My review of the excellent TIDRADIO TD-H3. Product link: TIDRADIO TD-H3 www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRTWV1VH?... Please be sure to visit www.spectergear.com/ Your patronage there helps support this channel.
Totally agree - picked up an H3 about a month ago and have been nothing but pleased with it. The ODMASTER, Bluetooth programming software - well, it works. But, I'm not too happy with the idea of a 3rd party essentially having copies of my code plugs. Eh, it's a detail. I also have their 'plug in module' to allow Bluetooth programming for radios that also use the K1 connector (Fengs, etc) - slick and nicely done. Same issues. For the "Red Dawn" crowd, won't be cool when the troops in chutes have your code plug as well. In fact, liked the H3 so much, ordered an H8 just to have some compare. I believe we finally have a Feng Killer here!
Just dropped an order for both the H3 and H8 at a local reseller in Malaysia, can't wait to get my hands on them to test them out and compare them to my UV17 (the clean variant).
Informative and well presented. Thank you. One question... can I use this radio to get traffic updates and warnings that the bridge is out and I should take a detour?
Nice review. I took delivery of 2 H3’s a few days ago. Like them very much so far. Im interested to see what you come up with for additional videos. Freq Hopping, encryption, stun feature and frequency clone feature i think. Packed with interesting features if you can figure out how to use them. Bluetooth programming is a very nice addition. And It works too. Its a little tricky programming 2 radios off of one file on your phone or IPad but doable. Also got the solid performer FT 60 r from your reviews on it. Appreciate ya!
Thanks, Scott. Great video. I bought a three-pack on your recommendation. So far, I'm very pleased. However, I've noticed three quirks. 1. The lock button is also the DTMF button. If you don't hold it long enough, the prompt screen for a DTMF code pops up, and the only ways I've found to get rid of it are to cycle the radio on and off, or to push the PTT button and transmit a tone. 2. In "sync" mode, which shows only a single band, the A/B button will not cycle between bands. 3. Also in "sync" mode, the second PTT button is still active and will transmit on the non-active band, but the display indicates that it's transmitting on the main (active) band. My radios have firmware version 231229.
Hi, Finally A nice descriptive review on this radio and what freq. It Covers and Transmits on. I was wondering what the difference was between The H8 and This radio. My only issue was that it had Spurious emissions issues. I may purchase 2 of these in the Bright green which i like. Thank You for the Complete honest review. Would love see this radio in 900mhz.
Great breakdown. Convinced me I need this radio. At this price point you can’t go wrong. So ordering the Ham or the GMRS you get the same radio simply preset to that mode? And a different antenna depending upon which?
Which antennae do you recommend if using on GRMS channels vs HAM channels? Is the Nagoya 771 better for HAM and a different Nagoya for the GMRS frequencies?
Which would you choose between the H3 and the H8 gen 2? They seem to be pretty similar aside from the H8 having 10w and the H3 having a bigger transmission range.
Id choose the h3. You’re really not going to find much difference between 5w and 10w. Also, it’s only near 10w on the lower end off vhf. As you go up in frequency, power drops.
I am curious about its bluetooth connectivity. Can you also use it with bluetooth speaker mic, like for a cell phone? And its channel counter & cloning features are nice.
How does this compare to the baofeng uv-9r pro that you previously recommended as the best under $50 radio? If you kept it, I would like to see you do an operator series on it since many now own the baofeng 9 series (9r, 9r plus/pro, 9g and gmrs-9r) of these radios due to their advertised ruggedness.
The UV-9R Pro is still a very good under $50 radio, and it does have the advantage of being weather protected. But the TD-H3 edges it out, by a narrow margin, in pure overall radio performance. If weather protection was a major priority, I would have no problem recommending the "9" series. As for the operator series for those radios, I've been meaning to get to that for a while now.
@@KS6DAYthey're essentially just a uv-5r in a wet suit 😅 so maybe an operator series will apply to any monochrome screened baofeng. The new generation of radios is going to be interesting to a future audience so understand if you cannot find the time. Thanks!
@@meesturcroc "UV-5R in a wet suit". That cracked me up. And you're correct, an operator series would translate across the entire 128 channel Baofeng series. That might actually be even more useful than I thought. I going to pick up the pace on my plan for that. Many thanks for the prompting.
I want a radio just like this but with wx protection and something better than a k-plug that’s less expensive than my Vx6 so I can outfit my family team.
On their RU-vid channel they posted Randy's review; in that comment section someone criticized the lack of IP rating and tid responded that it's IP54, so I guess that's at least a little something..they kind of implied that all of their products meet at least IP54, but I don't necessarily believe that. I'm inclined to go along with them on this one though.
I'm curious and I'm a newbie when it comes to gmrs and that's the only license I have so far is that can the radios be modified to increase the wattage output for example the gmrs frequencies?
I’d like to hear your thoughts on the video recently posted by Jim, W6LG on RU-vid. He ordered a 2 pack of radios. One had great reject of spurious emissions, the other failed. If one does not have a nano vna, how do you know your radio is “within specs”. KF6LU
I don't think it does....I've watched about every video there is on this radio and haven't come across that. Mine will be here in a couple of weeks and I will update you if it does have it.
With it's feature set and price, I simply had to order one, especially since I love my TD-H8; however, the squelch tail on it is obnoxiously loud. There's no way I would use this in a public setting except in an emergency. Am I the only one who finds the receiver's squelch tail noise unacceptable?
There is a new firmware out that addresses the squelch tail. There is a video out about it, they have an adjustment in the menu. I don’t recall what they called it…it wasn’t apparent off the bat. If I find it I will edit this comment.
My boots on the ground test with the H3s are they fade out in a very strange way. I went 1/2 mile away line of sight into the alfalfa field and transmitted back to the house, to my wife...she heard me clear as day, but I heard her full of static. She then transmitted back to my with the UV5g+ and I heard her crystal clear. The only way we can comm with the H3s reliably is if we are no more than 300yards +/- apart. Very disappointed with these GMRS radios since the UV5G+ and Retevis NR30s put the H3s into the bucket of unreliable/don't trust my life to them type radios. My $0.02
First it is a good radio but not great. It can be programmed by Chirp. Second is the small speaker audio is not great. Third the small battery will last 24 hours on receive only, If you transmit the battery drops fast. If this radio is to be your primary radio I would buy one or two extra battery packs and rotate them in the charger. The Antenna is passable. Smaller size means side buttons can accidently be pressed even by small handed people. I am not sure about whether I like the screen. Price is good.
