Review Radtel RT-860

Radtel RT-860    Description

The RT-860 is the new 1024 channel VHF / UHF handheld.
- 2-520MHz Receiver AM / FM / LSB / USB / CW
- An AM AirBand receiver
- USB-C charging
- GPS (optional) RT-860G

In the Box

- RT-860 Handheld
- 2000mAh Li-Ion battery w/USB-C charge port
- Charger Base / AC adapter / USB-C adapter
- Belt clip
- Wrist Strap
- Antenna – 7.25" (18cm) 144/440MHz
- User Guide – English 20 page

Optional:
- Antenna - Short Wave
- Antenna - Medium Wave

Operation / Users Guide

Radtel Software

(US) FCC Certification - 2AZSA-RT860

Frequency Summary

     FM     64 - 108 MHz   (RX)
     SW    2.3 - 26.1 MHz (RX)
     MW 520 - 1710 kHz (RX)
     LW   153 - 259 kHz (RX)

     RX        2 - 520 MHz
     TX/RX 136-174   400-480 MHz

AM / FM / LSB / USB / CW
LW / SW / MW
HF / VHF / UHF


Features

1.77” LCD Screen
1024 Memory Channels
5W Output Power
NOAA weather broadcast Channels
Full Band & Mode coverage from 2-520MHz
Type C Battery Charging
Upgradable Firmware

Transmitter

The Transmit frequency range of the RT-860 is 136-174 / 400-480 MHz.
The high power levels hold pretty close to the 5W range, with 2 power levels.
My audio reports have been excellent on both local repeaters and simplex.
Power levels are listed below and were taken using a calibrated Bird Termaline wattmeter.

Important Note:
Several radios (Mine included) were shipped with the VOX turned ON. This will cause the transmitter to Pulse when the PTT is pressed. There is nothing wrong with the radio. Go into the menu and turn the VOX option OFF.

Receiver and Audio

The receiver sensitivity is very good. I found the receive audio is clear with plenty of volume. The unique feature of the RT860 is additional receive coverage from 10 to 500MHz with the receive modes of AM / FM / LSB / USB / CW.

The receiver covers everything from Ham Radio frequencies and AirBand channels to 27MHz CB, AirBand frequencies,

When in the SW mode, your receive options are:
Frequency Select - 2 to 520 MHz
Mode - AM / FM / LSB / USB / CW
Freq Step - 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 9K
Bandwidth - .5, 1.0, 1.2, 2.2, 3.0, 4.0
LNA - 0 to -36, AGC

* Requires a bit of a learning curve, but well worth it.

AirBand (Receive Only)

AirBand channel reception (108-136MHz) is very good and clear. I'm located between two major international airports plus several small local ones. With Ground to Air, Air to Air, UNICOM, Helicopter, etc. there's plenty to listen to when the local ham repeaters are not active.

When programming AirBand frequencies, be sure to set the bandwidth selection to AM. I'm not sure if the radio uses slope detection or not, but what i do know is air frequencies are Much better when set to AM.

Channel Zones

The software allows you to create up to 256 zones each containing any of the 1024 programmed channels. Each Zone and Channel can have a 16 character label.

Enclosure

The case has a good solid feel and weight, The dimensions are 5.4" x 2.4" x 1.4" (137 x 60 x 36mm) and weighs in 9.4oz (255g) with the battery attached. The display is a 1.77" LCD.

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Keypad and Options

Along with the standard programmable keys, the keypad buttons (0 thru 9) are also long press programmable. There are 25 option choices (shown in the User Manual link below). These functions are usually found as Programmable Key options.

A list of these options can be found in the User Manual.

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Top View

The top of the handheld has two SMA antenna connectors and a volume control.
The SMA-M on the left is for the UHF VHF antenna, while the SMA-F in the center is for SW/LW antennas. There is a red button on the left used to select various options as well as an LED indicator (Green, Red, Orange, Blue) on the right.

A rubber cap is included to protect the center connector when not in use.

Antenna (Dual Band)

Included with the handheld is dual band Antenna – 7.25" (18cm) 144/440MHz.

