PMR-171

[AF1UD]

Hey All!

I came across this Chinese radio and I was wondering if anyone has one or knows someone who has purchased one. On the surface it seems to be something that I've been after for a while... even worth trading in my ICOM 705 for!

PMR-171 SDR HF VHF UHF Transceiver

HF/50MHz/70MHz/VHF/UHF All-mode Portable SDRradio, 100kHz - 2GHz receptions, ham radio bands covering the 160m to 70cm

www.dxzone.com

 

[k6cpo]

Hey All!

I came across this Chinese radio and I was wondering if anyone has one or knows someone who has purchased one. On the surface it seems to be something that I've been after for a while... even worth trading in my ICOM 705 for!

PMR-171 SDR HF VHF UHF Transceiver

HF/50MHz/70MHz/VHF/UHF All-mode Portable SDRradio, 100kHz - 2GHz receptions, ham radio bands covering the 160m to 70cm

www.dxzone.com

Surely you jest...

 

[bradlington]

I received mine and it is far superior to the other brands in this field .
It is built in a military design where battery is the extension of the radio and it can be separated when using external interfacing etc .

Having the DMR option and GPS factory fitted - it decoded my hotspot straight out the box , absolutely love this radio .

I think the design itself caters across many special interest groups portable , qrp ,mobile etc .

I have a facebook group search: PMR-171 , added this week and think I am one of the first , if not the few to own this great radio currently .

 

[prcguy]

I received mine and it is far superior to the other brands in this field .
It is built in a military design where battery is the extension of the radio and it can be separated when using external interfacing etc .

Having the DMR option and GPS factory fitted - it decoded my hotspot straight out the box , absolutely love this radio .

I think the design itself caters across many special interest groups portable , qrp ,mobile etc .

I have a facebook group search: PMR-171 , added this week and think I am one of the first , if not the few to own this great radio currently .

Is there a mod for extending transmit frequencies?

 

[prcguy]

And how is the transmit audio? Loud and punchy? Muffled?

 

[pcunite]

Looks very interesting. If you can, do a test and see where the shortcoming are. Might be a really good radio. Was looking at the Xegui 6100.

 

[AF1UD]

 

[HamImports]

Unfortunately, out of an hour long video, there's only around a minute of useful testing (skip to around 35:15).

The perils of doing things live. It's a shame because I'm really curious about this radio, as it's the most popular rig on my site at the moment.

 

[chankel]

Any decent US English programming software? The "Engrish" instructions are a mess and there are no real instructions on how to use the BLE software or program channels. offset, etc. that I have found to be helpful.

 

[AF1UD]

 

[prcguy]

I’m ready to buy one of these things but I want to check one out in person first.

 

[AF1UD]

I received mine and it is far superior to the other brands in this field .
It is built in a military design where battery is the extension of the radio and it can be separated when using external interfacing etc .

Having the DMR option and GPS factory fitted - it decoded my hotspot straight out the box , absolutely love this radio .

I think the design itself caters across many special interest groups portable , qrp ,mobile etc .

I have a facebook group search: PMR-171 , added this week and think I am one of the first , if not the few to own this great radio currently .

Any updates after a few months?

 

[prcguy]

Does anyone know if the PMR-171s internal TCXO can be adjusted if needed? Maybe a menu item?

 

[HamImports]

Good to see more people getting their hands on these, so we're getting some more in-depth reviews.

When I first heard about this radio early last year, the manufacturer intended to use the HamGeek branding for sales in Western territories, so I'm a little surprised the Guohetec name has become the default.

 

[prcguy]

Good to see more people getting their hands on these, so we're getting some more in-depth reviews.

When I first heard about this radio early last year, the manufacturer intended to use the HamGeek branding for sales in Western territories, so I'm a little surprised the Guohetec name has become the default.

I'm seeing more reviews where the radio had problems and the owners were not able to remedy the problem through Alibaba or other Asian dealers. I want one real bad but am not willing to go through the hassles of getting a bad one that I've been reading about.

 

[chankel]

After much searching I found the CPS for the PMR_171 and TBR-119. I found numerous problems with the PMR-171 and the TBR-119. I gifted the PRM-171 to a friend who is an expert with computers and SDR's so he can figure that one out. I returned the TBR-119. I do not recommend either of these radios. They aren't intuitive, user friendly, or easy to operate. The MOOE (MODE) and MEUN (Menu) keys on the TBR-119 were just minor insults compared to the CPS not working and many other problems. The lack of even a basic manual, let alone one in English, doesn't help. Neither does the bizarre non-standard connector for the 80 MHz and below antenna, i.e. you can't use NMO or mil-spec antennas or the non-standard handset connector. Even TCA and TRI have mil-spec mic connectors on their imitation PRC-152's.

I would call the the TBR-119 a PMR-171 with some parts and software attached via bubblegum and tape. Using tape and bubblegum on software doesn't work well. Needless to say the TBR-119 did not get a good review.

Guohe needs to study the ergonomics of major commercial and ham radios, even Baofeng, and learn from them to make their products more usable and user friendly. Any government entity or PMC that thinks they are going to get a great deal on TBR-119's with frequency hopping is going to wind up either returning them or having a lot of frustrated and angry RF technicians. Just my opinion though.

Guohe had the nerve to try to talk me out of returning the TBR-119, claiming their 5 minute or less CensorshipTube videos could "teach" me how to use it. They tried very hard, annoyingly so, then tried to refuse the return or claim that I had to pay $800 to ship the 'cursed radio back to China. They even tried to influence my product review. Grrr....surprisingly Amazon put and end to Guohe's whining and I got a full refund with low cost shipping to a US address.

I will never buy an largely unreviewed radio again.

 

[vagrant]

When one is on the cutting edge, one may bleed a little. Your findings are appreciated.

It would be nice if they fix it (with a future model) and also move the ports on the back to the front or side. I am not bothered by BNC and TNC connections though. It looks like it would be fun to use and I like the 20W on HF. Perhaps in a few more years.

 

[AF1UD]

When one is on the cutting edge, one may bleed a little. Your findings are appreciated.

It would be nice if they fix it (with a future model) and also move the ports on the back to the front or side. I am not bothered by BNC and TNC connections though. It looks like it would be fun to use and I like the 20W on HF. Perhaps in a few more years.

Hopefully other vendors find it innovative and take some notes...