| KB9JD |
Rating:  |
2020-03-28 | |
| DMR made easy |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| The Anytone was my second attempt at DMR, first being a different manufacturer which I had no luck with. I bought the radio from BridgeCom Systems and the purchase price included a password for their "DMR University" courses online. I had the unit up and running in no time and the software made it easy to pluck info from a friends codeplug on another brand of radio and insert it into the codeplug for the Anytone. On day two I get D-APRS up and running. Having a blast with DMR and I cannot thank the guys from BridgeCom enough. Radio has awesome battery life, an easy to read screen that is user adjustable for colors, fonts, etc, good audio and you can even connect it via BT to your vehicles BT system so any audio comes over the cars speakers. Add the BT PTT on your steering wheel and you have a true hands free system in the car. |
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| G8FXC |
Rating: |
2020-03-18 | |
| Impressive hardware - slightly let down by the software... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I've been involved in digital modes since the early days of DStar and have been running both DStar and Yaesu Fusion for a long time now. This is my first DMR radio, purchased after some careful on-line research. I am using it with both my local hotspot (home made) and a local DMR repeater.
The standard of construction is impressive - this is not a "cheap Chinese radio" and it does not feel like one. It feels solid in the hand and gives the impression that it will withstand some serious use. The case is solid and it is heavy - in a good sense. It gives the same level of confidence that a high end ICOM might. The screen is excellent and the controls are well laid out and reasonably responsive.
Like most of the dual band DMRs around, it is direct conversion rather than superhet. In practice, both 2m and 70cm bands around here are quite lightly used, so this really does not matter too much. The receiver sensitivity is pretty good and it can work repeaters, both DMR and FM, that are a decent distance away - though perhaps not quite as well as my high end ICOM and Yaesu HTs. Where I do notice it is if I'm too close to the hotspot in the house while I'm trying to access a repeater. The first day I had it, I was testing it while sitting at the table where the hotspot is located and I was disappointed at the DMR error rate that I was getting from the repeater. I took the 878 to the kitchen with me while I made a cup of tea - and noticed that the error rate fell to zero! The hotspot may only be putting out a few tens of mW, but that is enough to desensitise the 878 receiver when it is just a couple of feet away!
DMR is much more complicated than any of the other new modes that we amateurs use - and the documentation is not very good. All the information you need is out there on the web and in the YouTube archives, but you do have to be prepared to climb a fairly steep learning curve. The result is pretty rewarding - in the few days that I've had it, I have spoken to many hams all over the world.
I must say that this excellent hardware is rather let down by the software you must use in order to get it configured. The Anytone CPS application is definitely slow and clunky - but it does get the job done. My main gripe is the design of all the codeplugs I've found on the web. They all seem to adopt this approach of programming every permutation of frequency, time slot and talk group as a separate channel, then create a separate zone for each repeater. I simply don't find that intuitive! I'm living with that for now - because I don't have the time to fix it - but I intend to create my own codeplug with one channel per repeater, repeaters grouped geographically into zones and a separate table of talk groups. I'll then make use of the 878's ability to select the talk group on the fly and avoid this incredible proliferation of channels! For speed of operation, I may have one zone that contains the repeater-talkgroup combinations that I most frequently use. |
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| K3GIL |
Rating: |
2020-02-12 | |
| GREAT RADIO! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Wow, in more than 40+ years as a ham I never experienced a hand held radio as good as this one. Loaded with features and solidly built. I nought the PNP DMR package from Bridgecom Systems. Excellent company to deal with. Super customer service.
There were a few challenges in getting on DMR but Bridgecom University and YouTube worked well for me. Lots of rewards too in getting things up and running.I spent some time getting the DVMEGA on my home wifi network but eventually figured it out. This little radio performs very well. I can sit at home and "work the world" on DMR. This blending of radio and the Interent allows me to talk literally anywherte with no big outdoor antenna or high power HF rig like I used in the past.
I also used the software to program in my local analog repeaters, etc.
The learning experience has been fun and rewarding. DMR got me back into ham radio for the 4th time.
A happy K3GIL |
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| VK7ZJA |
Rating: |
2020-02-02 | |
| Without doubt, the best dual band DMR handheld, hands down |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Loaded with features - plenty to keep a radio geek happy for a long, long time. And with firmware upgrades coming out fairly regularly, more features are being added every now and then, along with bug fixes. Bugs? Yeah, you can't escape a few bugs here or there with something this feature laden. The good news is Anytone are really responsive to fixing issues.
Audio on both transit & receive is simply excellent. Loud & clear, even when used in a diesel 4WD.
Considerably higher construction quality than other 'cheapie' radios coming out of Asia.
A very tweakable radio too. Plenty of mods, both hardware & software, to customise your 878.
Battery life is superb: I can listen with the occasional chat for an entire day and a half on the slim battery, near three days with the extended battery.
Decent front end performance courtesy of a 4 pole varactor BPF, one for VHF, one for UHF. Also separate RF PAs, one for VHF, one for UHF - unlike other radios that use just one wideband PA with nasty results.
Dedicated DMR IC contributes to a smooth digital experience, where as many other radios use the main processor to do double duty of running the radio and doing vocoding duties.
Little touches are appreciated too, like the slightly recessed screen that helps prevent scratches. A lot of thought has gone into the design of this radio... all except it seems the knobs. They're just plain weird looking to my eyes. Replacements abound, a very simple swap over.
If you follow good 'codeplug hygiene' you'll never have a problem. Most issues seem to stem from 'Franken-plugs' where bits of configuration are spliced from multiple radios, then pushed out as an easy to download, ready to go codeplug for all to use.
