TYT
Rengroo!
Very well made. I use it for GMRS and as a scanner for local police fire and medical. Have it hooked to a 12v power supply and basestation antenna using as a base station. Can use for many repeaters in my area near Portland oregon and simplex.
jeff Lentz
They sent a th9800 plus Pro….NOT compatible with CHIRP. Had to buy software from RT systems to program. Got it programmed and hooked it up. Horrible audio, out and receive…power levels way off…couldn’t run small amp with it..”kept hitting overdrive limit on low power”…on simplex still horrible audio out and receive…pile of junk!
Customer
It arrived broken. The vol/squelch knob was bent! I will change my review depending on the next one I get.
Ken
I first ordered this radio a few months ago and liked it right away, but I did not hook it up since I was still needing to mount my outdoor antenna. When I finally got around to getting everything fired up, I noticed that the radio was locked, with no way to unlock it, I was very disappointment. I assumed that this would be a dead end but to my surprise the manufacturer contacted me immediately and took care of me faster than I have ever experienced in the past. They sent me a return label next day, and shipped my replacement a day after that.
The story though... is that there was nothing wrong with the radio to begin with, I just did not understand the procedure for unlocking the radio. I could not figure it out by reading the manual so I found YouTube videos to explain the issue. Now that it all done, I have realized that it is discussed in the manual and the whole drama was on me. This company is fantastic, the radio is awesome, and I am now a lifetime customer. I highly recommend. (Shout-out to Echo at costumer service!)
Warren Eckstein
The original box had been opened, there was no pigtail and the connector had been cut off. After connecting it to an antenna and power the left channel has a lot of noise even when tuned to same frequency.
I'm pretty put off by this.
harley
Let me first cover what i like about this radio. It is compact, 4 band radio with hidden extras. More on the extras later. It came with programming cable, detachable faceplate with a generously long control cable, mounting hardware and brackets, microphone, instruction manual and power cable with fuses. Nice! I had to go to the website to access the programming software, but the Chirp software works as well. Awesome! Now for the bonus. You can unlock the radio to tranmit and recieve out of the 4 ham bands listed! It can only be unlocked from the TYT 9800 programming software. Very easy to accomplish with help of you tube video! It now will allow you to transmit and recieve on CB frequencies and GMRS frequencies! Fantastic! I was able to program in a local gmrs repeater and makes contacts. Excellant! The programming software was very easy to use and very simular to the Chirp software. The screen is clear and crisp and controls are really simular to the Yaesu FT-8900r which im sure the design was modeled after. Nice! The speaker sounds nice and crisp. Now for the bad. The power output isnt even close to what is advertised. I got about 22 watts out on 10 meters, 30 watts on 6 meters, 35 watts on 2 meters and about 30-35 watts on 70 centimeters. I got about 30 watts on GMRS and didnt test on CB frequencies but would assume simular to 10 meter power out. Bummer! It was easy enough to mount but durability is unknown. The hand mic is OK but not really user intuitive for channel and frequency selection or hand programming the memory channels. I would have given the radio only 3 stars for low power but the unlocked frequencies was a bonus. I will update as I get more use with this radio.
José Orejas
Me agrado rapidez, el embalaje y la versatilidad del equipo
Gerald F.
Just a quick review, got local repeaters in quickly, and used 3 of the Hyper Memory Keys, under a hour. Easy to program with front controls and key entry from mic, love the dual display. Haven't started with 6M or 10M FM yet. 2M and 70CM great, with easy 4 power levels. Great Radio, Really Like It ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
..... Also lucky to find a returned radio for a nice discount it came in basically brand new .....
gator
I've had this tyt th-9800 about a week now and it's been flawless 10,6,2m and 70cm. All work great, the cross band repeat is perfect for when I go camping only have to the a ht on the trails. My only thing is that the recieve meter on the right side is more stingy than on the left, on the exact same frequency
Goodrich Buckner III
This is a quad band radio so make sure that the frequencies you’re using are equivalent to the antenna you are using or antennas
So far I like the radio I am still learning it
But for the most part, it is a good radio. It has good audio. It has good transmit.
On 144,000 frequencies in watch it maxed out at 47.74W not 50 W, but close enough
On the 430,000 frequencies it maxed out at 18 W I believe a low end of those frequencies they both are 6 W barefoot on the low end of the watt spectrum
I like that this thing has a detachable face, and it is very easy to learn very easy to install, and well worth the purchase
The antenna that I am using is a TRAM model 1477-B very good for VHF and UHF a 1.00 and 1.01 SWR.
