Product Review
radtel
RT-860
RT-860G
VHF / UHF Handheld
AM / FM / SSB / CW / SW / LW
CB / Air Band Receive


John 'Miklor'
Mar 2025
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.
RT-860 |
High |
Low |
VHF |
5.1 |
1.9 |
UHF |
4.8 |
1.5 |
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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.

click to enlarge |
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.

click to enlarge |
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.
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
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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
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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

RT-860
VHF / UHF Handheld
AM / FM / SSB / CW / SW / LW
CB / Air Band Receive
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