| N6UTD |
Rating:  |
2023-05-27 | |
| Anytone AT-D878UV II Plus Honest Comparison Review |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I had very high hopes that I would love this radio. I have heard many hams say it was a great radio, and since it had lots of features, I decided to give it a try. Here are it's Pros:
Loud, large & bright enough screen, bluetooth, does APRS, free software that is easy enough to use, holds the entire DMR user database, dual band, promiscuous mode, feature rich!
Cons:
1. Sensitivity very poor: Anytone 25mV vs 18mV for Icom / Motorola / Yaesu. Very noticeable difference.
2. Selectivity very poor. Claims 70dB, which is a better spec than Motorola or Icom, but actual performance is very noticeably worse than all other non-CC radios that I have. When I discover a spec that is a lie - it makes me question what other specs are lies.
3. Sound poor - boxy
4. Weak signal sound includes more static than ID-31
5. Volume is not linear as you turn the knob - but rather jumps up and down in steps - even though the control knob has a smooth linear feel to it.
6. Lowest volume is too loud.
7. I couldn’t figure out how to tell which VFO a call comes in on when in Promiscuous monitor mode. I think that should be more intuitive.
8. s-meter is pretty much useless
9. battery meter is also useless. Also, no way to see current actual voltage.
10. ergonomics: prefer ergonomics of the Icom 31 / 51 over the Anytone. Icom is more flat and can easily fit in a pocket. Anytone is more boxy in shape - making it much less convenient to fit in a pocket
11. ‘Last Heard’ log takes too many clicks to get to. Also, I wish ‘Last Call’ log displayed all the info that was available while receiving - log info is abbreviated. Icoms show full log info.
12. VFO knob is clunky, and feels like it might someday become sloppy and advance more than one entry for each click - like my other analog Anytones did.
13. menu system is clunky at best. I wish the Anytone VFO knob controlled scrolling through menus - like it does on my Icoms, but it does not - so you have to click the up / down arrow a bunch of times to get where you want in deeper menu.
14. Front panel programming is difficult. My Icoms and Yaesu are easy to front panel program - no computer necessary.
15. Lowest 878 power setting = 1 watt. My ID-31a’s lowest setting is 0.1 watt. I prefer having a super low power setting for use with hot spots - saves battery and exposes me to less RF when operating near a hot spot.
16. Can’t really access inactive VFO while the other VFO is active (like I could on my ID-51a Plus II) - because both VFO’s get covered by the caller info. I don’t really like that, as I often make adjustments to secondary VFO - maybe to pick another source to continue the call while the caller is talking. This causes me to often turn off the secondary VFO
17. TX for more distant repeaters bad. Couldn’t hit what my other HT’s could.
18. Documentation is terrible.
My current HT’s rated best to worst on TX RX:
1. Icom ID-31a Plus / Motorola XPR7550e - equal
2. Yaesu FT-5DR
3. Anytone AT-D878 UV II Plus
In side by side comparisons, the TX RX differences are noticeable and obvious.
For me, the most important feature of a radio is it's receiver. If the receiver isn't good, then features don't matter. After owning the 878 for several months, I just could not stand the poor quality of it's receiver compared to my other HT's, so I sold it.
My DMR HT recommendation: IF you value features - get the 878. IF you value quality, get a Motorola / Kenwood / Hytera.
My response to all the hams that say the 878 is a great radio: They either 1. don't have a quality HT to compare it to, or 2. are practicing self affirmation, or 3. value features over quality - which is actually the only reason I can respect.
Some hams have awarded the 878 the highest five star rating. This is absurd! Even the Motorola R7 or Kenwood NX5300 - the best of the best DMR radios - aren’t perfect - maybe 4.5 stars at best. So if the best of the best DMR radios don’t deserve 5 stars, how is it possible to award the Chinese Anytone 878 a perfect score!? With the R7 and NX5300 in mind, the highest 878 score that could be considered reasonable would be between 3-4 max! Therefore IMHO, every five star 878 review should be considered with scrutiny or ignored completely.
For those who cite the affordability of quality, clean pre-owned Motorolas range in price similarly from the 878 to ID-52's, and are easy enough to find. It just takes a little extra effort to get the software from Motorola.
I hope this analysis helps someone |
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| KG9H |
Rating: |
2023-05-27 | |
| Excellent radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have had maybe three of these since they came out. Never upgraded the firmware, always worked. Current one have had for two years, works very well. |
|
| WA2AR |
Rating: |
2023-05-26 | |
| What a Potentially Optimal Set |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I owned one of these radios and used it maybe twice. The encoder is noisy, the UI is pathetic and the RX sensitivity is horrendous. It is full of features though. I usually never hate equipment, but I’ve had enough of these. I’m never selling my Kenwood NX-5300. There’s simply NO comparison. |
|
| KK4GMU |
Rating: |
2023-02-21 | |
| Too loud at lowest volume settings |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is one of the better DMR HTs on the market.
