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Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 07 Jul 2017, 17:37
by Jaster
Anyone have any experience with the Retevis RT24? I'm looking to acquire a number of 'disposable' HTs (about 6-8) for use by people who are not particularly expert when it comes to radio for outdoor activities both here and on the continent, used on 446. Obviously I'd considered Baofengs, probably a variant of the 888, but I'd like to keep legal wherever possible, and while I realise that the RT24 is still not technically compliant, it at least has a "fixed" antenna (ok, you can undo the grub screw if you really want) and the label on the back says 0.5W, so they would be more likely to pass a cursory inspection when crossing borders, for example.

They seem to be rather new so not much info out there. At the price I'm tempted to just buy a pair and see how they fare against my old Motorola Euro 446s (still bloody good radios by the way!), but wondered if anyone here has any experience with them. If I do get them I'll certainly return to this thread with pictures and opinions in due course.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 07 Jul 2017, 22:36
by Admiral
Looking at the spec, if they have a CE mark that isn't China Export then I don't see why they would not be compliant, you have been able to use radios with detachable antenna for a few years now.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 08 Jul 2017, 06:49
by paulears
I thought the detachable antenna rule was reintroduced? For what it's worth the China Export alternative to the CE mark turned out to be something we Europeans used as an excuse. The Chinese factories were very confused by our requests and questions about it. I asked one of my suppliers if the product was China Export or the euro symbol of conformity and they had no idea what I meant. There are sites explaining about minute details in scale between CE and CE printing and it actually appears that in most cases this was down to copy and paste errors! If a product does not have proper CE marking and testing then if you want it the silk screening is very cheap. No messing with China Export, just slap the mark on. WE call it China export as a kind of justification for the cheat! Nothing cheap from China gets a legitimate mark unless they are going to sell a very large amount of product.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 08 Jul 2017, 08:26
by LeakyFeeder
Cobblers to it.. get the bumfengs n be done with..couple of mins a rsdio to sort out....result !

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 08 Jul 2017, 09:27
by thelad
What he said ^^

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 08 Jul 2017, 14:14
by Mitch
Jaster wrote:Anyone have any experience with the Retevis RT24? I'm looking to acquire a number of 'disposable' HTs (about 6-8) for use by people who are not particularly expert when it comes to radio for outdoor activities both here and on the continent, used on 446. ..........<snip>
Have you considered the WLN KD-C1? They really look like PMR's plus easy to use and cheap (& 2W o/p). There's vids on youtube for a better look.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 08 Jul 2017, 15:21
by Admiral
The question was what are peoples opinions on the Revetis RT24, he knows about the plethora of other radios out there.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 08 Jul 2017, 19:30
by Jaster
Thanks for the replies chaps - sounds like the consensus both here and in other threads is that Baofeng and their derivatives are the ones to go for in this type of application. I was looking at the RT24 mainly because I've been burnt by 888 radios in the past and wanted to try something else - I have a pair of Retevis 777s, one with a channel select that just chooses a random channel every time I move it, and the other with bolloxed audio on both TX and RX, so Chinese QC at its finest :D

I'll have a look around and see what makes sense. I'm very much going for quantity over quality here so may end up with more bumfengs as they are significantly cheaper per handheld, and it wouldn't surprise me if the RT24 is a re-housed 888, either with the hi/lo power fixed, or just running at the usual ~2W with a 0.5W 'attenuation sticker' (copyright ChinaTek ltd) on the back!

Mitch - that's actually a new one for me. Looks ideal for casual users, but I'd imagine that the antenna is about as effective as a squashed rat!

Paulears - I've never got to the bottom of the removable vs fixed rule for antennas on 446. Seems to depend which PDF you choose to download from OFCOM. The Motorolas I normally use (Handie-Pro Euro 446) actually have detachable antennas, although they were originally sold as SRBR and then re-firmwared and re-branded as 446 radios. I've also got some old Icom SRBR handies (F4SR I think?) lying around somewhere and they had removable antennas as well, so maybe the SRBR regs were more relaxed on that front.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 10 Jul 2017, 14:20
by troffasky
paulears wrote:For what it's worth the China Export alternative to the CE mark turned out to be something we Europeans used as an excuse.
I had assumed that China Export was just a sarcastic explanation of what CE means.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 10 Jul 2017, 14:23
by Admiral
troffasky wrote:
paulears wrote:For what it's worth the China Export alternative to the CE mark turned out to be something we Europeans used as an excuse.
I had assumed that China Export was just a sarcastic explanation of what CE means.
http://www.icomuk.co.uk/News_Article/3794/17103/

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 10 Jul 2017, 14:31
by troffasky
I think "China Export" is an urban myth:

http://www.cemarkingassociation.co.uk/c ... port-logo/

which presumably explains the responses paulears got when he asked!

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 23 Nov 2017, 12:50
by Cornelius
I have a couple of RT-24 radios, and i think they work pretty good for the price. They DO have 0.5 Watt as standard, but can be reprogrammed to 2 Watt. (since the antenna actually can be removed; i tested it with a watt/swr-meter) I find the sound quality good, and the range is one of the better among the 'standard' PMR446, due to the long antenna. (11 cm.)

I do miss a roger-beep, though... :)

There are no CE-markings at all that i can find, but i'm sure they'll slap on a sticker on request... ;)

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 01 May 2018, 19:12
by Farty
It's either legal, or it ain't. Why hamper yourself with half measures? Either get 888s or go Motorola.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 08 Dec 2019, 20:19
by scanhermit
I bought a pair of these for my dad and his partner. He's mostly bedbound an half deaf so shouting to each other is frustrating. I needed something for them that came with individual charging cradles and wasn't stupidly dear and these fit the bill. Sadly, dad's partner just can't get along with them - the low battery voice prompt kept her awake.

Looks like I've got two new toys then.

Re: Considering Retevis RT24 for PMR446 - any opinions?

Posted: 21 Mar 2021, 09:45
by scanhermit
Update:. Good sound quality and signal at 700m with a few houses and lots of field I'm between, one unit used from inside the house. Fixed antenna and 0.5w.

Update update: Lidl Silvertalkers are more faint and scratchy by comparison over the same ground.