Retevis RT98

[PartsMan]

It is a shame that they don't offer this little radio for GMRS.

Probably the worst Ham mobile available. SIngle band VHF or UHV must be chosen when ordering.

No keypad and hard to program from the radio buttons.

Very simple software if you just wanted to use a few specific frequencies though.

I bet the UHF version would work great if someone were to set it up on GMRS channels.

$67 plus freight from Retevis or $79 freight included from that giant website that sells everything.

 

[WyoJoe]

And it comes pre-configured for "Fun" - just press a button!

It could work for GMRS, but for just a little more money, you could get their GMRS offering, the RA25.

It does have a keypad on the mic, and a pretty nice color display. I think it's about 3/8 of an inch taller than the RT-98, but otherwise is similarly sized (perhaps it's a half inch wider, too). It also comes configured and type-accepted for GMRS. It's basically a Radioddity DB20G / Anytone AT-779 that has been branded for Retevis.

[PartsMan]

I don't like a keypad on the mic. That's actually what made me look at it first.

Preconfigured always seems to come with limitations. With this one I can program as many different versions of the same frequency as I want. For instance I tried to program some of the Midland "channels" from my GXT1000s into my GM-30 and could not.

Type accepted would be great though. 

It can't compete with the nicer full featured radios but compare it to a MXT115 for half the money.

[MichaelLAX]

As @WyoJoesuggests: get the Ra-25 and ignore the buttons on the Mic; solves all your other problems.

[wayoverthere]

5 hours ago, PartsMan said:

I don't like a keypad on the mic. That's actually what made me look at it first.

Preconfigured always seems to come with limitations. With this one I can program as many different versions of the same frequency as I want. For instance I tried to program some of the Midland "channels" from my GXT1000s into my GM-30 and could not.

Type accepted would be great though. 

It can't compete with the nicer full featured radios but compare it to a MXT115 for half the money.

@PartsMandepending which mode you set it to, restrictions are unlikely to be an issue with the retevis/radioddity/anytone triplets.

(I have 2 of the anytone version, one opened up for ham use in the beater car, and a second for gmrs alongside an icom in the truck.)

[PartsMan]

3 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

As @WyoJoesuggests: get the Ra-25 and ignore the buttons on the Mic; solves all your other problems.

I always feel like I am going to push a button I don't want to. 

[MichaelLAX]

It’s an unfounded fear: the mic is cupped in your hand and your thumb is on the normal push to talk button. 

You do not push any of the buttons on the face of the microphone unless you intend to do so!

And even if you do push one inadvertently, mostly nothing happens to interfere with your reception or transmission, as many functions require a two button push.

[n4gix]

Check to see if the mic has a "Lock" button. If so, turn it on. Problem solved! 

[wayoverthere]

2 hours ago, n4gix said:

Check to see if the mic has a "Lock" button. If so, turn it on. Problem solved! 

No lock button, but the buttons do require a determined press. There's enough of a lip around them that accidental button presses aren't too likely.

[PartsMan]

I have played with this radio for two weeks now.

It works. I was able to talk to a friend 10 miles down the road with a DB-20.

I can't recommend it though. I get terrible interference driving through towns.

It doesn't seem to matter what frequency I monitor. Adjusting squelch doesn't help.

It sounds like somebody welding in my truck.

[OffRoaderX]

2 hours ago, PartsMan said:

..I get terrible interference driving through towns....It doesn't seem to matter what frequency I monitor. Adjusting squelch doesn't help...It sounds like somebody welding in my truck.

Assuming that is actual outside radio-interference, its likely that any SOC radio would get that same interference.. This is where a superheterodyne radio starts to be worth the extra money.  

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, PartsMan said:

I have played with this radio for two weeks now.

It works. I was able to talk to a friend 10 miles down the road with a DB-20.

I can't recommend it though. I get terrible interference driving through towns.

It doesn't seem to matter what frequency I monitor. Adjusting squelch doesn't help.

It sounds like somebody welding in my truck.

That may simply be a loose power connection somewhere in your truck that’s causing interference. 

[PartsMan]

I was going to try it in another pickup this morning but it had a dead battery.

I don't have the same problem with my GM-30 hand held and the same antenna.

[Citizen]

I have two of the Anytone radios mentioned (the AT-779uv), they don't have a lock on the mic.  Inevitably, I hit a button I don't want to, and that's while driving or stationary sitting at my desk in my shack.  Usually it's the up/down buttons on the top, which changes the freq at the most critical time when I just pickup the mic to talk.  Hate that.  I also get the welding sound in my vehicle when in motion. When stopped, it does ok.  My HTs don't have this problem.  Other than those two things, the Retevis/Radioddity/Anytone radios seem to be very good for the price for a 25w radio.

Back on topic, as the OP posted about the RT98.  This seems to be the base radio from which the Midland MXT115 is taken from.  I don't have the RT98, but I do have two of the MXT115's, and I get good performance out of them.  Main drawback of the MXT115 is it can't be programmed away from GMRS (that I know of), in case you wanted to use it for Ham.  Main drawback of the RT98 is that the mic does not appear to be detachable.  On both, I like that there are no buttons on the face of the mic.

To me, the attractiveness of both these radios is the size, while still putting out 15w.  You'll notice they are both smaller than (almost) any other GMRS or Ham radio on the market (except the MXT105, which is a bit smaller, but is GMRS only and is not repeater capable).  I have come to highly appreciate the smaller sizes, in both my shack and especially in vehicles.

...

 

 

[MichaelLAX]

On 3/23/2022 at 6:20 AM, PartsMan said:

I have played with this radio for two weeks now.

It works. I was able to talk to a friend 10 miles down the road with a DB-20.

I can't recommend it though. I get terrible interference driving through towns.

It doesn't seem to matter what frequency I monitor. Adjusting squelch doesn't help.

It sounds like somebody welding in my truck.

17 hours ago, Citizen said:

I have two of the Anytone radios mentioned (the AT-779uv)... I also get the welding sound in my vehicle when in motion. When stopped, it does ok.  My HTs don't have this problem.  Other than those two things, the Retevis/Radioddity/Anytone radios seem to be very good for the price for a 25w radio.

WoW: I have never heard of this problem with the DB20-G and now I have heard about it twice!

I never hear this sound driving all over Los Angeles and Southern California with my Anytone AT-779UV.

[wayoverthere]

No interference problems with either of mine, even with the antennas on my truck around a foot apart, and both radios fed from those cupholder 12v splitters (with usbs) via the 12v receptacles.

That the handhelds aren't affected seems to point a little more toward the loose connection possibility.

[PartsMan]

I tried it in the wife's honda and still had the same noises around Enid, OK.

We took it to Oklahoma City and had a little interference on the way but it worked pretty good in the city.

I am thinking the squelch is just weak on a $70 radio.

[PartsMan]

UPDATE- I am reliably having conversations at ten miles and have communicated at 15. (Flat northwest Oklahoma)

My friend was getting the same type interference as me on his DB25 so we picked a tone to use.

Now we have trouble free coms between our families.

Maybe that's why some of the cheaper radios come with tones set. It covers up weak squelch systems.