The true appeal of the HD2 is AES-256 encryption. Although after seeing this video, one would naturally be suspicious as to if the encryption algorithm is truly there. I will say this. With an aftermarket antenna, range on the HD1 is quite impressive for a handheld point-to-point radio (no repeater).
@BobBob-il2ku
Ай бұрын
It interoperates encrypted with Motorola / anytone 878 ect
@TheBiggE.
Ай бұрын
I really appreciate this analysis. I absolutely do not want to be interfering with public service. Thank you for doing this. I will find a different radio for waterproof/dmr/encryption.
@daveN2MXX
2 ай бұрын
Amazing how your review is much different than what is produced by the pay-for-review youtubers. Thank you for having integrity and actually knowing what you are talking about.
@TheGmr140
6 ай бұрын
always nice to see folks, test the gear with test equipment, as opposed to just talking about the buttons and how it feels. LOL nice vide. thanks for making
@FEPLabsRadio
5 ай бұрын
Thanks 👍 A lot of these radios have nice features, but I'm more interested in how well it actually works, and how clean or dirty it is on RF. I really like testing these things. Thank you for watching!
@donnakano3697
6 ай бұрын
I finally bought a TinySA and attenuator so I could check the radios I was buying, regardless of the FCC ID on the label. A Baofeng UV17 Pro GPS which is listed as a triband radio. Other than having basically no output on 1.25M, the spectral purity was close to passing. The UV18 Pro Max GPS, however, has second harmonics on 2M and 1.25M which are only about 20dB down from the fundamental. On 70CM, it is close to passing, but has multiple spurs in addition to the harmonics. Basically, that radio is unusable as a transmitter. The TID Radio H3 and H8 looked fine on both 2M and 70CM. I should go back and check my Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu radios to use as a baseline despite being over 20 years old. Thanks for publishing this video.
@RESlusher
6 ай бұрын
Good stuff, Jim! Thanks for sleuthing this down for us! 😁
@F16_viper_pilot
2 күн бұрын
Thank you for performing a well-thought and executed test suite on this radio and taking action. I just left a detailed comment on another channel, where the person did not seem to understand the technical aspects of the rule or how to properly conduct the test, leading to an incorrect perception on his part that the radio was acceptable. The problem is that even though he was trying to do a service, he inadvertently performed a disservice.
@FEPLabsRadio
2 күн бұрын
Sigh - yeah, it's become a thing in the last couple of years. Thanks for watching, appreciate it!
@F16_viper_pilot
2 күн бұрын
@@FEPLabsRadio My pleasure and keep up the good work.👍🏻
@t.j.speakman7723
6 ай бұрын
Hey Jim, Great video work. Thanks for taking the time to show us the details. I'm interested to see what the FCC has to say. Again the video work was on point.
@stevencristofero968
6 ай бұрын
Jim, Agree with you whole heartedly. It is NOT the responsibility of an amateur radio operator to evaluate the spectral purity of a production radio. I appreciate your time in testing this piece of "equipment" for us.
@ThinKkBIGG
6 ай бұрын
It would take, as Sherwood does for HF, a list of VHF/UHF radios and their performances. Thank you for this analysis! Radio amateurs don't need this kind of radio and the attitude of this company!
@nvrumi
Ай бұрын
I am *not* saying that your conclusions are incorrect. However, you did not describe in detail your test setup and how it compares to RSE standards. This is important (at least to me) as it gives me basis for understanding the strengths and weaknesses (if there are any) to your testing approach. When I searched the FCCID database, I came up with 2AAR8 and 2ASNS for Ailunce and Retevis. A search for objects using 2AAR8 led me to the HD1. There are a lot of records for both IDs, so I gave up eventually. I am curious about these little rigs. I would like to know if they pass muster. Thanks.
@timg5tm941
6 ай бұрын
Good forensic work Jim
@bobkopf227
6 ай бұрын
Very interesting, thanks for sharing
@Cjenk554
Ай бұрын
There is now a new firmware available for the HD2. The Smoking Ape has a video out about it. If this video was posted around March 2024, the radio most likely shipped with the old firmware on it. And you can change the region for different frequencies. Still a good review of what the radio was like initially.
