tglendye
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Just a quick review on the 868, which I received a couple of days ago. My experience is limited and I have not done any transmitting at this time, but so far I am liking this radio (for the most part). I purchased it to use on vhf and uhf channels. I will be transmitting on both when I start using the radio.
Some general observations of the radio are: It feels solid in your hands. The way a radio should feel. The way I wish my Uniden scanner (bcd436hp) felt. Solid like the old Motorola HT-1000's felt. Size wise, I wish it was a little thinner and maybe a little longer. My hands are big enough where the radio feels too small in length, but the thickness of the radio (with the battery) makes the depth feel slightly too deep. No big deal, though. Display is very nice, as are the knobs, key pad and function buttons.
I have downloaded the latest software and firmware. Overall no major problems. Well, at least none that could not be fixed. I locked the radio up. A call to Connect Systems (where I purchased the radio), and I found out how to do a master reset, which corrected the problem. I actually locked it up (no display or anything) by pressing the center button down, which changes the Zones. Not sure why this happened but it hasn't happened again. However, it seems to lock up sometimes receiving weak signals. The radio will not change channels or even turn on and off, but the display stays on. I am not sure if it receives or transmits in this condition. A removal of the battery and replacing it works to reset it. Which brings me to an observation about the construction of the radio. My only real complaint (the size comment doesn't really both me that much), is the battery kind of hooks into the bottom plastic of the radio. It seems you could easily break this small section of plastic while removing the radio. I don't know what happens then. Nor do I want to.
Another comment I have about the radio is the scan mode. It scans SLOW. Not really sure why. I won't be scanning a lot of channels, but I would prefer it to scan faster.
The programming software for the radio is OK. I think any new software has a learning curve. There are some terms in the software and symbols on the radio that I am really unsure of.
With that said, here are some questions:
1) What is the different type of scan type options: They are TO, CO and SE. What do they mean? I believe the radio came with CO selected, and I haven't experimented, yet.
2) What is Stand By/ Waite Time?
3) Programming DMR- I have the frequency, Color Code and Slot programmed. I can't seem to find the Talk Group section. Where is this?
4) Also the hardware version. I am running Hardware Version 1.10 and Radio Data Version 1.00. I think I have everything updated (Firmware 2.18), but is the Hardware Version and Radio Data Version up to date? I saw on Connect Systems web page about Hardware Version 2, but I did not see that option.
5) What is the little "headset"/ "earphone" icon at the top of the display? There is also an "H" in a square, that I am not sure about.
And the last thing I can think to comment on is the display timing out. I am not a huge fan of the display going blank and not being able to tell if the radio is on or off. Scanning or not. Or on the channel you "expect" it to be when it is not.
Just a few comments about this radio. Overall, I do like it. It sounds as if AnyTone has made a lot of improvements since the initial release and Connect Systems was helpful when I made the phone call.
Some general observations of the radio are: It feels solid in your hands. The way a radio should feel. The way I wish my Uniden scanner (bcd436hp) felt. Solid like the old Motorola HT-1000's felt. Size wise, I wish it was a little thinner and maybe a little longer. My hands are big enough where the radio feels too small in length, but the thickness of the radio (with the battery) makes the depth feel slightly too deep. No big deal, though. Display is very nice, as are the knobs, key pad and function buttons.
I have downloaded the latest software and firmware. Overall no major problems. Well, at least none that could not be fixed. I locked the radio up. A call to Connect Systems (where I purchased the radio), and I found out how to do a master reset, which corrected the problem. I actually locked it up (no display or anything) by pressing the center button down, which changes the Zones. Not sure why this happened but it hasn't happened again. However, it seems to lock up sometimes receiving weak signals. The radio will not change channels or even turn on and off, but the display stays on. I am not sure if it receives or transmits in this condition. A removal of the battery and replacing it works to reset it. Which brings me to an observation about the construction of the radio. My only real complaint (the size comment doesn't really both me that much), is the battery kind of hooks into the bottom plastic of the radio. It seems you could easily break this small section of plastic while removing the radio. I don't know what happens then. Nor do I want to.
Another comment I have about the radio is the scan mode. It scans SLOW. Not really sure why. I won't be scanning a lot of channels, but I would prefer it to scan faster.
The programming software for the radio is OK. I think any new software has a learning curve. There are some terms in the software and symbols on the radio that I am really unsure of.
With that said, here are some questions:
1) What is the different type of scan type options: They are TO, CO and SE. What do they mean? I believe the radio came with CO selected, and I haven't experimented, yet.
2) What is Stand By/ Waite Time?
3) Programming DMR- I have the frequency, Color Code and Slot programmed. I can't seem to find the Talk Group section. Where is this?
4) Also the hardware version. I am running Hardware Version 1.10 and Radio Data Version 1.00. I think I have everything updated (Firmware 2.18), but is the Hardware Version and Radio Data Version up to date? I saw on Connect Systems web page about Hardware Version 2, but I did not see that option.
5) What is the little "headset"/ "earphone" icon at the top of the display? There is also an "H" in a square, that I am not sure about.
And the last thing I can think to comment on is the display timing out. I am not a huge fan of the display going blank and not being able to tell if the radio is on or off. Scanning or not. Or on the channel you "expect" it to be when it is not.
Just a few comments about this radio. Overall, I do like it. It sounds as if AnyTone has made a lot of improvements since the initial release and Connect Systems was helpful when I made the phone call.
