I thought this would be my first DMR radio until I saw some of the feedback from the user community. I ended up with the BTECH DMR-6X2 which is the upgraded Anytone 686...
It's nice having that because I have one of these models and it's actually working great to receive my local College Public Safety DMR Channel in promiscuous mode comes in handy when you want to listen only to commercial DMR radios or add one deer set up if you happen to go into the DMR business use I wish the programming software was better though like it is with the Motorola DMR radios they are way easier to program software-wise
I'm mostly satisfied with my HD1. The 360 degree channel selector, the 'all channels' option, high'er' power, easily switch between memory mode/VFO/digital/analog, 64 channels in a zone. I find the receiver can get swamped occasionally and I would like to see a inhibit setting for a memory during scanning. All that being said - I feel Retevis have made and will continue to improve this radio and the CPS.
I always see people say they read good things about the HD1 and can't wait to get theirs, but I never see anyone come back later and post their evaluation of the radio. If they do, it's usually because Retevis sent them one to review, so of course they are going to give it a fair review. The prices of these radios are all over the place. On Amazon they are almost $200, other sites they can be had as little as $140. If you buy 2 of them from Retevis, you can get 2 of them for $234. On that note, I always try to look for factory tours for things I am interested in buying. I managed to find a couple factory videos from Retevis and most of their test equipment is ancient and the overall assembly line is fairly dirty, literally. Radio boards being tossed onto a belt, not a static discharge cable attached to anyone, poor soldering techniques. Perhaps it was a different sector or divison of their factory, but I would just think that for a company that is supposedly making high quality radios (for hams in particular), you would expect higher standards on various levels. With that said, The Anytone company seems to have their act together somewhat, they even made some DMR radios for Alinco, I guess that is not a bad thing.
I've reviewed both the RT82 and the HD1. If I had to choose one radio, I'd go with the HD1. The RT82 has worked fine for me, I'm still not a fan of the track ball interface after long term use of the radio .
Yes that track and ball is just one big desighn flaw and so is the low power of the RT82 but the ease of programing is identicel to my RT90 wich I like and the HD1 looks to be a solid radio . Definatly going to add 2 73`s vk4dcc
One of the best things about HD1 that I value: Motorola style connector. Even if it gets wet without a cover, the water will not gush inside the unit. Unfortunately, my first radio has a Kenwood style connector and I am afraid to test how waterproof it is.
Do you by chance have any of the Baofeng multipin radios? This multipin looks to be IDENTICAL to the ones on the BF-A58, GT-3WP, ect. I'm VERY curious if it is indeed the same. Simply hooking up one of the cheap headsets that comes with the Baofeng radio would answer that. This would bring a world of options to connections to this radio.
Be warned that the HD1 can't decode color code and timeslot. Only talkgroup. That is equivalent to being able to scan frequencies on analog but you are stuck with one CTCSS tone. You can't hear anything if your CTCSS tone is not matching. Same case with color code, you can't hear anything unless you have the right color code.
At 6:10 you turned the radio on and it made a three tone bleep that sounded exactly the same as my GD-77 radio. Also, I notice the Ailunce keypad has the same layout as my GT-3TP. So I guess the manufacturer that made my Radioddity HT and Baofeng HT also makes the Ailunce HT? I hope they got it right this time with the HD1..
From what little experience I've had with the GD-77 (mostly helping another ham get on the air with it), I do not believe that the HD-1 shares the same platform with the GD-77. Both are vastly different radios in features and operation.
Very nice review! Just be aware that the direct conversion receiver is easily desensed when subjected to strong nearby signals. It can go very deaf without warning if taken into heavy RF areas such as inner city or around other radios while they are transmitting. Otherwise, I really like the HD-1. Just wish I had ordered a second battery :)
You are correct. This radio does have a direct conversion receiver and I neglected to mention that shortcoming in this review. Just like other radios that use that technology, it will desense in high RF environment.
I wish you would have shown the radio in action on DMR. My radio beeps 3 times and either connects with a green light, or errors out with a red light and a buzzer sound if it can't reach the tower.