@FEPLabsRadio
Ай бұрын
RIght, I knew there was new firmware out (I think when I did that). Lots of folks would figure that out, but the one sold on Amazon for the American market...tsk tsk. I spend 200$ on a radio, I expect it to be right for my country at least. It's a shame, it has some sweet features.
@Cjenk554
Ай бұрын
@FEPLabsRadio I completely agree. It should have worked properly in the first place. Especially for the cost that it is.
@Cjenk554
Ай бұрын
@FEPLabsRadio I can confirm: I recived mine from Amazon today with the new firmware and the correct region. It's nice to see the company trying to fix their wrong doing / learning from their mistakes.
@DonzLockz
6 ай бұрын
You dibbi dobber Jim!😂 Good job buddy, it's becoming a big problem and never ends. Thanks, Detective Jim!👮♂️👍
@BurninWires
6 ай бұрын
Good honest evaluation. Very interested in any updates, even though I don’t own that brand. Fighting the good fight against the bad.
@Peter_1512
6 ай бұрын
If I'm not mistaken, I believe that the Frequencies printed on the sticker are the Japanese VHF/UHF Frequencies.
@FEPLabsRadio
6 ай бұрын
It may be - I was just amazed that with a fake FCC ID, it was also set for the wrong region. I'm sure there are key combos to change the frequency ranges, but as soon as I saw the "multi frequency transmit", I really didn't care about hunting down that info.
@survivalcomms
6 ай бұрын
You get what you pay for. Thanks for sharing !
@rogermedley8043
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for the review Jeem! This is the reason I've decided to stick to the major Japanese brands.
@KC4NWK
6 ай бұрын
Good video!! I agree 100% with your sentiments! 😉
@iamhokum
6 күн бұрын
Okay, what about things we have today? FCC DB DB have this radio registrated. HD2 is being selled. How about regulation rules?
@adonaros
4 ай бұрын
Lots of chinese stuff with 2A3 in the beginning. also, i dont think any public safety is using UHF anymore. if you want to make the public safety claim, the 5th harmonic could actually be seen as a problem. Dongguan Yuzhenrong Trading Co., Ltd. Room 204 No.74 Humen Xinlian 9th Street Humen Village Humen Town Dongguan City Guangdong dongguan N/A China N/A 2A3JH-PC309A Original Equipment 12/12/2023 2408.0 2474.0 Detail Summary Hong Kong Etech Groups Ltd. 16/F, Block C,2nd Phase of Central Avenue,Haihong Industrial Area,Xixiang,Baoan, Shenzhen N/A China N/A 2A3ZO-SPSX3BT Original Equipment 07/04/2022 2402.0 2480.0
@FEPLabsRadio
4 ай бұрын
Public safety sure is using UHF still. Trunked and non-trunked. Very common around here, especially for smaller PD and/or Fire.
@davepickering997
5 ай бұрын
Great review and explanation. Thank you.
@Ken-W1KAL
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for good work Jeem!
@orpheusepiphanes2797
Ай бұрын
As a beginner ham who is *primarily* interested in this subject as a "prepper" I have a question regarding this dirty signal that you have described. If I transmit with this unit, would this noise make it easier for a scanner to pick up my signal and/or direction find me? Thank you for the video
@FEPLabsRadio
Ай бұрын
Possibly. More signals, if you monitor both/all freqs and see them key exactly at the same time, whoever is hunting would be assured of the right target. Just a bigger sample to isolate the target with? i don't know easier, per se.
@orpheusepiphanes2797
Ай бұрын
@@FEPLabsRadio Thank you for reply
@ChrisKD9YSW
6 ай бұрын
Great forensic work Jeem. 73
@stevenbrodie3141
2 ай бұрын
I was one of the testers that contacted Retevis and they told me to send the prototype to them and they would send me a working model. Guess what they never sent me anything back after I paid to send the testing model back to them. How dirty of a company.
@FEPLabsRadio
2 ай бұрын
Ape and I have noticed there is the "Amazon copy" and the "plain brown box copy" of a lot of these radios. Since I actually buy retail most of the radios I've ever tested, I get the random Amazon one. I was put out with how sketchy it was.
