Radtel RT900BT (Bluetooth "Updated" Version) Return started same day! Rating: D-

[CoffeeTime]

I received the RT900BT yesterday afternoon from Amazon --- I am returning it today. Total Pass.

The radio ( in its present version) is just not worth the frustration IMHO.  I have seen enough issues develop in 8 hours that I will NOT accept a replacement.

I must have received the RT900BT Head Scratching Version.    So much frustration compared to my other HT models and brands.

If I thought I just had received a bad radio I would simply exchange it and keep testing. That is not the verdict.

 

Upon arrival, all the packaging and contents were in excellent condition.  I read the entire limited documentation, and I scrolled through the radio's menu --checking the factory settings, while using the radio's keypad. Seemed easy enough. Small but a good-looking radio. Seems well-built and has USB C charging. Base not included.

However, over the next 8 hours, I worked to establish communication with this radio. Man-O-Man. Lots of head scratching, re-reading, searching online, etc., etc.. 

So, I re-installed the Radtel BT900BT 10 times onto my Samsung phone.  We have a failure to communicate.  The manual is limited but does indicate that the radio has Bluetooth--zero other tips.  The website was of little help as zero tips/troubleshooting were found.   Note: I did not chat with the factory as it was after hours.  

Online search results/help on YouTube and forums are still limited for this updated model.  Most of the comments that I found did not work as described/or for me.  

My Overall Findings:

Bluetooth for the RT900BT is possible, but only when my Samsung phone is configured with Location and GPS fully open/ active with all Bluetooth connectivity options set to the widest possibilities, and I allowed unverified programs complete access to the phone.  Okay, so opening the phone wide-open == gained communication between the phone and the walkie-talkie via BT. Okay, progress. Thanks to a UK forum member.

Note: Do not expect the QR code on the manual to work. It does not.

The Bluetooth App (mine is finally communicating)  seems like a puzzle at times:  The BT App is poorly explained --- even on the App itself.  Furthermore, once you actually arrive at their version of a code plug,  you will find that the 3 tabs of fields/ terms differ from the paper documentation. Ample time is needed to match up function terms with keypad menu functions.  Not easy. 

Radtel could have made life so much easier if they had simply included the function line number  (the function line number in the paper document that matches the radio function menu)  into the 3 pages/tabs being used in the code plug programming.  That simple effort would have made matching differing terms so much faster during test programming.  

Once actually inside the code plug, you will create a code plug of your work, save it, and write /upload pieces and parts to your radio.  However,  Not All Of Your Saved Choices Ever Really Make It To The Radio!   A Quick Example: the side button options--- They don't work after you have programmed them.  You keep changing/saving/re-uploading your options, but they do not change the radio settings. You try again, to manually program on the keypad/ then test= okay/ and then read the radio/ save that / and then re-upload back to the radio= Failure to stay programmed as desired.

 In addition, some radio settings would magically revert to "other" settings, i.e., the radio wants to transmit Scramble Mode ---even though the code plug shows Scramble mode is set to OFF.  The radio displays AM when I do not want AM. I also question why I can't keep UHF chosen in the code plug.  The App simply requires a lot of extra effort to hopefully make these errors stop happening.  Why?  

 Chirp is still not available for any RT900 model unless you use developer mode. To do that, you must find and install a beta module for the RT900BT radio while in Developer mode.  I installed the beta module just to see if the RT900 would show up and it did.  However, I was never able to establish a FULL two-way cable connection with the radio and Chirp timed out repeatedly.  Radtel has several drivers for a cable connection on their website. I tried them all with multiple (otherwise good)vendor cables. Zero connectivity.  

I was expecting this radio to arrive with the latest firmware pre-installed. It sure didn't.  So my final effort was to try to upload and install the latest firmware. Besides opening up more channels, I was hopeful that the radio might program and operate better with updated Firmware. The website shows several Firmware updates describing bug fixes for this BT model.  However, once again, updating the Firmware was a problem.  The downloads are in RAR format. I tried several RAR extractors to unzip these updates. Lots of WARNINGS to not download files.   I downloaded numerous files and extracted them, but the Bluetooth App failed to read them/install them to the radio. Bluetooth app stated file component failures.

My Ratings /final thoughts:

Because the website updates are using RAR formatting and I can't easily get these updates to work, because the radio performed poorly in my TX/RX testing--(sounded weak, had speaker issues, AM issues, Scramble issues,  manual programming issues,  because the Bluetooth APP code plug is just simply problematic, because the manual and website lack troubleshooting tips for this model, and because the radio seems to have a mind of its own as described= I am at a near total loss of confidence in this model as currently offered and supported. 

I am not interested in an HT that I can't program except with the keypad, and that I may never be able to easily update Firmware, or use Chirp with easily and straightforwardly.

Final rating: D- 

 

 

 

     

 

 

   

  

[Socalgmrs]

Thanks for confirming this.  The radio with out trying Bluetooth is junk but try to add Bluetooth and it’s a whole new level of trash can.    2 people I know purchased this radio and had the exact same findings.  I messed with them for a few hours and this is exactly what happened to me.  The very next day they got sent back.  They instead picked up some uv9 radios for less money with all the accessories and 771 antennas.  . Hooked them up to chirp and had them hitting repeaters 60miles away and 40mile simplex within 15min out of the box.  Some times simple is best.  Keep It Simple