I still like the radio and have been reading about hotspots that can work over all radio types, so it may still be the main option, especially at the price.

Cool. Thanks for the tip.

I currently have the Anytone D868. Would love this radio, but have some simple gripes, I suspect could be fixed with firmware updates. (1) Slow boot, takes 10.9 seconds to turn on! (2) Volume level screen, overlays on top of entire display?! So annoying! Needs to change to a vertical on the right side, empty space, or something.

(3) When in FM Radio mode, when I turn the volume knob, the radio cuts out, then back on again. (4) Can't engage Group ID, to change talk group, while a digital call is progress. (5) The 3100mah High Capacity battery is champion on battery life. But it's fat and ugly. Much prefer the 2100mah. (6) The stock antenna is stiff and jabs into my side. Upgraded to an Expert Power love handle frendly version.

(7) Software has a little bit of a learning curve. But I got it. Took a few tries to figure out how to get the zones, channels, and scan lists all worked out. Had to duplicate channels to achieve goals. Thanks Bridgecomsys for the video walk throughs.

Would also be nice to add voice prompts. Like "Frequency Mode", "Channel Mode", "Scanning", etc.

Full featured APRS is much more than just beaconing out your position. You can see other APRS users, connect with them on other frequencies, send and reply to direct messages, send and receive text messages and emails to non hams with phones and computers, utilize satellites, get weather telemetry and more.

@@K6UDA Ahh, thank you...hmm, does that mean that the Yaesu and Kenwood HTs that you mentioned (if I remember correctly) are full featured, and so are able to see other APRS users, send text, emails etc?

Yep. Both do it all.

If I can work out a deal with a company to do that, I'll defiantely let you know.

@@K6UDA AWESOME SAUCE......to quote Trollhunters of Arcadia.....yes I am a child at heart, 55 going on 5 xyl says.

Change your name and get a license.

No. It’s FM transmit only.

lol. One of the reasons I like this hobby is because of how difficult it can be to get one set up. Makes it fun!

@@aquatone327 Exactly. Of course you slackers and millennials like everything prepackaged and served. No wonder your generation is still living at home at age 30.

Thankfully, real emergencies are pretty rare as a whole in our society. But we do have them. We have fires out my way with more frequency than we'd like to admit. I've personally used my radio skills on more than one occasion during an emergency. As a matter of fact, I used my radio to get a helicopter to come save a friend who's horse had slipped in a ravine and crushed him. Cell phone didn't work and the only thing we had was ham radio and a GPS. Ham radio saved my friend's life. As for needing to put a frequency in on the fly, Just this March, while working at a local hamfest, the group was operating on a frequency that wasn't pre programmed into my handheld. Because I was able to program on the fly, my handheld remained useful. There was also a few times where I stepped off a plane in a different city and was able to get on a local repeater because I could program my radio on the fly. Thanks for adding to the conversation. Makes it fun and interesting.

K6UDA Yes it does make it interesting. I belong to 3 different radio clubs in SE Texas. One is ALL about EmComm. We have 3 repeaters and the only time they are used is for ARES and Skywarn nets. I don’t know if you remember, but in June, the town of Franklin, Texas was leveled by a tornado about 80 miles from our club. Ironically, our ARES/Skywarn was a huge fail. It was several hours before the net got organized. Texas Emergency Communications has been consolidated under the Texas Wide Area Radio Network based on P25. Since we had no interoperability and there were no amateur radio operators in Franklin, the information given and gained was all but useless. That being said, during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Harris County ARES, did an outstanding job. My point is let’s not lose sight of the “fun” part of the hobby. Back in the “old days” circa 1990, we had some great ragchews several times a week. I think we’ve gotten lost in the technology and politics of the hobby is what I’m trying to say. Anyway, enjoy your perspective as always. 73 KC5RJL