TIDRadio Bluetooth H8 GMRS Radio - Review Of The 2nd Gen H8 GMRS HT With Bluetooth From TIDRadio

Link to the TidRadio 2nd Gen H8-GMRS value pack: amzn.to/3EkJVyk
Link to the TidRadio 2nd Generation H8 GMRS radio (not the value pack): amzn.to/3EfFiWr
In this video I review the TidRadio 2nd Gen H8 GMRS HT Walkie Talkie Radio with bluetooth. I talk about the changes from the earlier H8 GMRS radios, I show you how the bluetooth programming works, I do a power-output test and all the other things you would expect to see in a GMRS review video.
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Music by Stern Beats - You can find him here:
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[@rickgruber5060]

I was watching this video to learn a bit about this radio until you placed your phone in view and revealed that you are one of those sick weirdos who is obsessed with women's feet. It's almost as if you were advertising it on purpose. I can't look at you now without busting up laughing. You should keep those type of strange things to yourself and not share them in public.

[@davef5595]

And you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.

[@craigdavidson2977]

@rickgruber5060 , He is 'advertising it on purpose'. Randy does that on most of his videos just to get people like you to respond and show yourselves for who you really are. There is only one reason you would make such a fuss. You have a foot fettish and are in denial. Randy pulled the trigger and you went off like a shot. just confess. you will feel better.

[@craigdavidson2977]

OMG!! Rick Gruber is one of those sad H.A.M.s According to his youtube channel, his callsign is KD7NHM. Rick, be sure to tell us how long you have been a ham radio operator and how much your radios cost and how smart you are. [Update] He has all his radios listed on his qrz web page. To wit: "...[his] current home station is an Icom IC-7300 with a Heil PR-781 and a Tokyo Hy-Power HL-1.5KFX & a Tokyo Hy-Power HC-1.5KAT fed to a K4KIO HexBeam sitting at 23 feet in my back yard. The HexBeam covers 20M thru 6M and also tunes up 2M and 70CM ironically enough. The local UHF/VHF action is done on my Icom IC-9700 with a Diamond X700HNA dual band 4 5/8 sitting at 70 feet on the tower. I have my 9700 set up on RcForb Remotehams.com if anyone wants to use the rig to chat with anyone here in Phoenix locally....."

[@stevenmeansphotography3861]

Nothing wrong with womens feet

[@EmperorMingg]

Reeeeeel him in

[@bobs1728]

I generally don't watch KZbin videos that feature nonstop sarcasm and satire, but when I do, I watch "Not the Rubicon Productions."

[@DamienDavidO]

How did I fall into this rabbit hole of GMRS radios. Your content has become my addiction and I legit don’t even know which radio to get 😅 with all these options.

[@reallynot.]

Maybe start with a UV-9G or a UV-9G+ due to it's low cost. It should be easy to learn and be a good intro to GMRS handheld radios!

[@riparianstudios]

That phone app screen...🤣Most informative AND entertaining channel on KZbin.

[@joecerda630]

This guy is soo funny...thank you for making watching videos of radios worth watching...😅

[@billyhaun4594]

Best T Shirt to date.

[@someolddude7076]

Thought Exactly the same thing

[@joemarchinski914]

👍👍👍

[@mwolrich]

Bought the Value pack on Amazon Prime day for $72, quite the deal.. love this radio. it can be switched to GMRS only mode, HAM only mode, or ALL which transmits on both… when put into GMRS mode, it preprograms first 30 channels to GMRS frequencys & follows FCC guidlines on TX power on certain channels. The background picture appears to be Elon Musk dressed as Jesus, love it 😉

[@geraldhenrickson7472]

Wait, what? You have an H8 and you are able to transmit on Ham? That is a huge revelation my friend. Wow.

[@careybrown3776]

@@geraldhenrickson7472I may be wrong, but I think you can only listen, not Transmit on ham.

[@user-og7cd7dx1b]

I couldn't fall asleep thinking about those feet so I got up and watched it again, that's when I noticed the apps on the phone. I didn't even know about a couple of those. Thanks Randy!!

