The W8008 is a product of the chinese company http://www.wex.com.hk. A variation of it is offered by https://alphapoc-europe.de as AlphaPoc 606R (but the firmware has some differences).

• different frequency ranges (usable for DAPNET: 438-442 MHz)
• can handle up to 19 messages
• 8 RICs with each 4 sub-RICs (A, B, C, D)
• notification: tone and LED
• IP67 rated (seems to be a product for healthcare: „washable, anti-bacterial plastic case“)
• built-in 3.6V 600 mAh lithium battery (should last up to 5 days)
• comes with a belt clip (no holster like the AlphaPoc 602R)

• 90.2 x 54.0 x 8.6mm
• 60 grams

The display is an OLED-display:

Programming „on the fly“ is possible for the most important parameters (RICs, frequency). Access to hand programming: Long press of green and red, default password 1234. (For more information on hand programming please see AlphaPoc 602R)

The programming software is confirmed to run with Win7 and Win10. No driver has to be installed manually, the OS should recognize the hardware.

As the W8008 pager doesn't have a predefined RIC, the RIC will be assigned by the DAPNET support team, normally based on the existing CCS7 / DMR ID system. The POCSAG addresses are limited to 2^21 = 2097152, so IDs greater than the limit have to be shortened. It is not necessary to have a CCS7 / DMR ID to register a pager on DAPNET.

The reception of the rubrics originally designed for Skyper described here is not as convenient on the W8008 as on the Skyper. But there is a workaround: The rubrics are transmitted in both Skyper format and as personal messages. The RIC used for the rubrics for this purpose is 1000 + <RUBRIC Number>. So e.g. rubric number 42 is RIC 1042. You can assign up to 8 POCSAG addresses (RICs), on your W8008 that it listen to. It is convenient to programm your personal RIC and additionally the RICs of up to 7 rubrics. So you can still receive the rubric content on the W8008. A major drawback is, that the W8008 will not distinguish between those and really personal messages, filling up your memory quite fast.

How to know the rubrics and their numbers? Log in to the DAPNET Web Interface on http://hampager.de/#/rubrics and look them up. Be aware the not all numbers from 1 to 99 are present and that several rubrics are assigned to a local limited transmitter group.

Attention: As per 18th of march 2019, maildrop doesn't work, produces „garbage“ on the display.

As the W8008 pager doesn’t support rubrics (like the skyper pager), the data is transmitted via a RIC address, e.g. for weather RIC 1080.

The messages are handled like private messages and so they fill up the memory/display. A possible solution: If you change the RIC type from „private“ to „group“, the latest message will be kept and the other (same) messages will be overwritten.

To change the type of a RIC, you have to use the programming software. Please be aware, that only the RIC addresses 5 to 8 can be changed from „private“ to „group“.

Group messages have also another symbol on the pager display, see below:

You can use this opportunity to change the tone for the RIC to „disable“, if you prefer no sound on receiving rubric messages.

The W8008 has two possibilities for „out of range“:

1. Antenna symbol when „in range“
2. Antenna symbol when „out of range“

Additional the pager can show an alert text „Out of range“ on the display.

It seems as up to now the W8008 cannot get the date/time via OTA (over the air).

• Charging Station
• Programming Station (connected via USB, also charging function)

The W8008 has no built-in usb interface, therefore you need at least one of the stations. The both stations look like the same, but the charging station has only 2 contacts, while the programming station has 8 contacts.

Both stations have a micro usb connector on the side, which can be used for programming or for charging. It is also possible to connect a station to the USB connector of your laptop for charging. The delivered power supply of both stations has 1 ampere. While the pager stays on in the charging station, it switches off in the programming station while charging.

One issue when using the programming station for charging: While in the station, the time stops and will not be restored on removal.

• CAN messages can only be set for RIC 1-4 (freezing on 5-8)
• No group/drop-messages possible, only „jam“ on the display

• Telegramm-Gruppe (deutschsprachig): https://t.me/joinchat/AF13KRBOP9aGIHOCuWq0eQ
• http://www.wex.com.hk/products-detail.php?pid=39
• https://www.alphapoc-europe.de/Alphapoc-Meldeempfaenger-606R
• German: Programmierung: http://pager.dstar.at/userfiles/downloads/Anleitung8008.pdf
• German: Anleitung Pager: http://pager.dstar.at/userfiles/downloads/HandhabungW8008.pdf
• Muster-Config (Achtung: OE-Frequenz 438,025!): http://pager.dstar.at/Musterdatei438025.sav

Photos by DL1ITU, OE7BSH