Anytone AT-D578UV III Pro Review, Where does it stack up against the competition?
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- čas přidán 8. 05. 2020
- Today, I'm taking a close look at the Anytone 578, a try band UHF/VHF/220 band DMR/ analog mobile transceiver. Where does this mobile come in surrounded by several high end radios from the big three?
- Věda a technologie
Thanks for the review! How easily can you read the display in direct sunlight? How well can you read the tiny screen in the jeep? My eyes are not what they used to be. I have at QYT 7900D and i cant read the screen in direct sunlight and its so small its hard to see sometimes. Does the APRS take up the "other" VFO of the radio when in operation?
Another great video, Bob! I fell in love with this radio during the last winter Field Day at the Hawaii Kai boat-ramp and was extremely impressed with the speaker mic also. I already own two Anytone rigs and they make good products! I have the AT5888 UV III in my Jeep SPL and I use a JetStream mag mount and wonders on 220mhz! I use the AT5888 UV II in the shack and never had to put these rigs on a computer, super easy to program manually. If I ever decide to do DMR, I would save my pennies from my VA pension to buy this rig. BTW, Bob, I love using “N” type connectors and LMR 400 is all that I use in da shack, lol! Again, great video and will put this rig on my wish list. Mahalo n 73’ Todd WH6DWF
great, ANOTHER radio to consider when i can finally take the test, though the non remote head pretty much kills it for my situation
Excellent Video Bob mate!!!! 73
Bob - I’ve had trouble with my MFJ 849 showing low power output on vhf/uhf. Just curious if you have noticed that with your other radios as well. Nice video!
if you can find an example try out an "Anytone AT-5888UV III" it's a earlier tri band radio that boast 50 watts on 2m, 25 watts on 220, and 35 watts on 440. I've using it in the Dayton area for a couple years and it's been really great on 220, I use it mostly for Simplex work on full power. Combine this radio with the "Comet SBB-224" antenna and it makes a really great package. One more thing, this radio has a removeable face place and remote mounting kit. I use it in my Jeep TJ and have had really great luck with it. Hope you can track one down...73
I just purchased the AT-5888UV III in November from R&L Electronics. FANTASTIC radio older look and not as sexy, no DMR but great radio. To my knowledge R&L are the only folks that have/get them. I’ve only used it mobile but get great reports on all modes. Plus it’s has cross band repeat.
I agree with your final comments.... radio will work great in a shack, RV (not drivers area), Go-box or EOC. Any other location will be challenging. Great review 73’s W1FYG
great video i will have to get one of these.
Great review. At some point, they gotta listen to the demand for a remote panel version.
Thanks for the review, Bob! The tri-band antenna ($99) is NOT included in the cost of the radio. I have the 578 on order, along with a COMPACtenna tri-band antenna. I'll probably mount the radio atop the dash in my 2018 F-150, in the tray where I presently toss my weekend cowboy work gloves to dry out.
As Cathryn Mataga previously noted, there are lots of 220 repeaters in the Bay Area, though Fusion seems to prevail over DMR here (RepeaterBook search, 100 mi. radius from my home in San Jose). I bought a FT3D as my first radio, a couple of weeks before I passed the Technician exam in February. 73, KN6NPZ
Does the time auto sync once you choose your time zone or do you have to do it manually? $399 ain't bad. My particular CB cost me more than that but that included being peaked, tuned and a couple other goodies. The remote head thing doesn't bother me. Less installation and wire running. Plus most of us truck drivers like a busy dash board. Leave my CB in the overhead CB din and put this radio on the dash and won't be a need for an external speaker since the speaker on this one faces up and my CB speaker is on the bottom (as most are). I'm seriously considering this radio for my first ham.
Awesome video. Can you review the btech 50x2? I want one for my jeep but cant decided between this one and the btech
Hi Bob, 220MHz. may not be popular in your neck of the woods but here in Memphis we have over 125 users with 220MHz. radios, and it is a very popular band here. As far as the 578 radio and 220 goes 5 W output is a joke from a mobile radio. I personally run three jetstream 220Mhz. radios with an output of 50 W, now that’s a mobile radio for 220. Even my Kenwood 74A puts out five watts on 220! Thanks for all you do for amateur radio Bob.
