nicsure

RT-880 is very dissapointing

Added 2025-07-05 05:58:17 +0000 UTC

One of the main reasons I really wanted to get my teeth into the RT-880 is because of the dual BK4819 chips. There's so much I could have done with that, but the implementation, frankly, leaves a lot to be desired. This is based on information supplied by Radtel in the form of a schematic diagram which, to be fair, does not look particularly up to date for the recent models, but based on my testing and this schematic I can say this with reasonable confidence.

1. The second BK4819 cannot receive it can only transmit. So all the cool stuff I wanted to do with dual receive is impossible.
2. The path to the second BK4819's audio input is only fed from a switched source, depending on the state of the switch it is either fed by nothing (floating) or by the audio output of the first BK4819. This means that its only function is for crossband repeating, it cannot do anything else, not even full duplex.
3. No true "dual watch". The radio unfortunately has to do the same rapid switching between frequencies for dual watch. So that is no different from any other cheap radio.
4. Listen to one frequency while scanning? This was a feature I really wanted for the 880, but unfortunately it cannot be done. Just like every other radio, the spectrum scope would have to stop while listening to a received signal. This is why I never implemented the "listen" feature on the scope for the H3, 890 and 900 because it's pointless, you may as well use a regular scan for that. What's the damn point of it in the first place if it's going to stop for every signal? Think about it, it'll only ever show one frequency in use, completely defeating the purpose of the function. A regular VFO scan is faster anyway.