TIDRADIOTD-H3 GMRS Radio Handheld Long Range,Multi-Band Receiving Two-Way Radio,USB-C Programming & Charging,2500mAh Battery,AM/FM Reception,NOAA VOX SCAN,Walkie Talkie with Earpiece & 771 Antenna

I've had this less than a day but so far I like it a lot. I assume most people looking at this are familiar with Baofeng's offerings so I'll be making a few comments on the less obvious differences, but I can say this feels like a little step up from the ones I've used, and worth the money. Its smaller than I expected and fits nicely in my hand. Roughly the same size as a UV-5(R/G/etc) but slightly narrower and slightly fatter.Reception is as expected for a handheld, and the longer whip antenna in this kit is pretty nice. The standard rubber antenna isn't GMRS specific but at least its UHF instead of dual band like the Baofeng UV-5G. Some people report having high SWR from dual band antennas on GMRS frequencies but I don't have a way to test that yet. The audio + squelch seems a little better than the Baofeng (doesn't seem to cut in and out, but needs more testing) and this one has a cool if slightly confusing at first feature of dual PTT. The battery should also be a nice upgrade if you're transmitting a lot, and you can actually change saved channel settings from the menu (CTCSS, transmit power, etc).First thing though: throw the paper manual in the trash and get the one from tidradio's website. The paper one is weirdly translated in some parts, contradicts itself, and some parts seem to be written for an entirely different radio. But the online version fixes a lot of that.So far the only thing missing is a timed display brightness setting. I'd personally rather dim it and leave it on than have it completely turn off after a set time, so maybe that would be a nice feature for the next model. I saw some people online talking about issues with programming these but I had no issues setting everything up with CHIRP and my Baofeng cable.Edit 12-17-24: It's been a while since I got this and I'm still liking it. I got a Smiley Slim Duck and Mini Duck tuned for GMRS along with a tool to test the SWR, Slim is great right at 1.1 and Mini seems a little higher but acceptable around 1.5. The antennas that came with the radio have SWR around 1.2, no complaints there. The Mini seems to work about as well as the stock antenna on this or a Baofeng assuming physical height is the same, which is nice compared to other stubby antennas I've tried that are absolutely horrible if you want to transmit at all. To be honest I haven't used the whip much, not likely to put something that big on a handheld but I do keep it in my backpack since I usually have the Mini on the radio now.After using this for a while I can say I'm not the biggest fan of the shape. With the clip on it, it just feels too thick and a little awkward, but not a dealbreaker. I like everything else enough to get over it. The interface and features are nice. I've also recently installed the 3rd party UMod firmware which makes a few minor changes to the radio. Not really in the scope of this review to get into the details but I think it's pretty cool that it's available and easy to install. I haven't messed with air band at all but I have been listening in on VHF and UHF ham repeaters without issue. I found that it's even capable of listening down into the CB band which is a nice touch. Haven't picked anything up in the wild there but I did verify that my handheld CB can break squelch on it and come through clearly at short range. Really cool radio for a ~$35 kit.

Very solid feel. Battery life seems very good. Did not come with a charging cradle, but I didn't want that anyway. Was also missing the TID customer support card shown in all the Youtube videos. Scanning works well. I was able to program the radio over Bluetooth from my Android phone, using the Odmaster app. The app also finds local repeater stations, and makes adding them to the radio simple. I was also able to get Chirp to access the radio from my PC, using the included USB cable. Not all the USB ports on my PC.work. I could not get the Bluetooth on the PC to connect to the radio with Chirp. I also could not get a Baofeng 2-pin to USB programming cable to work. Chirp said the radio refused the connection.Very good price, and quick delivery.

You will no doubt ask yourself, should I get the H3 or the H8 radio? The H3 is the objectively better radio.* Lower price.* Smaller form factor* Better value* More features (H3 has a wider reception range)* USB-C programmingWhat you give up with the H3 is you go from 10 watt maximum transmit power down to 5 watt. But on a handheld, with the middling antennas they all come with, you won't notice the difference. The limit is more the antenna, not the transmit power.The one thing I prefer about the H8 is the button size is easier to deal with, and the layout of the case buttons ever so slightly easier to use.As far as I can tell, other than the antennas included, there is literally no difference in the unit sold as GMRS from the unit sold as HAM. You can easily convert the HAM to GMRS, or GMRS to HAM in about 5 seconds. This does wipe the onboard contents, so clone your radio using CHIRP or the TIDRadio software first.

I would probably give it 5 stars with time. For now 4 based on very brief experience with it. However, bought it primarily for Jeep trails. Gotta say, we had just under 30 Jeeps out in Ocala National Forest, and on highway getting there as well. In the past I used CB radio with 3ft antenna, and always had issues communicating with 1st, and last Jeep on the convoy. Well, I'm totally shocked how incredible this radio functioned. No outside antenna at all, just the tiny one that comes with it, and that inside the Jeeps, I can communicate back and forth so clear and strong. Also, battery consumption after 3 hours of continued use only one bar. Just an awesome radio. Can't wait to learn more about it, and use it more offer. Highly recommend this. Also, my GMRS license was issued in less than 24 hours.

After having gone through 2 or 3 other handheld GMRS radios, I decided to pick one of these up after watching a number of YouTube guys hearlding how good it was.There's a lot of functionality packed in this little guy. It's pre-programmed with all the GMRS channels, including repeater channels, plus NOAA frequencies. That leaves you over 140 more channels to setup as you like.And speaking of setup, this radio could not be easier. With Bluetooth integrated, all you have to do is browse to ODMaster, create an account, select the phone type and pair it to your radio, all from your browser. From there you can configure all the settings on the radio, plus configure your customer channels. Honestly, it's a breeze.This radio includes Airband and FM radio as well, so that's a plus.I bought the clear model of this radio because it just looks different. I also considered the green one. I like that they have those two options because let's face it, too many radios are boring black.After trying out several GMRS radios, I've found one I can live with.The only downside I see to this radio, is it's size. It's really tiny. The lettering on the keys is hard to read, so you just have to memorize what the keys do.Great radio. Get it.