However, in my short experience as well as comments from many other owners, the volume control is terrible. The lowest setting on the knob as well as the internal 1 through 8 settings is uncomfortably loud. On analog with squelch off, on FM, weather channels and most DMR transmissions, volume levels are uncomfortably loud. No adjustment remedies this. This defect causes use to be uncomfortable. Using a headset is even worse unless you place the speakers on your neck. I don't have any hope for a firmware fix since these problems have been noted for over 2 years.
Btech is the same radio with firmware modifications. I'm seeking information as to whether Btech has remedied this annoying loudness problem.
The price of this Anytone as of February 2023 on Amazon is $314. |
|
| KI6GFS |
Rating: |
2022-11-22 | |
| Vert good equipment but….! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have the latest iteration of this unit the D878UVII
The user manual is a disgrace compared to Kenwood,Yeasu or Icom, I have hand held units from all three.
The lack of a good user Manuel seems to dovetail with their full court press to get the user to join or subscribe their expensive and often confusing “BridgeCom” support programs. These are over rated and all you have to do is take a look at their multiple and uneven You Tube presentations to get the full picture. The presentations are not only disorganized but filled with video and presentation gaff which they stop to troubleshoot as you wait and watch their own confusion with their own equipment. The CCP should ask the franchisee in US to clean up or get a new vendor.
Their saving grace is the quality of the product itself and once you get it up and running you will be pleased. I have to say that their staff are a friendly lot and always willing to help when you call, if as confused as you are. |
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| K0CTR |
Rating: |
2022-10-10 | |
| A complicated radio but a good radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I would not recommend this radio for new hams or any hams that do not need the DMR function. If you are looking for a regular transceiver in order to access the normal analog 2 meter and 70cm repeaters, this is NOT the radio for you. Get yourself a Kenwood, Yaesu, or icom. You will thank me.
This radio is packed with features but it is also packed with a lot of complicated menus and things you need to understand to set it up, program, and use. To use the full capabilities of this radio and to get it set up and programmed, you will have around 10 hours of learning, swearing, and raised blood pressure to work through. There are some great online learning courses to teach you how to use this radio, but for those who are new to the hobby and don't particularly need the digital nonsense, at least not yet, again this is not the radio to select.
If you are very tech savy and have lots of patience, you will get along great with this radio and you will be happy.
If you want a program on the fly radio to input a repeater frequency and expect the radio to automatically adjust the offset, and provide quick and easy access to select a sub audible tone (such as 100hz) this is not the radio for you. You have to figure out all the math in your head for frequency offsets, enter the receive frequency, the transmit frequency, and then go thru a few menu functions to finally select the tone you need. If you program all this stuff in ahead of time using your computer and programming cable, that will make it much easier, but for programming on the fly, this is NOT the radio for you.
I have owned this radio and a similar model for over 2 years and once I was able to get all the programming figured out, the radio has worked great. Still have lots to learn on how to use the DMR stuff.
So in conclusion- If you want a simple easy to use radio that will not give you headaches, this is not the radio for you.
If you want a fairly reasonably priced radio where you need to learn learn learn in order to use it, this IS the radio for you.
Hope this is helpful.
Ryan
K0CTR
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|
| KK4C |
Rating: |
2022-07-16 | |
| Great Radio, but the Bridgecom Support is Beyond Compare |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have been using DStar with success for several years, but was unable to program the codeplug for a TYT handheld for DMR and gave up on DMR last year.
My curiosity for DMR and a rave review from a ham friend led me to the AT-D878UV II Plus from Bridgecom.
I am astounded at the quality of support for this radio by "Bridgecom University", included with the radio. As part of the purchase, they provide extensive videos on every step of using the radio and DMR in general, creating a code plug, and they even include the programming of a hotspot. I am up and running after an afternoon of going through their videos and am now using all of my local analog repeaters as well as multiple talk groups on DMR.
I hope that this model of support might be embraced by other manufacturers and distributors. We all know how tedious printed and electronic manuals can be. There are a lot of you tubes for using various radios which vary widely in quality, but Bridgecom has invested the time and people to do this right.
I can only hope that Flexradio, Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu and others might provide the same kind of video support for their products in the future. The learning curve for many current ham radio products is too steep.
The AT-878UV II Plus is Highly recommended as a direct result of the support provided, and Bridgecom will get a first look for any future ham radio purchases. |
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| KN6RTR |
Rating: |
2022-01-21 | |
| Weak receiver |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
new D878UVII Plus -I've tested this with both stock antenna and with 717 dual-band, and receiver sensitivity is lower than my $100 Woufun KG-UV8D Plus. Very surprised. On both 2m and 70cm I can pull in repeaters on the Woufun I can't get on the Anytone.
