WSHT525

1) it is still beta and buggy. That is to be expected being a beta product and I'll give them credit (big credit) for fast turnaround on updates, though each update breaks something else. 35 years in IT, I also expect that. Sometimes menu button works, other times it thinks it is the UP button. 2) Receive audio is weak. 3) Tx power is on par with other CCRs for GMRS, not quite what they state in the real world, but none of them do. This is a ham radio as well, 220 Tx is 0.1w. One tenth of a watt. 4) Options that could easily go on one of the PTTs are not available to map to it, you have to go into the menus. 5) Bluetooth ok with their app, but nothing else. Big miss, though apparently they are working on a BT speaker\mic for it. BT disconnects randomly. 6) Belt clip attached to the battery, not the case and there's no other external screws so no easy option for a counterpoise. 7) Ejecting the battery feels like it will break something every time, inserting again is like inserting a USB cable. Try. Fail. Try. Fail. Try again a third time the same exact way and it will click in. It is affordable and that carries a lot of weight, especially for the casual user or someone that just wants a small radio to talk to their buddies on the trail. As a RADIO radio, it isn't awesome. It isn't bad like a blister pack from Walmart with Spiderman on it, but up against similarly priced radios, it is at best, average once they get the bugs worked out. The H3 I've heard good things about (I don't own one), the Plus is not the same radio.

Fix was released today. It works. Still not an awesome radio but at least it isn't a paperweight.

It is a different anima, even Chirp treats it as one. Very much like the difference between the Baofeng 5RH vs 5RH Pro vs 5RH Pro Max. They look almost identical but they are not. the Pro is not an upgraded version of the 5RH, that is the Pro Max. The Pro has different hardware, this is apparent to me with the Pro having an ASCII handshake vs Binary for almost all their other models.

All I know - I only have the H3 Plus (beta) - is this is for the FW released today for that specific model, FW 1.19.

Correct. Usually. That is not the case with this update. After failing, you cannot get into DFU mode (PTT+1+Power). The keypad lights up and nothing happens. The expected behavior would include the two LEDs on the top turning green. No joy. 100% of the 21 people I know (there's an FB group for this beta radio) have the identical result. It fails with a checksum error about 75% in. It attempts a repair 4 times, then it gives a fatal error. And fatal is accurate at this time.

Firmware 1.19 is bricking radios. So far 100% of people applying the new FW have a dead unit. If you have one, do NOT do the FW to 1.19. TID is aware of the issue. No resolution has been communicated yet.

Tram 1711 on my Outback. SWR is 1.02 in the middle of the VHF band, no higher than 1.22 at either edge. A bit higher (1.3-1.4) in the UHV range but still acceptable. Rx and Tx range is acceptable considering vertical location and length of antenna (40-50 miles with 5-9 signal reports at 40w VHF and 25W UHF.

Here you go (yes, that is a man’s hand in my picture but I’m a small man)

That photo is inaccurate, that or the hand belongs to an 8yo. I am a small person (5'2", 135lbs). It is definitely not that big. In the pic it looks bigger than a UV5R (I have two of those) and this is significantly smaller than that. Here is mine, hopefully this gives a decent size reference. The speaker mic is a mini, just a fraction over 1" wide. I'll take a pic with it in my hand (or with something that will give good size reference) tomorrow if that helps.

I can see that. I use Car Play to avoid that but not everyone has it or wants to pair their phone to their car (my wife is one of them).

You can pair with a speaker and it works, but anything with a mic no joy unless it is your phone. I still cannot see the benefit of answering my phone on my radio since if the radio is in range of my phone, I can just use the phone? It is dumb. Seems to me that they could make this a full-functioning TNC and corner the cheap market, at least on the ham side where you can do digital modes. Agreed on Chirp, not only is it a much better application and interface, I've found that some of the settings won't stick if I use ODMaster (such as channel display and dual watch) but will if I use Chirp. Since all my radios except one (5RH Pro GPS) are compatible with Chirp, I have basically one file that I can use for all my ham radios and one for GMRS radios. Honestly, this radio wasn't worth buying in my case as far as being a good addition to my collection, I have several others that work as well if not better that don't have the bugs and quirks this one does. It is small and light, I'll give it that, but that can be a con as well as a pro. At least if it does an Alice Cooper and goes under my wheels, I won't shed a tear. Then again, that fits for most of my radios as they were purchased with that possibility in mind .

Wild. I got my GMRS license for local comms when out and about off road and camping (formerly had ZJ\YJ, AMC Eagle, and Ram, now in the Subie ranks along with a lifted & modified '79 Bus) where the people I'd occasionally go out with had no desire to get their Technician ticket, but more importantly, avoid the hams rag chewing on simplex when I'm trying to find out if i need to cut left or right on the trail to avoid dragging on a rock. Want to talk to people in your area while away on vacation just for the sake of talking to them?? Your vacations must suck. If it is something important, a phone is vastly more timely. If low priority, that's what email is for. If it just to socialize, then why are you on vacation? Then again, I've got my General ticket and I refuse to pay the cost of entry to do HF and have zero desire to collect contacts like Pokemon. 34 years in IT has given me my fill of talking to strangers around the world yet is that side of me that enjoys the technical challenges of trying different modes and seeing what I can do for as little $ as possible. The name of the horse is "Bob." As in Microsoft Bob. A solution to a non-problem.

I've had mine for a few weeks. I don't have the standard H3 so I cannot make comparisons. Understand that the H3 Plus is a beta radio that has had 4 firmware updates since I've gotten mine. It still has a few issues but those primarily are on the ham side of things and shouldn't be an issue for GMRS. Pros: it is small and light. Charges pretty quick. Battery life seems decent considering the size. Speaker is loud enough to be heard with the windows down while driving 60, though if you have loud exhaust, maybe not. Receive quality is good. Signal reports have been decent. Cons: The bluetooth PTT only works with the ODMaster app. If you want to use bluetooth with a speaker mic, you are still going to have to use a dongle. I suspect this is because any BT device you pair to it, it sets the radio as "Emitter" and if you change that to "Receiver" it drops the connection. Maybe a later FW release will fix this but currently, no joy. If you want to program with software you are stuck with either the ODMaster app, website, or a really clunky CPS. The rest of the cons are on the ham side.