(2nd Gen) TIDRADIO H8 GMRS Handheld Radio with Bluetooth Programming Repeater Capable Dual Band Long Range Two Way Radios Walkie Talkies with 4PCS Batteries 771 Long Antenna & Earpiece- 2Pack Full Kit

I like the ease of use , programming , build quality is solid.This radio H8 second edition is a well thought out radio. Long lasting battery and recieve audio is crisp. Transmitt audio is crisp as well. Buy this Radio, you will not be disappointed.

I haven't tried transmitting on this radio yet, but with the longer antenna it does well receiving everything from GMRS to local public safety and fire dispatch in the UHF band. I was also able to revive a weak signal from the ISS as it went overhead. It's a bit strange that the first 50 or so channels will only remember GMRS frequencies, but that still leaves enough channels to store all the scanner frequencies I might want to monitor. Bluetooth programming with my phone works well, but I still used a cable and Chirp to program it initially because it was quicker. Seems like good value for the money.

First, I’ll just say this is a hobby radio thing, right. But, I’m retired with nearly 30 years of Military Communications Electronics Experience; repair, testing, operations, etc…. and just about all over the RF spectrum at one time or another.Jumping right to the punch-line: Good radio!! All around---good radio!!! I like it a lot!!!Now for some details… I’ve messed with it. Messed with it in HAM mode (Yep, I’m licensed). Messed with it in GMRS mode (licensed there too). And yep, I even messed with it in unlocked Mode. Tested w/MURS frequencies here. (FYI-this mode would be more to my background experience. Oh well, anyway…)Also messed with the programing: tried Bluetooth with the App and got the cable for PC programming using TIDRADIOs downloadable software (and tried the HAM, GMRS & Unlocked versions)For Programing: I MUCH prefer the PC/Cable/Software method…BY FAR. It works and simply allows you to see everything you’re doing so much better. Plus, it is easier to set up the “Options Features” (stuff like a custom power-on screen message if you like) and the “FM” station channel list for your area if you want to be able to use it to listen to FM radio broadcast stations too. IT just seems so much simpler (to me anyway) doing this stuff while looking at a spreadsheet-like table and everything up on a big monitor. TX & RX frequencies as well as the CTCSS/DCS pull downs, power level, wide/narrow, scan select, and channel names are all easy fill-ins on the table.There are 199 channel memory locations, and the FM Broadcast list allows for up to 25 of them under the “EDIT” tab and “FM”. There are other radios out there with more memory locations like 999 memories, etc. but I haven’t seen the need for much over 100 for my wants & needs so far. This radio can do out of band receive only stuff too like the NOAA Weather Radio channels, etc. Personally, I program all 11 NOAA frequencies into the last 11 locations (189 – 199) and disable scan on them as well. Likewise, for other frequencies I want to just monitor, I group them together for they are in the same manner and set scan on or off on each accordingly. When you do that, with PC programing, the TX frequency will be blank so you can’t transmit on an unauthorized frequency.Look, I’m not going to try to tell you this is the best radio out there. But for the money, what you get, what you can do with it… This radio, for me, can do everything I want it to do and more. And, for what it’s worth, doesn’t look and feel like a cheap old Boof-wang. If you want a “superheterodyne” handheld radio for GMRS at a reasonable cost go look at the Wouxun radios such as the KG-805 (with I have a few and they are good GMRS radios). But the KG-805 can’t monitor NOAA Weather Radio channels. In the HAM radio world, y’all already know the sky is the limit on some of that stuff.As for me?? This radio nails it. It nails it to the wall!! Hahaha. Good luck. Hope you enjoy it.

I got the "GMRS" version of this gen 2 radio. I think it is a very decent radio.Discalimers:1) I have not tried to switch the radio to the "ham" or "unlocked" modes because my primary intended use is GMRS.2) I have not tried programing it via bluetooth using my phone because I have no problem programming it from the front panel.Reference points in my review:1) A bunch of superheterodyne radios.2) A bunch of direct conversion radios.Pros:1) Receiver: 4 out of 5. Not quite as sharp as a superhet, but close. Little or minimal front end overload even when being used with a big outside antenna in an urban environment. This is pleasantly surprising given that this radio is built on the old 1846 chip. The only direct conversion radio I have that has better sensitivity and selectivity is Retevis RA89. And perhaps also Retevis RA85 and Wouxun KG-935G. The rest of "fengs" and "shengs" are "nervously smoking in the corner"...2) Audio: 5+ out of 5. This radio has perhaps the best audio of all HTs I have.3) Display: 5 out of 5. The radio has a color screen that is easy to read when inside (that's a given) or outside. When in direct sunlight, the screen doesn't fade out as much as other color screens, and stays almost on par with b/w screens. The display is also well organized.4) Battery and charging: 4 out of 5. The battery seems to correspond to the specs. Lasts a long time when monitoring. USB charging is a big plus. That said, it is sad that this radio doesn't have a battery voltage indicator (it only has "bars") and cannot be charged from a Mac laptop power brick, only from a wall wart. It is also sad that you are not supposed to use the radio when it is being charged (especially, you can't transmit). So 4 points here at the most.5) Mic gain: 5+ out of 5. The radio has a mic gain control function in its menu. This is very nice. The only other radio I have that has this function is UV-K5.6) Dual watch: 5 out of 5. It is always nice to be able to monitor two channels or two frequencies at the same time. You don't need two separate receivers for that. This radio has one receiver. Some other radios have two, but that only increases the price without adding much to routine functionality.7) PL tone scanning: 3 out of 5. It is nice to be able to scan for PL tones (CTCSS and DCS). This radio has that capability. But scanning is too slow. Also, scanning for CTCSS tones is a separate menu item from scanning for DCS tones. This is very cumbersome. Rigs like UV-K5 can spit out the CTSS/DCS tone in a second. Light years ahead of this one. I previously stated that tone scanning on this radio can only be activated when there is traffic on the selected channel/frequency. I am no longer sure about that. In fact, I cannot consistently activate tone scanning under a variety of situations. It's a good thing it has this capability in general, but it's way too finicky. So only 3 points here.7) I previously forgot to mention: the radio can receive FM broadcast and NOAA weather channels. This is nice.Cons:1) Not a superhet. You have to have one to appreciate one.2) No "reverse frequency" option on repeater channels.3) Slow scanning.4) See other caveats in the "Pros" section above.All things considered, my overall rating of this radio is 4 out of 5.