Ya know I’ve never heard of the jet stream, I’ll have to do some research.
K6UDA hi Bob, they were out probably about eight years ago and the first two I bought were made by jetstream, and then I believe TYT bought them out, they actually changed the radio a little bit. Jetstream had a blue light for the display and when TYT took it over it became orange. And now they don’t make them at all so I was glad to get them when I did because they were the only 220 mobile radios with a 50 W output.
Hi Rick! Dave, k9uim, here. I'd like to swap e-mails with you about your 220 activity in the Memphis area and how to get on 220 with a bit of real power. I agree that 5 watts on the AnyTone 578 is a joke and I can't understand why they throttled it back like that! My e-mail is k9uim@frontier.com and I am not teribly far from Memphis. My QTH, Olney, ILL. is about 65 miles northwest of Evansville Indiana.
Bob, do you have any long term experience with Anytone? They just remind me so much of a Baofeng, and I know those don't seem to have a long lifespan.
Wonder if there is a calibration mode you can go into and "tune" the output power to be more in line with claimed specs?
I’m wondering the same thing. My Yaesu has a way to do that
Which one are you presenting, the radio or yourself? Oh2eki Finland
Simple choice for me. Bad enough that they lie about the power, but made in China. That's a no go at this station. Appreciate the review!
I get 49.4 watts on 1.03 SWR in VHF Call Frequency. sometimes power changes as you change frequencies. I have no complaints with power output
Me either. I will buy commie chinco as a last resort. Won't be getting this for sure. Not dissing the video, just the product, and the manufacturer. They can take their products and shove them.
@@rafaelrosado5454 when You can't admit you b got bent over just say you liked it hahaha over priced china junk
@@aaronlabranche2977 no, its actually an amazing radio with great features. I just sold my FTM-400XDR and another Icom because I havent used them since I got the D578. Im on the process of ordering another one to replace the Yaesu. And the Anytone has more power than the Yaesu in most bands! lol Its just the 5w in 220 that sucks!
There is a button on the channel nob and I set that to change the power. I got an adapter from Amazon for the antenna.
I bought one of these from Bridgecom when they first came out (last October, I believe it was) and it's been the best mobile I've owned. I have always had Kenwood mobiles, but the Anytone with DMR is just amazing. My only complaint is that, like many others, I wish it had a remote head, but it is compact enough that I have it mirror-mounted in a Jeep Wrangler and it doesn't get in the way at all.
I’d love to see a pic.
@@K6UDA I'll send some pics to your email on QRZ.
Did Bridgecom have any comment concerning the lower than rated output power?
I really, really like the idea of DMR on 222...
I have one and I love it
They have a Bluetooth controller head coming out soon!
Nice, SF Bay area has quite a few repeaters on 222Mhz. Kenwood/Icom/Yaesu need to discover this band.
Hello, I have a 578UVIIIPRO DMR Radio. How can I connect power to it in my House? Can I plug it into a wall outlet OR do I need to get a power module???
I soooo wanted this radio to be what they said it was. I really did. C'mon, 5 watts on 220? Even the little $100 QYT 'quad-bander' can to 20-25 watts on 220. Now it doesn't seem to even produce full advertised power on the 'primary' bands (I used this term because it seems like 220 is an after-thought). For 4 Franklins I think I'll have to wait for gen 2. The crossband/cross-mode is nice though!
Thanks for this and the rest of your content!
Tell me witch radio is the best the yaesu ft4x or the yaesu vx6e
No remote head… low power 220… deal breaker… unless you must have DMR. In my opinion, AnyTone offers a better tri-band radio option… AT-5888UVIII (no DMR). It has both a remote control head and 25 watts on 220! It’s quite popular with members of my local club, as we have a 220 repeater. In North Texas, the DFW Metroplex is blessed to be in a 220 repeater-rich environment. A number of us have two of these radios (mobile & base station).They fly off the shelf at R&L when new shipments come in. If they are out of stock when you check, keep a watch out for their next batch to come in. 73.
