TIDRadio TD-H3 Or the Quansheng UV-K5. Which one for you?

Рет қаралды 8,805

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 59

@michaelpage4199 2 күн бұрын

I have had the H3 for just about a week now. I have the crystal one. As a general class HAM I am impressed with the factory firmware and easily programmed it via the keypad with no problems. I give it two thumbs up. Cheers

@rockymountainjazzfan1822 3 ай бұрын

I own both the Quansheng UV-K5 and the Tidradio TD-H3 (actually 2 of each). Using the same antennas on both radios (to eliminate receive "bias" caused by antennas), I've found the the UV-K5 is considerably better at receiving weak signals on the VHF band compared to the TD-H3, and the TD-H3 is much better at receiving weak signals on the UHF band compared to the UV-K5. Surprisingly, the TD-H3 also seems a bit more prone to unwanted RF interference on both VHF and UHF compared to the UV-K5. The biggest "downer" for me on the TD-H3 is the abysmally slow scan speed in scan mode--one of the slowest scanning radios that I've seen. The UV-K5 is much, much better in that regard. Finally, battery life between recharges is somewhat better on the UV-K5, and the UV-K5 charger will recharge its battery considerably faster than the charger will charge the TD-H3 battery. Both are remarkably decent radios for their low price.

@ronkepner943 4 ай бұрын

Have both, the Quansheng is BY FAR the best radio---- not even close!!!!

@TroyRank 4 ай бұрын

The sensitivity on the TID isn't nearly as good as the quansheng even out of the box

@LoneWandererNV 3 ай бұрын

It's alright as a toy

@WaynePatrick Ай бұрын

Great video. I have a pair of both radios. Bought the K5’s first they haven’t been opened yet. The H3’s are stock firmware and are my current daily carry. I have more expensive ones but at this price if they get damaged or lost it’s not a big deal.

@diodematrix3738 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for another great video. I have two UV-K5 one running F4HWN firmware & chose the version that has broadcast band and band scope, the other has the HF mod board with CEC0.51firmware, & a TD-H3 running NICMOD firmware. I have been running these for a while & find both radios are good after a few menu settings are tweeked with the audio sounding about the same. Both of them have USB C for charging, so is a nice touch to be able to charge when out, I find the Quansheng to be better for me with scan banks, battery volt meter, two programmable buttons, faster scanning, band-scope, better menu & over all nicer to use with the screen easier to see in bright sunlight. I find the TD-H3 to be a little buggy on its firmware at the moment with factory or third party firmware (which no doubt will be addressed in future updates) even tho the screen is nicer to the eye & has good sensitivity, overall its slightly smaller in size so makes a good pocket companion. I do have my concerns about the battery tho as I found the charge port on the bottom of the battery gets hot when changing from flat & it seems other users have had various battery problems as well. (base of the battery still gets hot using the drop in charger) Both are nice little toys for the radio enthusiast, so why not get both.....

@M0JSX 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info! I shall have to check out that firmware for the K5!

@stevcejanev7795 4 ай бұрын

f4hwn 3.3 is out now try it out!@@M0JSX

@ВасилийПетров-ы8й 2 ай бұрын

Just my 5c. The color screen is a disadvantage to me - it doesn't work without the backlight, harder to see in the sunlight, drains more power, creates extra interference and there's no particular need for it in a radio. I'd rather go with black and orange any day. The H3 is a nice radio, it's very small and the sound is surprisingly good, it has better filters and kinda works with an external antenna in heavy RF interference environment (the K5 just dies, the receiver gets overloaded), but in terms of functionality the K5 is miles ahead with a 3rd party firmware. I really like the bandscope option and use it all the time, the only reason I've got the H3 is because it transmits on a certain band with a decent amont of oomph out of the box after a quick firmware flash, no hardware hacking required, unlike the K5 :) And if I'll need a reliable radio, I'll grab my Retevis RA89 anyway. Pity it doesn't have the bandscope, I'd retire my K5 then.

@lazyhominid 25 күн бұрын

Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing. My EDC UV-K5 has F4HWN installed, but no hardware mod. I mainly use it to listen to air band and when I am ine such areas, marine band. It will allow me to connect to the HAM repeaters as well, but I seldom do that. For more fun and play, I have other K5's, with various firmware and hardware mods. Those are not EDC but used for specific things, like catching satellite signals or listening to HF bands. I just received an H3 as well. After testing it, I realized as you note, it definitely needs better firmware. I'll pop on the modded firmware and see how that changes things. But I expect that the only real advantage it has is it's a bit smaller. I'll keep using the K5 for everyday things, and the H3 will be another project radio. Which is fine, I love having those.

