I think this is probably one of the best beginner handheld ham radios I’ve purchased. It has great quality audio on 2M and 70CM as well as the clearest AM Voice audio I’ve ever heard on a radio like this. I have reached repeaters up to 15 miles away with this. For the price this thing is absolutely amazing. The stock antenna it comes with is a bit bulky so I put a stubby antenna on it and it still works fine. Lastly, I was skeptical that this thing would do CB. But trust me when I say it ACTUALLY transmitted on CB with FM. I could not hear myself talk back on it from my standard CB radio but it transmitted on CB just fine. Absolutely amazing radio.
S
SKS
★★★★★
Pleasantly surprised. A decent HT with good power and nice features set with some minor quirks
I have never used any HT outside of the major communication brands, even though I was temped many times by their price. When this showed up in vine I wanted to try this. I was not expecting much and probably had a prejudice. However, once I gave this a try I was really surprised that how much it packs in that price point. This is a serious very functional radio with good set of features. So lets look at the key features:
> Build seem good with some heft. This is comparatively bigger than some modern ones but I have some even larger units from decade ago.
> Battery life is very good.
> Simultaneous dual band with two PTT to transmit on either without any switching.
> Intuitive setting and menu, didn't have much issue setting anything.
> Rotary encoder changes VFO freq or channel.
> CHIRP programmable, cable is included though the connection is proprietary.
> Support Air, broadcast and NOAA weather bands.
> Full band can be opened with a a simple reset using some key combination.
> Audio quality is good on both receive and transmit ends.
> Included antenna is quite good and peaks on both 2m and 70cm bands nicely.
> Plenty of power, 10w on high.
> Battery can be charged with USB C.
What I didn't like:
> Proprietary mic connection, this is a big fail. I do not want to buy any proprietary accessories, so probably will build an adapter.
> The microphone port cover is a hard plastic screwed on, you have to take it out while using. This should be a simple silicone flexible one for real world use.
> I prefer squelch on a knob instead of a menu setup, its easier to adjust for weaker signal.
> No power input port on radio. Battery charging USB C port is on bottom. You can't use it plugged in standing on a desk without dock.
Overall its a very decent VHF/UHF HT for good price. Its works as expected and have good feature set. I did not get a chance to run it through a spectrum analyzer to see the transmission quality. However, I did not get any complaints in normal use. I want to point out that this set is not a general walkies-talkie, this requires you to have a license and is actually illegal to have it without a valid license from FCC.
D
D.M.Rich
★★★★★
Get one for your storm kit
I got this radio for my storm kit. It has a dedicated NOAA weather channel you can get by pressing a single button, giving you the latest forecasts (first picture). We have a storm coming in, so it's important to keep up with changing conditions. It also has the fantastic ability to 'clone' other radios' frequencies with a button so that you can communicate with neighbors, EMS, etc. even if they are on different radio brands that have fixed frequencies. It has a long whip antenna to give it longer range than the stubby ones you see on other models.
IT Gal
★★★★★
Absolutely Amazing HT With Phenomenal Audio Quality
I am a long time amateur radio operator. I do both HF as well as VHF/UHF and love to check out the latest VHF radios. I own many VHF/UHF handhelds - everything from Yaesu to Kenwood and many varieties of the latest radios from China. I have to say, out of all of my handhelds I believe this to have the best and cleanest audio quality. Considering the price for this amazing radio I am left shaking my head in amazement. It’s hard for me to believe that a radio like this that sounds this good and has so many features can be sold for such a low price. The radio is built Iike a little tank - it is very solid and just feels like it’s something that can take a beating and will last for a long time. The display is crystal clear and has two VFOs as well as dual monitoring so you can easily listen to your main channel frequency while monitoring or even scanning from your other VFO. The radio puts out 10 watts on high power which is more than enough for most situations and more than many other HTs offer. The radio is also IP67 waterproof so it’s of course great to take out in the field on rainy days. There are 199 channels so you’ll have more than enough room to store all your repeaters, etc. Also, the package comes with a programming cable, a belt clip, a tri-band flex antenna, and a strap with of course the radio, a battery, and a drop in charger. For someone just wanting to get on the air with a great quality well performing radio I can’t think of a better choice. Extremely happy with this purchase and absolutely a strong recommend from me to any fellow amateur.
Lightning
★★★★★
Great radio
This radio was alot bigger than I was expecting, I've attached an image comparing it to my baofang radio, this is definitely the biggest handheld radio that I have.
It was easy to setup and start using, the sound quality was good, and the big antenna works great
As a pilot, Having Airband is also a great feature to listen to air traffic, but I wish it whould support transmission also, this whould make a great backup radio for when I fly
Rahn Abbott
★★★★★
Air band is nice.
This is a nice handheld radio with a ton of features that are not seen on many of the cheaper radios. One of the features in particular is the addition of airband. You cannot transmit on airband but you can receive air band. I live a long way from any air port that is active much. But I can listen to airplanes 60 plus miles out as they are contacting the approach or departure frequency. It's nice to know you can hear them if you need to.