[@JZuniga81]

Randy you make awesome videos, I wondered across one of your videos about 2 months ago now i am a GMRS newbie. I did purchase the TD-H8

[@grigorirasputin5020]

Excellent review! So glad you no longer have to register to use software programming. That was an absolute deal killer for me. I complained to TidRadio and all they would do was say it was for "social media". I don't want social media. I just want a radio that works! Thanks for rectifying this, Randy!

[@albertlemont5471]

The most impressive thing I have seen in awhile is the amount of tech mats you have.

[@mrwizworks]

PTT + # (and turn on the radio) permits unlock which enables use on GMRS and Ham. Love this radio. Comes in clear crystal case and neon green too.

[@OverlandOne]

Spurious emmisions have been linked to Sad Ham disorder in a recent study.

[@TheNotaRubicon]

Get the TidRadio 2nd Gen H8-GMRS value pack here: amzn.to/3EkJVyk Get JUST the TidRadio 2nd Generation H8 GMRS radio (not the value pack) here: amzn.to/3EfFiWr

[@battleborngrafix4640]

Love this radio. And I could watch your videos just to see what the picture behind you is lol

[@TeamTopKick]

Think this will be my next GMRS Radio purchase. I like the capability to program with youŕ phone.

[@royholmes9010]

I have one of each first and second generation H-8 radios in both Amateur and GMRS all work well with the Odmaster App love the type C chargeable batteries

[@legallimitoutdoors9917]

Got my 2 Tidraidos h8 GMRS today Thanks brother. 🇺🇸 2A 🇺🇸

[@latinizzy32]

I don't even need a radio but youre epic trolling has made me a lifetime subscriber keep up the good work. 💯💪👍

[@theorlandoprepper]

Good review. The cellphone cracked me up. Thanks for sharing.

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

I think this will be my next purchase for a radio because I need split tones! I have a 771 antenna already and mic and all that, and I have chirp, so I should be okay! I like the fact that you can use bluetooth and an app to program it as well! What a great idea! Thanks so much! Regards kind sir! Tim

[@convi0226]

I have the Tidradio 2gen H8 GMRS. I love it. I did the programming by Bluetooth, very easy. I imported some of the ham radio repeaters by way of Bluetooth and the phone app. Lo and behold, I can transmit to those repeaters and get a response back. I guess that means I will have to get my ham license 😢.

[@Stan_Rich]

Good Review Randy. Shirt & Portrait Good too. Still lovin (along with members of my family) our “Revised & Reissued” BAOFENG UV-5G’s with Extended Batteries & Nagoya NA-771G 15.3-Inch Whip Antennas that you reviewed & recommended last year.

[@co4x4]

Sold! Cheers from Denver Colorado

[@old-timeangler5356]

Another formative video, and I love the Tee-shirt.

[@KU9L]

Love it, my Android may be able to program this radio whereas my Acer Chromebook would choke, lol. I am still looking for a Decent simplex repeater controller so our Camp Hosts can check in every night for wellness checks. I don't want to use a repeater as the portable ones are five watts out of the duplexer, but a Midland 50-watt GMRS radio with a simplex repeater could be well heard when our hosts need to report Bears, drunk campers, or they are running out of TP, lol. Cheers, Davey

[@mostrosticator]

I have the HAM version of this HT in my Amazon cart. I'm looking forward to receiving it. Great video by the way 👍🏻

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

I was hoping to use the 10 watts on the repeater channels because I live so far in the boonies that any repeaters are at the least 30 miles away.. I have two of the cheaper radios and with the rubber ducky antenna and was able to talk to my friend at 4 miles with no problems and I'm down in a bowl kind of and he is in a small town urban area and we were talking with little noise and hiss.. No problems at all! I think these little HT's are just killer! Thanks Randy for the reviews kind sir! Great stuff and I"ll see you on the Forums!

