BTech GMRS 20V2 Output Reading

[WRDJ205]

New radio, new questions.  I’ve set up a new BTech radio in my truck to use as mobile comm.  Today I wanted to see what kind of output I would get on a larger base antenna.  I connected it to the Surcomm with the appropriate adapter.  

At first, I tried it on channel 16 and it was registering close to 19 W.  Then I went to channel 23 to see how frequency would affect output.  It briefly showed the output still approximately 19W.  But then it went blank. There was no reading.  When I went back to 16, no measurements.  

I then hooked the meter to an HT that I had and it seemed to work fine.  Went back to the mobile and I could not get the meter to read the output or SWR from the mobile unit.

I do want to say that the BTech was extremely hot (Close to 200°F) but I did check it with the truck running, with the truck off and with radio connected to a power bank with no readings.  I changed the adapter cord as well.  

I took the mobile unit out, put a fan on it to try and cool it to see if that made a difference and it did not.  I am able to communicate with an HT on channel 16, so I know it is outputting something, but it does not read on the meter.  

Any thoughts on if it’s the meter, the radio, or something else?  
 

 

 

[nokones]

I would say that the radio took a dump. The radio should not be 200 degrees unless you kept it keyed for an extremely long time.

[OffRoaderX]

2 minutes ago, nokones said:

The radio should not be 200 degrees unless you kept it keyed for an extremely long time.

This ^ 

[amaff]

With the experience I had with one of those (worked for a few days then just wouldn't receive *anything*...worst radio I've ever owned.) I'm going to go out on a limb and say "it's probably the radio."

Those things suck, unfortunately, because it's a cool concept, with everything in the handset including a useful screen.

[WRDJ205]

31 minutes ago, nokones said:

I would say that the radio took a dump. The radio should not be 200 degrees unless you kept it keyed for an extremely long time.

<Sigh>  it wasn’t even turned on.  It was plugged into the cig lighter though.  Noticed this last week when the truck was outside in the sun too.  Thought it might be ambient heat that it couldn’t dissipate (but it wa off then too).  
 

Would you expect it to still transmit?  

[OffRoaderX]

2 minutes ago, WRDJ205 said:

Would you expect it to still transmit?  

The radio does have a thermal-shutdown.. so if gets too hot for any reason, it will throttle-back and then stop transmitting all-together..

Wait for it to get cold tonight and then try it again.. if still no joy, send it back to the guy you got it from and tell him to send you one that works.

[WRDJ205]

1 minute ago, OffRoaderX said:

if still no joy, send it back to the guy you got it from and tell him to send you one that works.

Hopefully, Jeff Bezos is back from Venice.  

[amaff]

37 minutes ago, WRDJ205 said:

it wasn’t even turned on.  It was plugged into the cig lighter though.  

That seems really un-good. Even sitting in a hot car, in the sun, it shouldn't be hitting close to the boiling point of water.

[jwilkers]

Mine has been working great over 2 years.

I'd write btech for an exchange if it doesn't work after a cool down.

Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk

[SteveShannon]

13 hours ago, WRDJ205 said:

<Sigh>  it wasn’t even turned on.  It was plugged into the cig lighter though.  Noticed this last week when the truck was outside in the sun too.  Thought it might be ambient heat that it couldn’t dissipate (but it wa off then too).  
 

Would you expect it to still transmit?  

How do you know the temperature of the unit was nearly 200°?  If the unit was truly off it should never get that hot unless the inside of your cab was nearly 200°. Was the unit itself in the direct sun? If something inside the radio case is generating that much heat even when off, then there’s a problem. What’s the electrical drain when powered off? 
It sounds like you should send it in for replacement or a refund.

[WRTC928]

I have the ham version of this radio. It's pretty much the archetype of a "cheap Chinese radio", and as such, quality control is very spotty. I burned out the finals on the first one by keying up for a few seconds on an antenna with a high SWR. A few seconds is all it took. However, before that happened, I used it with a Nagoya UT-72 mag mount antenna on a trip from central Oklahoma to western Missouri and had no difficulty communicating with multiple repeaters along the way. While it worked, I was perfectly satisfied with its performance and I really like the form factor and the tiny size, so I bought another one. I've been careful to check SWR on any antenna before I connect the radio and I've had no problems. It works fine on GMRS simplex and repeaters and on ham repeaters. All this is to say that it's likely you just got a lemon due to poor QC. I recommend you send it back for a refund. Whether you replace it with the same radio is up to you. You might get another one that sucks, or you might get one that works just fine. 