It's amazing how they have managed to cram everything it has inside such a compact handheld.
Some are even making comparisons between this radio and the top of the line DMR products from Motorola... this radio isn't quite as rugged as that, but in terms of features, functionality and performance - they might just be right. And at a quarter of the price, too.
The 878 has proven to be a highly popular dual band, dual mode radio, and deserves to wear the 'best DMR handheld' crown. Good value, good performance, excellent features. A winning trifecta. |
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| VE3XYD |
Rating: |
2020-01-29 | |
| THE BEST DMR RADIO! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is one of the best DMR radios I ever used.
Audio is amazing on the radio. Setup is reasonable once you learn how to program the radio. This radio is packed with so many features.
I would recommend this to any new dmr user |
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| KSAVES2 |
Rating:  |
2019-12-24 | |
| Slam of DMR in general |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
If one is a casual user and unfamiliar with DMR, stay that way. I have never run into a mode that is so complex and a radio that is so dependent on the menu that it's enough to make one vomit. Think of it as a cell phone where every parameter has to be chosen correctly to make a call. I was lured into buying the rig because some geeks setup a DMR repeater 9 miles away. Big mistake. Took 3 days just to get the cable to communicate with the computer! And one can't do anything without being able to connect to a Winblows computer. Yeah I paid the premium and bought from Bridgecomm and got a free "University" course out of it. Wished I had been exposed to the course first and I wouldn't have bought the rig in the first place! DMR stands for danged mother radio and one can figure out the expletives. I thought the learning curve was high on the AV5RT/AP510 APRS transceivers. This and any DMR rig blows this off the map. I think DMR is for a socially inept geek that has nothing else to do but diddle. I was told "it does" analog APRS. O.K. so I could figure out how to do that and entertain myself with it in analog APRS mode while I tackle the Everest mountain sized DMR learning curve. Blaaaaaat.....
Wrongo! It's nothing more than a dumb analog APRS tracker period! Can't decode anything. Not a Kenwood D72A with DMR inside. Too much wishful thinking on my part but to my credit, that wasn't advertised as such or clearly AT ALL!
I don't recommend DMR for a casual analog user. Especially someone who is older and in an isolated area without mentors. It will turn out to be a total waste of money. Me? I have post graduate education in a scientific field so am not a complete dummy. Just someone who wants clear, concise and straight forward instructions to get running out of the box without having to pay extra for "University" courses just to use a rig. (sic) Beginners and new users considering? Steer clear and spend your money elsewhere. Using the mode for years? Well yeah, those geeks will probably like it. But hey, they probably don't do anything else. Kurt KC9LDH |
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| AD4C2006 |
Rating: |
2019-10-25 | |
| A Super radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I am in DMR since it started about 8 years ago and during all those years I have owned,programmed and used all chinese made handheld radios and all I can tell is that my 878 is so far the best of all.
At the begining I was having an issue with its delay starting to receive the stations talking but that was resolved recently with the newest firmware version 1.15 and now works as it should.
I like the display a lot, its very informative showing not only the whole data about the station you are talking with but also the Zone and TG you are using in different colors selectable in the codeplug.
Receive audio is loud enough to be heard in any enviroment, Tx audio was little weak when I talked but incresing two points at the mic level within the codeplug fixed the problem, it depends of the user voice what you will have to set there.
Programing it its very simple of course if you know how to do it, in that respect I like the fact that you will not need to create a RX group as in the Radioddity radios, just the TX groups is enough to be used in both RX and TX.
Technicallyspeaking, been a radio tech for 55 years everytime I purchase a radio, before start using it, I do a bench test using a professional service monitor and this 878 passed all FCC specs test, one of the main things a dmr or any digital radio should meet is the freq error to avoy BER or packet loss and this radio has from factory only 10Hz off the main freq so never has had a bad report when TX, always saying my Tx audio is great. |
|
| G0CTO |
Rating: |
2019-07-30 | |
| Has Potential |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| The radio on the whole is pretty impress but here is the big But if your intending using this with a hotspot then don't buy it until the problems are addressed it will drop receive while other radio's carry receiving |
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| KD7UCH |
Rating: |
2019-06-24 | |
| Lots of radio for not much money. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I should preface my comments by saying that I am very new to DMR radio.
I received this radio just about 3 weeks ago and I had no knowledge of DMR prior to that. The programming is daunting to learn but that is typical of all DMR radios. At the same time I got a Zumspot hotspot to work with it. Last evening I got them working together and I am one happy boy. I have been making contacts all over the world. The sound quality is excellent and the radio is very well built. The battery will easily last all day and additional batteries, and other accessories, are low cost.
Because I travel in an RV full time HF can be tough. RV parks will not often allow any kind of HF antenna and DMR repeaters are not found everywhere so the radio and my hotspot will allow me to get on the air. I have a lot to learn about this radio and DMR but it is fun.
I would certainly recommend this radio to anyone, either a DMR novice or expert. |
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| K7FLA |
Rating: |
2019-04-03 | |
| Great Radio, easy to setup |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| This was my second DMR radio and super pleased with it, and it exceeded my expectations. My hearing is not so great, and the sound quality is excellent. The speaker is VERY loud and clear even in analog. The programming was pretty easy to setup and never had an issue connecting to port and loading and saving code plug. The case is very durable and strong, and display is very clear and easy to understand. As any new radio it takes a bit to get use to the configuration and buttons, but I got use to it pretty fast. The knobs and buttons are easy to get to and work well. I would definitely recommend this radio. |
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