[@StanleyPugh]

Have one, love it. I did a jailbreak so it does it all. By the way love the shirt. We need a Boofwang shirt tho 😂

[@michaelwalsh3474]

I saw the title and instantly hit like👍. I know this will be good 😊

[@TheNotaRubicon]

Thanks!

[@willshepherd4544]

I hit the like button within 1 second of video start... to help the sad hams realize their sadness sooner. LOVE EVERY video you do. Signed, Your Favorite Viewer.

[@dennistate5953]

Looks good to my ears, Nothead Handmodel❤!

[@erikbetancourt7194]

I like this channel better than any ham channel.

[@keathrhymer5449]

I have the H* second gen for over a month now no major issues at all BT is sometimes slow connecting. 10 to 11.5 watts put tx audio is good, rx has good sound I use mine as a ham but I have unlocked it for gmrs use also just haven't programmed any for that even though i have that license also It will get warm when using a lot. Their support will respond quickly when you email asking a question.

[@ronkimball8489]

I have a GMRS and Ham version. They both are capable of 10 watts, TIDRadio has a power adjustment program with which you can adjust each band and power setting individually. I personally read out the power settings of the GMRS one, moved the high settings to the mid settings, then set the high settings to max - and uploaded that to both radios. All my channels are set to low or mid power as 5 watts is plenty and I prefer the longer battery life and reduced radiation into my noggin :-) .

[@TheOriginalStevenH]

so the H8 is 10w? but it's set to 5W until you change it to the the high power?!

[@MrDLRu]

Someone mentioned lots of noise using high power on some 144 frequencies...Have you seen anything with the power setting you're using..thx

[@tnewdad]

That power question was nagging at me until I saw your post here - given that the GMRS version is advertised as a 5W unit, I was wondering what happened if you ran the “jailbreak” to open up the other bands… it seems odd that folks are willing to pay more for the ’Ham’ model when they could get the same capability for less!

[@Gruuvin1]

Since you have two, you could try testing the frequency hopping feature.

[@chrissreece8810]

I’m looking for a radio solution for motorcycle coms. I would like to connect the radio to a Bluetooth headset in my helmet. Does anyone know if this is capable of connecting to Bluetooth devices, headphones, remote switches?

[@GustavoEtel]

73 from Brazil! TKS!

[@TheSMEAC]

Solid performance 👍

[@CentralVirginiaEAS]

i knew you were going to post a video today, i just had a feeling you were.

[@frankbowman22]

I like this radio and how you should it Good 👍 job 👏

[@TheCaptFuzzy]

The ✨👐✨. LOL. Just bought this radio based on this. Thanks for this. 👍

[@apar1560]

👍👍👍 ☆☆☆☆☆ Thanks, I like this radio. Great Demo. ...Alan in 🇨🇱

[@howardgrant4254]

Another great video. Loved it. I have a question though. With the radio having Bluetooth connectivity and my hearing aids also Bluetooth capable, is it possible to connect my hearing aids to the radio? I can connect to my phone and take calls or listen to music just like any earpiece so I'm curious if I could listen to the radio the same way.

[@HardcoreFourSix]

If you have further communications with Tidradio, please ask them to allow the NAME to be displayed in the large font, and the frequency to be displayed in the small font

[@GenXmadMike67]

Complete entertainment..... Thank you!

[@troyalton4956]

Im not sure if its like this for everyone but I bought the single pack and it came with both antennas as well as a lanyard, the hang it from your neck kind to really impress the ladies along with the stylish and sexy wrist strap

[@J0HN3]

Bought four of these, initially loved them, then started having serious issues on transmit on some frequencies. One of which was a local repeater, so I sent them all back. Buyer beware. Love the features though, and looking forward to hopefully a v3 version that has cleaner transmit. Bluetooth programming via app is the way to go.

[@RKingis]

Technically, version 2 is the 3td version 🤪

[@ernestrichardson40]

I SECOND THAT RANDY!! DEFUÑD THE MEDIA!!!!😊

[@gac8997]

Ahhh I did see the dooty in the grass just behind the radio . nice!

