Retevis RT29 for Family

[WRUV810]

Hello everyone. Been a Ham General for a while, getting started in GMRS. I have my own transceivers that fulfill my radio dork wants and needs, but I’ve been looking at grabbing a Retevis RT29 for the kids to use with me. 
 

Does anyone have any experience with these or perhaps could send me in a better direction? I’m looking for:

-No front screen/display or buttons

-Channel knob

-Rugged build

-IP67 Rating

-I don’t want any fancy features, mostly rugged. Camping, kayaking, usage on an open (no cab) tractor, etc…

[KAF6045]

https://www.walkie-talkie-guide.com/retevis-rt29-review/

Quote

Since these radios are not FRS, GMRS, or MURS radios, you will need a tech class ham license or a commercial license to operate these two-way radios. For more information regarding this, you can click here.

Retevis does not state the power output of the unit. The manual seems to emphasize use as a 2m/70cm Amateur radio. Having a replaceable antenna means it would never qualify for FRS usage. You might be able to program it for GMRS simplex frequencies (NOT the 467MHz interstitials, as I'm quite certain this "high power" radio does not have a 0.5W ERP mode -- maybe even repeater, but I'd suggest not if you are expecting children to use it). They would have to learn to use you call sign to ID (under the "immediate family" clause in the regulations).

The RB38V MURS radio may be suitable -- no license needed (so no ID needed). It does have a display but that blanks out with inactivity. Only five channels, so less searching if someone accidentally toggles to a different channel. 2W/0.5W power levels. Pretty much everything has to be programmed from a computer.

For MURS, channels 1-3 are only NFM; 4&5 are wide FM but can be set to NFM if desired. The screen shot is how I set up the ones I provided my brother and nieces (factory volume setting is 8, I set the side keys for power toggle and CTCSS setting [I think, didn't really test it] -- the key definition is for long-press, the default short press equates as volume up/down)

No knobs or other protrusions -- just an up/down channel toggle, power button, PTT/key1/key2

[JeepCrawler98]

21 hours ago, WRUV810 said:

Hello everyone. Been a Ham General for a while, getting started in GMRS. I have my own transceivers that fulfill my radio dork wants and needs, but I’ve been looking at grabbing a Retevis RT29 for the kids to use with me. 
 

Does anyone have any experience with these or perhaps could send me in a better direction? I’m looking for:

-No front screen/display or buttons

-Channel knob

-Rugged build

-IP67 Rating

-I don’t want any fancy features, mostly rugged. Camping, kayaking, usage on an open (no cab) tractor, etc…

I have a set; they work well for the price range and the UHF version does have an FCC ID with Part 95 approval for GMRS somehow. Their selectivity is bad but it’s not really a problem if you’re not near strong RF sources; sensitivity in a clean environment is good - about .17uV for 20dB quieting on the bench (probably due to a lack of front end filtering). The audio on them is clear and quite loud. They’ve held up well to drops, including in the pool.

The feature set on them is very basic, but they do what they’re told - very easy to use, and plenty rugged for most; they feel very solid, on par with most commercial grade radios. Overall I like them for what they are but I still stick to the commercial gear for performance reasons. I had originally gotten these for family use as well in the woods, but the XYL and kids thought they were too big and heavy, and wound up going with a set of Kenwood TK3140’s - personally I don’t mind a full body radio, but these weren’t for me to use.

The battery life on them is amazing, almost 7 days at 24hrs/day standby and casual transmit use.

Edited October 31, 2022 by JeepCrawler98