Anybody seen the new Retevis (Ailunce) HA1G radio?

[WRPL700]

I just saw this new Retevis (Ailunce) HA1G radio this morning.  Looks pretty good.  Here is the link: Retevis HA1G IP67 Waterproof 220 Customizable Channels GMRS Radio  The prce is $65.99, so not bad.

 

 

[back4more70]

It looks kinda cool, too bad the programming cable isn't included?  But the cable looks like it is reasonably priced so that's nice.

[WRWA937]

Just received mine yesterday. Seems nicely built, has some great features. Really wish it would receive above 480 Mhz. I like the ability to set zones and scan lists.

[WRPL700]

Thought I would check back and see how you like it so far.

[WRUU653]

4 hours ago, WRPL700 said:

Thought I would check back and see how you like it so far.

@WRPL700 add @WRWA937 or quote their previous post, that way the person you ask a question of will be notified they were mentioned in a post. 

[WRPL700]

1 hour ago, WRUU653 said:

@WRPL700 add @WRWA937 or quote their previous post, that way the person you ask a question of will be notified they were mentioned in a post. 

Aha moment.    Thanks.

[WRPL700]

On 10/17/2023 at 11:46 AM, WRWA937 said:

Just received mine yesterday. Seems nicely built, has some great features. Really wish it would receive above 480 Mhz. I like the ability to set zones and scan lists.

Thought I would check back and see how you like it so far.

[WRWA937]

59 minutes ago, WRPL700 said:

Thought I would check back and see how you like it so far.

Still playing around with it and figuring out, there is a good bit of features to work through. One feature I wish was customizable is the backlighting on the screen, it would be great to be able to change the colors. the ability to set-up zones and scan lists is a definite plus!

[WRPL700]

2 hours ago, WRWA937 said:

Still playing around with it and figuring out, there is a good bit of features to work through. One feature I wish was customizable is the backlighting on the screen, it would be great to be able to change the colors. the ability to set-up zones and scan lists is a definite plus!

Excellant.  I am very interested in how this one performs.  I have a couple of Baofeng GMRS-9Rs which are okay, but definately could be better.

[WRQE264]

Just stumbled upon this radio this AM, was wondering myself. Seems solid for a CCR. Not a fan of the fixed antenna but Im sure that has to do with the weatherproof 'certification'.

 

[WRPL700]

17 hours ago, WRQE264 said:

Just stumbled upon this radio this AM, was wondering myself. Seems solid for a CCR. Not a fan of the fixed antenna but Im sure that has to do with the weatherproof 'certification'.

 

A fixed antenna (non-removable) does kill it for me, sadly.

[WRHS218]

5 hours ago, WRPL700 said:

A fixed antenna (non-removable) does kill it for me, sadly.

Is it a fixed antenna as in glued? or is it fixed as in there is a tiny hex head screw in this hole at the base of the antenna and don't you dare take that screw out and unscrew the antenna!?

[WRYZ387]

I just got mine today, after messing with it it dose look like a hex screw for the antenna. Once I have a driver that can remove it I can update.
One thing that does bother me is the backlight stays on when you have signal, the backlight will not shut off at all.
But the rest of the radio so far is a solid radio, Front end programing is easy but I do have a cable that will be here tomorrow so I can get it all set up with the fine touchs.

Anything you want to know ask and ill try to answer.

[WRPL700]

9 hours ago, WRYZ387 said:

I just got mine today, after messing with it it dose look like a hex screw for the antenna. Once I have a driver that can remove it I can update.
One thing that does bother me is the backlight stays on when you have signal, the backlight will not shut off at all.
But the rest of the radio so far is a solid radio, Front end programing is easy but I do have a cable that will be here tomorrow so I can get it all set up with the fine touchs.

Anything you want to know ask and ill try to answer.

Great!  Keep us up to date, especially about the antenna...

[WRYZ387]

On 11/1/2023 at 7:16 AM, WRPL700 said:

Great!  Keep us up to date, especially about the antenna...

Just got time to mess with it, and yes the antenna is removable one you remove the very small hex screw it can be removed. There is a small issue and that is the backlight and green LED on the top stays on when the radio is receiving signal (Not transmission), this drains the battery very fast. I have ask Retevis about this and they say it normal. I have asked if the can firmware fix this making it so the signal strength indicator doesnt trigger the backlight and LED. We will have to wait and see. But great radio despite that. 

