Anytone First look Anytone BT-01 Bluetooth Microphone

[kb5udf]

I’ve been using it mobile for a few months and it works well. I am using it in corded fashion and it charges fine from the cable on
the bottom. I use an external speaker so I can’t comment on audio from the Bluetooth speaker. My only significant gripe is that on a mobile radio mic it has a belt clip (@#$!!!) instead of a mic hanger. A minor gripe is the polarization over the display does not go well with my Oakey sunglasses.

I got lucky in that there is a perfect sized accessory hole in my console it fits, letting me see the display and it works well in mobile use. Overall, for my use case it is a winner.

 

[n1chu]

There’s a “As seen on TV” magnetic phone holder from Bulbhead called Fastball that I use. It sticks on to the dash and the BT-01 and holds the mic in any position. Do a search for Bulbhead Fastball. Amazon sells them. I believe they come in packs of two.

 

[MikeMercury]

Still using my BT-01 in corded fashion in my daily driver.

The only complaint I have is needing to always press the BT-01 power button on the mic... even though the radio itself auto-powers up with ignition.

I am working on two modifications...

* have the BT-01 (in corded use) automatically power up once the radio itself is powered.

* a drop in charger for those that use the mic in bluetooth fashion.

 

[kb5udf]

Mike let us know if you achieve your mods. I will update my review to say that at least on mine, the plastic screen is very fragile.
Scratched it up today a bit by wiping *gently* with a t-schirt.

 

[MikeMercury]

pics of the BT-01 in my daily driver; i'm using an old 2-way "D" ring system to hang the mic up. The D ring is mounted on the back of the BT-01 upside down (so that rotation to seat the mic into the holder is not necessary. Though, a simple mic hanger... and installing the mating round disc on the back of the mic would work as well.

The display is crystal clear, though my digital camera didn't like it.

 

[n1chu]

Still using my BT-01 in corded fashion in my daily driver.

The only complaint I have is needing to always press the BT-01 power button on the mic... even though the radio itself auto-powers up with ignition.

I am working on two modifications...

* have the BT-01 (in corded use) automatically power up once the radio itself is powered.

* a drop in charger for those that use the mic in bluetooth fashion.

 

[n1chu]

Thanks for working on those two mods. I didn’t think to use the RJ45 connector on the bottom side of the BT-01 to charge the battery. But since I’m going to bury the radio under the front seat, I won’t be using the BT-01 as a corded mic that plugs into the radio. Instead, I would like to be able to charge the battery while the mic is in use without the USB charging cord getting in the way. That’s why I would like a USB charge port located on the bottom of the mic instead of the side. That being said, I haven’t yet moved the radio to underneath the front seat and will give your corded mic method a try. I also want to see if it won’t automatically turn on when I start my vehicle-I know the 578 did before the BT-01 was added. But you say the BT-01 won’t do that, a reasonable assumption… I haven’t tried it because I just assumed it wouldn’t work either due to not using the accessory side of the ignition switch as a trigger like the radio does.

 

[kb5udf]

The radio does turn on automatically when I start the car and it receives current, because I can hear my friends on the repeater (haven't bother to look at radio head display b/c its under seat). The BT-01 requires a button press to fire up. But if I'm doing it wrong somebody let me know, it would be great if it came on by itself.

 

[n1chu]

Here is what I found;

Without the BT-01-
The radio will turn on by itself the next time you start your vehicle but only if you have supplied power from the accessory side of the ignition switch AND left the radio on. You have to find a fuse that is live when the vehicle is running but dead when the vehicle is off. (In older vehicles the off power side of the ignition switch was referred to as the accessory side of the ignition switch.) When you turn off the vehicle there will be no power to the radio. In effect, you disconnected it from power. Since the radio lost power while the power switch was on, it will think the power is on when you restore power to it when you restart your vehicle and reboot on its own.. The flip side of this is if you manually turn off the radio before shutting off the vehicle, the radio will remember you had shut it down manually when you restart your vehicle.

