made anymore, so I could not recommend a new one, but used? Sure! It is a nice upgrade from a UV-5R style radio and has some nice accessories. The power output is higher, the signal is at least as good, the audio output is better, the center knob makes the experience much nicer, it has a far better battery, and it fits larger hands better. What’s not to like.

Here are some reviews of the Wouxun KG-UV3D!