puxing 777 feedback

[calicojack]

what feedback do you guys/gals have on the puxing 777 offered by murs-radio.com? what's the truest range you've gotten on them?

[benjaminbrasel]

I was wondering the same thing, as I am in the market for a radio soon.... HAM or ?...
In my research I found this site.
Hope this helps.

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6221

[Mr. Bill]

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6221

Thanks for that link.

One reviewer said:

...A problem I noticed however are RF burns on your hand when you transmit. These burns you feel on your hand in correspondence of the lower corners, where probably the RF field is enhanced because of point effects (perhaps sharp edges in the PC board ground?) This is my first handheld so I do not know if the same problem appears on other portable transceivers. Of course it's nothing serious, just a little annoying. ...

   Do I really believe this?!?

Anyway, here are a couple of other links I found on that review site:

Puxing 777 Yahoo group

Puxing PX-777+ Operation Notes (in case you find the manual incomprehensible)

I've been thinking about getting a pair of these.  I really like the idea of a single radio that I can use for MURS now, and for 2M ham later if I get a license.  Plus it doubles as a scanner that can receive my local fire departments.  (I'd just have to be very careful to program it not to transmit on those frequencies!)

[Gadget]

I am able to hit a local ham repeater that is about 15 miles away on a 700 foot tower with mine. On simplex, the range varies due to terrain, like with any other handheld radio. I am thoroughly happy with mine and I have bought 4 of them off Ebay (before I heard of Murs-Radio). I will be buying more soon.

[outdoorman63]

i used one for a short time and it seemed to work decent, was sturdy, not quite the range of the kenwoods we use..it just was wanted by someone else more than me so i sold it...

[adp113]

These things are not type accepted at all.  They are not supposed to be for sale in the US.  Customs has been getting better at grabbing these things in the mail when they are shipped from china.

You'll get what you pay for.

[6xddx6]

These things are not type accepted at all. 

That is incorrect.

Some of them are, some of them aren't. The ones sold by murs-radio.com are FCC Part 90 certified. I know this for a fact because our search and rescue teams were looking at the ones on eBay and could not find one that was certified. I contacted the guy at murs-radio.com and he told me he carried the certified units and even sent me the FCC certification grant and a photo of the FCC ID label on the back of the radio. If they don't have an FCC ID label on the back of the radio they are not certified even though many eBay auctions claim they are FCC "approved" (no such thing). Just ask the eBay'er for a photo of the radio's FCC ID label and see what they say. The murs-radio.com site has a photo of the label on their website.

As far as performance, we use a combination of Kenwood, Icom, and Vertex (Yaesu) gear. The PX-777+ perform as well as all of the ham grade equipment and nearly as well as the commercial gear. In fact the difference between the Puxing and our commercial gear is so slight the cost offsets any difference.

The PX-777+ is not as rugged as the commercial gear but at $79 each we can often buy 3 or 4 four the price of one commercial radio. Again, the price offsets the difference.

We needed a good inexpensive radio that could work on both 2 meter ham and our Part 90 rescue frequencies. With the Puxings we could buy what we needed and buy a few spare radios for much less than other radios. They use Kenwood speaker mics and earbud mics as well. We often use the scrambler feature on our Part 90 frequencies when we need a bit of privacy.

(FYI, I have been a regular customer of murs-radio.com for a number of years. My only connection is that I have received good products and service from them in every instance. They know the product well and will answer any questions you have.)

~6

[Roknrandy]

6 is correct, Murs-radio offers certified radios not knock offs. He even displays the FCC id tag to show its legal. If you want to pay four or five times the price for a different radio thats your choice, Murs offers a consumer grade radio with great customer service.

from the MURS-RADIO site
The PX-777 PLUS  is the only Puxing model that is legal to import and use in the US.


and you can view the FCC certification grant here  http://www.puxingradio.com/WarePicture/2008111936819001.pdf

[adp113]

what feedback do you guys/gals have on the puxing 777 offered by murs-radio.com? what's the truest range you've gotten on them?

The model the OP asked about is not Type accepted.  Only responding to what was asked.  The same radio is being sold under three different names (777, 777 plus, and 1000) and sometimes it has type acceptance and sometimes it does not.

[6xddx6]

The model the OP asked about is not Type accepted.  Only responding to what was asked.  The same radio is being sold under three different names (777, 777 plus, and 1000) and sometimes it has type acceptance and sometimes it does not.

The OP specifically stated: "the puxing 777 offered by murs-radio.com"

murs-radio.com only offers one model and it is type accepted. Not trying to be argumentative but the OP was asking about a specific model from a specific source. It's OK though, the information was finally dragged out into the open.

~6

[calicojack]

i'm looking at maybe 5-10 of these used for close proximity (within 5 miles of each other (most times under a mile) communications. I don't want the standard frs blister packs as everyone else uses them. so murs (i'm thinking) is the way i need to go. thoughts?

