Opinion on BTech GMRS Pro

[WRUC518]

What is your opinion on BTech GMRS Pro hand held radio ?

[OffRoaderX]

Its a nifty little radio, but unless everyone else in your party also has one, most of that nifty'ness doesnt matter.

As for basic use and fars, it's pretty much the same as any other radio.

[WRUU653]

14 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

most of that nifty'ness doesnt matter

As someone (someone) who has enjoyed your fine YouTube Hobo channel, one thing that intrigued me about this radio was the bluetooth ability. I was wondering if you tried it with connectivity (connec-tivity) to a headphone or an automobile, aka hands free?  Seems like this could be useful on the road if it works for that. 

[OffRoaderX]

Bluetooth is actually a good feature that I didnt mention in my post ^ above, but i have not tried to connect it to anything yet.

[WRNC809]

I hope it will continue sending text messages over repeaters.

[Marius1195]

Not digging it atm. I think if their product blows up and most of the cool features are usable I might change from a 3 star to a 5. As of now, I am very meh about it. I should mention it did xmit at 5w as advertised and iirc my swr was around 1.2 with their antennea. Lastly they do not have a CS line. Sending them an email is the only option. This might have a lot to do with my displeasure now that I think about it.

[WRVD220]

Just ordered a 6x2. Over it with the uv-5r. Will use it to monitor, none of the unlock tricks work on it and it's a few years old. Best Repeater near me is Digital so it was time. Do like that it has number keys, without number keys, I think that would get bothersome.

Next is continued research for a DIY repeater to install at my home. 

[MichaelLAX]

33 minutes ago, WRVD220 said:

Over it with the uv-5r.

Pass it on to another family member or friend.

[Lorenzo01]

On 11/1/2022 at 7:53 PM, OffRoaderX said:

Its a nifty little radio, but unless everyone else in your party also has one, most of that nifty'ness doesnt matter.

As for basic use and fars, it's pretty much the same as any other radio.

I bought one too because it was shiny and new, and quickly realized it is a purpose driven radio. It works well, but better if the whole group uses the same one. 

[WRVD220]

It's great for what it is. Missed my HAM test by 2 points, giving it another go on the 17th. Then it will be useful again. 

[OffRoaderX]

43 minutes ago, WRVD220 said:

Missed my HAM test by 2 points, giving it another go on the 17th. Then it will be useful again. 

How will passing the ham test make the GMRS Pro useful?

[WRUW886]

On 11/1/2022 at 6:53 PM, OffRoaderX said:

unless everyone else in your party also has one

So, what you're saying is we should all buy one to ensure its useful?

[WRUA262]

Not a big fan. Was sold on it when I watched the notarubicon review. Bought one sight/review unseen. Got through about 3 minutes of the review and ordered one. IMHO, the radio is just OK as far as RX and TX. It has some nice features (bluetooth, texting, etc) but those (for ME anyway) don't overcome the poor radio performance. I even tried it with a 771G antenna, didn't improve it much at all.

I have also both the Wouxun KG-935G and KG-UV9G Pro. Both of the Wouxun radios transmit and receive clearer than the BTECH. My favorite is the KG-935G.

Your mileage may vary...

[Craws907]

17 minutes ago, WRUA262 said:

 I even tried it with a 771G antenna, didn't improve it much at all.

Isnt the antenna glued on the Btech gmrs pro? 

[OffRoaderX]

1 hour ago, Tyeandjeff1979 said:

Isnt the antenna glued on the Btech gmrs pro? 

Yes, but not very well.

[OffRoaderX]

1 hour ago, WRUA262 said:

the radio is just OK as far as RX and TX

I wonder if you got a dud?  Mine receives virtually the same as my other radios when doing my controlled test(s).

[WRUA262]

21 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

I wonder if you got a dud?  Mine receives virtually the same as my other radios when doing my controlled test(s).

It is possible I got a bad unit. Lots of static both TX and RX compared to the other units. I've done multiple radio checks and those on the other end said the same thing -  better TX on the Wouxun units than the GMRS-Pro. If I can find someone local to me that also has a GMRS-Pro, I'll do a side by side and see what we get.

