Upgrading to a DMR Portable Radio

After spending a weekend in the Cascade Mountains with my first handheld radio, a TidRadio TD-H6, it was time to have a conversation with my wife. The TD-H6 from Amazon is a fine inexpensive first radio. I have learned many things about 2-meter operations and repeaters with it. I have also experimented with some antennas and have had mixed results. However, this weekend while we were camping in the forest, I explained the Wilderness Protocol to my wife and did my best to check my radio every 3 hours from 7 am to 7 pm. I was also scanning for local repeaters.

Throughout the day I did hear a couple of radio check transmissions on 146.52 and attempted to respond but I was not heard. I also tried to start a QSO through the local repeater I had heard in use, but again, there was no response. I should have brought some materials to make a jungle antenna and string it up in a tree, but I was not prepared for that. The good news was my wife’s questions.

“Why isn’t anyone responding to you?” “Isn’t this supposed to help us communicate when we don’t have a cellular signal?” I started giving answers and explaining radio wave propagation and VHF/UHF in the mountains, but she then asked the big question. “Isn’t this an entry-level radio you have?” “Is there something better?” This is when I started to smile.. I had been wanting to upgrade my HT (handy talkie) for a few months. I felt I needed to upgrade to a better radio. The TD-H6, which is an upgraded UV-5R will still be around. I’ll still be able to use it for local communications when I’m with a group, but it was time to get a better radio with more capabilities.

Once we got home from our camping trip I went online and started researching. The first place I turned was the Ham Radio Crash Course channel on YouTube. I’ve been watching Josh’s videos for some time and I trust what he has to say. I watched a bunch of his review videos on different HTs. Each one he reviewed had many of the features I was looking for, but the ones with most of the features I wanted didn’t hit the one thing that trumps them all; they were too expensive to get past the wife’s watchful eye. So I moved on to the Ham Radio 2.0 channel on YouTube. Jason had a bunch of great videos, especially when it came to digital modes. After watching a bunch of his videos I decided the best digital platform to go with was DMR. This way I am not locked into one vendor’s hardware or network. I also found a link back to the Ham Radio Crash Course channel with another review I hadn’t seen. This one was on the Anytone AT-D878UVII Plus.

After watching hours of videos on Youtube and reading countless reviews on many different websites I concluded that the best option for me was going to be the Anytone line of radios and specifically the AT-D878UVII Plus. I was hoping that I could find a package from BridgeCom Systems that had everything in it like what they sent to Josh on Ham Radio Crash Course for review, but they didn’t. The only way you could get all of the accessories packaged together is if you also included more hardware than I wanted or needed, like a hotspot. Nonetheless, I ordered my new radio with a few of the accessories that I know I could use right away.

Now I wait. I was able to go through the BridgeCom University lessons on introduction, programming, and using a DMR radio. I found out that you need to have a radio ID to use DMR. This is easily obtained at radioid.net. I also started looking for downloadable code plugs for this new radio so I can program it quickly when it comes and get right on the air. Most of these are found on sites requiring membership. So far they have all been free memberships with an ask for donations to keep things running.

I have been warned by some Elmers on social media that there is a steep learning curve with digital radio. That’s okay. I’m very technically minded so I’m not worried. It runs fully as an analog radio too, so I can always work the local nets with it as I learn more about the digital side of the hobby.

Stay tuned for an unboxing and first impressions blog in a week or so.