One of these appeared on Amazon yesterday, and it was delivered today.
Which one came today? The one on the left. Careful examination shows some lettering on its back left corner.
The one on the right is for the ZWS-802 that is functionally very different.
In the Package
Basic stuff: USB-C charging cable, 2 installed 18650 batteries, window mount, UHF antenna, 3m wire antenna, manual. This manual, unlike its predecessors, spells “SECONDS” correctly.
The Tricky Part: Pairing With the Radio
The manual provides instructions that are correct but missing one important detail.
The radio comes with the connection disabled. Here are my instructions to enable it:
- Turn the A330 off.
- Short press the power button.
- After a couple of seconds the time colon separator will begin flashing
- Quickly short press the Demod button twice and then immediately short press the power button. The important thing here is that there not be more than a second’s delay between the power button press. If you wait too long, the radio will simply turn on.
- The EXRADIO ON/OFF selection will appear. Long press the power button to enable or disable the repeater support.
When the radio is operating, a tiny icon can appear on the display with an antenna symbol and the letters “EXT.” If the icon does not appear, then the repeater will not connect (follow preceding instructions to enable connection. If it appears and is flashing, then the radio will connect to the repeater if it’s on and within range. If it’s solid on, then the repeater is connected.
Repeater On
When the repeater is on, the radio works pretty much the same way as it does without the repeater, bearing in mind that it’s the repeater’s antenna receiving the signal. One big difference is that when the repeater is connected, there is another band, long wave accessible — 153 – 522 kHz. This uses the internal ferrite rod antenna in the repeater. Also, the birdie on 550 kHz MW is not there.
Batteries
The W3 can be powered by 3 AA batteries or two 18650 batteries. The 18650 batteries included are rated 2500 mAh each. The batteries can be charged with a USB cable.
What I have found is that in Automatic connect mode the repeater batteries last a long time.
Performance
Nothing jumped out. MW performance wasn’t any better. I’ll do some more testing.
To Come
Upcoming, expect a comparison of the LiJiANi W2 for the RD-239S repeater and the Zhiwhis ZWS-A330/W3 repeater.