Wouxun released a few Airband transceivers last year. The one I have is the KG-R76 from the German OEM Wimo.
I’ve read that the same or similar radios have been released in other countries as well, under different model numbers.
The radio looks like this:
It has a USB-C port on the side.
The KG-S74A is a similar / maybe the same(?) model:
There is also T76.
My question is, how do you program this radio? Also, the manual is really basic, most things are not included, I’m trying to read other Wouxun manuals to understand the explanation of things.
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The manual isnt basic? In fact it has far too many features for the average pilot. It’s a full functioning radio similar to Han radios. Frequency mode where you type in the frequency and use it or memory mode where you type in frequency then you type in the name. You can then dial through these and use them. What are you struggling with? All the scan features are great for non pilots and hobbyists but pointless for pilots. Which are you?
I’m a pilot with a license. The manual I’ve received is like a super basic version of the normal Wouxun manuals I found online. Basic things like what TALK-A means, what are the symbols on the screen, etc. are missing. Maybe the other models have better manuals, but the R76’s manual is clearly not complete.
Also, it took me quite a few emails with Wouxun, but they’ve sent me a Windows tool which I can use for programming. Also, they said it needs the PCO-009 cable for connection.
From what I’ve read online the CHIRP support for these new Wouxuns is not yet available. So the only choice now is to use the Windows software from Wouxun.
That manual is incorrect. Try Menu 27. Your options should be: “OFF/BACK-LT/SQUELCH/WEATHER/RECALL/MODE/MONITOR/EM-121.5/FLASHLT.”
There is no “TALK-A” on this radio. I think you either got a limited version of the radio with some of the amateur firmware still leftover or your manual is wrong. If your menu 27 options are: “BACK-LT/VOX/TALK-A/FLASHLT/EMERGENCY/MONI/SCAN/OFF” then it might be a counterfeit or just the reseller not knowing what to ask for as far as firmware.
Try Menu 27 and let us know your options. Then we will know if it is the same as the S74a or whether you got a limited edition converted from a ham radio or maybe even a counterfeit radio.
As for programming, it can be programmed easily direct from the keyboard. Unlike most amateur or business radios, there are few options for each channel, and the software doesn’t give you a single option you cannot do from the keyboard.
But if you prefer, the programming software is free and the cable is any programming cable for Wouxun radios (and about a hundred million other brands.) Just save yourself some grief and do NOT buy a cable with the counterfeit prolific chip; only get a genuine cable with an FTDI chip. It is easily worth the few extra dollars.
If you download the software, you will see it is pretty basic. Add frequencies, name them and program the top and side buttons, and you are good to go. The radio does NOT have groups where you can program all airport frequencies grouped by name; in memory mode, you simply cycle through all of them until you find the one you want. (i.e. “CYWG-TWR”, etc.)
Here is some more advice (assuming your radio is a genuine Wouxun and the menu programs like the S74a) program your top button with short press OFF and long press FLASHLT. (You don’t want it on 121.5 on short press!) Side buttons were programmed with short and long press identical. (I don’t need all those options.) PF1 is squelch + and PF2 is squelch -.
That’s about it. I added my aircraft registration as the sign-on message and played around with backlight times, but your manual is not much less than the S74a one.
Let us know how this goes.
The radio is definitely an official Wouxun with whatever customization they make for the German reseller. Actually Wouxun had no trouble communicating, they asked for a photo from the back and afterwards they sent a software by email. It’s actually the German reseller who had no idea how to program this radio.
The manual is the same as what’s in the menu, which says:
OFF MONI SCAN BACK-LT VOX TALK-A FLASLT EMERGENCY
I’d only need the programming cable as I don’t want to type in dozen or so airport names. I’ll buy the official Wouxun PCO-009 one.
I also found it scary to have the EMERGENCY on a short button press by default, that’s one thing on a PMR or 2M band, but on an Airband it’s downright stupid.
Now, outside the menu and the lack of SQUELCH adjustment by button, why do you think this is a ripped off / limited radio?
