As US prefix falls in UR~UZ range I believe the call belongs to Ukraine, DXCC #288. Nope, not in this particular case. Pretty much possible.
This unit is not for sale. The factory is shut down for COVID. Their WhatsApp Q900 channel is full of incomplete support information if you really dig into it and frankly a lot of weasel words. Aliexpress sellers are taking orders for this radio but it is all deceptive as their are none to be had. V1 and V2 people are on their own with no factory support, or even technical support as the factory doesn't want to give away their "secrets" because they will be stolen (according to them). I have extensively and I do mean extensively researched this product because I really wanted one very badly. Problems that are recurrent are: 1. Keypads that work partially or don't work at all. 2. Bad solder joints, especially power connectors. 3. No master reset - you have to open the radio (voiding whatever warrantee you might have) and disconnect the batteries. 4. Features that simply don't work, or only work partially. 5. Firmware updates that brick the unit or break other things. 6. Low power out on certain or all bands. 7. Low audio 8. DMR does NOT work 9. APRS does NOT work outside of China And there is more. I don't care if they say that they have fixed all the problems - why should anyone believe them until they actually ship a product. Has anyone ever heard of anyone say anything positive, other than influencers on YouTube like TechMinds? Or read an eham review? This is a defective design being produced by an incompetent factory. If you think I have it in for Chinese manufacturers, I'm not. I own several Xiegu radios. I have the patience to deal with radio things and frankly that is part of the appeal of Xiegu radios - they do work if you are willing to accept quirks, workarounds, and wait for firmware. With the exception of the GSOC which was a disaster, my other radios are my daily drivers and I have a lot of fun with them. Which is why I wanted a Q900. But not any more. Until I read glowing reviews of the Q900, I will not order one. I am not willing to "take one for the team" with this design. Full disclaimer. I asked too many questions apparently for the engineers who make the Q900 and they removed me from the Q900 WhatsApp channel. Wonder what that tells you.
> 2. Bad solder joints, especially power connectors. Here is a video of a typical Chinese PCB assembly sweatshop. The Q900 would be made in such a place because it's done in small runs of only 1000 units. Jump to 22:30 and watch how the manual soldering is done. Is it any wonder there are problems? Notice how the boards are just flung around in piles? Imagine how bad things get when the top boss isn't standing over them with a guest and a cameraman. China can do PCB assembly at or above the level done in the US. Foxcon assembling Apple products is an example. But small runs (< 1000 units) of PCBs are farmed out to the numerous sweatshops that congregate in cities with large PCB assembly operations.
Palstar Tuner USA Elecraft Linear USA Elecraft K3 USA Heil Headset USA Astron PS USA Pack of cheapo ink pens China Several flavors of Code Keys USA Apple I'm typing on China Ford Truck USA " no gun rack" Arrow antennas for Satt work USA If the USA makes it, I'll buy it.
"Factory doesn't want to give away their "secrets" because they will be stolen (according to them). " LOL I am reminded of the time when YouKits had the HB-1B "pirated" - by another Chinese seller. Likely a classic "third shift" steal from the OEM. . From then on - ZERO technical data was released. The MFJ 9200 (HS-1A) has an open-source schematic simply because Steve Weber (KD1JV!) was kind enough to work one up - the Chinese would not release the data to MFJ for publication.... Now moot, as the 9200 is long out of production/sales. Fast forward a bit SW3B - Dale Wu put out the schematic for the rig. With that and a sample in hand, writing a full technical manual wasn't all that difficult. Dale has a "continuous product improvement program" that shows each in (seemly small) production run. For example, the latest Sw3B has an expanded autoCQ memory and a relative power out indicator. All at the same price (for now). You have seen here where Dale released the code for the keyer if a person wanted to reflash the chip. VERY unusual for a Chinese made radio. I'll admit to being a fan. Low RX current, an honest 5+ watts. Wide range input voltage, reverse polarity protection, robust final, RX 5 to 16 MHz and on and on. All for $188 USD. I am still amazed that such an outstanding rig can sell for such a good price point. To be honest, past replacing a PA transistor, display or the encoder, the rig is pretty much "No User Serviceable Parts Inside" as few North American hams have the tools or skillset to work on SMD sized parts. (shrug) /.
I respect braveness of some people that are buying online with international shipping directly from China - they no doubt will neither get service if needed nor return & refund. Still, they've got chance to save on the purchase pretty noticeable. A lottery.
So, you got a bad unit from Heil so all Heil products are garbage, ok , got it. I get unsolicited reports about my great audio from my headset, of course its the voice and eq setup too. Keep sending money to china, people in the US dont need jobs anyway. My boots are made in the USA , you can buy a pair from Midewestboots.com Cowboy boots made by a local cobbler, USA
I have this radio's newest version (3rd), and I have not had any issues with it -- except a few software bugs which are being patched. I opened the rig up to check out the internals and noticed it has an arm cpu which peaked my interest in it even more. I made a youtube review for this radio on my channel (just search my call sign) . However, the quality of the original poster's youtube review is far superior to mine . I know a lot of people are distrustful of Chinese made radios ( I was as well ) but at least for me this radio is a keeper!
I have a V3 also and like the radio a lot. Have even used it in contests. Once you understand the receiver controls it has a lot of flexibility.
They can say 900 times that it is easy to use withouth a VFO knob, it will not be true, so I closed the video after the second one. I know too well this behavior or wierdness of the human mind from everywhere. It is impossible that the radio has not had at least some place to get a 2-pin connector mounted for an external rotary encoder, and half an hour to test the software for it...
a rotary encoder will need 3 wires because of the way rotary encoders can tell which direction the knob is turning! But still super easy if you're not trying desperately to save 15 cents on parts.
That's a tricky thing; they only need an A and a B line, there is no explicit direction information - or at least I haven't seen such a rotary encoder. Two lines means 4 distinct states, and you can tell the direction of a single step merely from the start and end state, what follows what.