This radio has a CB radio in it. You will need to use a CB radio antenna to use it but it does work.
This is a good radio and I would recommend it for anybody looking for a quad band radio for a decent price
EKF4
Liked this radio so I bought a second one to give additional capability to my go box.
Kathryn Harmon
very happy with this radio getting good Signal reports and getting a good distance with it.
Rod mont
Working great on gmrs frequency easy to unlock.
S. C. Flowers
I bought this radio to access local 2m and 70cm Amateur Radio Nets in my area. I use the radio with a homebrew 5 element 2m Yagi-Uda antenna at my base station and at the "High" power setting, I'm able to hit repeaters 17 & 23 miles away, 70cm & 2m respectively. I also routinely take my radio mobile and with a Nagoya UT-72 mag mount I've hit repeaters 40 miles away at "High" power.
I use the Cross-Band repeat function multiple times a week and it's worked very well for me. So summarizing, I've owned my TYT-9800 for over a year and so far I'm impressed by the performance of this radio.
andrew m sambrone
Nora and the support crew at Radioditty are awesome. My TYT TH-9800 was half working and they made sending in and sending out a new one a very pleasant and qwick experience. KUDOS. A true 5 STAR experience. Andy KC8AOL
Garrett Windschitl
Please be aware when using the included CD for programming your radio; My antivirus got a positive hit on EoRezo adware. See attached screenshot.
Mitch
What a waste of money.. the display died after 2 months of ownership.
DonS
So far so good. Fit and finish look good. Mounted in my F150 truck. Transmit power was spot on as measured on my Diamond power meter. 2m and 70cm audio reports very good and hitting all the local repeaters on low power. I have not checked out the 10M and 6M bands yet on receive or transmit. Wont use them at all for transmit since I don't have a quad band antenna on my truck, but I will program in the 40 CB channels so I can monitor them when on the highway. The extended listening in 10M and 6M is nice. I don't have much use for those two bands in the TH-9800 otherwise since it will only transmit FM.
If this radio stands the test of time, I will be very happy. So far 5 stars for initial impression and pricing and capabilities.
Rich
I would just like to say that this radio meets all expectations I have expected. No issues with the radio excellent modulation everyone says it's very clear and loud. I must say the radio takes some getting used to lot of buttons. But like anything if you take your time you can figure it out. I hook the radio up to a watt meter and it holds pretty true to the power settings. With low power right around 5 Watts and higher power 65 Watts on VHF and 45 Watts on UHF. ... I will recommend if anyone was to purchase this radio they should buy a power supply with a minimal of 20 amps. The radio on high power will use approximately 12 to 15 amps.
Update I have had the radio now for approximately 6 months and no issues whatsoever. Radio is still holding true to power output audio reports come back just fine. If I ever need another Mobile Radio I would not hesitate to purchase another one
Update 01/10/2018 I've had the radio for more than a year now and no issues at all radio still works great. Power level is still as it was when radio was brand new. The receive and transmit side of the radio working flawlessly. The display of the radio is working fine as well....Update 11/10/18 approaching the 2-year mark the radio still works as good as a day it was brand new
D. Fichtner
This is the TYT TY9800+ model (the newest version 1508A), purchased from TPK Radios, another seller elsewhere. The seller, reportedly, tests the radios before shipping. I believe they did so, but they probably couldn't have found the problem I have, just powering it on and doing a quick check.
I struggled to give this a 3, because I would like to give it a 3.5. This radio works in all respects, but I want to focus on the faults.
Fault 1: The radio had (went away after a month) a slight high-pitched whine in receive on the right-side. The left-side receive is OK. This isn't a dealbreaker for me, because I just listen to the left side, unless a signal comes in on both. I usually leave the right side on a simplex channel that goes unused, unless a friend comes on, anyway.
Fault 2: The mic doesn't sound particularly great. A friend says I sound best with I hold it about 10 inches from my face. The three tiny holes for the mic, upper-right of keypad, are easy to cover with your thumb, too. Otherwise, the keyboard function on the mic is nice to have. Update Oct 2023: radio still running fine, but the mic has frayed where the cable meets the mic. I need to purchase a new one soon
Fault 3: The radio has a "compander" feature, which is somewhat like a compressor. The effect is kind of useless, however, because it ruins the audio just enough to be annoying. The best way to describe it is it makes the audio sound a lot like overly-aggressive Dolby C did on my cassette tapes back in the 1980's. The last several milliseconds of each word gets clipped off. You can understand it, but is uncomfortable.