But, you would like the radio AND the BT-01 to both shut down and turn on when you turn the ignition switch off or on. The radio may do as you ask but the BT-01 isn’t fed from the same power source (the vehicles battery through the ignition switch) and won’t know when you have used the ignition switch.

Sorry, but the stock BT-01 will not do as you wish. I wish it did, I don’t believe the RJ-45 connector will help either. But the cord does allow for charging the BT-01 battery when the radio is on.

 

[MikeMercury]

Here's a summary of the BT-01 in corded fashion... as far as powering up & down:

upon the 578 chassis receiving 12v...

*the chassis will power on, but the BT-01 will not (again, this is using the cord connection method). The BT-01 will require its power button pressed to come alive.

*when the chassis 12v source is removed, the BT-01 will remain powered even though the chassis is no longer powered. After about 2-3 minutes, the BT-01 will turn itself off after detecting it is no longer communicating with the chassis.

I just completed a prototype drop-in charger for those using the Bluetooth method; charging voltage is supplied via the bottom RJ-45 jack. I'll get pics and indepth info up shortly.

 

[n1chu]

Good to know. So, the Bluetooth mic will power down by itself shortly after the radio looses power. Since I have my 578 powered by a cigarette lighter (which, in my vehicle looses power after the vehicle is turned off), my BT01 will shut down shortly thereafter.
…helps when once inside my house, I get this nagging feeling I’ve forgotten something and go back the my garage to make sure I’ve turned off the BT01

 

[MikeMercury]

I just finished the drop-in charger. I don't know what I'm going to do with it (as I am using the corded method):

https://tim-yvonne.com/ham/dmr/radios/D578/BT01-Drop-In.htm

 

[prcguy]

What's up with this mic needing an Android cell phone to allow updating the radio Bluetooth to work with the mic? I don't have an Android phone and this is probably steering a lot of people like me away from purchasing the mic.

 

[MikeMercury]

The BT01 mic will work out of the box, the mic itself does not need any updating.

It's the D578 mobile that needs 2 updates to use the BT01 via bluetooth.

1. the radio needs operational firmware updated
2. the radios internal bluetooth module needs updated, and this is done separately. This specific update requires an android cell/tablet. The radios bluetooth module is actually updated via bluetooth (no cable is needed for this specific; it's done wirelessly).

It is a lot of work.

If your need is to use the BT01 via corded method; then only the first step need be performed (D578 firmware update, done via conventional method... no android device required).

 

[nullifi3d]

I didn't actually have to update anything - it all seemed to connect and work out of the box. I'm pretty pleased with it, except for one thing - I've noticed when flipping through menu items and going back and forth, I get weird audio artifacts, and it seems like it might be related to the screen updating its image. For example:

• When navigating to select a scan list, then navigating into that list, when the list of channels/frequencies is displayed I hear an audible "tick" as it fills in each of them going down the list
• While receiving on an analog frequency and navigating menus, I heard some distortion - audio becoming slightly louder with a little static temporarily

My other gripes:

• I'm not a fan of the font size of frequency/channel resizing to take up width of the screen depending on the number of characters in the name. It should be a static size, or be an option I can change.
• If you don't pick a mode before about a 10 second timeout, it won't let you do anything - you have to power cycle the BT-01.
• Every time I power down and power back up, despite the BT-01 receiving charge over cable, I still have to pick cable mode whenever it boots. I would prefer that it stick with the mode you defined, unless and until it can't reconnect in the previous mode, or you hit a button sequence to change the mode. Either that, or you should be able to pick a mode at any time.
• I agree with another post about the belt clip. I'd love the option to install a mic button instead. I did find some random model for a mic button add-on that you can print with a 3D printer - got a friend printing that now. Link: Anytone BT-01 Mic Mounts by TheSystech
• I hate how I can't swap the up/down arrows on the front with the up/down buttons on the top. I want to switch channels/freq using the front, and zone with the top buttons. Aaargggg!!!