Hey Michael how you doing my name is Jamal I am trying to figure out how to fix my radio I got the HD one radio and I was you know playing around with it and I messed up on it and now it comes on but it don't it just blinks off and on I was trying to put it in the GPS but I messed up but if you can help me with it that'll be good thank you I don't want it to listen to I just want to listen to all the bands on the radio I'm not going to transmit on it I know better than that I work for a bedstar volunteer ambulance court is in Brooklyn New York and
Oh yeah sorry I meant to tell you I got another radio from the same company and it's called the RT 29 and I got a beep on that one I'm trying to program it over to where I can listen to all the different police departments and the fire department I wanted that to be my emergency radio when I'm working on the ambulance so if you could help me out with that that would be real good thank you
Hi There, I'm a first responder + KC1EJK. So, my frustration is that unless I like looking like a radio farm with my P25 PS radio, My UHF DMR and my VHF DMR, this radio looks and smells like something I may like to try for both sides of my livelihood. You did not state if this radio was Part #90 or even Part#97?? But my question is does this radio have a 2-tone decoder for standard Motorola 2-Tone groups. When I work Fire or Forestry, That's my job and I'm not interested in HAM, But we do use 2-tone decoding for alerts and I'm having difficulty finding if this does have it?? is there any other testing like MIL-STD or just the IP-67? I do have a concern though with 10-watts about 3 inches from your brain using pretty much a dummy load as a radiator other than your head. I don't know how you feel about this, but we like it as low as possible for battery maintenance and saving. Thank you for your effort in making this video
You bring up some good points. I'm not very keen with having a 10 watt radio so close to my head either, so I've set the transmit power down to medium (you can change it back on the fly if necessary). The HD1 carries an FCC ID (see 03:18 in the video), but I do not believe it is Part 90 accepted. It also doesn't have a 2-tone decoder nor MIL-STD certification. IP67 is good, but MIL-STD810 is certainly a step above.
Appreciate the review thus far, and hoping you include times for "Charging" under various battery conditions as well as the "Stand-by" time with this unit. Also - have you tried it with an added mic and antenna?? Sorry if there are many questions - but the costs VS benefits are decision makers for me.
Hi Mike. Tom NO3NO here. I have purchased the HD-1 and I am having a problem with it. I simply cannot get the radio ( which I otherwise like ) to switch to Analog fm mode. I the EXIT key for a long press and while the display changes from FM to DMR. I cannot see what I'm doing wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 73 and have a happy holiday.
I'd recommend mounting it to a mast or support of some sort. The RF energy does not travel below the feed point and I've held a J-pole in my hand while transmitting at five watts with no issues.
Hello. I volunteer with the Arizona rangers in Arizona. Our communications Officer is recommending we switch to this exact model. So far I have been studying this unit closely. If I may ask, How were you able to get a unit in hand for play?
Ok...so...I've yet to get my ham liscense. (My wife doesn't have hers yet either) What I'm looking for is a radio that we can use in the woods and for communicating in a shtf situation. What radio would you suggest? Is it "legal" with the new regulations? I do like the idea of waterproof/dustproof. Any help or input from you or any of your subscribers would be greatly appreciated. Ty in advance.
The radio does have an FCC ID, (see the shot at 03:18 were I remove the battery). It should be legal to use on the amateur radio bands. This may be a good choice for SHTF as DMR, being a digital signal, is not going to be decoded by a casual scanner listener. You will need another DMR radio to hear it. DMR in the woods, though, will be a mixed bag. Digital modulation will give you a little better range over analog. But it's all or nothing. With analog you may be able to hear the message in a weak signal full of static and dropouts, but with digital, if the signal strength is too weak it will disappear all together.
Looking at the specs, I think the RT83 is a ten watt version of the RT3S. It doesn't appear to have the real VFO and keypad programmable features like the HD1 has. I do have a review of the RT3S so you can hopefully compare the two radios.
What is the connector type for a ptt called? I know it's a Motorola style but they have several that all appear the same. Which connector type specifically is it? I'm looking to get a ptt but I cant figure out what kind of connector it is to pick
Can anyone help me with a problem with my HD1 the battery percentage indicator is stuck at 100% on one hand held but on the other hand held when I swap batteries it shows the accurate percentage how can I resolve this I've swapped it between 4 batteries does the same thing and I even updated the firmware to 1.54. And if it means anything I have the GPS model
You bring up an interesting point. I did not test the antenna nor was I aware that there is a mismatch. There is some information about the quality of the antenna, but I didn't find much that detailed the impedance. I'll have to dig deeper. In the video I recommend that you not use high power for safety reasons, so that recommendation will also stand for any potential impedance issues with the radio.
