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Reviews For: QYT KT-8900

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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Review Summary For : QYT KT-8900
Reviews: 23MSRP: ~130.00
Description:
Tiny Dual Band Mobile
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.446shop.com/Product/Pro659.Html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00233.5
KD0SRD Rating: 2021-02-06
Sadly it seems that they have missed the mark Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was pretty excited at the prospect of getting back into repeaters... And this seemed like a heck of an item for the price

I thought for certain that this would be solid after looking at the schematic while the controls and everything from a schematic standpoint seem to be identical to the UV5R... The receiver is quite similar but definitely not the same there are certainly some significant differences which I thought would help it to be a better radio and maybe help out with some rejection and sensitivity issues and it was nice that it had a 25 watt brick strap to it

well unfortunately it is plagued with problems...

It does program extremely easily which is nice and I'm told I can be heard all over the area

However... That is only a small part of it it doesn't hear very well and it's even worse in the city

When I get anywhere near the broadcast towers in my area and by near I mean within a couple miles I get completely wiped out folks still hear me just fine on my measly 15 or 20 watts but I can't hear the repeaters at all and my thought is if the repeater can hear me I should be able to hear it

If they had spent another 10 or $20 they could have had a pretty nice radio instead they built something that cannot be used effectively in the city
K2RET Rating: 2019-12-23
Loses output power, Fluctuates Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I used this rig daily for local 2m simplex chatting with a few friends. It was used in the home shack on a 2m/440 fiberglass dual band vertical at 44 ft. fed with LMR-400.
During an afternoon chat, I noticed the output power was dropping off. The radio was set on high, 25 watts but my bird meter showed 2 to 5 watts and it fluctuated as the key down was held. I have removed it from service and it now sits on a shelf. Might make a good doorstop. I replaced it with a FT-7800.
73'
Bob, K2RET
KC8MWG Rating: 2019-08-24
Not bad for the price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had mine for a couple of years now, paired with a dual-band magmount antenna. It has been top-of-dash mounted in two different vehicles, and is still going strong. The orange color of the buttons is a bit sun-faded but both incoming and outgoing audio quality are still good. Either I got a good one, or the folks giving bad reviews got lemons. DEFINITELY need a programming cable and CHIRP for decent results programming presets, though.
KC4UBC Rating: 2019-06-06
great for the price Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Well I've had my little rig for abt 6mnts now and have not had any trouble. Now the mic audio I was told was poor. So I went to work on that ASAP. Went to youtube and found a mod for the mic. I removed a resister that they said needed to be by passed. I got good reports from other hams around town. The rig is easy to program with software. It has a lot of options on board in the menu.
KT-8900 is well worth the bucks and if you shop around on ebay you can get one really cheap.
73
kc4ubc bill
4X1ST Rating: 2018-06-09
Excellent little mobile Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I was given an 8900 by a good friend when I returned to the hobby in 2017.

If you're looking for an FM mobile dual bander, this rig will fit the bill.
It's probably not the most sensitive receiver in the world, and the squelch breaks open on noise too easily, but for the price it can't be beaten.

I do recommend using Chirp and an FTDI cable for programming the rig (forget the Prolific cables unless you have an ancient version of Windows). Chirp will let you add name tags to your memories.

Note that the standard 8900 does not have a speaker jack (but the internal speaker is plenty loud enough on the road).
K6ITR Rating: 2018-06-08
Great for a go-box, not for a mobile. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had no grand expectations for a $66 dual band, so I took a chance. Mine is the Juentai JT-6188 Plus. It has the same kind of programming as most Chinese HTs and mobiles, so no issues there. The ability to assign alpha characters to memories directly without software is a welcome addition. The audio on receive is very loud, a definite plus. Transmit audio is good, I've been told. No issues with muffled or low audio. Transmit power, as far as I can tell, is lower than advertised, more in the 15-20 watt range, depending on frequency. The squelch control is questionable, it appears to be either off or on. Not much difference between the lowest settings. The biggest problem with this radio, at least for me, is the amount of static it emits when my car is moving and someone is talking. No problems sitting at a stoplight, but as soon as the car is moving, static appears. If no one is talking, the squelch breaks randomly. Different antennas and running it off a battery don't help. So this radio will be part of a go-box, or sitting on my desk as a base, where it will work just fine. I wanted it to work as a cheap mobile, but it's just too irritating.
N9APD Rating: 2018-06-07
Pretty good for the money Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm revising my review a bit. I just got the RT System programming software and cable for my radio - and PC programming is clean and easy with this software & cable. Rather than fuss with the cable and software that came with it, get the RT systems stuff - it just works.

