D878UV Model 1

This is my Anytone D878UV model 1 in digital monitor mode. I had my Kenwood TK-D340U programmed for this repeater and talk groups. However one evening the Kenwood wouldn't decode any audio. So, I grabbed the D878UV and used the digital monitor to see what was going on. Turns out this was an undocumented talk group on the repeater.

While these radios don't have the best receivers, some remark in analog mode it's not great, they do make nice radios to experiment with DMR if you can get one cheap. I recently got a D878UV model 1 at a local Ham swap with antenna, battery pack and charger base in like new condition for $35. Ordered a cheap soft nylon case, $12, for it on line.

While this radio won't out perform any of the commercial grade DMR radios it has one feature none of them have, the digital monitor mode. If you can get one of these cheap enough this feature is worth it if you use DMR and need to identify undocumented user ID's, time slots, color codes and talk groups that are in use. You can carry the radio in your pocket whereas that's not possible with an SDR dongle plugged into a laptop.