Tidradio TD-H8: Repeater Hunting with 10 Watts and a Yagi 

What a nice compliment! Thank you so much! Maybe more to come to work those rubber ducks a little better.

Pleasure!

Correct!

We’ll use it through the year and se what I think in December.

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for the comment! That’s a good point on the FM capture effect. Another benefit to more wattage if you’re in a competitive environment with multiple signals. Thanks for watching!

Hmm. Interesting. No antennas on the outside at all, or just no drilling holes for a permanent installation. There are magnet mounts and clip on mounts. Are those off limits, too?

Correct! I did get there later in the video. Thanks for the comment!

I picked my Arrow Yagi up at Ham Radio Outlet in Phoenix. Good luck and thanks for watching! 73

Glad I could help! 😉

Well, that’s handy! Thanks for sharing!

It’s on the battery.

@@TravelinHamPerfect, thank you.

Nevermind. You got it at the end. Kd0ynj EW county

@@Mo_feezyThanks for watching and commenting!

It’s a 2m/70cm Yagi-Uda by Arrow. I got it to access repeaters on satellites but haven’t had much luck in that venture. I’ll keep trying!

@@TravelinHam Thanks for your super fast response!

@@dsmasynergy The timing worked out!

The manual that came with the radio I just received did in fact come with a Bluetooth section. At this time, Bluetooth is only to connect to your computer for programming. I’m with you. I’d love to have an earbud option so I could use it while hiking with no wire. I’m not sure if it’s even possible to add that capability. For now, for your potential purchase, assume it’s always going to be just for programming. I may do another video focusing on Bluetooth. This one was just too long already.

@@TravelinHam Watch a video by Jake TheGardenSnake called The Best Motorcycle Communications Setup. I'd be really interested in your opinion.

Looks like solid info. I would recommend the GMRS option for the higher available transmit power. I'm not sure what model Baofeng the co-host had, but many of those allow you to transmit either on frequencies on which you may not be licensed or on FRS frequencies on which the Baofeng is not FCC type accepted. But GMRS is a simple solution for higher power with no required tests and would be reasonable for a group of guys to acquire for motorcycle or off-roading communication.

@@TravelinHam Thank you.

​@@TravelinHam Nope, BLUETOOTH on this radio is to programme it without a computer. Download the app to your phone, then connect with your radio to programme it.

I haven’t tried it yet. Another commenter mentioned an APRS button in the app, so I might have to try the Bluetooth app. I know other reviewers have demonstrated the Bluetooth programming. You could check them out in the meantime.

Hey, thanks for the comment, and for the sub! Are you saying the app mentions APRS somewhere?

@@TravelinHam yes it does when you open and login as i do i then click the me icon bottom right and then click the me far right bottom that will bring up another menu in it is aprs.F1

@@TravelinHam yes after you login to the app click the me bottom right that will brinbg up anothr menu and there you will se aprs.F1 never used aprs so i dont know how to set it up

@@keathrhymer5449 Okay, thanks. I wasn’t planning on doing anything with the app, but I haven’t seen any other reviews talk about APRS. So I might give it a shot.

Thank you for all of the comments. I actually just dropped another review video and neglected to put background music in it. That’ll make some happy I guess. 🤪 I’m in a new editing program now, so I’ll have to start from square one in finding the right volume level.

Brilliant, thank you. Looking forward to more.😊

That could possibly affect a repeater to repeater comparison, but for a radio to radio comparison (5 watts to 10 watts in this case) on the same repeater there’s no impact.

Thanks for subscribing. I have the Rode shotgun-style mic plugged directly into my iPhone with the Rode dead cat cover. It worked well until I dropped my phone this winter and the lightning plug broke off of the microphone. Now I about to receive a pair of DJI wireless mics and we’ll see how they do.

@TravelinHam interesting... ok great. I appreciate you sharing. 73

Doesn't seem to be. There's nothing that indicates it either in the radio functions or in the manual. I've seen nothing about cross band repeating on other reviews either. If anybody learns anything different...

Hahahaha! We got it…… eventually!

I mean… yeah. But you should really have another option on you in that case.

www.gigaparts.com/arrow-ii-dual-handheld-yagi.html

@@TravelinHam Thank you good sir!

You change the mode of the radio by holding the Push-to-Talk button and the *, 0 or the # keys while simultaneously turning on the radio. *=ham mode, 0=GMRS and # unlocks the radio completely.

I think “decent” is a reasonable expectation.

Correct! I did figure it out by the end of the video, but thanks for backing me up. Also you can enter a double-digit number if you know which one you need.

YEP, like the ctcss and offset in frequency mode, It took me 2 yrs before I discovered it, lot easier than the up/dwn buttons.73 rick va3ev@@TravelinHam

🤘

I program in a repeater at the 3:00 mark, but I do blow through it kind of quickly.

@@TravelinHam i know that you go to the gmrs channel that's set to the frequency you want to program but I don't know what exactly button you press after that to enter in the tone and how you set the tone . I go to the frequency channel on a uv 9g n then I press menu and go to tones but there are many options like r-dcs and then r ctcs n then t-dcs and then there is t-ctcs..... It's confusing as all hell.

@@user-hv1zd7wf6x okay, I can help you through it. First thing first. You need to know the repeater you want to connect to and get its information. Do you have a particular repeater in mind?