Hello quick question from a newbie, I had bought two baofeng (uv 9rtp) for my wife and child and I bought a Ailunce HD1 for myself, how come if I put the same frequency than them (454.something) I try to talk and their baofeng show a green light as if intercepting something but they cant hear anything and if they try to talk I dont hear anything on my ailunce HD1 ? .. need to set something different ? Thanks a lot for any help
Your Baofeng handhelds are analog and the Ailunce is analog/DMR. First make sure the frequency you are using on the Ailunce is set as an analog frequency. Next, the CTCSS should be either off or the same value for all three radios. I hope this helps.
@@KB9VBRAntennas oh thanks, so even though both would be 440.000 as freq on DMR they would both need to have the same codes to be able to talk to each other ? like same color code etc ? I have verified and CTCSS seems off on both, when trying FM it seems to work even though didnt broadcast .. just ptt quickly once
I thought this would be my first DMR radio until I saw some of the feedback from the user community. I ended up with the BTECH DMR-6X2 which is the upgraded Anytone 686...
I haven't tried that radio out yet, but the specs on the Btech DMR-6X2 look impressive.
It's nice having that because I have one of these models and it's actually working great to receive my local College Public Safety DMR Channel in promiscuous mode comes in handy when you want to listen only to commercial DMR radios or add one deer set up if you happen to go into the DMR business use I wish the programming software was better though like it is with the Motorola DMR radios they are way easier to program software-wise
I'm mostly satisfied with my HD1. The 360 degree channel selector, the 'all channels' option, high'er' power, easily switch between memory mode/VFO/digital/analog, 64 channels in a zone. I find the receiver can get swamped occasionally and I would like to see a inhibit setting for a memory during scanning. All that being said - I feel Retevis have made and will continue to improve this radio and the CPS.
I always see people say they read good things about the HD1 and can't wait to get theirs, but I never see anyone come back later and post their evaluation of the radio. If they do, it's usually because Retevis sent them one to review, so of course they are going to give it a fair review. The prices of these radios are all over the place. On Amazon they are almost $200, other sites they can be had as little as $140. If you buy 2 of them from Retevis, you can get 2 of them for $234. On that note, I always try to look for factory tours for things I am interested in buying. I managed to find a couple factory videos from Retevis and most of their test equipment is ancient and the overall assembly line is fairly dirty, literally. Radio boards being tossed onto a belt, not a static discharge cable attached to anyone, poor soldering techniques. Perhaps it was a different sector or divison of their factory, but I would just think that for a company that is supposedly making high quality radios (for hams in particular), you would expect higher standards on various levels. With that said, The Anytone company seems to have their act together somewhat, they even made some DMR radios for Alinco, I guess that is not a bad thing.
I have the RT82 and wish it had 10 watts, The Ailance HD1 looks like it could be very usefull Thanks for the review .. great video
I've reviewed both the RT82 and the HD1. If I had to choose one radio, I'd go with the HD1. The RT82 has worked fine for me, I'm still not a fan of the track ball interface after long term use of the radio .
Yes that track and ball is just one big desighn flaw and so is the low power of the RT82 but the ease of programing is identicel to my RT90 wich I like and the HD1 looks to be a solid radio . Definatly going to add 2 73`s vk4dcc
just order my hd1 can't wait to hold it in my hands
One of the best things about HD1 that I value: Motorola style connector. Even if it gets wet without a cover, the water will not gush inside the unit. Unfortunately, my first radio has a Kenwood style connector and I am afraid to test how waterproof it is.
I just ordered OEM All-band 7-800MHz GPS Antenna for Motorola APX6000XE APX7000XE APX8000 Radio heard good things about it with the hd1
Do you by chance have any of the Baofeng multipin radios? This multipin looks to be IDENTICAL to the ones on the BF-A58, GT-3WP, ect. I'm VERY curious if it is indeed the same. Simply hooking up one of the cheap headsets that comes with the Baofeng radio would answer that. This would bring a world of options to connections to this radio.
Now has GPS & DMR APRS
Ailunce HA1G Gmrs. Good looking tonight
Be warned that the HD1 can't decode color code and timeslot. Only talkgroup.
That is equivalent to being able to scan frequencies on analog but you are stuck with one CTCSS tone. You can't hear anything if your CTCSS tone is not matching.
Same case with color code, you can't hear anything unless you have the right color code.
Maybe that'd why I can not hear pick up any dmr on mine I have the correct color code and timeslot
At 6:10 you turned the radio on and it made a three tone bleep that sounded exactly the same as my GD-77 radio. Also, I notice the Ailunce keypad has the same layout as my GT-3TP.
So I guess the manufacturer that made my Radioddity HT and Baofeng HT also makes the Ailunce HT?
I hope they got it right this time with the HD1..