Bob, now if this radio had of come with an output wattage of somewhere between 40-50 watts output power on 220 Mhz. I would have bought this radio in a heartbeat. 5 watts is not enough for 220 Mhz in my area. It seems that with the low wattage output on 220 Mhz was an after thought on the engineering side of the design of the radio. Just my two cents worth. So that was a deal breaker for me.
me too if it did 15 watts I'd be fine
Ditto. Love the tri-band, speaker mic, DMR, remote gps. Hate the under wattage on all bands, especially on 220.
I really wish bridgecom would release their DMR code plug software for Mac OS. Yes I can install windows on a VM on my Mac but it would be pretty much just for that one thing and that seems silly.
We are a nice sized town but not too big there are several to be you're cool 2 m repeater share and 440, There are several to To 22 , So thank you for a very great review review I have been looking for a very good mobile radio I can set up for a mobile base I live in a small apartment cannot put up any external antennas But I will probably set a magnetic mount on my fridge, Or in my window sill, This is a radio I'm kind of leaning towards,
What's the difference between the pro vs the plus?
Ed Fong has a 3 band antenna that I am going to order to put up for my base antenna. It should do the job. The antenna you have should be good for a mobile. You can get to get it to work with the Motorola mount.
I'm apparently super dumb. I can't change the zone/channel of the B VFO. I can turn it on dual mode, but can't figure out how to control the B side. All changes occur on the A side.
The best 220 transceiver I have used is the ALINCO DR-235TMKIII
"Most people" except in every big city. Love the band...been on it on FM since 1970s. It has been the Redheaded stepchild band for many years due to many attempts to steal it by various interests outside Ham radio, and dearth of off-the-shelf available equipment. Propagation characteristics are a mix of 2M and 440. Shows some interesting 'Tropo' band openings via 'Ducting' common during summer months esp at dusk after a warm day, and near large bodies of water. I like Chinese HTs at $25-30, but not too sure I'd risk much more than a hundred bucks on a 'mobile'. I could be wrong...I WAS wrong once. 73
Remote head would be nice, but I drive a Suburban so not mandatory. No 220 MHz in my area, but there is when I visit my brother in New England. Not outputting advertised power? Neither does my CS800D. And I think this radio puts out more than the advertised 5 watts on 220, somewhere around 7.5 watts as I recall. So what am I saying? If my 'ham radio stimulus grant' ever shows up, I'm pulling the trigger. Excellent review, Bob.
We call 220 the “safe” band. I use TYT-9000D in the QTH. It puts out better than 50W. The Eddy Fong dipole on ebay is the best 1.25 m antenna. 220 is my favorite band. Low noise threshold and clear sound. Simplex Up to 30 miles. Get a single band TYT AND eddy fong
Taraxicum Officinale
I own the TYT-9000D 220 mhz rig in the shack and two of the 2 meter versions (one I have mounted in the Jeep) , does close to 65w, very easy to program manually even though I have the cable & software disk. I love my Ed Fong antennas also. We have about seven 220 machines here in Honolulu county, this rig rocks! WH6DWF
It's not as nice as that mobile, but when my FT-90 had thermal problems in the car, I took it out and started using my Yaesu VX-6r with a battery eliminator and an antenna pigtail so I can connect it to the mobile antenna. It's tri-band, but analog only. It's only 5 watts out, but that's enough to hit a lot of local repeaters. I do wish I had a tri-band mobile with more oomph, but I had other priorities for the cash during the coof. :(
oh, wow...FIRST!
When you were measuring the output power, were you using 12V, or were you using 13.8V? That can matter.
13.8
K6UDA This is Ken from Brownsville Texas I just took and passed the technician class license I an looking forward to getting my call sign . my question #1 is what is a good mini 2m radio dual band radio to put into my Jeep JK .#2 how do I use the echo link system .
