TYT TH-UV8000D High Power Dual Band Handheld Transceiver Cross-Band Repeater VHF/UHF 144-148mhz/420-450mhz Amateur Two Way Radio with Extra Backup Battery

These radios are an awesome purchase and well worth the money. If you Google, you will see issues with the 8000D but those issues are from radios pre-2017. The firmware has been upgraded and is the same firmware that you will receive if you buy an 8000E. If you are really concerned, you can look at the serial number on the back of the radio and the first two digits are the year of manufacture. I find that both antennas that are included in the box work very well. The only accessory that I wish they would change is the data cable. They are still including the cable that has an outdated prolific chipset inside of it. If you’re knowledgeable enough to be able to go into device manager and roll the driver back to an old version from 2006 this cable will work just fine but if not, I strongly recommend picking up one that has an FTDI chipset inside. Even though you’re spending extra on the cable, the FTDI cables are genuinely plug and play with no effort required other than plugging it in. The batteries and charging cradle are better than some of the more expensive name brand radios I have seen over the years. My only gripe with charging is that it does take about nine hours per battery to charge but getting the extra battery included helps since you can switch batteries and charge the other one while using the fresh one.Receive sensitivity on this radio is good. I have seen more sensitive radios but at the same time they are also 10 times the price. That being said, I like to monitor railroad traffic as I love to watch trains. This radio does an awesome job of pulling in the signals, where my scanners some of them as much as $600 seem to miss about half of what this radio hears. I am a licensed ham, and have also had great luck with transmitting with this radio. As another reviewer mentioned, TYT does a much better job of keeping their signals clean, compared to some of the other Chinese radios that are out there. I would not consider the increase in power mind blowing, but it is definitely enough to get over the hurdle on a few repeaters in my area that I was previously considered too noisy on. I am getting about 8 WATS, VHF, and about 7 on UHF. This radio can achieve 10 W, but not on frequencies any of us would be allowed to transmit on.This radio supports CHIRP Next which is the newest revision of their software. The software that TYT provides is decent, but I have a personal preference for CHIRP so I’m glad they support it. It worked fine with my E model from 2017 as well as the D model I recently purchased. That being said, a friend of mine also recently purchased a D model, and had an issue out of the box where CHIRP was unable to read the settings from the radio on the first read into the software. I figured out a solution to the problem and figured this would be a good place to post the solution in case anyone else purchases a radio that has the same problem.Download the TYT 8000D software from the TYT websiteThe file you download will be in the RAR format. You can either use WinRAR or 7Zip to open the file. I personally prefer 7Zip but I know that as a matter of preference.Extract the contents to a folder, and then run the set up program to install the TYT software.If you don’t know which COM port your cable is using now would be a good time to go to device manager and find out what it is.Open the TYT software and download the information from the radio into the TYT software.Re-upload everything back into the radio. You should now be able to have everything read correctly when you download from the radio into CHIRP.In closing, I will definitely say these radios do have their share of quirks, but for the money you can’t go wrong and highly recommend this HT.

The radio performed as expected, it is a great radio in a small package. Easy to operate and now supported using CHIRP for effortless programming.I did have a small issue that was resolved promptly and very professionally by the customer service team. They will go above and beyond to satisfy customer's needs. I would gladly order again without hesitation.

I have had this for several months now and it has worked great. The instructions that come with it are really difficult to read and there is little information out there about programming it. The programming software is clunky but you can buy other software if you need something more functional. It has been very durable, the battery lasts longer than I expected, and it has great range and tons of great features if you can figure them out or have more experience than I do with these.

I have been using an 8000E for months and when my adult son needed a good radio I bought the 8000D for him. Then I bought four more. Comparing them there is no functional difference, because this model has been upgraded with the cross band repeater function. It comes locked for ham frequencies, but is easily unlocked by:1. Download programming software from TYT unpack and install.2. Connect your radio to pc and download.3. When you open the unpacked file there is a Word document with step by step instructions for unlocking 136-174 & 400-520.4. CHIRP programming is free and easier than TYT's.Bottom line they are all unlockable!As to the radios features, these are the things that I like. It comes with two 3600 mAh batteries that each last for days. Both antennas are usable for all VHF and UHF. VHF and MURS on high power the rubber duck puts out 8W+ VSWR of 1.01-1.4:1. 70CM@ 1.24:1 and [email protected]:1; all quite usable. Frankly, these are the best dual band antennas that I've yet found. The whips are as good or better VSWR on VHF and much better on UHF & GMRS. I don't need to spend more to get the best TX/RX from the 8000D.(With 4 Retevis RT85 HTs that are rebranded TYT TH-UV88s I have, I found that the supplied rubber duck is only a usable VSWR on VHF and MURS @1.01:1-1.37:1, so I bought and tuned band specific whips by trimming to tune for the best VSWR using a nanoVNA and SWR/power meter. One tuned to VHF and MURS; the other for UHF and GMRS all @ 1.08-1.11:1 or less.)I don't need to buy better antennas for the TYT 8000D.The receiver and audio of the 8000D are very good both directions in and out. Good reports of full quieting from other stations. The build is high quality and the radio has good heft in hand. The screen is easy to read even in bright light and the keys are backlit for easy viewing in the dark. I computer program all my radios with CHIRP to the same channel names and numbers. It's free to download and use and makes copying between radio models a breeze once the first one is done. Any new frequency is easy to add by keypad in VFO mode. Cross band repeat is a big plus if needed that must first be enabled in computer programming, then it can by turned on or off in the radio menu. This is a great choice for remote work in hilly terrain. By placing it at a high ridge operators in adjacent valleys could communicate. I've only tested it and it works and though I may have no need, it's better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it.Unlike Baofeng, TYT produces clean transmitting reliable radios worth the money and they don't misrepresent them. Okay, it's not 10 watts unless it's out of band into a dummy load; it does TX@8W+ TX antennas. (The lies on eBay ads for 15W Baofengs with 8600 mAh batteries are just that; BOLD FACE LIES. I for one will never own a Boafeng (pronounced PoFung). Some of my HAM buddies have them with regrets for the poor performance and failures in the field.)I also have a TYT TH-9800 Mobile that I use as a base station that I can go portable with the 10mAh LifePo4 battery and N9TAX roll up J-pole antenna. My advice is buy the pair or more of TYT 8000Ds on Amazon. You will be happy you did.