I am not sure how it is receiving AM airband. I am pretty sure it's not a proper AM receiver, because as the signal gets weaker they begin to fade pretty bad. I suspect it's an electronic AM simulator or possibly an SDR type of receiver.
Terry Brown
★★★★★
Lots of features but a few niggly build problems too
This little handheld dual-band radio/walkie-talkie has a lot of features for its size. The manual is helpful, but I am not sure how to use some features correctly.
It's been great for local 2M repeaters and 70cm, although the front end needs to be more sensitive with the dual-band antenna. I live about 5 miles from a busy international airport but have not managed to pick up any ATC transmissions, which is a little disappointing.
The FM station's capability is quite good; although listening to the local FM radio stations is not a priority, it is useful. The NOAA weather stations are a nice feature, although I have not heard anything broadcast on them to date as they are emergency channels.
The unit appears well made, but the adhesive they use to fix the clear screen over the display could be more effective. When I tried to remove the protective film, the entire screen came off. So, I would be cautious using this in the rain.
A couple of digits on the keyboard need to be really pushed hard to get them to register, namely the #1 and #5. This is a little frustrating as many of the features rely on a long depress of a numerical keypad number.
I have not used the walkie-talkie function, but having two PTTs for each frequency range is nice. The battery life is very good.
The radio has a charger, instructions, a headset/data jack to USB cable, and a belt clip.
Grant Fritchey
★★★★★
Functional But Quirky
I have to hand it to Radtel. They're experimenting quite a bit with their radios these days. This Radtel 730 is just a little different than the others I've tried, and I like it, but it is a bit odd.
First odd bit, it came out of the box with both an open and close roger beep. No, I'm not one of those sad hams who gets worked up at the sound of a roger beep, but two of 'em was disconcerting, plus, it makes using the radio on repeaters more of a pain. Also, out of the box, the radio was auto-locking. So there were a couple of menu choices I tracked down & changed right away.
It's a pretty beefy radio. It's tall too. Taller than all my standard HTs except the Baofeng BF-F8HP with the extended battery. That one is just a touch toller than the 730. The battery is pretty beafy as well, but only rated for 2500mah. I did find it difficult to get the battery set, and to take it back off again. The radio has the standard power/volume knob and it adds a channel knob (which I'm starting to appreciate more as I switch between radios that have that and ones that don't). It is easy to turn the volume while turning the channel knob, even though they are pretty nicely offset. You have dual push to talk, one for each of the A/B frequencies when you're in dual watch. There are a couple of function buttons that you can program to a pretty limited set of functions. It's got a very clear color screen, nicely laid out. I really like the prompts on the bottom for what the buttons below the screen do (although, one could argue that's wasted screen real estate since the buttons are labeled).
Transmission was pretty good. I got good signal reports from the repeater and they said the sound quality was good. I did some simplex testing with several other radios and the Radtel mixed in amongst them. Out of five different radios, it came in third for sound quality (and the winners were $200 and $300 radios, so...). Reception was good. Sound quality is fair. Volume is good.
It came with a long flexible antenna, in the style of a Nagoya 771, instead of the standard rubber duck antenna. Measuring it, the SWR was great at 70cm, down around 1.8. At 2m it was around a 5, so, not great. Measuring the power out, I saw just over 10 watts on 2 meters. On 70 cm it was at about 7 watts. On 1.25 meters, cause yeah, it works on 1.25 meters, I also saw 7 watts, which is pretty good. With an antenna tuned for 222mhz, this radio would be great (the included antenna doesn't work well on 1.25 meters). It can also transmit outside my allowed limits in the US, up as high as 630mhz.
This thing can receive AM on the air band, and I found it to be very good. It was picking up signals almost as well as my Baofeng UV-17 Pro GPS, which is sporting a Radtel air band antenna. Yes, the standard antenna for the 730 was almost as good as a tuned antenna for picking up the air band.
One actually odd thing. All the Radtels I've tested over the last couple of months used the standard Kenwood or K-Type plug. It's a two prong plug. Well, this one has a two prong plug as well, but it's not the standard K-type. It's a much more narrow two-prong, shown in the picture. This would be a real problem, but, thankfully, the radio came with a programming cable. I plugged it in and out of the box was able to read the radio from CHIRP (an open source radio programming software). However, this does limit the accessories you can use with this radio. If you want to use a headset or remote speaker/mic, you'll have to track down the appropriate one and all the ones that will work on the other Radtels (as well as Tidradios, Baofengs, Quanshengs, Wouxuns, Radiodditys, and hey, Kenwoods, etc.) because the standard K-Type won't work.
In addition the things already mentioned the kit comes with a charging bay, although, since you can charge it from USB-C, that's not a big deal. A lanyard and a belt clip. It has a manual that's a bit thin, but basically OK.
The radio also has some additional functionality that's worth mentioning. It can scramble the signal (becoming more standard these days, and I'm still unsure of the rules here). It can capture a nearby signal including any CTCSS codes. You can even edit channel names from within the radio, which is pretty nice. It also picks up NOAA weather in North America. And the radio is supposed to be waterproof, but I didn't test that. Instead, it just makes it a pain to open the location where you can connect the programming cable.