I love your channel as a mater of fact you helped me to get on the ball to do this. I am 67 have wanted to do this ever since high school and when I was in the USN Thank You K6UDA if we can trade email I will with you. Thank you again old 11m license ( KIF1943 ) yes I go that far back. I look forward to here from you.
Just left Bridgecomm. Rumor is Bluetooth remote head in development . I bought the radio.
If you wana have a cheap 220 DMR Radio, you can program the Anytone 878 to 3 Band too. The 878 is cheaper smaller and the better choice i think. The only thing you have to do after that mod. is you must edit your codeplug file and change one entry, if you don't, you get the message the Radio Codeplug is for the wrong Bands. I have done both, and it works fine. If you modified your codeplug you can make changes, with no Problems. The Radio accepts the modified codeplug and works on the 3 Bands ;-)
Does this thing allow you to do more than just send position beacons with analogue APRS? For instance, does it decode received packets? Can you send a SMS message? I don't give a damn about sending position beacons.
I give the hat two thumbs up!!
That is a rather nice cachucha isn't it
Thanks
Bob, I like your videos, and great information on the radio. However, I have to rake umbridge with the isolationist attitude. Our hobby is about the free flow of unformation and keeping communities together un a time of crisis. 220 does provide a bit of security through obscurity, but the same rules apply as 2 meter or any other band.
If you are looking for a triband worth the money, Kenwood used to have a 6/2/440 band radio. 6 meters gives great local performance as well as good hf performance with favorable weather conditions. And, it isn't used by a lot if people. In fact, I'd love to see a quad band - 6/2/1.25/73cm radio.
Thanks. In my area, 2m is about as common as a cell phone. Every manufacturer makes a 2M/70CM radio. Kenwood used to, Yaesu used to but they don’t anymore. I how can I review a unicorn? If we can’t buy it what good is it talking about it?
Hi.... What antenna do you recommend for this radio?
Try band antennas are kinda like unicorns. They're hard to find and the quality is, well, inconsistent to say the least. Just my opinion.
I too like 220 both aimex and on repeaters.
5 watts claimed output makes this essentially QRP on VHF.
Also not including a look at the spectrum and harmonic suppression in a review makes the review appear incomplete with regard to technical thoroughness.
It is well known that the Baofeng UV-5+ (2m, 1.25m, 430 tribander) was non-compliant with regard to harmonic suppression so detailing this seems even more pertinent in this context.
Would you recommend a ht or this as my first dmr gonna have a hot spot at the house
Probably an HT unless you plan on doing a lot of local repeater stuff while driving or you want to mount a good base antenna to reach out. Sounds like you want to play with the hotspot and some DMR reflectors. The HT will do that just fine.
@@K6UDA awesome answer thank you
@@K6UDA I unfortunately don’t have many dmr repeaters near by only fusion,wires x and some d star… and I already have a ftm500 I use as a base vhf/uhf so yeah HT should work great thanks
Im waiting for kenwood to re make the tri band mobile in digital modes.
I’ve been waiting for two years.
@Jason Bowman I guess they went with DStar because it was created for amateurs and didn't do DMR because they didn't want it to cut in to the commercial line.
I was hoping Kenwood was going to release the mobile version of the D74 this year.
73's brother this seems like a good radio for me - I like the tri band - 220 has always been my friend.
Although I currently do not possess a ham license - it is always nice to monitor the frequencies.
From the once free and beautiful state of Commie-Fornia - Inland Empire I am waving a friendly hand.
Made where
Unless you own a big truck can you actually mount anything like this in a regular car these days? I have a Honda Civic and the lady has a Honda Fit. I can't imagine fitting any mobile radio of any kind in my civic, let alone her Fit. Not about to get a pick up truck just to mount a radio!! Especially since truck get gallons per mile instead of miles per gallon!!! But one could get a really nice power supply and just use this as a shack or house radio I guess.
Its only 50w max. There is no reason you can't install this.
Inexpensive UHF/NMO adapters in all genders, even on Amazon. Get a set for your "gozinta" box. And ask Bridgecom to tune those output powers! Warranty!
