Finally an actual radio review no focused on build quality or packaging/accessories or LED falling off. Thanks for making and sharing a knowledgeable review for other similar knowledgeable hams!!
I have both amateur and gmrs version 1 Tidradio H-8 's and both version 2 H-8's and they have become my EDC radios. Ihave had no issues whatsoever with the Odmaster App or programming these, I also have the H-6 ham and H-5 gmrs Tidradios and the Bluetooth dongle no issues either Great product IMO de KA8BYU
I've been carrying this one with me for about 2 weeks now, since I misplaced my Signal Stick that I normally use with my FT3 lol. Only issue I've had so far is the audio seems a bit choppy, but I really need to have another HT with me to compare it to see if it is the radio or the repeater audio lol. I'm really a big fan of the battery life so far though! 73! -Kevin
All the H8 radios can be factory reset (ptt+#) to 'unlock' so that they will do ham and gmrs on one radio, which is better than limiting each radio to only do one or the other.
I am still on the fence about it, on the drive in to work today my normal repeater that I monitor while the audio was loud it was almost like it was a bit choppy, and I thought maybe it was just the station that was transmitting but it was the RX audio form the repeater that was choppy for me. I put my SignalStuff signal stick on it and have been using that. Will try again tomorrow and bring a second radio along for comparison. 73! -Kevin
Thanks for the soldi review. I also watched your video for keypad programming, and it cut my learning curve down to a couple of minutes. I doubt if I will program it any other way now. I have owned several HT's over the past 50 years and this radio is a great deal for the money. 73 N9UU
I've been carrying mine in my car with me still and haven't had any problems with it yet. They are on sale for black Friday along with an extra 15% off coupon amzn.to/3QXiVLu 73, Kevin
I’ve been thinking about getting me a H8, mainly because it can be unlocked and programmed with HAM, GMRS, and MURS frequencies. Illegal? Yes! But the way Insee it is that in case of an emergency everything is fair game. And the FCC knows it. But they recently released the H3 with more features than the H8. It’s supposed to be better but sells for less. Actually I think that for the same price. Because the H8 now sells for 40 bucks. Available in HAM and GMRS versions. I just don’t know if it can be unlocked like the H8 can.
My Td-h8 will not measure an SWR or get a power reading on UHF. Seems to measure fine on VHF. It doesn’t matter if it’s on Ham, GMRS or unlocked. I am getting close to the return time from Amazon. I’m wondering if I should return it. All my other radios record SWR and power on UHF with this meter. It’s on high power and I can figure out what might be going on. Transmits and receives on UHF as well. I have not gone more than a few feet away though.
Have you tried it through an external meter or is it the meter that is on the screen of the radio? Might be time to contact Amazon about getting a replacement. thanks for the feedback I really appreciate it. 73! -Kevin
I don't get too much rag chew on it so I haven't noticed it heating up. I do have an external speaker mic from Retevis that I use so I really don't notice much with it sitting on the desk or in the cup holder most of the time. 73! -Kevin
I've got 2 of them,an I think there great,easy to program an works great,for the money you cant go wrong.ive been a ham since 1979,an this is the best deal on ham radio vhf uhf around.no problems at all.KA7GEV 73S 88S😊 MM
How much of the power is on frequency? A power meter shows the total watts out, but a tinySA will show a considerably lower output on frequency, depending mostly on the harmonics.
Thanks for watching. I am still on the fence like I said in the other comments. It is double the price of a Baofeng so I feel like I get to be a bit more critical of how it performs. Going to keep using it but I don't think I'll be replacing my FT3 with it anytime soon. 73, Kevin
The Bluetooth is kind of a joke. Best bet, use Chirp. My complaint is, there is no ingress protection. Most of my radios have that. Otherwise, I tried it, and I love it.
Hey I need your help !!! I have a tyt th-uv8000d. The owners manual was junk I have no idea how to program this thing. I bought it for when I’m out on my boat to get weather chat with other ppl fishing coast guard and what not.
Do you thing upgrading the antena with nagoya 771 will improve the range a lot ? I'm looking for a radio with 10 miles range in mountainous environment. Thanks
It will probably improve your range a little bit, but with VHF/UHF being line of sight communications, the mountainous part will be tough. Here in the flat lands of the midwest 10 miles isn't too hard with an HT but when things start getting in the way like building, mountains, hills etc. you are running the risk of your signal getting blocked. Being at the top of the mountain will be fine, being at the bottom of the mountain you will be severely limited. Hope this helps. 73, Kevin
I hope you’re not carrying that radio every day. I bought one and it is as deaf as a fence post and doesn’t transmit worth a damn. I sent it back and got my money back. What a piece of crap.