The radio is decent. Audio is VERY LOUD form the small speaker. The display only seems to show frequency, if there is a way to show other tags form RT systems, I have not found out how yet. Still, for $636USD I just can't complain. I bought it to fir into a small space, and that works like a champ.

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Earlier 4-star review posted by N9APD on 2018-05-28

I just got my radio, branded at Juentai JT-6188 Plus, and I have had a bit of time to play with it. I have had for years an Icom IC-281H that fit my vehicle, but when I changed vehicles it did'nt fit in as well as I liked - I wanted something smaller. I have found that the 20w in the JT-6188 VS the 50W in the Icom does not change my operating areas much around my favorite repeaters. Receive is just as good as is intermod sensitivity - although I may change my mind on intermod on my next trip down to Boston or NY. The manual that comes with it is nearly useless unless you are a native Chinese speaker (seems like a direct Google translation). There are online manuals that are far more useful. The programming software made for it is just plain awful. I placed an order with RT Systems to close that gap - money well spent I suspect. The "Engrish: on the box and the manual are good for a chuckle. The radio is described as a "Double Transceiver of the Car" , and the box promises features like "Remote Dizzy:. I found myself locally dizzy trying to follow the manual. Anyhow, those shortcomings aside, it's hard to beat the radio at the $38 USD I paid for it. Even factoring the the RT Systems software and cable I'm still ahead in my estimation.
K0BEL Rating: 2018-04-14
Great for the price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have now had the kt-8900 for almost 2 years. The audio is very clear and I am told by listeners that they cannot tell the difference between my ft-1900 and the kt-8900. Important note: Chirp works with these radios. IMHO, don't buy any dual band radio that can't use Chirp. Next, open the mic and double the size of the mic hole. Go right through the circuit board - Just don't severe the very obvious line next to the hole. Between the Miklor site and the google or yahoo group there is lots of info on this radio. With a j-pole on my roof I can very clearly reach repeaters at 109 miles and 58 miles away. the 25 watts is perfectly adequate in my area.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K0BEL on 2016-04-02

My KT-8900 works and sounds fine. It is inexpensive so I don't worry about it being seen in my car. The more expensive dual band radios may be better, but are not 4-5 times better. Doesn't get warm enough when transmitting to need a fan. I thought about getting the kt-8900r for the fine, but decided it wasn't needed. Now that it can use Chirp it is simple to program. It is small enough to use in both my car and on the back of my bicycle (with a 6400mah lipo). I added a Kenwood mike for better transmit audio. With it's 25 watts and dual band I no longer had a need for my ft-1900r, so I sold it. There is a very good kt-8900 Yahoo users group and Miklor's site on the radio is great.
KG5YEZ Rating: 2018-02-15
Clone: Juentai JT6188Plus Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Reviewed the radio on this site before purchase. This radio QYT KT8900 is also marketed as JT 6188, TD 8900, MP 300 and 8900 mini. Found the Juentai on Amazon for $69 including shipping. The food, the form factor is fantastic. seems well built. It does get warm, mount with sufficient air clearance. Draw on recieve is about 500ma. Transmit seems around 4A. keyboard programming requires patience and discipline. CHIRP works but some accessory settings seem to get frazzled. The 'recommended software does not work with the 'recommended programming cable' because the amazon cable has the prolific chip set and the drivers on windows will need back revisions. On transmit the radio has good power, with a dummy load, VHF High was 22.1 Watts and UHF High was 17 Watts, below the marketing hype but respectable. The complaint is that, as others have indicated, the volume knob is horrible. Comfortable listening is a challenge. You will hear this radio in your vehicle despite your road noise!
M6KSR Rating: 2018-01-05
Nice little radio. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've just bought one of these little sets and whilst the instructions were 'basic' I found YouTube helpful. My one issue is that whilst setting it up a letter T icon has appeared when I select the 70cm band but is not there on 2m, along the top just next to where th CT icon is displayed and niw 70cm will not rx or tx. Factory reset does not seem to work. Any ideas what I have done or need to do please? Thanks guys and 73.