Tennessee Gun

Tag: Amazon.com

  • Wuxun KG-UV3D Dual Band Handheld Review

    Wuxun KG-UV3D Dual Band Handheld Review

    Review: Wuxun KG-UV3D Dual Band Handheld
    Buy at Amazon (Not the Same Radio as Reviewed)

    Now for those that care about these things, I have not received any compensation of any type for this review. I am reviewing this device because I think EVERY prepper should have at least one ham radio, and with the quality/price ratio this radio is worth looking into.

    First strike against the Wuxun KG-UV3D radio is that is Chinese made. Some don’t care –some do, personally I’d rather buy American made, but a simple internet search will show you how hard it is to find a American made ham radio.

    First positive comment is that it’s around $100 bucks. This is in a world where almost all other handhelds start at 5 times that amount. I first learned about this radio from a group of ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) volunteers in East TN. These guys all had at least one and they were of the opinion that it was good enough, and sturdy enough, and if they broke the thing it was only a $100 radio.

    As I said in the video my intent was to buy one, try it out, and if mine was as functional as the ones I was shown in Athens then I would buy a couple more for the wife and for storage. My wife is now expecting, so I had to add another prepper tier to my list, so the extra radios were bumped back, but I still intend to buy a couple more once I stockpile a lot of diapers and bottles…

    I am not going to get into too much detail on these radios, as a ham will just go dig up the spec sheet and it may cause informational overload to a non-ham. But basically:

    Wuxun KG-UV3D Features

    • Dual band monitor (VHF/UHF, VHF/VHF, UHF/UHF)
      • You can monitor two different sets of frequencies at the same time
      • The radio comes in different flavors so you can almost pick which two bands you want.
    • Selectable high/low power settings (VHF: 5W high/1W low) (UHF: 4W high/1W low)
      • You can select more time or more power
    • 13 hour battery life
    • Includes intelligent desktop 3-4 hour rapid charger
    • Loud speaker audio output (500 mW)
    • Bright flashlight illumination function
    • Meets IP55 waterproof rating
    • English female voice prompts enable non-sighted operation (can be turned off)
      • The Chinese lady scares me so I turned mine off
    • 128 memory channels (shared)
    • VOX Function
    • Digital FM radio (76-108MHz) with automatic tuning and storing, radio frequency display, 18 FM memories in 2 banks
    • Wide/narrow bandwidth selection (25 or 12.5 kHz)
    • Power on display: show battery voltage, 6-character customizable welcome message, or display test
    • Windows PC programmable, free software available for download. Optional low cost cable
      • This is the selling point for me – I found the manual programming wasn’t as bad as some reviews claimed it to be, but I liked doing it from my computer even though
      • There is some bugs in the setup and you may have to try more than once to get your radio to connect to your computer
    • The program is limited to a “legal” frequency band and not actual – meaning I can listen to the weather radio and FRMS and GRMS frequencies (among other things) but I have to put them in manually.
    • Radio to radio cloning with optional cable
    • 105 groups DCS/50 groups CTCSS
    • DTMF encoding (includes ABCD tones, continuous with button press duration)
    • CTCSS encode/Decode (no decode delay)
    • Stopwatch function
    • SOS function
    • Low-voltage voice prompt
    • Busy channel lockout
    • Selectable transmit over timer (from 15 to 600 seconds)
    • Selectable step sizes of 5, 6.25, 10, 12.5, 25, 50 or 100 kHz
    • Multiple scan modes including priority scan
    • Keypad lock (auto or manual)
    • Programmable by computer or keypad
    • High contrast white backlit keypad. All keys are backlit (except A/B & TDR)

    Conclusion

    That’s a lot of stuff, add in that you can unlock the radio to get additional channels* and that it feels like a Kenwood (very sturdy feeling) transmits clearly and loudly and you can buy an adaptor to run a longer antenna makes it (IMHO) a very good buy.

    *about that unlocking;

    1. It’s most likely illegal, and I am not suggesting you break the law
    2. With the advent of trunking and other digital radio advances just because you can transmit and receive on the local law enforcement channels on the Wuxun KG-UV3D or other radio does not mean you can communicate with them.

  • Modification of the Cold Steel Bird and Trout Neck Knife

    Modification of the Cold Steel Bird and Trout Neck Knife

    New Neck Knife
    Buy at Amazon

    Recently while working outside I misplaced my neck knife, it was a CKRT Neck Peck.  This was a huge loss for me.  I really like having a neck knife, its easy to carry, and always there.  I do know that there is a lot of tactical questions about a neck knife.  Questions come mostly from those with a ground fighting perspective.  However,  my opinion come from a middle aged fat guy that works from a desk.  I doubt I will be ground fighting near as much as I will be cutting open amazon.com packages….

    My Favorite Neck Knife was Discontinued

    What made the loss so painful was that I could not get a replacement.  In its infinite wisdom Columbia River Knife and Tool has discontinued the Neck Peck knives.  I was forced to find a suitable replacement.

    After searching online and in a couple different stores I decided on a Cold Steel Bird and Trout.  I did not come out of the box as sharp as the I wanted, but it sharpened easily.  What I really love about it is the finger ring on the handle.  Being able to dangle it on my pinky while performing tasks is nice.  That will keep me from setting it down in the woods and getting it lost in the leaves (like its predecessor).

    Turning a Good Knife into a Better Kit

    While searching online for good neck knives I found a couple of you tube videos about mini survival kits that were attached to different models of neck knives.   I must admit I like the idea, but its more important for me to have my neck knife small and concealable rather than have a EDC (everyday carry) wilderness survival kit.

    Something I did like with the survival kits was the flashlight idea.  So I purchased a small blue led light (I think it was a photon microlight), and while I was at it, I also decided to install a sailcloth needle with about 10 ft of mono-filament line since it takes up almost no space and adds negligible weight.

    First I added the sewing needle, then I electrician taped the light over the sheath.  For added security, I ran the chain through the flashlight so it would not be able to fall out.  I then used a Ranger Band (cut up bike inner tube) to waterproof the sheath and electrician taped it tightly to the sheath.

    You Must add Para-cord

    Next I took out the innards of some para-cord and used a stiff wire to thread the ball chain necklace in the center of the paracord.  I did this mostly for looks but in deference to the idea that somebody may try to choke me to death with my chain, I did it in two sections after putting the chain on the knife sheath so that it can break at the clasp, or at either hole of the sheath.

    Lastly I wrapped about yard of 7 strand para-cord around the handle.  While this makes the knife easier to hold, and gives me some cordage, it does tend to overcome the friction fit of the bird and trout sheath.  Unlike the Peck, which had a raised dot that “locked” into a dimple in the sheath, the Bird and Trout relies on friction only.  This makes it extremely easy for the knife to fall out of the sheath.

    Still Not Done

    Since I have been planning on experimenting with Kydex sheaths for some time, I am going to have to make a new sheath that has a more positive lock on the knife.  If Cold Steel’s sheath held the B&T better, this would be a near perfect knife for my usage.