I would look at returning it and getting a replacement. I have 2 of the TD-H8 radios and haven't had any squealing issues with it on 2m or 70cm. 73 -Kevin
I'm still flopping back and forth with it. I was using it this morning on my drive to work on the local 70cm repeater and when listening the volume was nice and loud but the audio a bit choppy. I've use the BT programming a few times so far and it has worked fine for me, but I'm still not a fan of having to make an account for their app. Thanks for your input and thanks for watching, I appreciate the feedback. 73, Kevin
You’re not wrong about this. They only cater to the people they give free radios to. TID wouldn’t replace my radio after multiple issues with it. I ended up just buying another from Amazon and returning the bad one.
@@WQ9FHamRadio you no longer have to create an account. When logging into the app you just say skip login. If you want to use the computer/web version of the app you need an account
Finally an actual radio review no focused on build quality or packaging/accessories or LED falling off. Thanks for making and sharing a knowledgeable review for other similar knowledgeable hams!!
Thanks for the kind words. I'm planning on doing an update video in the near future after a few months. 73! -Kevin
I have both amateur and gmrs version 1 Tidradio H-8 's and both version 2 H-8's and they have become my EDC radios. Ihave had no issues whatsoever with the Odmaster App or programming these, I also have the H-6 ham and H-5 gmrs Tidradios and the Bluetooth dongle no issues either Great product IMO de KA8BYU
I've been carrying this one with me for about 2 weeks now, since I misplaced my Signal Stick that I normally use with my FT3 lol. Only issue I've had so far is the audio seems a bit choppy, but I really need to have another HT with me to compare it to see if it is the radio or the repeater audio lol. I'm really a big fan of the battery life so far though! 73! -Kevin
All the H8 radios can be factory reset (ptt+#) to 'unlock' so that they will do ham and gmrs on one radio, which is better than limiting each radio to only do one or the other.
Nice video about the TD-H8. I might want to check it out in the future for giggles.Look forward to the other videos about this radio. 73!
I am still on the fence about it, on the drive in to work today my normal repeater that I monitor while the audio was loud it was almost like it was a bit choppy, and I thought maybe it was just the station that was transmitting but it was the RX audio form the repeater that was choppy for me. I put my SignalStuff signal stick on it and have been using that. Will try again tomorrow and bring a second radio along for comparison. 73! -Kevin
TD-H8 is my new preferred HT.
The H8 ver 2 is a great little radio!
Thanks for the soldi review. I also watched your video for keypad programming, and it cut my learning curve down to a couple of minutes. I doubt if I will program it any other way now. I have owned several HT's over the past 50 years and this radio is a great deal for the money. 73 N9UU
I'm ordering mine in a few days Black Friday. Looks like a great radio. thanks for the video man!
I've been carrying mine in my car with me still and haven't had any problems with it yet. They are on sale for black Friday along with an extra 15% off coupon amzn.to/3QXiVLu 73, Kevin
I’ve been thinking about getting me a H8, mainly because it can be unlocked and programmed with HAM, GMRS, and MURS frequencies. Illegal? Yes! But the way Insee it is that in case of an emergency everything is fair game. And the FCC knows it.
But they recently released the H3 with more features than the H8. It’s supposed to be better but sells for less. Actually I think that for the same price. Because the H8 now sells for 40 bucks. Available in HAM and GMRS versions. I just don’t know if it can be unlocked like the H8 can.
I haven't seen much on the H3 I will have to look into it. Thanks for watching!
73, Kevin
Not illegal. The FCC doesn't write laws. And yes, it's not against the 'rules' to transmit in emergency situations.
My Td-h8 will not measure an SWR or get a power reading on UHF. Seems to measure fine on VHF. It doesn’t matter if it’s on Ham, GMRS or unlocked. I am getting close to the return time from Amazon. I’m wondering if I should return it. All my other radios record SWR and power on UHF with this meter. It’s on high power and I can figure out what might be going on. Transmits and receives on UHF as well. I have not gone more than a few feet away though.