**UPDATE** - if I hold my left hand near the base of the antenna, suddenly weak signals break through squelch and are loud and clear. Strange, my other radios don't show that effect. **
**UPDATE2** - A small counterpoise (5"), dangling down so I can wrap my right hand around both it and the radio, also works great!
Also, be aware, like most DMR radios you can't use chirp. But Anytone's software works fine (even under virtualbox on linux!). And I wanted APRS (mostly analog), that works great. So I guess it's a keeper. |
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| KB9ZB |
Rating: |
2022-01-21 | |
| Best DMR radio i have ever owned |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Bought this as second attempt using DMR, replaced my TYT md380 that I did not use much due to code plug issues. This was so easy to use and program, I was on the air in under 15 minutes. This makes DMR easier to use that a typical analogue radio.
Well-built and easy to customize, lots of helpful resources, and just plain fun to use. I would recommend this for anyone going into DMR, you will never go back to plain old voice again!!
5 stars based on ease of use, durability and multimode ability
after 2 years with both the original and version II. Both have the same features except version2 has the extended memory that's really nice to have HOWEVER versomn1 will work for most in the U.S. just have to load north America only into it works just fin3.
Did not like the APRS on the version one, version two is a bit better BUT this is a DMR radio and as such i did not expect too much out of the APRS.
Pros: lots of bells and whistles, many nice, personalized settings and you can import your own photo as well.
Vert easy to connect to a hot spot or repeater and powerful for its size. build like a tank i have dropped mine several times other than a scratch it still works not even a cracked screen!!!
Cons: APRS works but very clucky to setup and really does not work all that well.
Some sellers have added their own software in add it in to what AnyTone has and makes for a bit of an issue with code plus and you have to use their software package to do anything. Makes updates a bit of a challenge. Stay away from those get the stock version.
Lastly the CPS is easy to use, it's a basic spreadsheet style software BUT hard to cut and paste to move things around, you can if you export it as a CVS file and use excel or alike to rearrange it and import it back, should be able to that in the CPS.
Still a 5-star radio it is the cream of DMR radios it has everything you want in a DMR radio at a reasonable price. It is basically the same price for a full featured analog dual bander but with DMR. two radios in one great price.
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|
| KK4MHI |
Rating: |
2022-01-21 | |
| Excellent HT for both DMR and analog! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This review is for the recently-released AT-D878UVII Plus currently being sold at HRO and elsewhere.
Not new to DMR or digital modes at all - I've got DSTAR, System Fusion, and other DMR handhelds - but this radio is a wee bit different from all the rest in that it has a 4000 channel capacity.
I've loaded up all the DMR and analog VHF/UHF repeaters I could find for Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina in it and it works well when traveling through those states.
It's become my main DMR & repeater HT with my Yaesu FT5D relegated for local System Fusion repeaters and wideband coverage listening when needed. A TRX-1 covers listening to public safety freqs.
The trick with the Anytone AT-D878UVII Plus is to open up the Anytone CPS software and then EXPORT just the channel list to a CSV file and then edit that file in Excel or LibreOffice to add in all the repeaters/frequencies/channels you want (making sure to change the channel numbers so they're all in order and that all the channel names are DIFFERENT from, each other!), save it as CSV and then IMPORT it back into the CPS software.
If you get an error during import that means you left one of the cells in the CSV file completely blank so check your work. If it runs into channels with the same names it will throw a pop-up alert and ask if you want to keep importing them and it will auto-rename them. Best to just use Excel/LibreOffice to highlight duplicates when editing the CSV file and changing them yourself manually so importing won't throw any errors at all.
I've successfully imported over 3000 different frequencies and repeaters on mine covering all the states listed above using this method.
You can also use different Radio IDs with it as well so if you have more than 1 DMR ID you can configure it to use whatever one you want on a specific DMR channel.
So if you work for an organization that is already using DMR radios, you can use a DMR ID (and use their own AES-256 encryption keys if required) from them on "work" channels in a separate "work" zone and then use your separate amateur radio DMR ID on amateur radio DMR channels in a different zone. Using CSV export/import trick you can mass-edit large numbers of channels all at once which is a lot faster than trying to do it within the CPS software itself channel by channel.
APRS programming does have one bug in it in that when entering the path in the APRS settings in the CPS software - i.e. WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2 - you don't put a comma in there since the Anytone firmware/CPS will just put one in there for you after it's uploaded to the radio. That one bug/feature is why lots of people are saying that APRS doesn't work on it but it works just fine.
I have mine setup to send APRS location packets on the B sub and do regular radio work on the A main.
It's fire-and-forget once you have it programmed through the CPS.
I just turn on my AT-D878UVII Plus and it locks onto a GPS signal and starts sending out APRS location packets in a few minutes as well as receives any other mobile/HT users messages/locations and displays it on the screen for a few seconds.
I've used a lot of CPS software before and while all CPS software is pretty horrid, this is the least bad of the bunch and very easy to use once you get your mind wrapped around it. |
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