tcp2525

Looks like Apple is at it again, trying to lock their users into the ecosystem.

Nice find and good info, but it's always been this way and always will be. Only thing that will really get the FCC moving is if one of us lowly individual upsets the apple cart of one of the big license holders the FCC might get involved.

Holy crap! I just increased my rank to "Experienced". Does this mean that I can now use my GMRS radios?

Yawn.

Nothing wrong with a good old fashioned pissing contest. You would not be the first to get a good spanking. It's all fun.

Exactly! Now you got it since there should be no argument or drama involved, just kill it. Your repeater and your responsibility. Good thing is you were kind enough to put it on GMRS and open it to the public, so that means I'll be using it till you kill it. See how easy life is when we set our ground rules. And it only took a couple sentences.

This is why I always said, if Yaesu would reverse engineer a Baofeng they would finally be able to build a real radio.

Exactly, and there's no sense in arguing this point on the internet with people that have the sole purpose of arguing with you to burn time because they are bored. Bottom line, if I need to use a repeater I will.

Though overpriced at $149, the IC-T10 is classified as a disposable radio same as the Baofeng. You should be glad you didn't buy Kenwood or Icom's overpriced flagship models. Now that is something to complain about.

Gotta agree! It's really refreshing to finally see someone actually designing and building something in this forum. Keep up the good work..

Agree and I know, but it's been delivering good performance for years. I'll keep running it until it goes super critical and melts down.

I forgot to add that I did the 220 MHz mod using AT Options and it works great, though it's only a fraction of a watt. It gets me into local repeaters just fine.

Thanks. Steve got me squared away.

Thanks, I was just reading the PDF and skipped over it for some dumb reason. Anyway, I was reading some of the "issues" he was referencing such as "Out of Band" error and the asinine solutions to fix it. All one has to due is save the code plug prior to changing the band settings, then make the changes and read the new blank code plug from the radio, then import from the old code plug. All of which is a less than 5-minute job. I will review the other "issue" to determine if they are genuine or pilot error.

If you wouldn't mind please post a link to this site as I'm curious. I know a lot of these Chinese manufacturers will just send you a new radio and tell you to toss it in the trash instead of shipping it back. I only have a sample of two and both are working flawlessly. So, if it is a wide spread issue with the 878s I will stand corrected, but I haven't seen any issues with mine or the people that I know using them.

Thanks for posting the PDFs. While I agree that the Kenwood is showing better specs, I don't think anyone using it in the real world would even notice the difference in a double-blind test. As for price point, the Kenwood is much more expensive than the 878, which makes it more attractive for budget minded users that want great performance. Also, keep in mind that most people that buy Chinese radios realize they are buying disposable radios. I have two 878s and never experienced any of the issues you describe. My 878s are bought for rough use and abuse, so I don't care if one craps out. While I like Kenwood, I'm not going to put it through what I do the 878s, it's not economical. Bottom line, the 878s are really great radios.

Sounds like an antenna issue to me. Just remember, there's absolutely no difference between a Chinese and Japanese watt. I'll even go one step further and throw in an American watt if one really exists. As said early, I love Kenwoods, but they can't hold up to the abuse and deliver the performance an 878 can.

Time to go back to basics and use crystal controlled HTs like we had back in the 70s. Just an ON/OFF switch and a channel select knob. Who in their right mind would want more than two channels?

Why? People aren't gonna read it as it is easier to blame someone or something else for their failures instead of admitting to themselves they screwed up. It's only basic human nature.

I've never bricked ANY radio on a firmware update. Either it was caused by catastrophic pilot error or one is using the wrong or improperly configured computer. This is why I can never stress enough that it is totally and utterly foolish and breaks every terrestrial and celestial boundary of human stupidity to NOT do ALL your radio programming using a VM on a quality computer. But, statistically, most of these issues are the results of pilot error.

Yep, and the N-connector avoids the primary source of the miss match, which is why always choosing the wrong connector for the job is a disaster. Just look at the mechanical construction of the N-connector and it is self-explanatory why it's the only choice for UHF frequencies. Sadly, the radio manufacturer's do their customers a great disservice by installing the dreaded SO239 connector. And frankly, even the N-connector is still a compromise as we should all be using DIN-connectors for GMRS.

I do partially agree with you that Anytone's software sucks, but it is much better and easier to use than other Chinese branded software. And no, I am not a CHIRP fan. I'm not sure why you wouldn't use your 878s once programmed? Great radio with lots of features. There's always RT System's offering, but that would cost $25. As for the satellite mode, it was an afterthought and the radio really wasn't designed for it when it was conceived. I did play with it a bit and it did work, but I tired of it as it's just another useless feature that satisfied my curiosity. The only thing I found comical with the satellite mode was the misspelling. The great thing about their software is it has an import/export feature, which Yaesu's OEM software doesn't. Which sucks for a premium priced radio. I've quickly built massive code plugs with the Anytone software and Excel. I never had any issues with their firmware either. I've owned many amateur and commercial HTs from the big three manufacturers since the late 80s and they have been great with the few occasional annoyances and/or failures, but most were from abuse. Our recent batch of HTs, namely amateur, from the big three have been an overpriced disappointment. From my personal experience, the Yaesu FT2 onward was a disaster with the poor underwhelming receive audio. While the FT5 is slightly better, it still disappoints, especially for its price point. Kenwood's TH-D75 is plagued with extremely poor battery life. For $500+ radios this is unacceptable. BTW, I am strictly a Kenwood fanboy and my first HT was the TH-25, which I still have. It looks like it went through the Vietnam war. I abused the crap out of it and the only weak link was the BNC connector, which was easily broken off. I replaced it four times. I might repack the Nicad battery pack. Sadly Kenwood abandoned the amateur radio market, but thankfully we still have the commercial division. I won't go into my bitter and painful experience with the Yaesu garbage I have had over the years. I always said, if Yaesu would reverse engineer a Baofeng they would have a real radio.

Absolutely! The loss between the two is astronomical. Using the PL259/SO239 combination is like a firefighter using a 1/2" hose to put out a car fire. Might as well use a dummy load on the back of your radio if you use PL259.

As a general rule of thumb, buy the Chinese version over the name brand as you get equal to better performance and you are not paying for the brand name. Perfect example, my Anytone 878 beats out ant HT put out by Kenwood, Icom, and Yaesu. I'll never buy any of their HTs ever again.

I'm done since I just bought fifteen starlight cameras. No more for me, at least this year!