Have you tried it through an external meter or is it the meter that is on the screen of the radio? Might be time to contact Amazon about getting a replacement. thanks for the feedback I really appreciate it. 73! -Kevin
Does it heat up during a good long rag chew? Just curious... either way it looks like a damn good radio, thanks for the review 😎✌️ KG7QIS
I don't get too much rag chew on it so I haven't noticed it heating up. I do have an external speaker mic from Retevis that I use so I really don't notice much with it sitting on the desk or in the cup holder most of the time. 73! -Kevin
I've got 2 of them,an I think there great,easy to program an works great,for the money you cant go wrong.ive been a ham since 1979,an this is the best deal on ham radio vhf uhf around.no problems at all.KA7GEV 73S 88S😊 MM
I saw a similar thing happen to the Retevis RA85 GMRS radio. A firmware update kinda ruined its NOAA weather reception. Similar symptoms.
Being so close to a major city and only a few miles from Lake Michigan I would have thought my WX radio reception would have been better. 73!
3 months in ns no poblems just need to figure out how to setup the aprs in it i see a map showing otheers around me
You can unlock it easy I forget exactly how I did it once and never looked back but I think you hold in ptt and 0 and something else and turn it on.
How much of the power is on frequency? A power meter shows the total watts out, but a tinySA will show a considerably lower output on frequency, depending mostly on the harmonics.
nice review. I ordered 2 of them. got the ones that come with the 2 batteries and the extra long antena.
Absolutely my EDC,
It hasn't disappointed me yet, i've been going between the TD-H8 and the TD-H3 lately, so far so good. 73! -Kevin
Thanks for the review. Looks like an interesting radio.
Thanks for watching. I am still on the fence like I said in the other comments. It is double the price of a Baofeng so I feel like I get to be a bit more critical of how it performs. Going to keep using it but I don't think I'll be replacing my FT3 with it anytime soon. 73, Kevin
The Bluetooth is kind of a joke. Best bet, use Chirp. My complaint is, there is no ingress protection. Most of my radios have that. Otherwise, I tried it, and I love it.
Which one is the bigger body H3 OR H8.
H8
Actually, H3 is very compact, smaller than q uv-k5
Hey I need your help !!!
I have a tyt th-uv8000d.
The owners manual was junk I have no idea how to program this thing.
I bought it for when I’m out on my boat to get weather chat with other ppl fishing coast guard and what not.
Thank you
Do you thing upgrading the antena with nagoya 771 will improve the range a lot ?
I'm looking for a radio with 10 miles range in mountainous environment.
Thanks
It will probably improve your range a little bit, but with VHF/UHF being line of sight communications, the mountainous part will be tough. Here in the flat lands of the midwest 10 miles isn't too hard with an HT but when things start getting in the way like building, mountains, hills etc. you are running the risk of your signal getting blocked. Being at the top of the mountain will be fine, being at the bottom of the mountain you will be severely limited. Hope this helps. 73, Kevin
Mines stopped transmitting after a few months..Good while it lasted # notlong
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Ordered couple from ali
Geeks R US. 😊
I hope you’re not carrying that radio every day. I bought one and it is as deaf as a fence post and doesn’t transmit worth a damn. I sent it back and got my money back. What a piece of crap.
Just got mine THIS RADIO IS JUNK!!!! DO NOT BUY! it squeals like a pig on 2 meters.
I would look at returning it and getting a replacement. I have 2 of the TD-H8 radios and haven't had any squealing issues with it on 2m or 70cm. 73 -Kevin
These have such horrible quality control and sub-par components.
What's the difference in components?
Not just no but..... TIDradio is a garbage company. I bought into that BT programmer and their communication to customers was lousy.
I'm still flopping back and forth with it. I was using it this morning on my drive to work on the local 70cm repeater and when listening the volume was nice and loud but the audio a bit choppy. I've use the BT programming a few times so far and it has worked fine for me, but I'm still not a fan of having to make an account for their app. Thanks for your input and thanks for watching, I appreciate the feedback. 73, Kevin
You’re not wrong about this. They only cater to the people they give free radios to. TID wouldn’t replace my radio after multiple issues with it. I ended up just buying another from Amazon and returning the bad one.
F @tidraido
I have had no issue with customer support always get answer to a question within 24 hours they noe have a fb page to
@@WQ9FHamRadio you no longer have to create an account. When logging into the app you just say skip login. If you want to use the computer/web version of the app you need an account
*** Count how many times you say ahhh and umm. ***
No one cares except you. Most people do say that alot too. I didn't notice it until I read your post. Let it go mate.👍🤠
Good Video! Keep them coming.
Thanks for watching! Got a new video coming out today on the new TD-H3 radio. 73! -Kevin