| N4WDR |
Rating:    |
2013-05-14 | |
| typical Chinese, value over glitz |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Pros:
55 watts
great audio in and out
all the repeater tones and stuff you need
low low price
Cons:
Incredibly bad user interface, no labels on buttons, no info on screen, save the manual, you will need it.
RFI issues with home theater, electronic door bells. noisy sucker.
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| KB2VUQ |
Rating:      |
2013-03-23 | |
| Good Value... |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Found the TYT TH-9000 (220mhz model) to be a great value. To confirm what others have said, once you understand how to program the various parameters, it becomes easy to use without the software or cables, including alpha-numeric channel labeling.
One caveat to be aware of is the squelch and how the radio responds to extremely noisy signals. On simplex, if a mobile enters a marginal signal area (even with the squelch at 1), they simply drop out. The only "work around" is to have everybody involved in the QSO use tone encode / decode and set the squelch at 0). A bunch of us also found that using the compander along with encode / decode improves readability of extremely weak signals. Normally, we are encode only and the compander is off.
Now for something completely different...
I recently purchased a desk microphone from Lentini Communications for the TH-9000 radio. It's a chinese knock-off of a Motorola desk microphone. The outside is identical. The insides are similar, but not amplified. It is plug and play with the 8 pin modular connector and sounds good on the air. It should work on the vhf and uhf models as well, since they are wired the same.
Since TYT, Anytone and Vero are all made by TYT, I found this one by searching and it returned an EBay auction by Lentini....
Search this:
NEW ANYTONE QDM-01 DESK MIC for AT-5888UV Dual Band VHF/UHF Mobile
Best Regards,
KB2VUQ
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| N6WYY |
Rating:      |
2013-03-08 | |
| Best 220 Mobile for $150 |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Looking for a 220 single band mobile. It's either this or an Alinco or Jetstream (both more expensive). I definitely made the right choice. I did not get the programming cable, but programming using the buttons/knob is not too bad. There were incorrect info in the manual. Pushing both the F key and a P key together doesn't work. Holding the respective P key for 2 sec achieves that same function.
I saw other reviews that mentioned cable/software are needed to program the alpha channel names. I found that not to be the case. Page 36 of the manual outlines the steps to put in alpha names using just the buttons/knob.
Here are some very brief instructions.
1) Program the frequencies/offset/tone and save in a memory.
2) While in channel mode for that memory, push the F key for 2 sec to enter into general setting menu.
3) Use P1/P2 key to select No. 11 menu.
4) Display would show 11 with a blinking cursor to the right.
5) Turn selector knob to select the first letter.
6) Push P5 key to confirm selected letter and advanced to next letter.
7) Use P3 key to return to previous letter.
8) After entering all the letters, push P4 key to exit.
I also found the Voice Compander (square ware symbol on the display) makes the sound worse, so I don't use it. |
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| W6DPS |
Rating:      |
2013-02-10 | |
| Price at retail is a lot lower |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The MSRP may be $249, but the actual retail price runs about $150. Very good value for the money.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W6DPS on 2013-02-10
I have been pleasently surprised by this radio since it arrived. The fit and finish rivals most of the Japanese mega-brand's gear. It has all the features I expect in a single band mobile, and has the ability to do most configuration from the mic. I haven't noticed any audio quality issues, which is the main complaint I have heard about these radios. The speaker is on the top, but performs as well as any built-in speaker. I will be using an external speaker most of the time anyway, and mobile I plan to run the audio from this into the aux jack of my car's stereo.
200 memories is almost enough, although being in SoCal we do have a good number of repeaters. The programming software live down to the expectations I have come to associate with chinese radios--very limited editing (no cut/copy/paste etc.), but functional if you plan things in advance. And I left spaces in between most of the early channels so I can add later, since you can't insert a line. Overall, this is a very solid little radio that seems to perform very well. I have kept all the channels programmed for low power, since 10 watts is plenty for line-of-sight to repeaters with a decent antenna. |
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| W6DAF |
Rating:     |
2012-12-29 | |
| Good value |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Picked up a TH-9000 to get on 220 for cheap and it does just that. Super easy to program once you figure out how to change the offset there is no need for the cable. Solid 50w with decent audio. Nice heavy case but a cheap plastic mic. The radio does have some flaws, can't turn the brightness down (function doesn't work), the colors are a bit too vivid, mic is cheap, function buttons don't do what the manual says, and the tuning knob is a bit 'clunkier' than i'd like.