@@TravelinHam it's Wisconsin, Dodge. And it says 462.600 D244 location 103.5.

Okay. Here we go! 1. Put the radio in channel mode (VFO/MR button at the top) 2. Tune to channel 25. That will set the correct receive frequency to 462.600 MHz and it will automatically set the proper offset for talking to the repeater. 3. Go to Menu item #11 "Rx CTCSS" and set to 103.5 Hz This tells your radio to listen for this sub-audible tone from the downlink of the repeater. 4. Go to menu item #12 "Tx Dcs" and set to 244N. This will add a digital sub-audible tone to your signal and will instruct the repeater to open its squelch and repeat your signal. That should be it. The radio will keep those settings on Channel 25 and you won't have to set those again. If for some reason you want to speak to someone radio-to-radio (or simplex as we would call it) on 462.600, then you would use channel 17 which is not set to work with a repeater. When you transmit, you'll see the frequency change up 5 MHz. This is normal as you and the repeater can't be transmitting on the same frequency simultaneously. Now keep in mind, repeaters are set up and run by individuals. These individuals may or may not be welcoming to new operators hitting their repeater. It's kind of a crap shoot. Don't be too disappointed if you call and get ignored, or worse. At least you will have confirmed you know how to program in a GMRS repeater!

Wow! You guys watch really close! 🤣 Likely white gulls that stay by the lake. I mean…. yeah, there are UFOs. Definite UFOs in my video spread the word!!!

There’s nothing wrong with owning a Tidradio with no license.

@@TravelinHam sure, as long as you listen, transmitting, you need a license

@@zyphrumzypheny2631 So are you saying you should have to have a callsign to purchase the radio?

@@TravelinHam all I'm saying is that IF you want to transmit on a HAM radio you ought to have a license; if someone doesn't that's between them and their governmental radio agency

@@zyphrumzypheny2631 👍

Squelch is the function that cuts off the sound when all you’re receiving is static. We call it opening the squelch when the radio receives a signal and turns the sound back on. When the signal goes away, the radio will go back to static before the squelch closes again.

So I figured later in the video. Slightly confusing but still moderately intuitive.

I can’t finish it!

Ha! Taken into consideration. No, I’m not going to redo it, but I’ll likely turn down the volume by half in the next review video. Thanks for the production comment and the compliment on the info.

@@TravelinHamI agree on the background music. At least it’s not incredibly annoying, but a decrease by half would be a big deal for listenability for me.

@@drdeputy Thanks for commenting. I do want the productive comments to help me learn.

Seriously? I am very sensitive to background music while a creator is talking yet in this video the music was only a bit loud and quite brief. I am not even certain what music you are referring to. Be specific when you ask someone to invest their valuable time in an effort to make you happy.

Thanks for sharing the data point.

Yes, you’re hearing the repeater and that’s all about the repeater’s power and my receive antenna. However, it’s my transmitted signal that triggers the repeater in the first place. That’s really what we’re testing. The return signal is just how I know I made it into the repeater.

@@TravelinHam I totally misunderstood the video, thanks for the clarification.

@@timmturner no problem. I’m glad you asked.

@TravelinHam when you mentioned going from 25 to 50w, did you get a new radio? I'm new to your channel and looked at a glance through your videos for the answer and didn't see what might lead me to listen to a specific video about that. Can you describe?

That was in reference to my HF POTA activation in Grand Canyon. I started that activation at 25 watts and bumped it up to 50 watts. You can see that here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BqCzxpnz9D0.htmlsi=rDOjBJwiS7CJoXeE

I don’t know about “far exceeds” but I do think it’s better.

After the power increase I immediately made my two long distance contacts.

@@TravelinHam will watch it. Thank you for the reply! You have a great channel.

It’s just my amateur filming skills.

Generally speaking….of course. But the whole point was intuitive ease of use for the basic operations. I shouldn’t have to refer to a manual for basic usage. There is simply too much hardware and software in our lives. They need to be intuitive.

Yes, the keypad does light up. Even the blue text!

@@TravelinHam une dernière question, comment faire pour envoyer la tonalité 1750hz ? Car je n'arrive pas à ouvrir le relais près de chez moi ! Merci d'avance.

@@christophe241273It’s menu item #32.

Tank you for watching!

To me, walkie talkie refers to an FRS radio…or a toy.

@TravelinHam I'm from UK. I prefer walkie-talkie because that's what inspired me. And I love CB 11m. Has more character. Have a good day Sir. 😊

Depends on what you mean by “these radios”.

@@TravelinHam the Chinese stuff , i think once you master one the others are similar, thats my experience

@@Knarf14 okay, gotcha. Yes, if you’re choosing between the Chinese radios, it’ll come down to little things like Airband, USB-C charging, ease of programming, or maybe just price.

Thanks for sharing. I have heard of the shocking issue, though reviewers who have gotten one recently don’t seem to have the issue. These are legit comments though. Thanks for adding to the conversation.

@@TravelinHam I wouldn't of posted if it was just one radio but the fact I have 3 I think makes it something to be said, And I surely dont wish other hams to suffer the same , I have noticed Amazon is now showing them as GMRS radios, Like I said 70 cm is super , It will make a great GMRS rig for sure.. 73

@@paulziminskin2ghr282 Did you have the shocking issue on all three?