Recycled Radio Series
Weierwei V1000 UHF Transceiver
Manufacturer: Weierwei
Model: VEV V1000 aka Puxing px888
Band: UHF (tri-band programmable)
Frequency: 400-470MHz / *300-360MHz / *134-172MHz
Programmable Channels: 128
Scrambler?: Yes
Battery: 3.7V 1600mAh
Antenna: short helical rubber duck
Price: £10 + £5 postage
Sold As: Used
True Condition: Immaculate condition as new
Sold As: Used
True Condition: Immaculate condition as new
Vendor: private eBay seller
Shipped From: Northern Ireland, UK
Shipped From: Northern Ireland, UK
*The V1000 can be programmed to other bands via the Weierwei software .
First impressions
My radio radar is always switched on, especially during late night browsing on eBay. So I was very happy to see this fine specimen in the used walkie talkie section late one night.
I hadn't seen a Weierwei radio before - never even heard of them in actual fact, so I was curious to find out if this radio was a rebadge of something else.
Indeed it turns out that this V1000 is a Puxing 888 in disguise.
A radio priced much higher than your average baofeng.
Looking on eBay for new V1000's I found that they are still for sale costing around £70 and shipping from the far East.
Bagging this used unit for £10 seemed an obvious bargain.
The radio arrived in its original box. Inside the handset and accessories were all as they should be.
I suspect this radio is an ex-demo unit or has hardy been used judging by its almost new appearance. The item came from an airsoft online store but I don't think it has been used in combat!.
Much like the trusty Baofeng family this set contains a host of accessories. These ones are suspiciously similar. The ear piece and charger look very familiar indeed.
The radio is really well made, much tougher than your average baofeng. The plastic used here seems a heavier gage to the plastics used on other Chinese radios. The unit feels more solid and weightier than its cheaper rivals.
The battery pack is a standard lithium type with a capacity of around 1200mAh. It fits really nicely to the chassis of the radio and doesn't creak or move about when it's mounted unlike some.
Much like the handset the battery feels well made and tough.
The chassis of the radio is made from aluminum alloy with a rubber gasket around the contacts - presumably to help keep dust and moisture out.
The design is similar to other Chinese radios but this one seems to be better quality.
The V1000 receiver is supplied with a small stubby stock antenna.
At first sight of it I laughed and thought it would be a load of crap like the GT-1 or stock UV-5R.
It's probably a coil dummy load in a thick stumpy shroud - usually a recipe for shite RX/TX.
This antenna appears to be cut to length for UHF only.
The Weierwei V1000 does not include the obligatory flashlight on the top. Instead we find the more traditional rotary channel selector dial along side the on/off volume knob. Arguably a better feature than the led flashlight in my opinion.
The rotary selector dial has a few benefits which only become apparent when you start playing about with the radio.
Firstly I can be used to quickly select either the pre-programmed channels or the actually frequency whilst in VFO mode and secondly it can be used in conjunction with the scanning feature. It's much easier to move the scanning on from an unwanted hit with a twist of the dial than hitting the scan button again on a Baofeng for instance (which doesn't always work)
With the rotary dial being as large as it is, it means that channels can be flicked back and forth between the fingers very easily. You don't need two hands to operate at all.
The Antenna connection is the standard Chinese SMA-M type so any SMA female antenna should fit when it comes to replacing the stock for something else.
Along the side of the radio we find the PTT button and two programmable secondary buttons.
The button marked with one pip (see above pic) was already programmed for the emergency siren - a pointless feature which sends out a distress call on the frequency you happen to be tuned to at the time. Fortunately this feature can be substituted for another in the software. I set mine to open the squelch - the same with the second button (with 2 pips).
This handset does have the facility for receiving commercial FM stations.
The reception on FM is OK, local music stations come through strong.
There is the ability to program 9 different stations into the memory.
The LCD display on this handset is rather good.
It looks similar to the Baofeng displays but has a higher pixel density (the photo above doesn't illustrate it that well) and has a few extra bits and bobs on it.
The colour of the LCD backlight can be changed to suit tastes. Orange, blue or a off white colour can be selected.
Personally the orange (which actually looks green!) looks the best.
There isn't much to say about the back of the radio. It looks like any other handheld.
The belt clip is well made and seems solid enough.
Unlike the Baofeng radios, the belt clip is not secured to the chassis by a pair of screws, rather a more traditional slip on and clip arrangement. - easier definitely.
The keypad on this thing is good. The membrane is made from a soft rubber which has a nice feel to it.
Seeing the keys in the dark is not a problem due to a white LED backlight behind them. Plenty bright enough.
Most of the menu options can be accessed by pressing the menu key followed by the number of the cooresponding function.
The internal speaker on this radio is good for its size. It's not the most bassy of sounds but it is clear and loud.
Good Points
Bad Points
How do you pronounce that name again?
First impressions
My radio radar is always switched on, especially during late night browsing on eBay. So I was very happy to see this fine specimen in the used walkie talkie section late one night.
I hadn't seen a Weierwei radio before - never even heard of them in actual fact, so I was curious to find out if this radio was a rebadge of something else.
