BTECH UV-PRO IP67 Dual Band VHF/UHF Two-Way Radio - APRS, Bluetooth, GPS, Text Messaging, Aviation Band Scanner, NOAA Weather Alerts, USB-C Rechargeable Battery

Don't the get other brand get this one... there's nothing wrong with just like any radio is tricky to use but has the functionality to go much further than what people are even going for. So far it has performed very well. I have even hit repeaters over a 100 miles away from a mountain top! The battery lasts up to a day while using the GPS/ARPS system. The GPS connects right away with the bluetooth app, or takes a minute to lock on. Its not a satellite phone, but it is a HAM radio. I went and got my license for this instrument. Totally worth it. Does what most other HAM HTs do not. Every single piece of functionality described by seller is real and works if you can figure it out. Works better with Nagoya antennas. This radio totally makes up for the dead spots in our area when using a base station. NOTE: APRS relies on ASFK, or otherwise KISS TNC connections. In my case I have experimented with both and have found that the ASFK is much easier to use, as the KISS BT connection is hard to make on a PC. The BTECH app also can become an APRS station. This causes some people to think that their radio works anywhere. The radio works, but you still have to go up high to hit things like any other radio with 8W.

I am using the radio mostly for digital comms., BBS, WoAD, Radiomail, etc. The size is good, battery life is good, and it's easy to program and use. The only complaint that I have heard is the lack of dwell time and resume time programming for scanning.

Really nice radio for the price. I have the latest firmware but would like to see a KISS on/off indicator on the face. Also needs an on/off switch for Bluetooth with face indicator and possible key assignment. Could help with battery usage.

I've been interested in something comparable to the BTECH GMRS-PRO, but for HAM bands ever since its. Mid-August they released the UV-PRO, which sort-of fits this description. Mine arrived today. I was mainly interested in (1) the APRS digital mode, and (2) Bluetooth connectivity (both to the phone and to headsets).The first thing I noticed about the UV-PRO is that it is heavy -- much, much heavier than the other handsets I've used before. I'm not sure if this is the waterproofing, or because the frame is mostly metal, but this might be factor for some uses like backpacking or hiking. At 300+g it sags on my belt, etc. It feels about twice as heavy as a BF-F8HP (which I was using before).In terms of initial impressions: the unit seems solid, and the audio quality is great. I'm getting clear signal reports, audio is crisp both on the speakers and via a Bluetooth headset.As noted, I was mainly interested in the APRS capability, and this is where things get interesting: First, it is technically possible to do most work from the front panel, but this is poorly documented. It wasn't until I upgraded the firmware, and read the release notes, that I learned I could address messages to callsigns via the "<Callsign>: " convention. For example, to hit the APRS SMS gateway, I can begin my messages "SMS: " and things will generally work. To message my other handled unit, I'd use "KK7CMT-5: ", etc. Of course, the same convention works from the connected phone app, and typing is much easier there. Generally, things would be much clearer, if there was an explicit "To" field to fill in.APRS position beaconing also works very well, and I didn't have much trouble setting that set up. However, I do wish it supported some option to limit precision, and for smart updates (e.g., don't beacon as quickly when I'm not moving). Maybe this can come in a future firmware.On the other hand, receiving APRS messages was more of a pain. First, I needed to include my callsign and SSID in both the APRS Settings (which makes sense) AND the Signaling Settings (which, I thought was limited to their proprietary BSS protocol). When I just used one, I couldn't get it to work. Once I figured that out, I also learned that the internal AX.25 decoder is not a sensitive as what I'm used to (Direwolf), and requires both a clear clean signal and a transmission that stays open just a little longer than you might expect. Once a message is received it can be read from the front panel, and replies are easy and straightforward -- but all messages are deleted from the unit when it is powered down. This makes it a pain to reply to prior contacts from one session to the next. Finally, despite being awash in APRS transmissions here in the Puget Sound, I've never decoded an APRS message from a radio other than my own (another unit). I am not sure if it's filtering position reports to only radios that have made prior contact via Text, or if only my close-range transmissions are clear enough for decoding. I really hope it is the former.A few other rando radio quirks:While you can pair a Bluetooth headset and control volume via headset buttons, the volume settings can quickly get out of sync. For example, it will show as having the loudest volume despite being very low. The only way I've found to get them back in sync is use the volume dial on the handset.The channel scanning feature is also not easy to find. Rather than hitting a scan button you need to open Settings->Radio Settings->Scan->Checked. I ended up mapping this to one of the programmable side buttons (requiring the phone application to configure).Finally, while it is nice to be able to program the unit from the phone, I wish I could load in a spreadsheet or similar (like CHIRP) to batch upload a channel list. Programming each channel one by one, on the phone, is still a huge pain. Likewise, channels are divided into 6 groups of 30. I thought I would like this, but it turns out I would much prefer a long linear channel list. It's a pain to change channel groups from the front panel of the handset (Settings->Radio Settings->Channel Group->Group 1). I mapped these to the programmable buttons as well.I do wonder why engineers get feature like APRS only half right? It makes me wonder if the people designing the units are actually using them -- because many of these features are implemented just enough to check a box on a feature list.

I really wanted to love this radio, and there are aspects of it that warrant that love. On the other hand, it leaves much to be desired. The selling point of this radio is that it is essentially an APRS station in a single unit, including both the standard radio functionality plus a built in KISS modem. The problem for me is that I want my HTs to be more than that; they also need to function as one would expect from any HT: multiple channels, easy programming, scanning, sturdy, solid feel, good display, adjustable power output, decent battery life, etc., and to some extent these can be found in the UV-Pro. Well, some of them can be found. The radio is definitely sturdy with a solid feel (and an IP67 rating!) and has a nice color display. Adjustable power is a given these days, so no complaints there. The battery life is on par, too, and when it is time to recharge, just use a USB-C cable. (There is no way to use a charging cradle, possibly as a result of the design of the battery to assist with the radio's IP67 rating.) Scanning is also there, but there is no method of specifying when to resume after a signal is received; the scan just stops. While I do like the hardware, I'm not a fan of how the memory channels are structured (6 banks of 30 channels each) and the programming software, which must be downloaded from the App Store appropriate for your device type, leaves much to be desired. It is simply confusing, to put it politely, and many functions of the radio require the application as it is not possible to set them from the built-in menu system, such as setting the four functions for each of the two programmable buttons on the side of the radio. The manual that comes with the radio only touches on some of the radio's functions, there are multiple paths within the application to arrive at some of the necessary screens, and some of the screens have no explanations given. Please note that the application serves both as a means to program the radio and also as an APRS utility similar to, for example, APRSdroid. I believe it for this reason that it is not supported by CHIRP or commercial programming software, although it may also be that the radio won't support a cable to attach to the desktop or laptop running that software; the application runs on a device (phone or tablet) connected via Bluetooth. Note that the ports on the radio need a special adapter cable to use standard K1 accessories like speakers of speaker/mikes and that cables description mentions nothing about using programming cables, but this would make sense if no programs exist that would make use of that K1 style connection. Finally, the flow of information between the radio and the application can be problematic if one uses the wrong selections within the application. I spent two hours manually entering channel information using the radio menu system only to see it all disappear when I attempted to download it to the app. To say I was disappointed and frustrated is as understatement. That said, the window for returning the radio has passed so at least I have something to occupy my time should I get bored. In the mean time, I'll just use one of my other HTs for chatting while away from my car or shack and will set aside any efforts at HT based APRS operation. With all of that said, why three stars? I give the radio almost five stars for the hardware but knock of two stars for the use of the 30 channel memory banks and the frustrating application. If anything happens to change my mind, I'll post an update.