Retevis RB628 / RB28 - Walkie Talkie Review & Range Test

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@tdcattech 3 жыл бұрын

The two radios used in the video are - Retevis RB628 - www.retevis.com/RB628-PMR-Two-Way-Radio --- Motorola XT420 - geni.us/xt420

@OlimpiuCristianMihai 2 жыл бұрын

Hi, the power and the frequencies on these radios RB628 can't be changed as they strictly abide by the law, but it is possible to program them with High Power channels. It's relatively simple, you can do it with a Hex Editor, High Power is 20 hex, c column, each channel description is a hex row, a HI symbol appears on the screen if enabled properly. I've done 1-4H, 5-8L, 9-12H, 13-16L. A little simpler is to use RB28 software, same radio, FRS variant to change some of the channels (the software still doesn't allow all channels). You need to save the settings to a text file, open it with RB28 Software, save - write with 628. You can also change the frequencies this way, as they're written in plain text but backwards, a row structure is like this (writing this from memory): 78 56 34 12 (RX?) 78 56 34 12 (TX?) 10 (ENC RX?) 00 (?) 10 (ENC TX?) 00 (?) 20 (High Power, with Compand this is 80?) 00 00 00 (Settings). Aside from enabling Weather but couldn't make it work (was thinking as a secondary channel) I wasn't able to discover anymore usefull features. Radio seems to support UHF 400-480Mhz.

@techtinkerin 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing this info 😎👍

@techtinkerin 2 жыл бұрын

Yep, modded it to hi power with a baofeng cable, see my vid👍😄

@OlimpiuCristianMihai Жыл бұрын

@@techtinkerin "I wasn't gonna have that". I gave you the info 9 months ago. Credits go where credits due... Just saying. I love these little radios, my kids do too, I'm sure my Radio Neighbours are already annoyed by their scream late in the night ( at least I keep them in PMR ). The fact that you can change the frequencies and power level is a big bonus for their price.

@2beer_OR_NOT_2beer 3 жыл бұрын

At 4:32 display shows power low. Sure you put it on high before the range test? Just asking since I’ve never seen a Retevis with such a bad performance.

@techtinkerin 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah you're right I think this happened 👍😄 actually just found another review by Italian guy, the power is low by default and buttons don't change it.

@realStefanLowe 2 жыл бұрын

OMG! I can't believe how bad the RB628 is in short distances. Thanks for the review!

@donalderickson-si8ww 3 ай бұрын

no budy told them that the tranmiter is only half a watt

@tech-rich 3 жыл бұрын

Great review. I wonder if they are like the Xiaomi radios where the USB C is non standard and won't let you use another cable. Always some new interesting products with Retevis, some good some not so. I'm tempted to try a few of the budget DMR models such as the RB25 with their super low price.

@tdcattech 3 жыл бұрын

Based on this range test, the DMR might completely solve the Retevis problems as there did appear to be a carrier...just no audio! No idea why.

@tech-rich 3 жыл бұрын

@@tdcattech Yes the audio seemed very low and that fluttering interference didn't help. I've tried a few other models from Retevis like the RT24 & RT622 and both have excellent loud mic audio.

@tdcattech 3 жыл бұрын

Agreed. The RT24 are fine radios and the RT622 is small and a bit flimsy but works great. Not sure what's going on here with the RB628. Possibly a different manufacturer (which would explain the very different design).

@wisteela 3 жыл бұрын

I can highly recommend the RT667. They even have a voice scrambler and compander.

@OlimpiuCristianMihai 2 жыл бұрын

@@tdcattech Audio Compand enabled? (they DO support it via software) Quoting from a forum: "The radios aggressively companded the audio by over-compressing the transmitted audio and over-expanding the received audio. The companded audio quality was so bad and to the point that basic functionality of the radio was impaired. The radio was almost unusable with radios that don't compand their audio. It was THAT bad." Talking from my a**, I never tested the function. I received transmissions from over 4 KM (I know who's transmitting), but I never tested on the 2 radios.

@het_gele_teken 3 жыл бұрын

Neat little radio in a stylish formfactor. Too bad it doesn't perfom better. You get what you pay for I guess... Perhaps the counter intuitive up/down button arrangement is reversible though a pressed button combination?

@tdcattech 3 жыл бұрын

That’s the thing. Retevis radios at this price can be excellent (RT24, for example). Not sure what’s happening here. It may be possible to change the up / down in the programming software. I haven’t dug into that yet.

@wisteela 3 жыл бұрын

I'd expect way better for the price though.

@wisteela 3 жыл бұрын

Such a shame that it's totally let down buy the performance. I noticed the backwards buttons when you went through the call tones. Very odd. I'd imagine that the connectors are only for audio as I can't see them being likely to be programmable. 73s M7TUD/26CT3289

@MichaelGüldenring Жыл бұрын

Ich habe seit kurzem ein paar und bin sehr überrascht selbst mit geringerer Sendeleistung ist die Verbindung in dichter Bebauung sehr gut ich wohne außerhalb der Innenstadt im freien war der Verbindungsaufbau mit einer Station in der 1,5 km entfernten Innenstadt ohne Probleme möglich. Das RB 628 ist kein Kinderspielzeug lässt sich natürlich auch nicht mit einem Amateur Funkgerät vergleichen das ist unrealistisch. Die Modulation ist Glasklar auch nach mehr als 150 Meter wie im Video allerdings ohne das Datenkabel was man extra kaufen muss ist die Sendeleistung von 500mW nicht einstellbar genau wie die Rauschsperre, die Hintergrund Beleuchtung und noch mehr. Das Funkgerät liegt gut in der Hand und ist ein echtes Leichtgewicht. Kann ich empfehlen!

@PaganAbroad 11 ай бұрын

Why does the roger beep and calling tone come out the speaker of the sending radio???😂😂😂

@tdcattech 11 ай бұрын

It does seem a bit unnecessary, doesn't it.

@donalderickson-si8ww 3 ай бұрын

@@tdcattech then in the relonch remove it two radio's talking together and no one can come in but still hear you any why.

@Waynethepainsmurf 3 жыл бұрын

Their not as good other retevis radios Torsten for distance. Look good. Maybe for children that are camping. Thanks for review. Wayne

@tdcattech 3 жыл бұрын

Bit expensive for that. You can get better Retevis radios for less (geni.us/rt622 for example). Good to hear from you, as always Wayne.

@2e0bgb Жыл бұрын

Could one or both have been faulty, I've seen another video where they worked great..2E0BGB.

@Gamikom 2 жыл бұрын

You used power: low.....

@tdcattech 2 жыл бұрын

Not sure it can be changed on these radios but yes, I would use low power as that's 0.5W which is the legal limit in the UK and also a direct comparison to my other PMR446 radios.

@techtinkerin 2 жыл бұрын

Actually the power says low and can't be changed, there's an Italian guy reviewing and he shows this.

@digger860 2 жыл бұрын

retevis is antenna very smale vs motorala

@krispert3933 3 жыл бұрын

Like 👍

@techtinkerin 2 жыл бұрын

I wonder if these were defective because that didn't seem normal, maybe programmed with wrong ctcss frequencies or something. I had some tiny Alan 777 radios and they weren't the best but still better than this. 👍😎 I just modded these to 2 whiskeys with a baofeng cable and a lot of coffee, see my vid. 😄

@bulldogbrower6732 2 жыл бұрын

That’s terrible Retevis. It sounds like the RB628 is susceptible to some sort of electrical interference in just 2 meters. I was hoping for a distance test of 1/4, 1/2, and 1 mile. I hope that this test was done in an open field. That antenna size is quite a compromise for the 400 MHz band.