Zeadio ZS-B1 16Ch UHF Mini Transceiver (WLN KD-C1)
Price: £15 including postage for two radios
Manufacturer: Generic Chinese Made (in this case labelled Zeadio) also branded as WLN, Luiton, Retevis, Abask, Zastone
Model: ZS-B1
Power: 5W high, 2W low (unproven)
Run By: 1500mAh 3.4V lithium rechargeable battery
Band: UHF 400-470MHz
Speaker: 1W 8ohms
Channels: 16
Description: walkie talkies
Vendor: private seller on eBay
Shipped From: UK
What's in the Box?: Each box contains the radio, 'battery, charger dock, USB charging cable, belt clip and instructions.
It's says 2W here! Where's that spec sheet again?
First Impressions
After watching a few YouTube videos on the WLN KD-C1 radio (identical to this Zeadio in all but name) and hearing some positive things from my knowledgeable radio buddy Ringway Manchester I set about grabbing one for myself.
Recently the price of a single WLN version of this radio came down as low as £8 for a brief time then the price slowly crept back up. Suffice to say I was too late in bagging one at that price and I didn't fancy paying £15 for one and have to wait ages for it to arrive from Hong Kong.
I happened to see an auction lot for these two Zeadio B1's with a low starting price. I really wanted these radios so without any competition I ended up winning. I was surprised as these are popular radios at the moment.
Individually wrapped for freshness
Buying these radio in pairs normally costs between £25-£30 on ebay with postage so this Zeadio pair seemed an absolute bargain at £15 or £7.50 each whichever way you look at it.
The story behind the sale was that the seller had bought the pair, put a few frequencies in to try them and then packed them back away.
New enough for me.
They arrived to much anticipation and excitement. Both radios were delivered in pristine condition.
From the outer boxes to the accessories inside it was obvious that the radios had barely been touched.
Despite their simplicity, these radios are rather stylish but perhaps not to everyone's taste. I really like the way they look and feel in the hand.
It's hard to believe that each radio only weights 128g and only about an inch thick. It's easy to secrete this radio in a pocket and forget that it's there!
Who the hell is Zeadio anyway?
The build quality of this radio is fantastic. Much like the Baofeng radios, these slim line radios incorporate the same kind of tough plastic in the outer casing. The buttons are rubberised to assist in keeping water and dust out (untested), they feel solid and have a positive feel to them.
The fixed antenna is heavy duty and moulded into the plastic main body. Most PMR/Walkie-Talkie antennas require some degree of care to avoid accidental damage but these seem indestructible (which is a good thing)
The Accessories that came in the box are nothing new. A charger, a dock, a battery and a belt clip . Thankfully no crappy ear piece like you would find in a Baofeng box.
The specs say 5W...the side box label says 2W
Sold as PM446 licence free radios
There doesn't seem to be a lot about the Zeadio ZS-B1 online. The only hits seems to be the Zeadio company site (which my browser advises me not to visit) and a few places selling them.
It would seem that these sellers are advertising the radios as PMR446 license free with a low power rating of 0.5W. (the legal power limit) some have even gone to the trouble of preprogramming the PMR frequencies in before sale.
An example:
Zeadio ZS-B1R is a license free consumer walkie talkie radio. The frequency is pre-programmed with 446.MHz (UK legal civil frequency) on each channel, so that users can talk to each other freely on any channels.
This is a falsehood and a little misleading as firstly the radio won't go as low as 0.5W more like 2W. (On the box it says 5W and 2W)
Secondly even if it did have a 0.5W setting which would make it legal it still has the option of choosing higher power which is not
And this radio can be programmed outside the eight standard PMR channels this includes repeaters and simplex channels used by licensed hams.
So my guess is it's not type approved for PMR
That's my understanding of it
That said, they would make great PMR rigs.!
Testing
Once again my radio mentor Ringway Manchester has already done the hard work of programming and testing these rigs.
Click the video below to see how he gets on
Programming and 75 mile repeater test
Urban range testing around South Manchester
As the videos show these are great little radios but have a small issue. - the interference overload which occurs occasionally near sources of high RF and which seems more common to this radio than a regular Baofeng would. I can live with that, I don't suppose the size of the antenna contributes to the problem?
In my limited experience of these radios I have found them to be very good for the most part. I'm suitably impressed anyway.
Sound Quality
The quality of the audio and the loudness of the speaker is astonishing at this price.
Even the Chinese fella who announces the channel numbers is loud and clear.
I would say that the speaker in this radio is better than any of the main stream baofengs.
Speaker is 1W 8ohm
Please check out Ringways Manchester on youtube for more great videos - Click Here
PMR style fixed Antenna
The antenna on this radio is rather interesting. It looks just like a regular fixed Walkie-Talkie antenna. Unable to be swapped out for a longer one and thus limiting it's range.
And although this particular antenna does have its limitations, it it works a lot better than you might expect.
As if with some kind of voodoo magic inside, the antenna manages to pull in signals almost as well as some of my regular radios? My own testing has shown that this radio can keep up with my Baofengs when it comes to opening the local repeaters. Not a problem.
In conclusion to my mini review I have to say that Zeadio or whoever else made the radio has done a fantastic job.
Well worth the money......
1970's cracked Leather look back case
Rating: ✅✅✅✅✅
£7.50 for a radio of this quality is quite frankly outrageous.
The durability, sound quality and form factor makes this radio a top value purchase for anyone on a budget. More disposable than a disposable Baofeng.!
*Update:
Since writing this mini review I have managed to do some transmission tests - mainly because I just got my amateur radio license.
I can have a reasonable quality QSO with a station via the local repeater quite well. Reports have been mostly favourable. A little low on volume and scratchy in places but not bad overall.
In conclusion it seems that the WLN / Zeadio slim rig is not hampered too much by it's short fixed antenna, low power output and lack of display - quite the opposite. The speaker sound quality takes some beating and leaves many a Baofeng in the shade. I still think there is some kind of witch craft going on under the plastic covers .A great radio!.