Sad that it's only 5w on 220 the 5888iii is 25w on 220.
Like your videos, but I’ll stick with my Icom 2m/440 rig and a Bridgecomm BCM-220. Full 50 watts on 220 MHz plus I can guarantee both rigs will outlast the Anytone.
Agreed, I love my kenwood 2m/440 rig and you are correct the Bridgecomm BCM-220 is my go to radio. Very happy with it. But agree with his support of 220
Anytone missed the mark not making the radio a remote mount and the bluetooth hand mic they're supposed to release is a no go also..You already know it's going to be expensive at least $200. I saw a guy take it apart and it has the ribbon like the moto's so maybe they could make a moto type remote mount kit for it.
Also the design (face and knobs )to me looks cheap to me for the price...my xpr 5550 fit and finish looks quality. Looks like they used the 868/878 screen. Wish it was bigger.
Disappointed to hear about the power ratings being that far off.
The features it has is top notch though..It pretty much will cross band anyway you'd want.
All that said. I still may pick the radio up but I'd get the basic model which is $299 but no bluetooth or gps and use it as a shack radio
I heard rumors Ailunace was going to make a mobile called the MD1
220 MHz is a great band. If more people would try it , they would love it.
I am disappointed the 578 is limited to a mere 5 watts on 220. Why is this? Can it be special ordered with more output like the other two
bands?
I wouldn’t mind a QSO on the 1.25 meter band... Anybody live in the East Bay?
Low wattage is nice for your hot spot
That transceiver most certainly goes onto the UK DAB frequencies so I don't think anyone in the UK should own it.
The manufacturer just don't get it! I know a lot of my hams buddies including myself that are passing on this radio because they don't want to make a remote head for this radio. I will stick with my HT(for DMR) and Kenwood D 710ga for everything else.
Auto manufacturers are pissing me off more and more because they refuse to create room for installs like this. And its easy for them to do
5 watts on 220 DMR!? That sucks for simplex, which is what you’ll be doing there. Also, a $30 RTL-SDR will absolutely decode DMR on 220, or any place else, simplex, or not. Just a thought...
Do you really think your average Baofeng totin' bad guy is going to have one of those? In the Field?
@@K6UDA hahahaha good point but if it's bad enough like hunt or be hunted I'd probably throw the rules out the door and setup a dmr simplex channel and turn encryption on that those you know you'll be comm'ing with in your group?
@@K6UDA, I am your average baofeng totin' bad guy. >:D I agree with you though, that 220 DMR is a great thing. I really really want to do simplex DMR on 220 after doing lots of 440 DMR simplex. I talk to a guy 120 miles of me, and I do it with some very high quality 1/2" hardline, and a homemade antenna. He has some LMR400 and a white stick on his roof. We can chat crystal clear without a repeater at only 10-20 watts UHF. So I'd love to see how that played out on 220. VHF (144-148mhz) does not make the trip. Too much QRM, and too high a noise floor to work simplex in this part of the country. Probably similar where you live, as I am also in California. All the concrete high rises and freeways, pretty much stamp VHF out after 50-60 miles unless you are very high, or running a LOT of power. Not to mention the government and utility companies here run a large network of pagers, and backhaul links around 150, plus the ocean traffic around 160, plus the FM broadcast band. You should do a video showing the difference in distance that can be achieved by going up in frequency from VHF. (counter-intuitive, but definitely the truth in many urban centers)
Bob, we use allegory, euphemism, and some preplanned "wrong" messages to provide security during some major public events, like 50-100k participants. There's no way for outsiders to crack that code, and it is legal.
Any attempt to obscure meaning is illegal.
It appears that this radio cannot serve as a digipeater, relaying the signals of nearby APRS station. Too bad. An otherwise great radio all around.
China made ?
Unfortunately
Nearly everything radio wise is made in China nowadays. Many of the Japanese radios are made there as well with them simply switching out the boxes and manuals with a better version for U.S. consumption.