TD-H3 transmitting but not showing up on SWR meter

[hxpx]

Hello! I'm new to mobile radios so I want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong before I send my radio in.

I've got four TIDRadio H3s, two GMRS units and two ham units that were unlocked and changed to GMRS mode. I've been trying to hit a local repeater unsuccessfully so I picked up a Surecom SW33 to make sure my radios/antennas are actually working correctly. Three of the four are showing a VSWR around 1.4 and an output wattage around 5W with the same antenna so I think I'm just too far out from the repeater to hit it.

The problem is the fourth radio (one of the ham units) doesn't show anything on the SW33 when transmitting. Other radios can hear it transmit short range - I've tested it on simplex channels across the house and through some walls but nothing long distance - but the SW33 is acting like it's not doing anything.

(Edit: Should note I also tried it with the 50 ohm dummy load that came with the meter and still got no output reading.)

Are there other things I can check or change in my test setup or was this radio DOA and needs to be replaced?

 

(Side question: regarding forum etiquette, should I have piggybacked off GrouserPad's similar thread for this or was starting a new thread appropriate?)

Edited May 9 by hxpx
Added test note

[GreggInFL]

1 hour ago, WSIA835 said:

So TIDRadio said they're sending me a new one.  They also said this in the email:

"Tip: When charging, please separate the battery from the walkie-talkie and charge the battery alone. This can provide the best protection for both the battery and the device."

Is this true in general?

[SteveShannon]

14 minutes ago, GreggInFL said:

Is this true in general?

No, not for most radios. His combination of previous batteries resulted in charging voltages after charge completion, that were too high for the radio.

[LeoG]

On 5/9/2025 at 10:00 AM, hxpx said:

Hello! I'm new to mobile radios so I want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong before I send my radio in.

I've got four TIDRadio H3s, two GMRS units and two ham units that were unlocked and changed to GMRS mode. I've been trying to hit a local repeater unsuccessfully so I picked up a Surecom SW33 to make sure my radios/antennas are actually working correctly. Three of the four are showing a VSWR around 1.4 and an output wattage around 5W with the same antenna so I think I'm just too far out from the repeater to hit it.

The problem is the fourth radio (one of the ham units) doesn't show anything on the SW33 when transmitting. Other radios can hear it transmit short range - I've tested it on simplex channels across the house and through some walls but nothing long distance - but the SW33 is acting like it's not doing anything.

(Edit: Should note I also tried it with the 50 ohm dummy load that came with the meter and still got no output reading.)

Are there other things I can check or change in my test setup or was this radio DOA and needs to be replaced?

 

(Side question: regarding forum etiquette, should I have piggybacked off GrouserPad's similar thread for this or was starting a new thread appropriate?)

Good chance it's dead, email them and they'll send out a new one for you.  QC seems to be nearly non existent with them.  Good radios are good and usually stay that way, bad radios usually come in dead and there's no reviving them.  I have 2 dead ones that eventually I'll pull apart to see if it's just a bad solder joint or something simple.  They do transmit, just not that far so the local oscillator is working.