Puxing PX-777

[KF7EEC]

Anyone familiar with Puxing ham radios?  There is a lot of them on eBay, really cheap.  See, for example http://cgi.ebay.com/Puxing-PX-777-136-174Mhz-VHF-Ham-radio-Earpiece-PX777_W0QQitemZ220471925971QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3355269cd3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

This seems like it would be a good, cheap way to get a lot of new ham radios out in the Ward.  My Ward had no ham radio operators until last month, where 6 of us took the test.  One of us took and past all three tests, I took and past tech and general, and 4 past the technician.  So far, only two of us have purchased any ham gear.

I've ordered one of the Puxing radios, but any feed back you have would be nice.

[wb7sgl]

I haven't heard of them specifically, but have read on many other forums where people are warning against using cheap Chinese knock-offs because of quality issues. I would be careful with these radios in the hands of someone with little experience given that it transmits outside of the 2M ham band in commercial space. 

Otherwise, that's sure a decent enough price to make you want to try it. Especially if you can get additional battery packs for the unit.

-WB7SGL

[KI6WDZ]

I own one of the PX-777 radios (from eBay) along with several other handhelds.  It works just fine, reception and transmission is on par with any of the more familiar brands in the US. (Yaesu, Icom, etc.) The biggest difference is that the "user interface" is not as polished and takes a bit of getting used to.  That however is a one hour problem, and once learned the radio is quite serviceable.  Having said that, I'd really recommend that you spend a few more dollars for a Yaesu FT-60R.  The user network is huge and there's all kinds of aftermarket software to enrich your using experience.  It's the "Ford F-150" of 2M handhelds!