@ScannerJunkie
5 ай бұрын
They have been hyping this radio so much. They also spent years getting feedback from hams. A disappointment.
@FEPLabsRadio
4 ай бұрын
Yeah, it was massively disappointing. I sent it back. It was a flaming piece...
@HOAHamRadio
6 ай бұрын
Oh nooooooooooo!! Not what I have come to expect from Retevis. The product or the response.
@FEPLabsRadio
5 ай бұрын
Yeah, it was shameful! I didn't talk to them, that was another YT'er, but I purchased it retail. $200 - not throwaway money, on a radio that is a mobile violation, and just not a good amateur radio, following any kind of good practices. Overpriced junk.
@HOAHamRadio
5 ай бұрын
@@FEPLabsRadio Pretty sure I know the YTer. That is a terrible response, that the individual operator is responsible….making me question my opinion about R.
@HamRadioCrusader
6 ай бұрын
Very Sketchy indeed! Thanks for the analysis Jeeem!!
@Chris-hy6jy
5 ай бұрын
Those frequencies are UK bands.
@Hank_W6IR
6 ай бұрын
You did say it would be going back so I'm not surprised by its failure.
@FEPLabsRadio
5 ай бұрын
Oh Hank - total piece. Already on it's way back to Amazon. I reallly wanted to like it, but after what I had heard from another YT channel, and my experience, NOPE.
@truckinguy92
5 ай бұрын
It’s so refreshing to see an amateur radio operator with some scruples.
@FEPLabsRadio
5 ай бұрын
Thank you! I pay for most of this stuff, just like everybody else does (I get a few samples, but not many - and I will still hammer those), I expect it to work. Especially for the premium price they want for it.
@truckinguy92
5 ай бұрын
@@FEPLabsRadio even if you were given a sample, you keep it honest. There’s not much of that on KZitem today when it comes hams and their channels. Thank you!
@bryantwalley
6 ай бұрын
Thems just bonus bands. I’m surprised they didn’t list it as a feature on the box. 👀🚽
@nelsonfigueroa3198
5 ай бұрын
Didnt that radio say UK CA on the back ?
@labackwoodsashley3821
2 ай бұрын
What other radio would you recommend that has all the capabilities the hd2 has, or rather is supposed to have?
@FEPLabsRadio
2 ай бұрын
Depends on what attracts you to the HD2. For a DMR radio, I love the Btech 6x2/Anytone handhelds. Solid radios, all the features you could want.
@souta95
6 ай бұрын
It's pretty sad that this radio is such a miss since Retevis has other radios that work well and meet specs.
@LeeMcc_KI5YPR
6 ай бұрын
The FCC is looking at Amazon vendors selling illegal jammers. I wonder if a bogus ID even comes on their radar? Does it advertise FCC compliance? Some say "Part 15 approved!" But Pt 15 is not for intentional tranmission, which should be Pt 90-something, so misleading advertising.
@FEPLabsRadio
6 ай бұрын
It doesn't say anything on the label, except the usual stuff. Not sure what is on the listing, but I'd bet no compliance is mentioned.
@EverydayAdmin
5 ай бұрын
What a waste. So much pitential
@henriquemiranda5748
6 ай бұрын
Im returning mine, trash radio, not a company I will support
@Strepherd
6 ай бұрын
Returning mine as well. Crappy radio even in front of a UVK5
@henriquemiranda5748
5 ай бұрын
@@Strepherdthis is why I stick with companies that put out good products, for me it’s moto, it’s expensive? Yes, but I can pay that knowing I’m getting quality
@truckerbruno
Ай бұрын
Brutal harmonics! Worse than the Baoffend. Much more realistic than some utopic video upload called "Retevis Ailunce HD1 DMR Radio - Hidden Gem" that shows the cleanest band spectrum one will ever find from a HT Tx, even if compared to any flagship Japanese HT. I mean, that upload band spectrum screen shows Retevis Ailunce HD1 is the best DMR radio in the whole wide world! lol Maybe the author forgot to push the PTT button when he measured it , lol.