@alexdodd2131 4 ай бұрын

Spot on review. Cal will be pleased as his card has pride of place 😂

@gtretroworld 4 ай бұрын

The H3 is what i always pick up as it works a treat and is just a bit smaller to slip inside my pocket, even my running shorts 😂. Lost count how many Quansheng radios i have here and although great fun to play around with the software & hardware mods that is where it really ends. Good video, Thanks

@Dazdigo 2 ай бұрын

TD-H3 is great as a GMRS radio for those that want the HAM option in the future.

@jonm6wro589 3 ай бұрын

hi i have the k5 and k8 quanshengs run ijv and cec and egzumer on all but gone back to stock firmware using uv mod site added the backlight duration for 20seconds instead of the stock 5 sec and changed the font. i think the stock firmware on 2m/70cm is reliable excellent radios. no problems. good video too.

@vk3xemontheweb 4 ай бұрын

I've had both and donated the Quansheng to a friend. I now have two TD-H3 with Marcus' hacked firmware and really enjoy them. I am active in his community Marcus is taking on board great ideas from others all the time. They are a great price and the quality is good for the price range. Also TIDRADIO support is awesome, I had a battery fail recently and they promptly sent a replacement out that arrived today.

@ВасилийПетров-ы8й 2 ай бұрын

Idk about Tidradio support, mine came with an antenna which has SWR over 3:1 in 70cm amateur band. They refused to replace it.

@vk3xemontheweb 2 ай бұрын

@@ВасилийПетров-ы8й You may have gotten a GMRS antenna.

@ВасилийПетров-ы8й 2 ай бұрын

@@vk3xemontheweb no, its resonant frequency in UHF band is around 370 MHz. Works alright for VHF tho.

@grandic2 Ай бұрын

@@vk3xemonthewebLOL, stupidest nonsense I ever heard on KZbin, especially from someone who "thinks" he knows a darn about radios. Better be quiet than dumb.

@grandic2 Ай бұрын

@@vk3xemontheweb LOL there's no such thing as GMRS antenna with H3 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

@sekibulja-fu3bv 4 ай бұрын

Excellent video, thank you! Could you please make a video showing the difference between Td-h3 and Td-h8?

@M0JSX 4 ай бұрын

At some point, sure. 👍🏻

@sekibulja-fu3bv 3 ай бұрын

@M0JSX thank you, your review is highly appreciated! Would you say that Retevis Ra79 is any better than quasheng as they are more expensive? Thank you

@rockymountainjazzfan1822 3 ай бұрын

I can give you a short version and save you some time. The receiver on the TD-H8 is nowhere near as good as the TD-H3 at receiving weak signals. In that regard, the TD-H8 is one of the worst radios that I own. Like TD-H3, the TD-H8's scan speed is dismally slow. The TD-H8 feels like a physically tougher radio, and it is considerably larger. That large size accommodates a larger battery, giving the TD-H8 longer life between recharges compared to the TD-H3. BUT, the charging time for the TD-H8 battery is nothing short of just plain awful. A 2/3s- depleted TD-H8 battery can take up to 8-10 hours to recharge on the factory charger. If you are going to use a TD-H8, you need 2 batteries, so you have a battery to use on the radio while the other one wiles away the hours on the charger. Until Tidradio fixes those issues on the TD-H8, I would pass on it.

@sekibulja-fu3bv 3 ай бұрын

@@rockymountainjazzfan1822 many thanks for your time and your reply. Kind regards

@N2EWSRadio 4 ай бұрын

As a "use it as you got it" radio, IMO, Tidradio did everything right with the TD-H3. The only con for the TD-H3 is if you like hacking. It's not as hackable as the UV-K5. I say buy both. I bought 2 TD-H3s and 3 UV-K5s. The only reason I bought the third UV-K5 is because I stopped halfway through the HF hardware add-on upgrade on one of the first two I bought because I don't have the right tools to finish it. So that radio is out of service for now.

@Davidm-M0TPT 4 ай бұрын

Nice one Jonathan :)

@USSJeff 3 ай бұрын

Own them both and always reach for the TD-H3.

@greyshadow9498 12 күн бұрын

I have both. The K5 (a K5(8) or K6 depending on who you buy it from) is running Egzumer. The.TD-H3 is running Nicsure (so is my H8) I seem to have different experiences than a lot of folks on here. For me the H3 is a much better option and doesn't get overloaded as easily as the K5. I find that the K5 lacks in 2 key areas for me: It doesn't handle 500MHz as well as the H3, at least the channels I use. Airband is terrible even with Egzumer's AM Fix enabled. Both radios pick up the tower and ground channels of my local OK, though the H3 is clearer to me. However the K5 absolutely refuses to pick up the ATIS channel at my distance (about 2 miles) whereas the H3 picks it up just fine (well scratchy, but readable) The build quality is much better on the H3. The K5 is for tinkering. But if I need a discreet dualbander, the H3 is what I grab.

@M0JSX 12 күн бұрын

I think that is broadly what I think and your experiences with Air Band performance is very interesting.