Overall, a well built and well functioning radio. I find the lack of a K-Type connector a little frustrating. However, power is as advertised. Reception and transmission are nice. Screen is pretty. I'm still a little unsure of dual PTTs, but I'm starting to get more comfortable with them. A very good, if just a little bit odd, radio.
Yoda Bee Toy
★★★★★
Great HT radio that does it all.
If there's a radio that has a commercial feel and built to it. This gotta be the one. You don't find that many radio in this category to have a channel knob selector on top like most commercial radio. So let's name some features that most radio enthusiasts will like.
- CHIRP supported
- 8 to 10 watts as advertised from 2m, 70cm, and GMRS frequency.
- sealed audio port
- come with programming cable (non K1 type)
- base cradle charging port
- USB Type-C charging port on the bottom of the battery
- dual PTT button
- volumn meter when you key up
- very good 18" stock antenna.
Once you get this radio programmed using CHIRP, you will truly enjoy the channel selector knob which is found on most commercial radios. The radio is well design (ergonomics and button placement). I have a large hand and this radio fits my hand perfect. My left thumb doesn't feel like it's going to break when I reach for the PTT buttons. The display is crisp and clear. Even outside in sunlight. It's one of the easier ones to read. So I'm really impressed with that. Most HT in this price category, you can't see the display once you go outside.
The antenna that comes with the radio is really good. Which is rare. I tested the antenna with a Sysjoint NanoVNA-F V3 analyzer and the SWR is really low and where the frequency resonates is dead on for 2m, 70cm, and GMRS.
With that being said, I loaded all my favorite repeaters and was able to make contact at full quieting with no back ground or white noise. Haven't really tested the radio for the dreaded spurious emission yet but so far on high power. It's one of the few radio I have that doesn't mess with the living room lights.
Also when I tested the power output of this radio. The output is right over 8.5watts to 9.8 or so. So it performs like advertises.
So is there any faults or cons to this radio? Well so far I have this radio for a week and haven't found any yet. No bugs or quirks with the radio and been using it extensively. One thing, I do wish Radtel would add a mic gain feature for this radio. For the price point this radio hits it out of the park. Best bang for the buck and again. The channel knob is a must have. It makes switching channels so much better than pushing the up or down arrow on the key pad. It's built like a commercial radio but without the price.
Edward King
★★★★★
Lots of features with a good capacity battery
This radio walkie talkie has a lot of features and functions. It’s a dual band radio, it has frequency copying, it’s a walkie talkie, it has weather channel reception with 199 channels. It has a large battery that seems to hold a charge for a long time while in use. It’s also very easily rechargeable and provides a variety of ways to be charged. It’s relatively lightweight but feels durable and well built. It’s going to take a while to get used to if you’re not already familiar with the common works of such a radio. It does come with an instruction guide. Setup was quick and simple right out of the box.
C
Customer
★★★★★
Handheld Underdog with Great Reception and CHIRP Programming plus Some Quirks
With a number Baofeng and TIDRADIO handhelds in my fleet, the Radtel RT-730 is becoming one of my favorites.
In the system on a chip affordable handlehelds, Baofeng and the immeninently hackable Quansheng UV-k5 dominate the field, particuarly the aging Baofeng UV-5R. For good reason, the UV-5R is a decent 5W performer and most importantly can be had for not a lot of money.
Recently, Baofeng had introduced the UV-5RH, which is a larger, weightier color screen radio. It describes it as an"update" or the UV-5RH. It has also introduced a stylish UV-17R, which I liked the design of very much.
That said, just as the first part of this review overlooks the Radtel line, so do many consumers. Which, in my opinion, is a mistake. The RT-730 is larger and feels more substantial that the 5R and 5RH. It, conversely, looks cheaper, with a semi-glossy plastic case. But don't be deceived. The color screen is visible, the menus are easier to navigate with than the 5RH and UV17R and the screen is easier to read. But the clincher is that, in terms of reception and selectivity, the Radtel is better. In some cases, much better.
The RT-730 has a couple features I liked. First, the second, taller knob on top can be used to scroll quickly through the programmed slots. Second, the handset keyboard locks itself after a period of time, so you don't inadvertenly change something. It can be unlocked quickly by holding the # key. You canlisten to FM Broadcast reception - again with much better selectivity and sound than what I experienced with the Baofengs and TIDRADIO H-3s. This function, too, is accessed by holding down the 0 key. NOAA weather radio is accessed by a press of the round side key, although it does not stay on the last accessed NOAA weather frequency.
The radio is CHRIP compatible. As discussed below, it does not use a Kenwood style connector, so you must use the programming cable supplied with the radio.
The battery can be charged by the USB-C connector on the battery or using the supplied cradle.
The quirks:
- The handheld mic/headset jack is -- not -- a Kenwood jack like almost all other radios in it's class. So no sharing with the ones you use on other radios.
- The water tight cover over the handheld mic/headset/programming jack is hard plastic and it not teathered to the case or the radio. You must use a regular screwdriver to loosen the screw and completely remove the cover. This particular design almost guarantees that it will eventually go missing or be misplaced.
- Only one antenna, a long whip antenna is supplied.
