Worst radio you own?

[LegitByDefault]

Motorola RMU2040

It's lightweight and durable, but it lacks a charging base and is on the commercial band.

I found it today in a parking lot... It's the most expensive free radio I own, and is also useless to me.

[LeoG]

[LegitByDefault]

Hmm.. programming it might be difficult? I hear Motorola is quite stingy with their software.

Otherwise I would buy a charger and programming cable for it.

[AdmiralCochrane]

I've been putting off responding to this thread since it started.  By far the worst radio I own is half of a TYT TH-9800.  For what it is and what I paid for it ($50) it's not really that bad.

[WRYZ926]

21 minutes ago, AdmiralCochrane said:

I've been putting off responding to this thread since it started.  By far the worst radio I own is half of a TYT TH-9800.  For what it is and what I paid for it ($50) it's not really that bad.

I have heard a lot of complaints about the TH-9800 from people that own them and online. I have two TYT TH-7800 radios and they have been good for me. One is in my F150 and the other is used for portable Winlink use.

There is a member of my club that either has the worse luck or is rough on equipment. He can't keep any of the Baofeng HT's or mobile radios running without them messing up on him.

I am totally unimpressed with the Icom IC-T10 I have. It is as susceptible to interference and front end overload as the Baofeng UV-5R/GT-5R radios I have. I would be ashamed to put my name on the IC-T10 if I was Icom.

[WRHS218]

2 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

I am totally unimpressed with the Icom IC-T10 I have.

BLASPHEMY!!! You have gone and done it now!

[WRYZ926]

49 minutes ago, WRHS218 said:

BLASPHEMY!!! You have gone and done it now!

Sometimes the truth hurts. 

 

Whenever someone asks about the IC-T10 my answer is always the same - Don't waste your money.

[WRTC928]

5 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

I have heard a lot of complaints about the TH-9800 from people that own them and online. I have two TYT TH-7800 radios and they have been good for me. One is in my F150 and the other is used for portable Winlink use.

I have one in the truck and one in the house and I've had no problems whatsoever with them. 

[WRYZ926]

18 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

I have one in the truck and one in the house and I've had no problems whatsoever with them. 

Which one do you have, the TH-9800 or TH-7800?

[WRTC928]

1 hour ago, WRYZ926 said:

Which one do you have, the TH-9800 or TH-7800?

Th-9800D

[WRYZ926]

@WRTC928 I hope that you do not have any issues down the road with your radios. Do a search on TYT TH-9800 issues and quite a few will pop up.

[WRTC928]

51 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

@WRTC928 I hope that you do not have any issues down the road with your radios. Do a search on TYT TH-9800 issues and quite a few will pop up.

I hope so too, but I'm not going to assume I'll have problems until I actually see evidence of it.

[AdmiralCochrane]

I didn't mean to say all 9800's are bad.  My good  9800 runs perfectly and is one of my daily users.  I just used it about an hour ago.

 

It's just that my worst radio is the half 9800.   9800/2

[WRTC928]

On 12/26/2025 at 6:54 PM, AdmiralCochrane said:

I didn't mean to say all 9800's are bad.  My good  9800 runs perfectly and is one of my daily users.  I just used it about an hour ago.

 

It's just that my worst radio is the half 9800.   9800/2

I've certainly read enough negative reports about the 9800. My guess is that it's a quality control issue -- one is a diamond, the next one is a turd. Maybe it depends upon who the foreman is that day or some such factor.

[AdmiralCochrane]

13 hours ago, WRTC928 said:

I've certainly read enough negative reports about the 9800. My guess is that it's a quality control issue -- one is a diamond, the next one is a turd. Maybe it depends upon who the foreman is that day or some such factor.

I have not heard of any new model  9800 D Pro's having the problem that the early ones did.  Just beware of buying an older one.

[WRYZ926]

It's the same with the TYT -TH-9000 mono band radios. QC seems to be hit or miss. The TH-7800 and TH-8600 seem to have better QC control as you don't hear/read those having issues like the TH-9000 and TH-9800. 

I've been running my two TH-7800's and my TH-8600 for a couple of years now without any issues.

Every brand will have their good and bad products. The Icom IC-t10 is a prime example as it is not a good radio while the other current Icom hand held radios are better quality.