[@grigorirasputin5020]

OMG, sure enough! At 7:18 Randy always gives us Easter Eggs to hunt for! 😁

[@JimmyShot]

Lmfao that phone background

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

That Looks like a ABBREE 771 Antenna Randy and the hand mic is Nice 4:35 @NotaRubicon Productions

[@legallimitoutdoors9917]

If I put this radio on open frequency can I physically go from gmrs right to ham back and forth without the Bluetooth or do I have to have my cell phone and Bluetooth to go from gmrs to ham or vice versa? Hope I didn't confuse you thanks again for all your help and the great videos you offer

[@TheDoug625]

I just got the ham version and unlocked it for GMRS, it puts out almost 10 watts on pretty much any frequency.

[@myfakeevo]

Does this still work or did they pull that ability?

[@RKingis]

I got the GMRS 1.5 version, and just opened it up.

[@johnhenderson1031]

​@@myfakeevoit still works, just bought the han version and unlocked it a few days ago

[@wantonlaughterb5559]

How you unlock it for HAM? I don’t transmit on HAM but I want the ability to do both lol

[@RickyD1968]

Very cool radio and Pencil !!!

[@jonnporter6081]

I like that I can clip the mic to my shirt and talk to impress the chicks. Are the chicks sold separately?

[@richardcorwin1828]

Thank you!!

[@calnative1504]

Love the channel, and the style! A few (and now me) are curious if we can connect the H8 BT to audio devices? If not, do any GMRS radios? Thanks

[@silvaaa70]

I was able to convince my employer that 2 of us needed "better" walkie talkies but since they were stronger, they required a license. So I was able to get my coworker and I a GMRS license for each of us and also bought 2 Btech GMRS pro radios on the company's dime. They use bluetooth and work very well. I just connected mine to a blue tooth speaker and works perfect. I've connected it to my BT headphones and transmitted and received with no issues. I haven't tried to connect it to my vehicle. If I do, I will up date this reply.

[@Gruuvin1]

​@@silvaaa70which radio?

[@brassmanbart5076]

Nice looking radio. Let us know when you learn how to jailbreak it. Really appreciate your sharing your knowledge. Thank you.

[@RKingis]

Google is your friend! ;-)

[@Radioactive_Texan]

I do not know if it works with the Gen 2 version. I have an older one and it works with it. The following buttons pressed while turning on the radio changes the "mode". Hold PTT and * Screen shows: Init all? HAM Press Menu button, radio reboots and it is a HAM radio PTT and 0 Screen shows: Init all? GMRS Press Menu button, radio reboots back to GMRS mode PTT and # Screen shows: Init all? Press Menu button, radio reboots and is UNLOCKED However, my Tidradio also allows me to save HAM frequencies in channel mode (Gmrs), edit the name etc with the Bluetooth app and let's me transmit. Must be a bug.

[@careybrown3776]

When it reboots do u lose your channels/frequencies?

[@glennlaroche9192]

got a antenna question for you, just purchased a nagoya gmrs antenna for the truck, hooked it up last night hit the local repeater very well, this morning traveling through a nearby town still hit the repeater good, when I arrived at work tried again and I got nothing but when I removed the baofeng uv-5r gmrs portable from the truck antenna and re-installed the portables antenna I was able to hit the repeater, I have a scanner antenna also on the roof of my vehicle and I ran the coax for the new antenna along side the scanner coax could this be drawing power from the coax or creating my transmit issue.

[@juanvenegas3821]

👍 very nice video and funny!!

[@user-es5ft7wj3b]

Can you Bluetooth it to a headset, and a wireless PTT button?

[@coreopolis]

The standard model (non-value pack) has dropped to $63, and has a 20% coupon in addition to that discounted price as of 8/29.

[@paulenglish1601]

Randy, you should consider raffling off some of your growing gmrs kit in the background to some sad hams...maybe that would turn their frowns upside down!