@arkyump
6 ай бұрын
I had the HD1 and it was junk. Never could get it programmed because of character recognition of the CPS. it sits on the shelf laughing at me.
@FEPLabsRadio
5 ай бұрын
LOL. I bet it's as bad as it's younger brother, just as sketchy.
@PowderMill
2 ай бұрын
I feel your pain... It FELT like a quality radio and was a nice size for public safety backup use. (to carry in turnout gear bag as a spare on the key interoperability freqs) It was a complete piece of garbage! Programming was difficult, there were all sorts of audio issues and I guess about another dozen or so problems that I just can’t recall now. I had a Motorola XPR7550e and Hytera PD782, but both were UHF and the Hytera was a great radio but came in multiple UHF "ranges" (400-470MHz and 470-527MHz). I wanted a radio that could do 400-520 for ham and T-Band AND FPP for programming in the field. Each radio did one but not both. Plus, VHF was important as well. I was looking for something that did everything . I ended up finding that with the AnyTone. The only undesirable feature = Audio quality is not that great, fit and finish feels like a toy. If only Motorola made an APX8000 that did DMR in addition to P25 and analog, i’d buy it regardless of the cost. thank you for the honest reviews !!
@arizonaprofessionaldj
4 ай бұрын
You're a snitch brother. Many of us live and work around these radios.
@FEPLabsRadio
3 ай бұрын
Hey man, first of all, them's the rules. I didn't make 'em, I just abide by them. Second, I doubt the FCC gives much of a shit anyway.
@45auto
6 ай бұрын
Ideally, the FCC would start start handing out fines that are large enough to deter companies from using fake FCC ID numbers. I don't know if they can require a manufacturer to ensure spectral purity for any radio capable of transmitting but one can dream.
@bb_37
6 ай бұрын
First, the FCC would have to care about 2-way handheld radios. As long as they aren't interfering with public safety or aircraft comms, they don't care. Secondly, chasing these Asian manufacturers would be a game of whack-a-mole. They can easily ignore FCC fines and just change the company name to keep on doing what they are doing. Remember that there is no requirement for the FCC to test radios for compliance with 97.307(e). It's up to amateur radio operators to comply with the rules. The only way the FCC is concerned about these radios is with regard to Part 15B as scanning radio receivers.
@45auto
6 ай бұрын
@bb_37 I agree to your second point, for the most part. But, as Jim pointed out in this video, this radio does transmit on the Public Safety frequencies.
@ILruffian
5 ай бұрын
@@bb_37 This. They have bigger fish to fry with stuff like Wi-Fi and GPS jammers being used by criminals. Back in the early 200s, it was rumored that some of our cops even had GPS jammers to prevent their cars from being tracked by dispatch and IAB.
@vitogriffin8902
8 күн бұрын
I understand the desire for purity, but I'll also tell you guys that the stuff being used by even large scale operations isn't as pure as you might think. I can hear the NOAA weather broadcasts and the local ham repeaters around Dallas down in the 50-70mhz range, and they're using a lot more power than a HT. So yes, while many HTs do transmit on the harmonics with barely enough power to interfere unless you're standing on top of someone else, the other things are also transmitting on the harmonics with far more power and it's apparently not an issue.
@danvo1918
6 ай бұрын
Regulations, we can't breathe cuz of regulation. FCC is a business.
@FEPLabsRadio
6 ай бұрын
Regardless of your opinion of the FCC, it is the regulations. And, it's a shitty radio.
@JDHood
6 ай бұрын
No kidding. Despite there being a gazillion cheap-Chinese radios in civilian hands transmitting gazillions of times daily, there's no documented cases in the FCC's enforcement database to be found within the previous two decades where those spurs caused anyone else a significant issue. TO BE SURE -- That is the official FCC regulation that we are bound by. The part that "some people" won't say out loud is that it is a regulation looking for an actual "real world" problem to solve -- that it is a "manufactured" problem based on arbitrary limits imposed by the FCC. Are those limits reasonable and prudent? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on who you ask. But it's certainly something that the YaeComWood consortium can use as a club to bludgeon lower-priced competitors, especially when you are trying to convince the gullible that $750 is reasonable for a HT.