Why do I think this is a limited or ripped-off radio? Because you have a ham radio, slightly modified, but with the firmware still left over from ham radios. There is no dual-receive or dual-band on this radio, so there cannot be a TALK-A setting that does anything. I think the German reseller knows very little about aviation radios and I am left wondering what other compromises went into the firmware.
On the other hand, if it works for you, in spite of some menu items that do nothing, then no sense panicking about it. As for the default emergency mode, that’s exactly why I reprogrammed all the buttons. I also didn’t want someone to pick it up and fiddle with the pushbuttons thinking they were the PTT and accidentally going in to 121.5.
As for the cable, that Wouxun one works fine on some radios and is a pain to communicate on others. It is very dependant on the computer because one has to downgrade the driver with the new driver file, and if your computer automatically updates drivers, it will simply erase the new (old) one and your radio will not communicate with the computer. Trust me on this one … I have been on this forum for many years and the vast majority of issues with radios not being recognized stem from driver issues with the prolific chip. This is why I highly recommend you spend a bit more and get the one with the FTDI chip. No fooling around with drivers will be necessary; it is just plug-and-play.
Our forum hosts sell the XLT Painless cable for only $2 more, and I have never had the slightest communication issue with it.
On the other hand, you may just get lucky with the cheaper one.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
I sell a couple of yaesu air band radios and they’re often too complicated. The owners of this forum have the manual you want and it is comprehensive and I think TOO detailed for many!
Thanks both for the replies.
Wouxun cable - I’ve read everywhere that I should not be buying a cheap cable, hence I thought buying the official cable. So the official is still with the cheap Prolific chip? I didn’t know that.
I’m in Europe, so my options are limited, but do I understand it correctly that I need a FTDI cable for any of Baofeng / Wouxun / Kenwood radios?
I found these on Amazon DE, both of them state that they are original FTDI based.
Radioddity PC001
and
DSD TECH SH-UK01
(Links removed - please read the Forum ToS before posting.)
Because you have a ham radio, slightly modified, but with the firmware still left over from ham radios.
I don’t understand this part. The radio has different electronics because it’s an AM transceiver, why would it be a ham radio? The case is from the new Wouxuns and the menu might be a bit unfinished, but it can transmit and receive on Airband, exactly what I need.
One thing which seems to be a limitation for me is that I cannot put SQUELCH on the buttons, which is a really silly omission.
Yes, the Wouxun cable uses the prolific chip. The Wouxun factory cable may or may not work for you, but either of those FTDI cables will work reliably. Since you have to buy a cable anyway, you might as well get an FTDI one. Also just so you know, our forum hosts at buytwowayradios ship internationally.
And I understand the limitations of your radio not having quick access to squelch settings. That is a bit frustrating because airband radios often need squelch adjusting as we go along. But there is no question it is an AM airband radio, and it will do what you want. It may have started life on a ham radio chassis and they may be using some of the ham radio firmware, but it is still a good airband radio.
About the only downside I have discovered over the Yaesu and Icom is there are no groups available where you can group sets of frequencies under each airport. But that is more for people scanning than it is for pilots using it as backup or to listen to ATIS prior to engine start.
Enjoy your radio and let us know if you have any further questions.
If you ever have an opportunity to use a good scanner such as the Bearcat ones, I would like to know how your receive performance compares side-by-side in fringe areas, inside a cockpit and inside a terminal building. I am always interested in this comparison.
The manual reveals the operating system is the usual one with the feature set the knob twiddlers use. I’ve never had one but I wonder if it has the frequency entry system the usual air band radios have. The new 8.33KHz system has the real frequency stacked up against the displayed frequency but with reference to the truncated description frequency the ATC uses for some. The danger of the ham type system where fiddling can mess this up concerns me. Pilots want quick and secure access to unplanned frequencies and playing around stabbing buttons is not popular. You can sit on the ground and enter the en route frequencies into memory but tiny displays and nested menus and the awful alphanumeric system for entering letters is very risky in my mind
@Chickenhawk thanks a lot for your reply!
@paulears yes, that’s why I refuse to enter frequencies manually. I want to copy-paste on a computer from the official Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) and upload it to the radio via cable.
Worth checking copy and paste works. It does NOT on probably 50% of the dozens I have. No idea why copy and paste is disabled.
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