[@MrJustdust]

I just recently bought the 2 pack of radios with 4 batteries for $65 on E-bay, BNIB! Im now 11 radios deep just from watching Rubicon. Horrible,lol. Thanks Rubicon!

[@wwclay86]

This radio gives me. Die hard 2 vibes... " the code is still punched into this one"

[@Lendog22]

I live in a fire danger zone, so your rant on “99%” is true, we need these for emergency when power shut downs happen and cell towers go down.

[@Fred-gr1hp]

I’ve been watching you for over a year now, and I have one question. Don’t you ever blink ?? 🙂

[@Gruuvin1]

You noticed that too! Yeah, there are some people who rarely blink. How do their eyeballs not dry up!?

[@legallimitoutdoors9917]

What pig tail will work for the H8 and the 771 antenna SMA There so much out there it's nuts 😵 do you have any recommendations? Thanks

[@jhill4874]

It appears the new Bluetooth programming feature is taking hold on various radios.

[@KaL_Tero_Vet_RET]

Tempted to return the KG-805G I received today for this one😂😂

[@claytonhazelwood8378]

My really important question is: what is item 38 on the mossberg tekmat.

[@tmastersat]

Question wonder what the fine is for selling gmrs nodes that are not type accepted for gmrs....

[@olegig5166]

I have a magnet post in my truck. By glueing a metal piece on the back of iPhone it's the perfect iPhone holder. Can I do the same with a radio or will the magnet foul the radio? I remember back in the day when magnets and floppy disks were a no no.

[@michaelbennett4343]

Man you are the man 😂😂 💯💯💯

[@peterbassham]

Thx Randy, will 2.0 Bluetooth to a speaker?

[@Bill_Maine]

I am a complete novice regarding radios but I am intrigued by your review of this model. My use would be communicating in the back country of the North Maine Woods where I spend a fair amount of time. This is extremely heavily forested areas with hills and valleys. Small handheld consumer radios just won’t work. So I am thinking a higher wattage radio might solve that problem. Do you have any experience in this regard with this radio meeting those needs? I don’t think my needs would go beyond 2 or 3 miles communicating with hunting or fishing partners. Also, customer reviews repeatedly criticize the mic volume on these units. Is this an issue that has been corrected? Sorry I am late to this party with my questions.

[@imwidy3309]

How’s this stack up the the Baofeng UV-5G plus?

[@MikeBeauchamp]

Phone icons unmatched 🤣🤣

[@TadDanley]

When will the TD-H8 PRO, or whatever they are going to call it, be available?

[@Torqueware]

Is the longer antenna that comes with the H8 gen 2 tuned for GMRS?

[@sentinel150]

Have you reviewed the My-EMR1 RADIO?

[@n3qdz]

O have looked up and down for those pencils and can never find that model of pencil. BTW the roger beep got me all jumbly inside

[@slave12010]

Probably shouldn't ask. But if you hold down the PTT and the * or 0 or # the same time while turning the radio on does it do something special?

[@TheNotaRubicon]

Indeed it does, but it also clears everything, and TidRadio actually recommends NOT doing it often.. I'm not sure why.

[@Gruuvin1]

I'm gonna take a guess as to why the mfg advises to not do this too often. Three different firmwares are compressed and stored in a reserved space of the memory, and the rest of the memory holds the one uncompressed firmware (and channels) which runs the radio (ham, gmrs, or unlock). When you do one of the above 'cheat codes', you erase theentire uncompressed firmware and channel space and rewrite a new uncompressed firmware, from one of the three compressed firmware options. This type of memory becomes more unstable as you write to it over and over (thousands of times), but remains fairly stable if you only write to it a few times (hundreds). Doing those cheat codes is basically doing a factory reset, choosing the firmware you want. The more you do it the greater the chance a bit will flip resulting in a corrupted firmware, which can 'brick' your radio.

[@craigdavidson2977]

Randy! Inquiring minds want to know. Is this radio homo-dyne or super heterodyne? (in other words... what are its preferred pronouns?)