Like most of the other Chinese units this radio gets a stronger rating based on value/price. If kenwood made a 281a at the same price this radio would get a 2 or 3 rating. |
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| KD4ALU |
Rating:      |
2012-11-23 | |
| Excellent alternative to higher-priced equipment |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this radio as a lower-cost alternative to the Alinco DR-235 in order to spend more time on the underused 220 band without investing more than necessary. I figured it would be an experiment and that I might find a lower-quality product as a result, but instead I have been very pleased with it. The contacts I have made indicate that the audio is very clear and understandable. I paired it with a Diamond NR140BNMO and had no trouble making a simplex contact around 10 miles away (through the middle of the city) on the low power setting (10W). As with any radio, the controls take some time to learn, but I found them easy enough to use. I have not tried programming via computer yet, but it was straightforward to program the frequencies directly without the need for software, although alphanumeric tags for memory channels are not possible except through the software. I found the functionality from the microphone keypad satisfactory. It works a little differently than what I'm used to with my Kenwood gear, but it works fine once I got used to it. The manual is usable, although there is an error in how the programmable buttons on the front of the radio are described. When describing the 5 programmable buttons on the front panel, there are functions according to the manual that are activated by pressing the function key together with the programmable key at the same time. Instead, you simply hold the programmable key down for a couple of seconds, no need to press the function key. I don't know if that was a translation error or just a documentation goof, but it works fine once I figured it out.
I am still partial to my Kenwood gear, but I am very happy with the TH-9000 purchase, and excited to spend more time on 220 and do my part to increase traffic on that band. This radio is a great way to expand your operations into the 220 band without investing more money than necessary. My Kenwood tri-band HT has 220 capability, but this mobile radio is more convenient to operate from my vehicle and provides more power when you need it. Time will tell if it holds up over the long haul, but my early experience with it has me very pleased with the results. |
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| K4WWA |
Rating:      |
2012-09-17 | |
| Great so Far |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Have had rig for a week now and have really enjoyed it.Runs circles around the ic-38a I was using. Had a little problem with the programing at first but once you learn the functions it all comes together. Have not been able to get the rig to comunicate with computer yet but is really not needed. Overall a good rig with many features and seems to be built very solid. Gives 10,25 and 55 watts on bird watt meter.Thinking about purchasing the 440 model. |
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| AB4BC |
Rating:      |
2012-07-14 | |
| High quality product. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I have no complaints about this transceiver. Very rugged construction and easy to program. The programming software is also nice. I have all 3 models and use them daily. Having the 220 model knocks the competition out of the boat. Esthetically and functionally, you'll be pleased. I would love to have a service manual for this transceiver so if anyone has access to this, it would be much appreciated. I purchased mine from Wounun.US however I see he is not selling them anymore as other dealers have jumped on the bandwagon and selling them for much less. Pity because the customer service and guarantee/warranty he gives you is top in his game from my experience. |
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| N4QWZ |
Rating:     |
2012-04-25 | |
| nice rig for the price |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Nice radio output around 50w,out of the box the audio isnt very good, very sensitive to background noise and pinched up sound, took the rig to "Advanced Communcations Nashville,Tn John (WR3S) worked on the microphone and now has the rig sounding 100% better, I tried Yaesu mics,Kwd,Icom modular plug but none worked not sure of the wiring.Nice radio and output power for the price audio is much better than the Jetstream 220 mobile. |
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| K4JCW |
Rating:     |
2012-04-19 | |
| Good value for the money |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I've had this radio running for a couple weeks (as of 2012-04-18), and been fairly pleased with it. People do report the audio sounds somewhat compressed, much like the Wouxon radios.
The interface is somewhat obtuse, and the radio is best programmed with their free software (although the $10 USB adapter is required). Most of the remote functionality provided on the microphone is useless, and the microphone itself isn't anywhere near being a Yaesu HM-133 for quality, but it beats the pants off a Jetstream (I owned a JT220M -- complete junk, don't waste your money).
The radio has three colors the display can be set to. The default blue is fairly unreadable to my eyes, but oddly enough, the purplish display setting is quite pleasant. The orange shown in the pictures isn't bad, but between it and the purple, the purple wins for readability.
Unlike the Alinco DR-235T and the Jetstream (*gag*), you can't set the alpha tag on a memory via the front panel. This has to be done through the software package. The Alinco also has a nice feature in that if you press the 'Func' key on a memory with the alpha tag, it will show the actual numeric value for 5 seconds. This functionality is not present on the TH-9000 (which, actually, is one of the only things I personally find really lacking).
The 'T' power connector is non-standard. At first blue, it appears to the be the same as that used on any other mobile VHF/UHF radio. But looking closely, you'll see the where the leg on the T is to one side on a standard connector, it's on the opposite side on the TH-9000. Same for the top 'bar' of the T. My solution, which I apply to ALL my radios, is whack the 'T' connector off and put on a set of proper Anderson Power Pole connectors.
The manual is a classic Japanese to Engrish translation. I've yet to find an original PDF copy (e.g. not scanned), and I haven't located the service manual or a set of schematics for it yet.
The Alinco DR-235T MkIII is still my favorite for overall usability, quality, and solidness, but for $70+ cheaper and 55+ watts on 220MHz, this radio is a darn good value.
There's also two re-labeled versions of this radio in the wild, the Vero VR-2200 and the KST KM-9000. I haven't found those for sale in the US, but they do exist.
I paid a total of $180 for mine from radio-mart.net, which included the USB adapter and shipping.
I maintain wiki pages on radios I own, which contain opinions, notes, modes, manuals, software, etc. This radio's page is at http://www.tinymicros.com/wiki/TYT_TH-9000 |
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