Other issues, I think pertaining to the radio's firmware (not the BT-01 per se):

• Scan is limited to lists of 50 frequencies. If you have more than that, you need multiple lists and need to switch through them
• You have to explicitly select a scan list to do any scanning. In order to do so, you have to navigate about 4 levels down into the menu system to pick one, then you have to back all the way out again. If you start scanning and stop at any point, the scan list is DESELECTED, so you have to do it all over again if you want to start scanning again. &!@&#$&&!@#$%*&!@*#$

The CPS is a bit crap, and being a software engineer it drives me crazy. It could be worse though.

 

[MikeMercury]

you wrote: If you don't pick a mode before about a 10 second timeout, it won't let you do anything - you have to power cycle the BT-01.

on mine, it's more like "if it doesn't connect (via bluetooth or cable) to a 578 chassis, it won't let you do anything after about 10 seconds". I only use the cable method, and upon mic powerup (with the chassis already powered)... it auto-selects the cable connection mode within 5 seconds and links up.

I did experiment with BT commection method, and the BT01 powered up and connected automatically to BT. I think the BT01 remembers your last connection selection... and defaults to that next time it powers up.

With my cabled connection method; the chassis gets 12v first. Then when pressing the BT01 power button, it auto-connects to the chassis (probably because the last connection type was cable as well). All I have to do is press the BT01 power button, and do nothing else for it to link up successfully.

 

[nullifi3d]

I only use the cable method, and upon mic powerup (with the chassis already powered)... it auto-selects the cable connection mode within 5 seconds and links up.

Very interesting - I tested this today and did not see the same behavior. I also only use cable method, and I have to keep powering on the mic even if I let it turn itself off. When I do power it on, I have to select the mode.

I'm also have a very strange issue with one particular repeater. I can't seem to hit it, but I know I have it programmed correctly because I can hit it with my IC2730a with the same config. Very annoying.

 

[MikeMercury]

using the corded connection method, here's a video (you should have sound activated, you need to hear chassis "POST complete" medley)

showing:
* BT01 powered before 578 chassis gets 12v
* Engine started (chassis is now powered... starts the POST process).
* BT01 doesn't connect within 5 seconds (as chassis hasn't finished booting up); BT01 goes to error screen
* 578 chassis POST finished "jingle heard"... BT01 still auto-connects (even after erroring out on first attempt)

https://tim-yvonne.com/ham/dmr/radios/D578/BT01-auto-connect-540.mp4

Camera does not like the display, kinda blurry.

 

[n1chu]

Suffice to say my practice of leaving the USB charging cord plugged into the side of the BT-01 is done out of necessity. My 2-3 hour per day usage requires I recharge the battery often. So, I just leave it plugged in. (My USB ports on my vehicle turn off with the ignition.) In effect, the wireless feature of the mic has become useless. But it’s Anytone’s answer to a remote head, where there’s no rom for mounting the entire radio where you can get at it. And on those few occasions where a longer “invisible” mic cord is required, the BT-01 fits the bill nicely.

On another note… Anytone needs to do some more work on the original problem they had (which delayed the release date). They found the mic would need to be rebooted on occasion. It was loosing connectivity which could only be regained by powering it off and then back on. I found when I changed the active band from the sub band to the main band, I was transmitting on the main band but without any audio, and needed to reboot the mic to regain full operation. I did not investigate further, meaning I did not go back to the sub band to see if I continued to transmit with audio. It didn’t seem relevant to the initial loss of audio experienced when I initially changed from sub to main band. (My sub band contains conventional repeaters and my main band contains DMR. I list it here in case someone cares to duplicate my setup and see if they have the same results. But others have also commented on this “bug” so it may be a redundant effort.)

 

[KD9TKG]

I’ve been using it mobile for a few months and it works well. I am using it in corded fashion and it charges fine from the cable on
the bottom. I use an external speaker so I can’t comment on audio from the Bluetooth speaker. My only significant gripe is that on a mobile radio mic it has a belt clip (@#$!!!) instead of a mic hanger. A minor gripe is the polarization over the display does not go well with my Oakey sunglasses.

I got lucky in that there is a perfect sized accessory hole in my console it fits, letting me see the display and it works well in mobile use. Overall, for my use case it is a winner.

How'd you get your external speaker to work with it?