[@RKingis]

😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@legallimitoutdoors9917]

Can someone tell me if there's a Difference Between TD-H8 gen2 And the H8-Gen2. 🤔What's with the TD-? Thank you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for your help someone

[@ChrisHirner]

call me crazy but can this radio recieve 2 vhf frequencies at the same time. I know on the fangs is more of a dual watch but i could swear it let me hear 2 channels at once on with the d wait turned on.

[@tesla2115]

I love your shirt!!! great! ha ha

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

I keep Hearing the Ham Version of the h8 is better then the GMRS Version good video Randy 1:48 @NotaRubicon Productions

[@dxace1]

The power question: will the keypad hack still enable 10 watts??

[@vicdoc01]

Yes!

[@defining_moments]

What do you do with all those radios? And which one do you rely and would use in a catastrophic, apocalypse, survival world event?

[@TheNotaRubicon]

I donate/give away all the radios except for the ones behind me. I use a Motorola XTS5000, a few XTS2500, and an XTL5000 in each Jeep.

[@defining_moments]

@@TheNotaRubicon interesting that radio I just looked it up and looks very plain and simple.. the Motorola xts5000… 🤔

[@ralphjohnson8775]

It's best to get the ham radio Version That is ten watts And unlock it Then you got a ten watt radio there the same price to Randy Will end up doing a video On how to unlock it It is very simple from what i've seen .

[@bowlineastronomenov5507]

Nice vid funny😂’ by the way can it connect the BT to zello as gateway? Tnx

[@TheNotaRubicon]

No.

[@almavillarreal8780]

does this radio have the option to buy a extended battery?

[@jonathandahood]

10.1 miles. I believe i got a piece of junk baofeng uv-9r pro that barley made it through 2 miles of woods, over the past week I have been trying to listen in. Loaded about 20 repeaters 3 or so days ago. Either no one uses ham in southern NH or I got boofwanged.

[@TheNotaRubicon]

2 miles through the woods is pretty good for a hand-held GMRS radio - as I mentioned in the video, your farz will vary, and through the woods, your farz will vary a LOT. It is also very possible that nobody is using those 20 repeaters, you are not in range of them or you programmed them wrong - mostly liekly a combination of all 3. In other words, your radio is working fine.

[@matthewb8229]

FYI the value pack is currently on sale at the Tidradio website for $58.99. I just got mine today (5/28). Not sure how long the sale will last.

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

I think I'll get one of these and use the 771 antenna I have and get a mobile radio antenna to see if I can reach a repeater about 20 miles away... May e 25

[@kptsaab89]

Bought a two pack…good radios with big batteries…3-5 mile range..don’t expect much else…repeaters are unicorns

[@TheNotaRubicon]

Except that I, and many other people, easily get 10-15 miles to other walkie-talkies and even 70 miles to a repeater. But yah, other than that, you're right. It does have a big battery and they are good radios.

[@Gruuvin1]

It depends on where you are. In the city or forest, your range is greatly limited, but out in the wide open desert, your range will amaze you. And that is because uhf doesn't propagate as well as vhf or hf. In north Georgia, we have a network of 20 repeaters that covers five states. Not unicorns. Depends on where you are.

[@jevasjunkbox]

I picked up a 2nd gen and like to also listen to the local fire depts, but unfortunately, it still transmits on those freqs, even if I turn duplexing off in Chirp. Anyone know of a way get the transmit button to disable transmitting on non-GMRS freqs? Note, this is regardless of whether I have the TD-H8 in GMRS, Ham or full unlock modes. TIA. Great review, BTW!

[@RKingis]

Usually deleting the transmit frequency might work.

[@Gruuvin1]

Did you find a solution to this problem?

[@Therick305]

I have a video idea, can you do a comparison between this radio and the TD-H3?

[@gmeister03]

I got my value pack for $68.

[@realandrewhatfield]

But are the wrist strap and belt clip FCC certified???

[@mwolrich]

yes inquiring minds want to know. I believe a video is needed to demonstrate this very important feature 🙄

[@latinizzy32]

This group gets it , there is still hope for us.