[Craws907]

1 hour ago, OffRoaderX said:

Yes, but not very well.

Do we have any videos coming up on the topic? Maybe a test or two?

[Mrcippy]

I just received my GMRS Pro yesterday. It seems to be alright, so far. I do like being able to add channels quickly via the app, but do wish there was some way to add/edit them on a computer (even if it was via CHIRP). 

My first of two gripes with it as of right now are that you can’t scan more than the 30 channels in your active group. I have a list of all GMRS channels plus some local businesses+HAM channels I like to scan/listen to, but now I’m being forced to narrow down the list to just a few. Maybe that’s good, maybe not. Right now, I don’t like it. 

Second complaint is that when in scan mode and it detects activity, I *think* it starts scanning again the moment the transmission ends, instead of waiting a few seconds for a reply. That’s causing me to miss out on some activity/replies. 

Maybe I’m wrong and both of these are completely possible. If that’s the case, please let me know. 

[KAF6045]

34 minutes ago, Mrcippy said:

Second complaint is that when in scan mode and it detects activity, I *think* it starts scanning again the moment the transmission ends, instead of waiting a few seconds for a reply. That’s causing me to miss out on some activity/replies. 

Maybe I’m wrong and both of these are completely possible. If that’s the case, please let me know. 

Many scanning systems provide three options: Carrier Operated (resume when carrier drops), Time Operated (resume after n-seconds EVEN IF THERE IS STILL TRAFFIC), and Stop Scan on traffic.

Some radios may have a secondary control for CO -- specifying a pause before resume. You'd have to check the manual/menus for the radio to see if such exists. (Based upon the PDF -- the only option seems to be scan on/off, and from your description, the only mode is CO).

The KG935 offers TO/CO/SE (Stop, they call it SEarch) options, but states that CO will continue as soon as the signal is lost
The AT-D878UV+ (dual band amateur) has TO/CO/SE, but states that CO resumes 2 seconds after signal loss.
BTech GMRS-V2 TO/CO/SE CO "after a factory preset time with no signal it resumes scanning" (TO is "factory preset time out...")
DB20-G (mobile unit) scan modes are 2SP, 5ST, 10ST, 15ST -- SP is the only option for CO mode, 2 seconds after signal drop; ST is TO mode choices.

 

[Mrcippy]

Double post. 

[Mrcippy]

9 minutes ago, KAF6045 said:

Many scanning systems provide three options: Carrier Operated (resume when carrier drops), Time Operated (resume after n-seconds EVEN IF THERE IS STILL TRAFFIC), and Stop Scan on traffic.

Some radios may have a secondary control for CO -- specifying a pause before resume. You'd have to check the manual/menus for the radio to see if such exists. (Based upon the PDF -- the only option seems to be scan on/off, and from your description, the only mode is CO).

The KG935 offers TO/CO/SE (Stop, they call it SEarch) options, but states that CO will continue as soon as the signal is lost
The AT-D878UV+ (dual band amateur) has TO/CO/SE, but states that CO resumes 2 seconds after signal loss.
BTech GMRS-V2 TO/CO/SE CO "after a factory preset time with no signal it resumes scanning" (TO is "factory preset time out...")
DB20-G (mobile unit) scan modes are 2SP, 5ST, 10ST, 15ST -- SP is the only option for CO mode, 2 seconds after signal drop; ST is TO mode choices.

 

Thanks for this info. I appreciate it. 

[WRVG967]

On 11/2/2022 at 7:48 AM, WRUU653 said:

I was wondering if you tried it with connectivity (connec-tivity) to a headphone or an automobile, aka hands free?  Seems like this could be useful on the road if it works for that. 

Works when connected to automobile sound system.  However, when streaming music, such as Pandora, any Rx will take over and pause music, but does not return to music after.

[WQAI363]

BTECH GMRS PRO looks like everything one person would want in a radio. The ability to monitor other services and to stay in touch with friends' family or coworkers.

[back4more70]

On 11/9/2022 at 3:39 PM, OffRoaderX said:

How will passing the ham test make the GMRS Pro useful?

Maybe he uses the GMRS Pro to prop up his HAM HT so it doesn't tip over?