The small but powerful Wouxun KG-S74A airband transceiver is a popular radio for those employed in the aviation industry. Pilots, instructors etc. But also a great radio for enthusiasts just wanting to listen to airband. Being equipped with a superheterodyne receiver, It’s known for its excellent reception with ground-to-air communication coverage. It can produce up to 6 Watts of power. Frequency range is from 118MHz to 137MHz. There are 400 memory channels available to save to and various weather alerts, such as NOAA. Both the screen and keypad lights up, so its easy to use in low light conditions.
In comparison to other great two-way radios with similar features but within a higher price range [Yaesu FTA-250L Handheld / Comm only and the Icom IC-A16B with Bluetooth], this radio is very easy to program. The battery life is very impressive, offering a long duration from the 2000mAh Lithium-Ion battery pack. There’s also a power saving mode on this radio. However, some say this is better turned off in order to receive the absolute best reception. The squelch is digital, but can be programmed to be manually operated from the two side buttons, which gives much quicker access when needing to increase or lower the squelch level in a hurry.
The USB-C port is a big welcome amongst users of this radio, making it very convenient when the time comes to charge the battery.
As mentioned in the title, the Wouxun KG-S74A has an IP67 rating making it waterproof and protected from dust. This means it is dust proof and can be submerged in water up to 1 meter deep for up to half an hour.
This is a tough, well built little radio. Needless to say, this radio can transmit on airband frequencies, so only do so if you are legally allowed to. One user who works in the aviation industry said he has successfully used this radio to get clearances, ATIS [Automatic terminal information service], and also during a 7600 situation [Communications failure]. While there are few criticisms about the headset adapter, or lack there-of in most cases, reviews for the actual radio are predominantly excellent across the board.