[doublehelix]

I imported about 50 of these radios direct from Mainland China (including type acceptance certificate for Customs,  and labeling for Part 90 operation).

It's not difficult if you do our homework.  Puxing and Weirwei are the same radio electromechanically, but only the Puxing has FCC type acceptance, and only
the VHF model.

Landed cost (including air shipping) was about $50 per radio for the 777+, including the desk charger.

They are OK radios.  The microphone audio seems a bit muffled, and I read somewhere of a case mod to open up the microphone hole to improve the
audio.

RX is sensitive, but not very selective, so not great in high RF environments.

OEM and aftermarket Kenwood accessories are widely available.  And cheap.

We used these in my vol. fire department where members couldn't afford public safety quality radios. The added benefit is the wide-band operation, making them a dual purpose ham-commercial radio.

Be careful to program low-power for MURS operation, or it's a $5K FCC fine.

Overall a decent radio that I didn't cry over if I accidentally dropped it in a creek.

YMMV

[doublehelix]

The same radio is being sold under three different names (777, 777 plus, and 1000) and sometimes it has type acceptance and sometimes it does not.

Actually no.

The PX777 PX777plus, and PX1000 are all DIFFERENT electro-mechanically.

They are not the same radio.

Only the PX777+ is Part 90 type accepted, and only if properly labeled per FCC regulations, including the High RF warning label (which the Murs.com radios don't even have BTW).

I LEGALLY imported a bunch of these, so yes I do know the difference.

[Mr. Bill]

...including the High RF warning label (which the Murs.com radios don't even have BTW). ...

What does this label say?  "WARNING: Your Hand Will Be Medium-Rare After 5 Minutes"

[6xddx6]

Only the PX777+ is Part 90 type accepted, and only if properly labeled per FCC regulations, including the High RF warning label (which the Murs.com radios don't even have BTW).

*SIGH*

From the FCC website:

"These rules state that when a permanently affixed label is not feasible, such as
on an implanted device, then an alternative method may be used if approved by
the Commission.  The manufacturer may place the FCC ID on the PC board
inside the case (even if it has to be in very small type set) and also in the
instruction manual."


The occupational safety label on a portable radio is rarely affixed to the radio itself. It can be... but often not. Placing the warning in the manual is sufficient for certification if the FCC is given notice that placement on the radio is impractical.

Portable radios are designed to be safe to hold near your head. That is why they are never have more than 5 watts of output even though they can be technically capable of higher outputs. Getting an RF burn from a portable radio is highly unlikely and I would say that the person on the eham.net review was talking nonsense. He even states that it was his first hand held so it is hardly an expert opinion.

The Puxing is not a $1200 Motorola radio. It is also not a $500 Kenwood. It is a great $79 radio that is lots of fun to use. The FCC certified version is legal to use so you don't have to worry about problems with the law. (For the extra $10 the certified versions cost, it is worth not worrying!) I'd rather have 6 of these radios for the price of one $500 Kenwood and have spares when SHTF. You may have other ideas and that is fine.

Buying from a US dealer helps when you have a problem with the radio so you don't need to send it back to China. Buying from a US dealer puts some money back into the local economy and helps a small business person and TSP advertiser.


~6

[Mr. Bill]

...I really like the idea of a single radio that I can use for MURS now, and for 2M ham later if I get a license. ...

...Be careful to program low-power for MURS operation, or it's a $5K FCC fine. ...

Well, on the Puxing 777 Yahoo group, we did a little digging through the FCC rules and the PX777+ certification.  Our conclusion is that it is not legal to use this radio to transmit on MURS frequencies.  MURS requires separate certification under Part 95, but the PX777+ is only Part 90 certified.  It will never get MURS certification because it's non-compliant with the MURS rules in a few ways (it can transmit on frequencies other than MURS, and it can transmit at over 2 watts).

If soemone understands FCC arcana better than me and can prove that I'm wrong, I would be absolutely delighted.

[doublehelix]

Absolutely correct.

Illegal to use on MURS frequencies, but legal to use on Part 90 public safety/special emergency frequencies.

Ham doesn't care as there is no type acceptance there.

I guess you can always start your own SAR team and get an FCC license for part 90 VHF frequencies.

 

[AGreyMan]

Type acceptance aside, I have 4 of these little guys, and I really like them. They are compact, have a decent output, and are tough enough to withstand the abuse of my 8 y/o ham daughter. Range is about the same as any other 5 watt output radio: It would benefit from a better antenna! Mine have the hole for the microphone, and sound pretty good on transmission.

The manual is your typical "Chinglish" which is a bit difficult to understand at times, but with a little persistance and perhaps some help from the PX-777 Yahoo group, it's not terrible to program. And any radio that get 4.4/5 from the nitpickers at eHam can't be all that bad!

Stay Safe,
AGreyMan

[Santander]

Have one. Like it. I don't know it's true range so far but that seems to be a direct factor of power and antennae type... and I am using the rubber duck antennae that came with it.

T.