@danvo1918
6 ай бұрын
@@FEPLabsRadio all government agencies are a private businesses owe by private sectors. Rule is not law, but agencies force it to be laws, laws only passed by congress and signed by governors / presidents not by agencies. CUZ of people like U, who has no, zero knowledge of what is going on let the system corrupted like now. You get what you are paying for. Don't like it inform manufacturers if they don't fix it don't buy it
@RINNTY
6 ай бұрын
I Agree, Agencies do not make Laws, Only Congress. There rules, Bring it to the attention of the Manufacturer, If they don't fix it, Don't buy it. Then they'll fix it when Sale's are lost. Very simple.
@JDHood
6 ай бұрын
Going back two decades in the FCC's enforcement database, there is no mention of someone causing any substantive issue to anyone else, public safety or otherwise, due to spurious emissions of fractional milliwatts. It is an arbitrary regulation that may or may not be reasonable and prudent and no one knows any different because no one maintains any data or metrics on occurrences. You just have to take them at their word. At full unimpeded power, your HT may range anywhere from several hundred yards to a few miles in typical, "every-day" conditions. On a mountaintop with unobscured line-of-sight in all directions, you get farther, but that is NOT typical. Even then, good luck causing any "spurious" interference. Hope you have a tremendously good antenna on that HT! So while the spurs may be radiating, I've yet to encounter a realistic, real world scenario where they have made a nickel's worth of difference anywhere to anyone. Been told a gazillion times it can happen -- have never heard of an actual documented occurrence. But the FCC gets to toss out regs based on whatever a committee of federal slackers can dream up to look like they are actually working, so that's what we have to deal with.
@norrinradd8952
5 ай бұрын
A portion of the FCC ID listed on the radio is 2A3OO. That is the grantee code for Shenzhen Ysair Technology Co., LTD which has submitted applications for Retevis products as recent as March 29, 2024. It is possible that either the application has yet to be approved, or perhaps the FCC is moving at the speed of government and the approval isn't showing up in the database yet. I'm fairly certain that the FCCID of equipment exists before the approval process as it is a required field on the application. I'm just pointing out that it is possible that it's not a fake ID. Despite any of the above being true (or not) this is a rather unfortunate piece of equipment that shouldn't be purchased or at least not operated (TX) by a responsible licensed amateur radio operator. I suppose you could just use it as a scanner/receiver, but wow, what an expensive piece of garbage. Thanks for not sharing an affiliate link after informing us how much of a POS this radio is.
@n2yqt
6 ай бұрын
You can change the frequency limits for the different ITU regions from the keypad.
@FEPLabsRadio
6 ай бұрын
I'm sure you can - but for testing purposes that didn't matter to me at the time. A whole lot of people will buy this thing and be pissed off, and/or unable to figure out how to change the range. For a radio sold in the US, you'd think they would have at least put the correct frequencies in from the factory.
@n2yqt
6 ай бұрын
Very true!
@LB0FI
6 ай бұрын
Wow! It's a multiband radio!
@rogersmith4926
3 ай бұрын
Is it a cost problem for those companies to fix it, or why are those radios always failing the FCC test? This is not the first time somebody noticed this issue with Chinese radios.
@FEPLabsRadio
3 ай бұрын
Roger, IMO, because the companies don't care, the FCC doesn't care, and honestly, a lot of hams just don't care. That's the short version.
@nandrews8412
6 ай бұрын
NFG!
@TheHandyHam73
3 ай бұрын
Awesome video... Thank you!
@Chris_KI4WCO
6 ай бұрын
I wonder how many harmonics are below the starting frequency, or how many harmonics it continues to have past the 5th.
@FEPLabsRadio
6 ай бұрын
Chris, this thing is so bad out to 4 above it's kinda moot. I can run up to 1.5ghz, but i've always seen the most drama under 800.
@bb_37
6 ай бұрын
Your comment reminded me of a Baofeng UV82 that I tested at a hamfest years ago. The first spike was at 72 MHz...followed by spikes every 72 MHz up to the 1 GHz cut-off point of my spectrum analyzer. And, the spikes were all within about 20 dB of each other. I explained the problem to the user. He didn't care and said he planned to keep using the radio.
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