The other general features of the radio work fine. I have used Crossband repeat, and it has been unexpectedly useful, but it makes the radio hot, so, as suggested in the manual, I run it only with low power. It is nice to walk around the house (or neighborhood) with my Baofeng HT, and access this repeater for better transmit.
I purchased this radio, instead of a Yaesu, because getting a Yaesu to Korea involves far higher costs and fees on import. Local sellers gouge us on Yaesu in Korea -- costs for name-brand radios are double US prices. I tried this, because I could ship this radio for what you'd pay on E-bay for it (about $235). If I had been in the USA, I would have gone with a Yaesu -- no doubt. Even a less-featured Yaesu, for the money. But, as I am in Korea, I went with this. It is serving its purpose just fine, so I am not upset with the purchase. I just want to be honest about its shortcomings. I'm hoping it holds together fine.
ffemt10
Excellent radio. I was looking for something easy to program and could communicate both amateur radio and fire department on vhf/2m. This is it. Perfect audio quality. Loved how I could mount the radio under the seat and the remote head on the dash. Note I did have to add an external speaker once I put the radio under the seat. I bought a second radio for my other vehicle.
Manuel Lopez, Jr.
Very nice radio. All I expected. Remote mounting gives lots of options especially in small vehicles. I installed it on a 2007 Ford focus and it blends well with the interior. Only complaint is radio is mounted under seat and sound is muffled so have to install a remote speaker.
Hoshnasi
I've had this radio connected and operating in my car daily since April. Its primary use has been on 70cm with light and occasional cross-band to my HT.
The Good:
As a 2m/70cm it functions wonderfully. Great sound quality on Rx and I am told I sound great simplex or off of the repeater. The layout of interface is easy to understand, the menus are also easy to work. Although it feels cheap, the mic is very useful and fully functional. The USB port in the back makes programing easy with applications like CHIRP.
The Bad:
When mounted in a car, in places where car mounting is appropriate you cannot hear the on-board speaker, this in of itself is NOT the problem. Most of us expect to use an external speaker for mobile radios in car. The issue is that the plug for the external speaker is extremely weak. The jack itself inside the radio enclosure is plastic, and the metal radio housing does not limit enough any sheer pressure on the jack. In other words, with very light sheer pressure applied to the audio jack the plastic housing will snap and the connection will become spotty at best (see attached pictures).
The solution to this cheap jack is unknown to me as of now. In the short term, lacking the proper way of reinforcing the jack I coated the outside (internal to the radio) in hot glue. This has solved the issue somewhat, but I better solution need to be discovered.
Attachment details: Pictures 1 & 2 are what the jack looks like. Pictures 3 & 4 are the jack exposed after the top portion has broken free. Picture 5 is my crude repair using hot glue.
If you are going to mount this in a car, make sure the body is well away from any passengers or anything that can apply pressure to the external speaker cable.
cybernerdz
I was first hesitant investing this much on a Chinese mobile radio for my car. This is an exact clone of the FT-8900, which is about $180 more more expensive AND less capabilities. To my surprise, I am very happy with this purchase. Chinese radios has been criticized by many ham operators but little do they know that all "Japanese made" radios are actually made also in China, or parts of it at least. This is no exception. I see a well built and very good quality ham radio. It does exactly what the FT-8900 but with unlocked transmit in all bands! It can also transmit in AM in 10 and CB bands. All this the FT-8900 can not do. This is a good addition to your shack if you are really objective in evaluating quality, performance, and capabilities. I own a Yaesu FT-8800 and other Yaesus but I have to admit that this is better that the FT-8900 in so many aspects.
The only thing I did not like about it out of the box is it is set not to transmit if the frequency is busy or has a carrier (Busy Lock). This will be frustrating and can turn off any ham operator. To add to that frustration, there is no option in the radio's menu that can turn that off. Imagine checking into a net but you cant because you're waiting for the repeater to drop, which rarely happens.Bottom line, you won't be able to use it out of the box if you are going to work repeaters. This is the only thing that kills this radio and why TYT designed it as a default is beyond me. Make sure you purchase the programming cable and have the TYT program ready to disable that function.
Shipping was fast and seller stands by their product.
Download this (TYT-9800 2.06 Eng) to program the radio:
Download this to fix the no transmit due to Busy Lock (instructions included):
Ps. Your antivirus might prompt you a warning because the program was developed by "unknown" publisher. Its fine and I have verified it with my Norton 360.
Bottom line: You are saving aprox. $180 (even with Yaesu's $50 rebate) with same FT-8900 capabilities + a lot more BUT you have to flash/update or use your computer to fix the "Busy Lock" bug.
