I purchased the 220mhz model it is advertised at 55 watts, I am getting 65 watts out of mine according to my meters. Seems to have good receive also, I am RX & TXing, repeaters 50 & 70 miles away Living in a valley with a Diamond CR224A mobile antenna 65 feet up from the ground.
The radio frequency coverage is 220 - 260 mhz, the VFO mode can be used for scanning/searching and a frequency range can be set by entering the a hi & low frequency into the channels PA & PB. I didn't see no info in the manual on setting this Programmable search range.
The manual has some errors that took me a while to figure out, the main one was the off set for repeaters, The manual said to
1)Press F key until the F icon displays on the LCD, then press P4 Key, LCD Display off set direction and offset frequency.
2)Repeatedly press P4 key to select + off set and - off set.
I was about to send the radio back because this did not work on the radio I have, so I tried doing different key strokes and came up with this to change the off set.
1)press P4 key for 2 seconds,
2)press P4 key again for 2 seconds to change direction, repeat pressing P4 for two seconds to cycle thru +, -, or no offset,
3) you can change the offset frequency using the dial or up & down buttons on the mic.
4) press F5 to enter
There is no auto repeater off set that I could fine in this radio.
The Display had 3 colors to choose from, 1-blue, 2-pink & 3-red. The red & pink only worked the first couple times I changed it, now the color option 2 & 3 are the same more of an amber color and 1-blue works the best and the brightness is adjustable also.
like most of the new radios coming out the squelch is menu driven, which I don't like, switchable 1 thru 20. using , Using as a base, I have it set at 1 and the radio is scanning all the time, unless I am TXing. another thing I notice about the squelch is when using the mic to change the setting, every time I enter the squelch menu thru the mic the squelch setting goes up one notch/setting, I'm not sure what’s up with that.
I like the mic on this radio has lot of control and you can direct enter a frequency with out pressing another key, The up & down buttons are large & on top angled down each side of the mike easy to get to. there are two slide switches, one for locking the key pad and one for DTMF. The out side key are lit up bright vertically and the inside keys are not lit up, well they collect very little light from outside ones. not sure if this is the way its supposed to be.
Will it hold up & last ? Only time will tell, I paid $149.99+ $11 shipping for mine, sellers want more than that for a 20 ch. 25 watt 220 radio used.
All & all, I like the Radio, 200 channels w/alpha display, 3 band width, a great mic, high power with all the functions of other monoband FM rigs, No TNC. I am glad to see a new 220 radio hit the market, the 20 ch. low power over priced models from the 80's & 90's just didn't get for me.