NOTE: If an upgraded antenna is desired, it is very important to note that the base is slightly narrower than most standard antennas and the center connection is slightly recessed. A replacement antenna must also have an extended thread as shown below.
The Radtel antenna screws in by approximately 5 turns. If a replacement only requires 1 or 2 turns, odds are it will not make a proper contact.

Optional Antennas

There is an SMA-F connector for a Low Band antenna. Some RT860 handhelds include these antennas, but they are also sold separately. The Blue antenna shown below is a tunable shortwave loop antenna measuring 4" across with a tuning dial for matching.
The antenna has 2 switchable tuning ranges. 4-12 MHz and 12-24 MHz.
There is also a Red antenna also has 2 ranges. 500-1000 kHz and 1000-2000 kHz.

Antenna adapter

If you want to connect the Center antenna connection to an outside antenna, I highly recommend an SMA-M to BNC adapter. The main reason being to relieve the stress on the connector. This connector fits flush with the case. I tried an SMA to SO239 connector and pulled off immediately after screwing it in. It was an accident waiting to happen.

I used this adapter when connecting to an outside antenna. The results were excellent.
I also used an SMA-F on the far left connector for UHF/VHF

I also use an SMA-F connector on the far left connector when using my outside VHF/UHF antenna. Because of the recessed connector, I needed to shave a little bit from the inside and screw it in a little bit tighter to make a solid contact. Well worth the effort.

Wire Antenna

I wanted to expand my receive capabilities on the lower frequencies (2-30 MHz) which requires a much longer antenna. The problem was connecting a wire to the SMA connector. I accomplished this with a simple SMA to Wire Adapter. I connected a 30' piece of wire using the adapter and it made a Huge difference on low band receive.

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Side Connections

On the left is the PTT button and two (2) programmable function keys.
On the right side of the radio is the K1 style programming port and a USB-C charging port.

PTT + 2 PF

K1 + USB-C

Display

There are 2 display options. Dual Display which displays both A and B, and Single Display. The channel name can contain up to 16 characters in both the upper and lower display.
Here are samples of the Channel and FM Radio displays.
The screen brightness is adjustable.

Note: My camera had a hard time focusing to the LCD screen colors. The actual LCD image is Dark Grey lettering on a Pale Blue background.

Single Display             Dual Display

    Menu             Scanning

NOAA

One of the Long Press key options will select the 11 NOAA weather channels. A sample display is shown below.

GPS

The RT-860G version includes GPS. This will display Latitude, Longitude and Altitude along with effective satelites.

Software

The factory software is available at Radtel Software. The user guide shows a programmable range of 2-520 MHz, however the software will accept 2-2000 MHz.

Upgradable Firmware

The RT-860 Firmware is upgradable allowing for New Features and correct potential bugs.
Note: The main board design of the RT-860 is unique to this radio. Attempting to flash this firmware to a different model will brick the other radio.

AirBand Frequency List

A good reference to AirBand Frequencies can be found at Frequency Lists.
The RT-860 will receive 108-136 MHz AirBand. The AM mode must be selected in the software. It does not default to AM automatically.
The RT-860 will scan AirBand channels at a rate of approximately 4 channels per second.

Programming Cable

The RT-860 uses a standard K1 style cable where the UART chip is part of the cable. The standard K1 style jack allows for all previous accessories such as the QHM22 Spkr/Micr.

The preferred cable is one with an FTDI chip. (see below)

Battery and Charger

Included with the radio is a 2000mAh battery and charging base. A nice addition is the USB-C charging port on the side of the handheld. A standard USB-C cable can be used to charge from any USB power source. There is also a charging base that shows Red while charging and Green when fully charged.

The battery removal clip on the bottom for battery is a bit tight. If you have soft fingernails, you may want to consider a small screwdriver to assist in sliding it back.

Features

- Upgradable Firmware
- Includes AirBand (AM) receive (108-136MHz)
- 1024 channels w/256 channel Zones
- USB-C battery charging
- Pre Programmed NOAA weather channels
- GPS (RT-860G)
- Long Press Options can be assigned to keypad 0 to 9
- All Band receive coverage from 2-520 MHz
AM / FM / LSB / USB / CW