Same Chinese junk radios....under a different name
From what little experience I've had with the GD-77 (mostly helping another ham get on the air with it), I do not believe that the HD-1 shares the same platform with the GD-77. Both are vastly different radios in features and operation.
KB9VBR I think you are right, they do look different. I was thinking of buying a HD1 as it looks better than the GD-77. 73's Ian, M6IFZ
Very nice review!
Just be aware that the direct conversion receiver is easily desensed when subjected to strong nearby signals.
It can go very deaf without warning if taken into heavy RF areas such as inner city or around other radios while they are transmitting.
Otherwise, I really like the HD-1. Just wish I had ordered a second battery :)
You are correct. This radio does have a direct conversion receiver and I neglected to mention that shortcoming in this review. Just like other radios that use that technology, it will desense in high RF environment.
I don’t know of any cheap dmr radio that doesn’t have that sadly
I wish you would have shown the radio in action on DMR. My radio beeps 3 times and either connects with a green light, or errors out with a red light and a buzzer sound if it can't reach the tower.
Hey Michael how you doing my name is Jamal I am trying to figure out how to fix my radio I got the HD one radio and I was you know playing around with it and I messed up on it and now it comes on but it don't it just blinks off and on I was trying to put it in the GPS but I messed up but if you can help me with it that'll be good thank you I don't want it to listen to I just want to listen to all the bands on the radio I'm not going to transmit on it I know better than that I work for a bedstar volunteer ambulance court is in Brooklyn New York and
Oh yeah sorry I meant to tell you I got another radio from the same company and it's called the RT 29 and I got a beep on that one I'm trying to program it over to where I can listen to all the different police departments and the fire department I wanted that to be my emergency radio when I'm working on the ambulance so if you could help me out with that that would be real good thank you
Hi There, I'm a first responder + KC1EJK. So, my frustration is that unless I like looking like a radio farm with my P25 PS radio, My UHF DMR and my VHF DMR, this radio looks and smells like something I may like to try for both sides of my livelihood. You did not state if this radio was Part #90 or even Part#97?? But my question is does this radio have a 2-tone decoder for standard Motorola 2-Tone groups. When I work Fire or Forestry, That's my job and I'm not interested in HAM, But we do use 2-tone decoding for alerts and I'm having difficulty finding if this does have it?? is there any other testing like MIL-STD or just the IP-67? I do have a concern though with 10-watts about 3 inches from your brain using pretty much a dummy load as a radiator other than your head. I don't know how you feel about this, but we like it as low as possible for battery maintenance and saving. Thank you for your effort in making this video
You bring up some good points. I'm not very keen with having a 10 watt radio so close to my head either, so I've set the transmit power down to medium (you can change it back on the fly if necessary). The HD1 carries an FCC ID (see 03:18 in the video), but I do not believe it is Part 90 accepted. It also doesn't have a 2-tone decoder nor MIL-STD certification. IP67 is good, but MIL-STD810 is certainly a step above.
Appreciate the review thus far, and hoping you include times for "Charging" under various battery conditions as well as the "Stand-by" time with this unit. Also - have you tried it with an added mic and antenna?? Sorry if there are many questions - but the costs VS benefits are decision makers for me.
Thanks for the comments. I'll run some battery tests for my part 2 video.
I did a battery test on my hd1 and it lasted for three days. I believe the battery charges for 8hrs.
Hi Mike. Tom NO3NO here. I have purchased the HD-1 and I am having a problem with it. I simply cannot get the radio ( which I otherwise like ) to switch to Analog fm mode. I the EXIT key for a long press and while the display changes from FM to DMR. I cannot see what I'm doing wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 73 and have a happy holiday.
I have one of these radios and I want to monitor dmr on it but I'm not picking anything up I have the correct color code and time slot
And also can you program an MDC squawk identifier
No matter how had I try, I can't figure out how to save frequencies to a channel. Somebody help me, please!🙏
Great video as always, I have a question. Can you hold one of your j-poles or does it need to be attached to another mount?
I'd recommend mounting it to a mast or support of some sort. The RF energy does not travel below the feed point and I've held a J-pole in my hand while transmitting at five watts with no issues.
4 года Ailunce HD1 GPS. За 3 года, к 2022 году более новое на базе этой радиостанции что-то появилось в продаже?
Is anyone able to comment if the multipin connection is the same as the multipin connection on the Baofeng UV9R-Plus?
Does this radio have talk permit tones?