Indeed it turns out that this V1000 is a Puxing 888 in disguise.
A radio priced much higher than your average baofeng.
Looking on eBay for new V1000's I found that they are still for sale costing around £70 and shipping from the far East.
Bagging this used unit for £10 seemed an obvious bargain.
Solid Aluminium Chassis
The radio arrived in its original box. Inside the handset and accessories were all as they should be.
I suspect this radio is an ex-demo unit or has hardy been used judging by its almost new appearance. The item came from an airsoft online store but I don't think it has been used in combat!.
Much like the trusty Baofeng family this set contains a host of accessories. These ones are suspiciously similar. The ear piece and charger look very familiar indeed.
The Battery is pretty solid too
The radio is really well made, much tougher than your average baofeng. The plastic used here seems a heavier gage to the plastics used on other Chinese radios. The unit feels more solid and weightier than its cheaper rivals.
The battery pack is a standard lithium type with a capacity of around 1200mAh. It fits really nicely to the chassis of the radio and doesn't creak or move about when it's mounted unlike some.
Much like the handset the battery feels well made and tough.
The chassis of the radio is made from aluminum alloy with a rubber gasket around the contacts - presumably to help keep dust and moisture out.
The design is similar to other Chinese radios but this one seems to be better quality.
Not bad for a stock Antenna to be honest
The V1000 receiver is supplied with a small stubby stock antenna.
At first sight of it I laughed and thought it would be a load of crap like the GT-1 or stock UV-5R.
It's probably a coil dummy load in a thick stumpy shroud - usually a recipe for shite RX/TX.
This antenna appears to be cut to length for UHF only.
The Weierwei V1000 does not include the obligatory flashlight on the top. Instead we find the more traditional rotary channel selector dial along side the on/off volume knob. Arguably a better feature than the led flashlight in my opinion.
The rotary selector dial has a few benefits which only become apparent when you start playing about with the radio.
Firstly I can be used to quickly select either the pre-programmed channels or the actually frequency whilst in VFO mode and secondly it can be used in conjunction with the scanning feature. It's much easier to move the scanning on from an unwanted hit with a twist of the dial than hitting the scan button again on a Baofeng for instance (which doesn't always work)
With the rotary dial being as large as it is, it means that channels can be flicked back and forth between the fingers very easily. You don't need two hands to operate at all.
The Antenna connection is the standard Chinese SMA-M type so any SMA female antenna should fit when it comes to replacing the stock for something else.
Along the side of the radio we find the PTT button and two programmable secondary buttons.
The button marked with one pip (see above pic) was already programmed for the emergency siren - a pointless feature which sends out a distress call on the frequency you happen to be tuned to at the time. Fortunately this feature can be substituted for another in the software. I set mine to open the squelch - the same with the second button (with 2 pips).
This handset does have the facility for receiving commercial FM stations.
The reception on FM is OK, local music stations come through strong.
There is the ability to program 9 different stations into the memory.
The LCD display on this handset is rather good.
It looks similar to the Baofeng displays but has a higher pixel density (the photo above doesn't illustrate it that well) and has a few extra bits and bobs on it.
The colour of the LCD backlight can be changed to suit tastes. Orange, blue or a off white colour can be selected.
Personally the orange (which actually looks green!) looks the best.
There isn't much to say about the back of the radio. It looks like any other handheld.
The belt clip is well made and seems solid enough.
Unlike the Baofeng radios, the belt clip is not secured to the chassis by a pair of screws, rather a more traditional slip on and clip arrangement. - easier definitely.
The keypad on this thing is good. The membrane is made from a soft rubber which has a nice feel to it.
Seeing the keys in the dark is not a problem due to a white LED backlight behind them. Plenty bright enough.
Most of the menu options can be accessed by pressing the menu key followed by the number of the cooresponding function.
The internal speaker on this radio is good for its size. It's not the most bassy of sounds but it is clear and loud.
Good Points
- Voice Scrambler feature
- Tri-Band programmable
- Good front end - very little break through from strong RF
- Rx sensitivity
- Build quality
- True 5W power output (tested)
- Long lasting battery
- Rotary tuning dial up top
- Ability to name channels on the fly
- Ability to add/remove channels from scanning on the fly
- Priority scan
- Fast scanning
- Easy to edit channel settings on the fly
- FM commercial stations + 9 channel memory storage
Bad Points
- Complicated dual watch set up
- Cannot monitor two different bands at same time
- No voltage meter - only a small bar scale. Not accurate.
Overall the good points far outweigh the bad and to be fair, these are probably nothing more than nit picking on my part.
I'm still conducting a few tests with this radio. Hoping at some point to do a few videos and such but from what I have seen so far over the past few weeks its a very capable radio indeed.
I have got over the fact that it isn't a dual bander, or at least dual bands at the same time and I have forgotten about the convoluted dual watch thing. I can survive without them just fine.
The Weierwei V1000 is a professional looking radio. I really like it.
£10 is an absolute bargain for this
Test videos and more waffle to come.....