Retevis Ailunce HD1 Dmr Radio, 10W, GPS, Dual Band, Digital Two Way Radio, Type-C 3200mAh Battery, IP67 Waterproof, 16 Keys DTMF, Compatible with Ham Radio (1 Pcs, Black)

I wanted an amateur radio dual-mode, FM and DMR, transceiver. I researched but wondered if I was taking a risk buying this but I am happy. I accept that the firmware is being gradually improved but Retevis issue updates to it. There are bugs, but everything can have bugs. My impression is that it is sensitive on receive, but have not yet experienced (so far as I know) desensing on receive from strong local signals. FM works well. I always talk about 5cm from mic and no audio complaints yet. DMR: well it's harder to get into the repeaters, but I think that is because of the poorer DMR UHF coverage, rather than any problem with the radio. No lockups yet. Well made and solid and Very loud audio on RX. Like my old Yaesu FT-290r years ago. I'd buy this again.

We bought 3 HD1s for our 'Ancient Origins' expedition in Colombia. The quality of this radio is superb. They are easy to operate while at the same time they have a ton of functionality for the experienced users. They have consistently performed well during the expedition, in the thick forests and mountains of Colombia under harsh conditions. The amplification power was excellent keeping all of our teams in contact during the expedition. Charging was not an issue, since for the duration of the expedition (7 days) we only had to charge the devices twice. Due to misuse, one of the antennas became loose, but their excellent support replaced it at no time after we returned. The customer support of Retevis is probably the best one we have ever encountered in our business lifetime. I can safely say that I highly recommend HD1 to everyone who need a quality radio able to survive in harsh environments and always keep you connected. We recently bought 3 more for our next expedition in Ecuador.

Had issues with the first radio delivered, however customer service was excellent (despite the time difference with China). Not a Motorola, but very very close! For the money you really can’t complain!

Does this radio live up to expectations and the hype surrounding it? In short, NO. It EXCEEDS them. I am totally impressed with this set. The "big" HAM radio manufacturers now have something to worry about. The build quality, ease of operation, performance and customer care are absolutely beyond expectation and inspire confidence. This radio is without doubt the best value purchase I have made. It is as rugged as you could expect. I'll be honest, I was excited when I heard about this radio but with a lot of experience I was also sceptical. I needn't have been sceptical though. My point of reference for ruggedness in a handheld radio would be the Motorola Sabre series of radios. In the past some seemingly "rugged" handheld radios have disappointed. Without doubt the HD-1 measures up and can genuinely be considered a rugged set. For anyone familiar with codeplugs there will be little difficulty in programming the set. For anyone with out codeplug experience fear not, you can operate and program this radio from the front panel without need for a PC. The menu system is good with some useful features. Dual Watch receive is incredibly useful as is the fact that you can also easily use the set as a single band set. On the DMR side, I came across a peculiarity as did a good friend of mine. When using it with the DV Mega BlueStack / BlueSpot DMR hotspot you need to set the battery saver to off for consistent operation with the hotspot. Its the only quirk either of us have experienced with the radio to date. Having had the radio for several months now and using it mainly in the outdoor environment for which I purchased it, I can say with confidence that this will be my radio of choice going forward. It has consistently performed for me. The large capacity battery is of particular benefit but I'll most certainly be purchasing an additional battery for extended periods of operation outdoors. I've not yet run it flat on an outdoor activity and for general purpose HAM use on both DMR and analogue I get several days of operating. The ample power out put is of benefit as there are times when the higher level of output power has proven useful for when 5 Watts on this or other radios won't quite cut it. Fear not, the high power level when selected has gotten the job done for me. I had one small issue with it or more correctly the charger had an issue. The PSU died the second time I went to charge the battery. I popped an quick email of to Retevis and to be honest I wasn't expecting much but I was very, very surprised with the response I received. Polite, concerned and professional. These guys immediately accepted that my PSU had died and straight away shipped me a replacement once they had confirmed that they had the correct shipping address. I had a few other queries such as a replacement antenna along with an additional battery, I received informative and useful replies. Retevis certainly know the value of customer service and I have nothing but positive things to say about how my queries were handled. It's brilliant to see a company that is concerned about its customers. I HIGHLY recommend this radio. I'm putting my money where my mouth is and buying a second set as soon as I can afford it.

Face value it is a good radio, good features. Now the issues The most recent one the radio is jammed in a glitch status an cannot flash it so its just a paper weight the battery for the time clock is very small and if not used will I forget what time it is. You have to program via Pc, changes in the field is near impossible battery has a habit of disconnecting and sliding out this radio is not designed for hobbyists or amateurs more suited for businesses on set channels