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Reviews For: Anytone AT-D878UV Dual band DMR Transceiver

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

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Review Summary For : Anytone AT-D878UV Dual band DMR Transceiver
Reviews: 33MSRP: 219.95
Description:




Specifications
Roaming
New Built-in Roaming Feature
APRS (GPS) DMR-APRS and Analog APRS Capable (GPS)
Processor Faster Processor over the D868UV
Additional Memory Larger Memory for Future Enhancements
TFT Display Background Display and Font Colors are User changeable
Digital Monitor Monitor One or Two Timeslots
Zone Select Selectable Zones from Keypad
Auto RX Mode Receiver Auto Selects to incoming Digital or Analog Signal
GPS Built-in GPS feature
Memory Channels 4,000 channels
DMR Talk Groups 10,000
Digital Contacts 150,000 (complete worldwide database from DMR-MARC)
Power Levels 4 programmable power levels: 6/4/2.5/1 Watt Transmit Power Levels
Zones 250 zones, up to 250 channels per zone
Display 1.77 inch color TFT Screen with selectable dual channel or single channel display
Battery Operate 35+ hours between charges with the supplied 3100 mAh lithium ion battery in the power saver mode
Bandwidth 12.5 / 25.0 kHz Analog, and 12.5 kHz DMR
Import/Export Enhanced CPS allows direct input and export of channels, digital IDs and talkgroups

Certifications FCC Part 90 Certified, FCC ID: T4KD878UV


Product is in production
More Info: http://www.qx-tele.com/supply/dmr-and-analog-uhfvhf-radio.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
42.5333.9
KM4ASH Rating: 2019-03-29
The DMR radio I wanted Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I waited several years to buy a DMR radio. I would periodically read on the topic and look at the available radios. Biggest issue for me was being able to have only one portable and work DMR and analog repeaters. Next was to be able to program a frequency or talkgroup in from the keypad.
This radio has both. It's a lot to learn. A few quirks are - it won't seem to let you program in a group call talkgroup, so a workaround is to add blank placeholders in the talkgroup list and change them to what you want as needed. Analog APRS works though only on a keyup or if you program a channel with the APRS frequency and leave it on the channel. Digital APRS WILL work in the background, so needing analog APRS? Not me. I also just found APRS droid which works great with "smartbeaconing" - it's much better if you carry a smartphone.
The radio has a roaming feature - seems to only be workable if the repeaters it will "roam" to have the same available channel setup - so a QSO could be seamlessly picked up by the next repeater. Did not work with my local repeaters.
Lockups - the radio froze/locked up on me twice in the first week which might have been due to fast changes I was handing it as I worked through the CPS software, enabling each feature one-at-a-time to verify function and what to expect. It has not locked up at all in the last three weeks.

It IS what I want it to be.

Improvements? More choices in colors on the screen - you can choose yellow or white for some line items. Yellow? Really? I like how you can scroll through your talkgroup list and select any talkgroup to key up on any DMR frequency/channel - it would be nice if this were the top choice in the menu when you click on a particular talkgroup.
Some more streamlining and smoothing in how one would look for "intuitive" function in programming of a channel, talkgroup or frequency.
I always add a BNC adapter to the antenna connect with a tiny bit of blue loctite and use BNC antennas and connections to my vehicle or other antennas - too much to ask to get my radios delivered this way - oh well.
Mine was delivered with CPS and firmware 1.10 - waiting to see what improvements are delivered in the next.

Somewhere in my periodic study of DMR I missed that DMR is worldwide. !! One of the first contacts I made was with an Australian station. I listened to a station in Israel and one in South Africa this morning. Am checking in to a net in Hawaii each week - liking this radio and DMR very much. Sound quality is like being at the same table with your contact.

KM4ASH - Craig
N2EIO Rating: 2019-02-09
Nice update of AT-D868UV Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my second DMR handheld, the dual-band H/T I've been waiting for. I got it up and running without too much fuss. If you have programmed a DMR radio previously, you should be fine. If not, find an Elmer. Nice fit and finish, feature-set and performance. (I haven't tried many "advanced features", and there are a bunch). No glitches or issues noted to date. You can buy them from a warehouse, or from a source you can actually talk to. I suggest the later.
KD8DVR Rating: 2018-12-14
Very good radio. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having owner an 868 for a few months, I just had to get the 878. I give it a 4, only due to a few drawbacks. Analog reception and transmit quality is a little below what I'd like to see. Also, the radio does have some quirks with analog APRS and a few other minor glitches, that I'm sure will be taken care of in future firmware updates. This radio has only been on the market a short time and needs time to mature.

While, I enjoy the Digital and analog APRS positioning feature, by far the best feature is TalkerAlias. On Brandmeister, the Call sign and name of the station are displayed on screen directly off the Brandmeister data stream. No need for a database download, if you don't want to. I elected to download the DMR userbase. There is plenty of memory, as of this writing, to include every DMR ID.

Transmit and receive audio quality on DMR is outstanding.

The stock antenna performs better than most HT antennas I've used. I feel there is no need for an aftermarket antenna, at least on UHF.

I like the main display of the radio. The black display is sharp. Unfortunately, all the menus, however, are the same blue color of the 868. not a deal breaker by any means.

The GPS takes several minutes to get its *first* lock. Took mine about 10 minutes. *This is normal*. The GPS must download from the satellite data stream, some information to help locate the sats, and other stuff. After the first time, I can get a GPS lock in under a minute. GPS accuracy isn't as good as your typical GPS unit; but it is passable for what I need it for.

The CPS is a typical DMR codeplug software. If you can write a codeplug with other brands, this should come fairly easily. For those unfamiliar with codeplug writing, you'll be challenged, as like all DMR equipment, there is a learning curve. The CPS worked well, with no noticeable glitches. Firmware updates can be invoked from the CPS, as it is now an option.

All in all a very good radio. I do not regret my purchase, and feature for feature, in my opinion, is probably the best deal out there.