Radioddity DB20-G

[WSEL489]

I ordered this radio after a search for a 15-20 watt mobile that I could move between my Jeep and my office.  I wanted a unit that would work from a 12v outlet in the car, and also plug into  my 5A lab power supply.  

PROS

Very small
Great speaker
Bright color display

CONS

No Chirp programming, must use app from Radioddity
Closer to 15 watts than 20 watts on most frequencies

I will provide further feedback after I have had the chance to use it some.

[Davichko5650]

9 minutes ago, WSEL489 said:

I ordered this radio after a search for a 15-20 watt mobile that I could move between my Jeep and my office.  I wanted a unit that would work from a 12v outlet in the car, and also plug into  my 5A lab power supply.  

PROS

Very small
Great speaker
Bright color display

CONS

No Chirp programming, must use app from Radioddity
Closer to 15 watts than 20 watts on most frequencies

I will provide further feedback after I have had the chance to use it some.

I've had mine for a couple months now. Moved it into the shack for Base use and installed a Retevis RA87 out in the mobile.  I agree with the pros. As far as the Cons, I've not looked at the power output, but I've noticed better results mobile with the 40w (listed) power on the RA87. At home seems the DB20 is working just fine, power wise.  Haven't found any issues using the Radioddity software, and I've found the radio is very easy to program on the unit itself.

So far, very satisfied with the DB20 and the RA87 both.

[WRYS709]

19 hours ago, WSEL489 said:

I ordered this radio after a search for a 15-20 watt mobile that I could move between my Jeep and my office.  I wanted a unit that would work from a 12v outlet in the car, and also plug into  my 5A lab power supply.  

PROS

Very small
Great speaker
Bright color display

CONS

No Chirp programming, must use app from Radioddity
Closer to 15 watts than 20 watts on most frequencies

I will provide further feedback after I have had the chance to use it some.

You fotgot the most important PRO: $99-$109!

I bought a second one for use in my home with a rooftop antenna and irrespective of what output a wattmeter may claim; my range simplex and to distant repeaters far surpasses my expectations  

There is a large user base of the Radioddity DB20-G a/k/a Anytone AT-779UV on this Forum. 

[WRXP381]

The 5w difference from 20-15 won’t matter at all for distance specially if hooked to a good antenna with good coax.  It’s the height (line of sight) and radiated power from the antenna that really matter. Heck a 5w hand held cam radiate over 70w from the tip of the right antenna and coax. 

[WRYZ926]

4 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

The 5w difference from 20-15 won’t matter at all for distance specially if hooked to a good antenna with good coax.  It’s the height (line of sight) and radiated power from the antenna that really matter. Heck a 5w hand held cam radiate over 70w from the tip of the right antenna and coax. 

This is very true. I didn't notice any difference between my Wouxun KG-XS20G (20 W) versus my Wouxun KG-1000G or Midland MXT500 when hooked up to my base antenna and talking to people on the repeater. They couldn't tell a difference on their end either. The base of my Comet CA-712EFC is 20 feet above the ground and I am using 30 feet of LMR400 coax to the outside wall and another 15 feet of LMR400 inside the shack.

[WSEL489]

I forgot to mention that I was able to get the radio for $87.

[SteveShannon]

Some radios have S-meters which display the signal strength. For most people there is a somewhat noticeable audible difference between each number. 
Although radio S-meters are not precisely calibrated, generally speaking (and a question on the ham test ) one unit difference on an S meter correlates to 6 dB. 
What that means is that if 40 watts gets to S9, 10 watts gets to S8.  

[Davichko5650]

1 hour ago, SteveShannon said:

Although radio S-meters are not precisely calibrated, generally speaking 

Way back my then Elmers taught me that a good signal report is not based on what you see on a meter, but what your ear holes hear or can't.

Similar to my Army days, you either got a "read you 5 by 5, Lima Charlie" or a "say again, you are weak and unreadable"  (one we used a lot when doing Electronic Countermeasures on ID Ten Tee's).

Or, just go Contest Mode, where er'body gets a solid 59!

[WRYS709]

I may have said this before, but I added to my Radioddity DB20-G and Anytone AT-779UV; a Radioddity DB25-D. 

In effect this is a DMR version of these radios with the same analog capabilities with the addition of DMR worldwide capability for a reasonable price ($180-$210)

[WRYZ926]

22 hours ago, Davichko5650 said:

Similar to my Army days, you either got a "read you 5 by 5, Lima Charlie" or a "say again, you are weak and unreadable"  (one we used a lot when doing Electronic Countermeasures on ID Ten Tee's).

We use to mess with the ID10T's all the time. My favorite was to fire up the PTO driven generator on my 5 ton machine shop truck. That generator would jam all comms equipment within a 150 foot radius. 

And we can't forget the good old classic of sending NUG's for a can of squelch. 

 

On subject. Any good 15 -25 watt radio will work just fine when good coax and a good antenna is used. The best thing is to get the antenna as high as you can for a base station. And try to get a good ground plane under your mobile antenna. This even benefits the no ground plane type mobile antennas too.

[WSDT638]

My first base. I think I paid $100 out the door on Amazon too.

A high school buddy from many years ago moved to my town and got me into GMRS a little over a month ago. I currently have it in my Toyota Corolla with a Nayoga antenna. For what it is, and what it does, I am impressed, and I am brand new to this.

I have a 30watt power supply for my garage setup that I am planning, but I need to get an antenna, I am thinking the Tram 1480. I may move the DB20 back to the garage every now and again but really want a 50watt for the garage, so I can keep the DB20 in the car.

I'd recommend it with the antenna I have. I have had no issues as of this post.

[WRPL700]

I have one of my two DB-20Gs in a go box with 12ah battery.  Mine puts out about 18 watts.  It is a great little radio for the price.

[SteveShannon]

I have two of the db20g radios. I like almost everything about it: small, easy to use, powerful enough.

What I don’t like is the fact that you cannot use Chirp or RT Systems, and the software provided by Radioddity doesn’t allow imports, and copying and pasting doesn’t work the way I want.

Also, this is probably the most frustrating: once you have a configuration file created, you cannot change the frequency range in the CPS to another, even if all of the channels you’ve programmed are well within both of the ranges. There’s a range of channels that goes up to 470 MHz. There’s another range that’s higher in the list of available ranges that goes to 490 MHz.  A program file written for one range cannot be used for the other and changing the range in the settings wipes out all the channels you’ve created.

[WRXB215]

@SteveShannon sounds like you would be better off with the AnyTone AT 778 UV. Cost just a little more but it's a nice radio.

[SteveShannon]

2 minutes ago, WRXB215 said:

@SteveShannon sounds like you would be better off with the AnyTone AT 778 UV. Cost just a little more but it's a nice radio.

I’m thinking I’ll be better with something like a Yaesu ftm300.

But I already have these two DB20G radios that are great go box radios.  I just need to pay closer attention before I start building a configuration file.

[WRYZ926]

The small 20 watt mobiles are nice for go boxes. I have a Wouxun KG-XS20G that I might put into a go box if it doesn't go in the wife's car.

[jwilkers]

I use a 20 watt radio as my home radio. Works great. Power does not need to be 50 watts to be effective


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