[WRPL700]

On 11/5/2023 at 1:22 AM, WRYZ387 said:

Just got time to mess with it, and yes the antenna is removable one you remove the very small hex screw it can be removed. There is a small issue and that is the backlight and green LED on the top stays on when the radio is receiving signal (Not transmission), this drains the battery very fast. I have ask Retevis about this and they say it normal. I have asked if the can firmware fix this making it so the signal strength indicator doesnt trigger the backlight and LED. We will have to wait and see. But great radio despite that. 

Good info!!!  Thank you and if you find anything else interesting, please let us know.

[WRXT271]

I ordered the radio and programming cable, however it is still in transit. Has anyone tried programming the radio with the programming cable and windows 11?

RJ

[OffRoaderX]

I heard that one of the big GMRS youtubers is going to be reviewing this radio in the next few days..

FWIW, ones shipping now come with a programming cable and the antenna is removable - no screw, no glue..

 

[WRXT271]

1 minute ago, OffRoaderX said:

I heard that one of the big GMRS youtubers is going to be reviewing this radio in the next few days..

FWIW, ones shipping now come with a programming cable and the antenna is removable - no screw, no glue..

 

I was hoping to find your excellent review on this radio. Once I get the radio I'll know about Windows 11 use. Something about an old and new chip in cable and required driver.

 

[back4more70]

1 hour ago, OffRoaderX said:

I heard that one of the big GMRS youtubers is going to be reviewing this radio in the next few days..

Josh? Jason?  The old guy?  Oh, wait...

[WRXB215]

1 hour ago, back4more70 said:

Josh? Jason?  The old guy?

The guy that ate a turd and wore his wife's leopard print flats and ankle bracelet. 

[OffRoaderX]

1 hour ago, WRXB215 said:

The guy that ate a turd and wore his wife's leopard print flats and ankle bracelet. 

What makes you think it was his wife's?

[StogieVol]

Welp, looks like I have another review to watch. 

[WRDP947]

On 12/7/2023 at 9:13 AM, WRXT271 said:

I ordered the radio and programming cable, however it is still in transit. Has anyone tried programming the radio with the programming cable and windows 11?

RJ

Got the software and cable working in win11. Had to google up a CH340 driver that's completely different from the driver they originally had on the product support page after talking with support but it works now.

[ADVBikerRadioGirl]

I’ve had this radio now for about three months. I used it  almost every day. I like the radio. Everything from the way it looks to the way it feels. It does not feel like a cheap Chinese radio. Feels pretty solid. I’ve dropped it a couple of times on concrete with almost no damage to the case. Not even noticeable.

BUT, I’ve experienced issues with two of the six radios I ordered. Yes I said six radios. More about that later.

Here is the only problem I’ve experienced. The radio freezes and won’t wake up (I have the backlight set to turn off after 2 minutes). I press the keys on the keyboard, turn the knobs at the top of the radio, press the PTT button, and nothing. Won’t wake up or transmit. I have to turn it off and then on again for it to start working again.

I carry the radio in a leather holster and I thought that may be it fits too tight and the keyboard keys were being pressed and held pressed, causing the radio to act up. I cut out a window so the keyboard is new exposed, but that didn’t work.

I use it with a shoulder speaker/mic, also made by Ailunce. Thinking that may be the shoulder speaker/mic was causing the problem, I took it off and it still does it. 

I always put the radio in lock mode, so that I won’t accidentally change the channel. So I tried carrying it unlocked. Nope, it still does it.

I changed the backlight setting to always on, thinking that may be that was the problem. Nope, it still freezes.

Thinking that may be it was something I had changed in the settings, I have done a factory reset in both radios at least a couple of times. Nope, it still freezes.

I figured that it was a bad radio (may be because I had dropped it) and started using a brand new one, never used and never dropped. Sure enough, I’ve experienced the same problem. I still have another four brand new radios to try.

But get this, the radio can work fine for a day or two or longer and then start acting again. I am at a point that I am scratching my head trying ti trouble shoot the problem.

Back in November I contacted Ailunce tech support. The girl asked me to take a video of the problem when it happened again, but it stopped doing it for over a month. Last week it started to act up again. WTH!

I sent the video over to Ailunce through WhatsApp. I can see that they have viewed the video but I haven’t heard back from them. I suspect that it will be a firmware problem.

If you are wondering why I bought six radios, I bought one first and I liked it. It worked as intended. At that time Ailunce had a special of 6 radios for like 320 bucks. I could not help myself and I ordered them.  I was looking for radios that we could use out in the desert while doing search and rescue. It felt like a solid radio that performed well for the price and it’s water poof. Just what we need.

I had tried other cheap Chinese radios, like the Baofeng UV-5R (I returned them) and the BTech GMRS-V2 (kept it and like it but the battery dies fast).