Wouxun KG-Q10H Review

On February 22nd a massive cell phone outage was realized by AT&T and others.  Yesterday on Super Tuesday there was a large scale cyber attack most prominently targeting Facebook and Instagram.  If you dig a bit deeper the attack hit a lot of other prominent sites as well.  Also, a couple of months ago I woke up in the middle of the night and there was no Verizon cellular service and I had no internet with Spectrum.   Clearly it is time to bust out the Amateur Radio Equipment and even to add a new radio to the stable.  Today I’ll be reviewing the Wouxun KG-Q10H Quad Band Radio ($219).

Wouxun (pronounced OCEAN) is a Chinese Radio brand sold by “Buy Two Way Radios“.  While most of us amateur radio operators tend to think of Chinese hand held radios as junk, the reality is that the Wouxun KG-Q10H has been tested to death on-line and the results are pretty favorable.

Good power, good audio, and the radio passes all the FCC tests regarding spurious emissions.  Think 2nd and 3rd harmonics.   Conversely, it doesn’t spew RF all over the place like a lot of cheap radios do.

Wouxun KG-Q10H Is A Quad Band Transmitter

The Wouxun KG-Q10H can transmit on 4 bands:

• 2 meter
• 1.25 meter
• 6 meter
• 70 centimeter

Additionally you can unlock to add some expanded range to the transmit bands and include the Family Radio Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) bands.  From a preparedness standpoint every family should have a pair (or more) of GMRS radios and they should get a license which REQUIRES NO TEST and costs $35.  That license covers your entire family.

Wouxun KG-Q10H Unlock

Here’s the deal.  It is a violation of FCC regulations to import or sell radios that violate 47 CFR or FCC Part 95.  Translation:  Radios shall not be able to transmit on both VHF/UHF AND GMRS.  Additionally, it will unlock MURS frequencies.  FCC Part 95 defines the rules for GMRS radios.

An unlock code can applied to open up the radio to transmit on FRS and GMRS radios.   Is this illegal?  According to this FCC advisory it is.

That being said, if I unlock the radio and set up GMRS frequencies and conform with all the maximum power regulations for GMRS then I’m not sure how anyone could ever know what radio I was using.

Does that make it right?  Again, not according to the FCC Advisory I linked above.

If you want to unlock your radio then you need to google how to do it.  The info is out there.  I’m not posting it here.

KG-Q10G

Wouxun sells a GMRS only radio  The KG-Q10G.  Additionally, If you are a stickler for the rules,  you need to buy the G version of the KG-Q10.  Also, If you have a GMRS license and not an Amateur Radio license you should definitely buy the KG-Q10G and stay on the right side of the rules.

My Thoughts Regarding This.

The KG-Q10H costs $219. It can be unlocked for GMRS. The KG-Q10G also costs $219. Additionally,  the radio is locked to GMRS frequencies only.   If you are a licensed amateur radio operator and a licensed GMRS operator, which of these radios are you going to buy?  There should be way different price points, in my opinion.

Back To The Review

Fortunately, this thing works with CHIRP software.  CHIRP allows you to easily program your radio.  Although the KG-Q10H does not natively work with CHIRP the developers do have a working Beta Driver.  To load the module, open CHIRP and go to the Help Menu.  Select “Load Module From Issue”.

Now type in 10692. Hit Ok.  You’ll see this:

Hit OK to load the module.  And Bob is your Uncle.  Here is a quick video on that process:

My Complaint List

My list of complaints is short.

1. No programming cable comes with the radio.  Must purchase separately.
2. The access door for the programming cable requires a screwdriver to open.

Number 2 is actually a good thing because this is how the radio maintains its IP67 rating for dust and moisture intrusion.   However, it was a pain the first few days taking it on and off.  I recommend leaving it off a few days until you are happy with your programming.  And I always felt that if I left it off, I would lose the door.

Cost

The cost is a bit steep but this is clearly the best handheld radio I have owned so far.  And I own quite a few.   I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this is worth the $219. Yes, there are much cheaper radios out there but this is one of the better ones.   In fact, one reviewer kind of blasted the 1st batch released for spurious emissions. The radio apparently was not in compliance with FCC regs.  Wouxun responded by immediately fixing the notated issue.  Seems like they aim to please the community.

Real World Testing

Guys can hook up all kinds of power meters and SWR meters but I’m more of “can I talk to anyone on this thing” tester.   I am surrounded by trees and live just a few meters above sea level.  Not ideal.   I can now sit on my front porch and reach my nearest 2 meter repeater with ease.  No other handheld radio I own does this.  I usually have to kneel towards Jerusalem and put one leg over my shoulder in the magic spot for my other radios to hit that repeater.  Even then the other person usually tells me I sound scratchy and awful.

Additionally, I am hitting 3 other 70 cm repeaters I have never hit before with a handheld radio.

Will this be your experience?  I can’t say.  But I can say the Wouxun KG-Q10H is an improvement over the bag full of radios I have.  Every situation and every location is going to be different.  In my case it is a positive.   I’m glad I bought this radio.

Final Thoughts

A quad band radio with good range, no spurious emissions, and it has the ability to be unlocked to cover GMRS frequencies.   And as a bonus the audio is crisp and not tinny sounding.

What is not to like?  I strongly recommend that if you do unlock your radio, that you follow all the maximum power transmission rules as per FCC part 95 for GMRS.   Also, now that the radio is unlocked, look for it to get locked back down soon or crippled in some other manner in new production runs.  The time to get one is NOW.  I just ordered my 2nd radio which is coming today.

And I will probably buy the GMRS KG-Q10G to put in my wife’s car.  She works maybe 6 miles as the crow flies from here and we MIGHT be able to communicate from that distance.  Again, our house is surrounded by trees and woods.

John’s Tech Blog strongly approves of the Wouxun KG-Q10H.