Nice video. Can it operate in UHF to send and receive without having to get the HAM license?
no you need a license for all ham bands/mode
Hello. I volunteer with the Arizona rangers in Arizona. Our communications Officer is recommending we switch to this exact model. So far I have been studying this unit closely. If I may ask, How were you able to get a unit in hand for play?
You could contact the distributer‚ Retevis. That's where I got my unit from.
Can you program frequencies just to recieve
Will this radio transmit an ID on analog frequencies?
In analog mode it will not.
Can this radio be able used as a police scanner? Like the Baofeng? Thanks.
Ok...so...I've yet to get my ham liscense. (My wife doesn't have hers yet either) What I'm looking for is a radio that we can use in the woods and for communicating in a shtf situation. What radio would you suggest? Is it "legal" with the new regulations? I do like the idea of waterproof/dustproof. Any help or input from you or any of your subscribers would be greatly appreciated. Ty in advance.
The radio does have an FCC ID, (see the shot at 03:18 were I remove the battery). It should be legal to use on the amateur radio bands. This may be a good choice for SHTF as DMR, being a digital signal, is not going to be decoded by a casual scanner listener. You will need another DMR radio to hear it. DMR in the woods, though, will be a mixed bag. Digital modulation will give you a little better range over analog. But it's all or nothing. With analog you may be able to hear the message in a weak signal full of static and dropouts, but with digital, if the signal strength is too weak it will disappear all together.
@@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you for the reply! I'm soo new to all of this! I'd thought about a Baofeng but...?
@@KB9VBRAntennas How would this radio compare to the Retevis rt83 ?
Looking at the specs, I think the RT83 is a ten watt version of the RT3S. It doesn't appear to have the real VFO and keypad programmable features like the HD1 has. I do have a review of the RT3S so you can hopefully compare the two radios.
@@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you...for all your input! Sorry I'm such a pain in the a**
Can the hd1 be programmed to work with retevis rt29
Does this go to the 450-520 range, I have read conflicting information?
Do you have to programme the hand set first before you can operate it?
Yes you do
I have two and antennas is bullshit, now I use diamond srh 951s for better swr and power transmission
What is the connector type for a ptt called? I know it's a Motorola style but they have several that all appear the same. Which connector type specifically is it? I'm looking to get a ptt but I cant figure out what kind of connector it is to pick
Can anyone help me with a problem with my HD1 the battery percentage indicator is stuck at 100% on one hand held but on the other hand held when I swap batteries it shows the accurate percentage how can I resolve this I've swapped it between 4 batteries does the same thing and I even updated the firmware to 1.54. And if it means anything I have the GPS model
No mention of the antenna mismatch issue???
You bring up an interesting point. I did not test the antenna nor was I aware that there is a mismatch. There is some information about the quality of the antenna, but I didn't find much that detailed the impedance. I'll have to dig deeper. In the video I recommend that you not use high power for safety reasons, so that recommendation will also stand for any potential impedance issues with the radio.
One of the devices does not work just displays a white screen and the keyboard does not work on it
Привет из России!❤
Nice toy but display graphics are terrible... a ham radio with Times New Roman menus is weird... Readability is a must to me!
I tend to agree. After using several different DMR handhelds over the last couple of years‚ this is the one I use the least.
is this radio 12.5 bandwidth or can it be selectable to 20 or 25?
It has two bandwidths settings: narrow 12.5k and wide 25k
Hello quick question from a newbie, I had bought two baofeng (uv 9rtp) for my wife and child and I bought a Ailunce HD1 for myself, how come if I put the same frequency than them (454.something) I try to talk and their baofeng show a green light as if intercepting something but they cant hear anything and if they try to talk I dont hear anything on my ailunce HD1 ? .. need to set something different ? Thanks a lot for any help
Your Baofeng handhelds are analog and the Ailunce is analog/DMR. First make sure the frequency you are using on the Ailunce is set as an analog frequency. Next, the CTCSS should be either off or the same value for all three radios. I hope this helps.
@@KB9VBRAntennas oh thanks, so even though both would be 440.000 as freq on DMR they would both need to have the same codes to be able to talk to each other ? like same color code etc ? I have verified and CTCSS seems off on both, when trying FM it seems to work even though didnt broadcast .. just ptt quickly once
@@KB9VBRAntennas ah just figured it out .. hehe thanks
won't receive Motorola P25. I have one and it's useless.
DMR is incompatible with P25. Those are two totally difference systems.
Can you program this radio up to 490 or 520 like some of the other Chinese made radios
First comment, also great vid
Thanks for being #1
Thanks, I’m also about to get my technician license