I have read an anecdotal report of the radio getting really hot while plugged in even though it wasn't turned one and another report of it getting "hot enough to scorch the desk" with heavy use, but I haven't experienced any issues with excessive heat. 

I really like having all the controls in the handset. I wish one of the top-tier or even mid-tier manufacturers would make one like that. There are several with detachable head units, which is better than a conventional radio, but it's not nearly as convenient as having everything in the handset. The CB radio in my truck also has everything in the handset, and it's quite convenient. It might be difficult to cram all the functionality of some of the multi-band ham radios into the handset alone, but for a GMRS or straightforward 2m/70cm unit, there's no reason it couldn't be done with a bit more quality at a reasonable price.

[WSAA635]

I've had this same radio in my truck here in Arizona for well over a year and it's still working fine. I monitor the local DPS channels while I'm driving to keep track on what's happening on the roads. 

It gets really hot inside my truck in the summer here but(knock on wood)the radio keeps working. I really like the controls on the handset as well, I just wish it had more power. My test showed around 16 Watts, not the claimed 20 Watts but most radios I've tested never lived up to the claimed wattage.

[WRDJ205]

1 hour ago, SteveShannon said:

How do you know the temperature of the unit was nearly 200°?  If the unit was truly off it should never get that hot unless the inside of your cab was nearly 200°. Was the unit itself in the direct sun? If something inside the radio case is generating that much heat even when off, then there’s a problem. What’s the electrical drain when powered off? 
It sounds like you should send it in for replacement or a refund.

Used an IR gun after it nearly burned my hands to confirm the actual temp.  I had to wear gloves to handle it.  I agree that it should not have been that hot but it was turned off but still plugged in.  I was curious about the drain as well, but I did not notice any significan draw down on the volt meter on my truck.  

I did box it up and will exchange it today for another one.  When it did work, I was very pleased with it.  I was able to hit my preferred repeater in BR from my office parking lot about 25 miles away.  The small size was convenient.  I wasn't sure how I would like all the controls being on the mic but I eventually found that to be one of the biggest selling points for me.  

[WRDJ205]

31 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

I've been careful to check SWR on any antenna before I connect the radio and I've had no problems. It works fine on GMRS simplex and repeaters and on ham repeaters. All this is to say that it's likely you just got a lemon due to poor QC. I recommend you send it back for a refund. Whether you replace it with the same radio is up to you. You might get another one that sucks, or you might get one that works just fine. 

I had it connected to the Midland MXTA25 Ghost and it had an SWR of about 1.05 before the radio crashed.  I'm going to get another one and give it one more try.  The form factor and convenience is worth the effort.  

[WRDJ205]

22 minutes ago, WSAA635 said:

It gets really hot inside my truck in the summer here but(knock on wood)the radio keeps working.

Have you noticed if the radio is getting to hot to hold (i.e. >130F)?

[SteveShannon]

49 minutes ago, WRDJ205 said:

Used an IR gun after it nearly burned my hands to confirm the actual temp.  I had to wear gloves to handle it.  I agree that it should not have been that hot but it was turned off but still plugged in.  I was curious about the drain as well, but I did not notice any significan draw down on the volt meter on my truck. 

I did box it up and will exchange it today for another one.  When it did work, I was very pleased with it.  I was able to hit my preferred repeater in BR from my office parking lot about 25 miles away.  The small size was convenient.  I wasn't sure how I would like all the controls being on the mic but I eventually found that to be one of the biggest selling points for me.  

Definitely a problem for it to be that hot.  I wouldn’t expect the voltmeter to reflect a significant voltage drop unless your battery were nearly dead. You’d have to view the current on an ammeter to see how much the radio was drawing. Let us know how the replacement works.

[WRUE951]

getting that hot, i would suspect something gone wrong with the battery..  i.e. a short ..   

[amaff]

25 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

getting that hot, i would suspect something gone wrong with the battery..  i.e. a short ..   

You mean the car battery? The GMRS20V2 is a mobile radio.