@snaggitfishing2827 4 ай бұрын

At the price point, why not buy both?

@user-pg5yy5he9m 4 ай бұрын

I own both. I think the h3 is the best budget radio today. The h3 is edc.

@David-km8in 4 ай бұрын

Hi Johnathan, I am holding back on purchasing a Tidradio H3. I have hurd rumours that the PA's die on them and you get no transmitter output. I own two Quancheng radio's and I think they are fantastic for the price. And I'm not bothered if I drop them or get them wet when I am dog walking. David M0DUU

@M0JSX 4 ай бұрын

I’ve not experienced that with the two I have. And I’ve not seen many reports of that happening.

@kennethausten 4 ай бұрын

Constantly seeing failed H3 radios.. My, H8 had failed after 3, months.. Had no help from Tidradio. So after 9 months it's a good, receiver. So I bought another Baofen and I measured a genuine,,9 watts on VHF. 8 watts on UHF..

@M0JSX 4 ай бұрын

@@kennethausten I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t receive any support from TIDRadio. That hasn’t been my experience with the company. If you want to email me (questions@m0jsx.radio), I’d be happy to forward your email to TIDRadio.

@Bristopher1 4 ай бұрын

I was skeptical also being new to radio and never owning one. Pulled the trigger on a h3 and the 42inch abbree antenna and been hitting repeater’s 30 miles away and can pickup air bands / airport chatter that’s 14 miles away. For $30 I am more than satisfied with this little radio

@grandic2 Ай бұрын

@@David-km8in Absolutely correct! Their RF output died on my first H3, replacement they sent me was dead on transmit out of the box, 3rd one I bought died after a week. Didn't matter if I used stock firmware new or old or Marcus'es firmware, Output stage is terrible, also charger/battery combo is DANGEROUS! My first one caught fire while charging on factory charger. Luckily I was home, otherwise I wouldn't have one 😑

@alqods80 2 ай бұрын

I have the uv-5r plus with si4732 v2

@earlyadapter643 Ай бұрын

It's nice that the Tidradio doesn't need a programming cable but a pity that this sacrified the battery charging function of the USB port, and now needs the one in the battery pack. Neither of the USB C ports are compliant to PD. I suspect that the Tidradio has the same hardware as the Talkpod A36 but for this there is no info available. I have the BK4819 baseband already in the Radtel RT490 and it has no filtering there, and in the Quansheng with decent filtering. I guess the talkpod is also similar to the RT490, meaning BK4819 and no output fiflter. Tidradio is BK4819 and output filter. So for me no need to buy the Tidradio just because of the color screen.

@jarrowparanormal 4 ай бұрын

Iam not a radio ham. I just need a cheep radio for mainly the walkie talkie frequencies. Also I would like to use it as a scanner. Is it worth me getting one?

@M0JSX 4 ай бұрын

A dedicated scanner would be best for scanning functionality - the scan offered on either of these radios is a bit slow. As for the ‘walkie talkie’ frequencies (I am assuming you mean PMR446), these radio can transmit there, however as they can transmit more than 500milliwatts, and have removable antennas they are not legal to use. I hope this helps!

@jarrowparanormal 4 ай бұрын

@@M0JSX thanks for your reply

@Robert-cd5zr 2 ай бұрын

Is it water resistant? I may have missed it if you mentioned it

@M0JSX 2 ай бұрын

It’s not advertised as being, but you could probably use it in a light rain shower without much issue.

@17cmmittlererminenwerfer81 4 ай бұрын

Skip to 4:05 for the actual comparison.

@SmallWorldBigThings 4 ай бұрын

So Quansheng is not for using but for modding, and TIDradio is for using but the first thing you have to do is to load modded firmware onto it? Interesting....

@M0JSX 4 ай бұрын

Yes and no. You can use the stock firmware with the TIDradio, but the modded firmware adds functionality that should really have been in the stock firmware.

@grandic2 Ай бұрын

@@M0JSXStop the nonsense, you are oposing yourself, do you even listen to your "comparison"? Wtj was the point and the meaning of this totally unnecessary video? You just can't compare kid's toy H3 wit a real Quansheng radio. Please stop it. Or delete this stupid video.

@RichardMartinke6rji 4 ай бұрын

OK, so it's a toss up between the two radios?

@M0JSX 4 ай бұрын

It’s a subjective thing. If you want to start playing around with different firmwares and pushing the limits of coding, get the Quansheng. Otherwise, if you want a radio to be reliable (maybe flash an alternative firmware once), grab the TIDRadio. If you have deep enough pockets, get both!

@smokeywillows 4 ай бұрын

i bought several mainly for the hacking scene thats developing not for the reasons you gave. its a cheap device that has major qc problems from the factory and it would be wrong headed to buy one for general use in my opinion. its more of a toy than the quansheng and far less reliable out of the box.