Review on AT D878UV Bluetooth Programming BridgeCom University by John Holliday

I read all available reviews of the Anytone AT-D878UV with GPS and Bluetooth before ordering it. Reviewers loved the build quality and overall ease of use (at least compared to other DMR radios). In the days that it showed up on my doorstep, I learned *a lot* more, including playing with it for many hours, programming it (also many hours), and finding and testing workarounds for numerous software and software bugs. .(Tip: If you don't carefully structure your DMR channels, zones, and groups the first time, you'll end up with an unmanageable mess that you'll have to clean up later.) Be *sure* you know your stuff when you come in, before diving into DMR. You'll spend HOURS learning the technology and programming your PDA the way you want it, so don't *expect* DMR to be "simple, light, lemony". Let me get to the point. You can save $70 by purchasing the AT-D878UV. Use AT-D868UV with GPS or BTech 6x2 instead. They're identical in look, feel, operation, and wireless performance, but they don't include two of the key AT-D878UV bells and whistles that don't work properly anyway. The additional APRS and Bluetooth in the AT-D878UV compared to the D868UV just aren't worth the extra money. Do not get me wrong. The AT-D878UV has a lot to offer. When you hold it in your hand, you get the impression that it is a beautifully made device. In general, works, sounds and looks good. Analog performance alone makes it competitive with almost anything major Japanese manufacturers offer. more attractive product at a lower price. So what does the AT-D878UV have that the 868 doesn't? 1) Analog APRS. NO, this is NOT like the full featured TNC based APRS on the Kenwood TH-D72A or TH-D74A, both of which have been designed from the ground up for the full range of APRS capabilities. The TH-D72A and TH-D74A have bi-directional TNC capabilities not found on the D878UV, making them two-way trackers that also display location tracking and "stations heard" details on the main screen. The D878UV's analog APRS is more like a tiny tracker (all one-way signal) than anything Kenwood offers. Is it nice to throw in if you can afford the extra $40? Of course. Is the additional analog APRS beacon a tremendous value compared to the D-GPS included in the D868UV with GPS? Not really. 2)Bluetooth. let me be clear The Bluetooth implementation on this radio is *garbage.* It's pure, real garbage, period. The AT-D878UV is partly responsible for this failure. The BT module itself seems poorly made and does not live up to the promises of car audio integration. Part of this failure is due to the fact that the digital TDMA technology used in DMR radios is notorious for interfering with poorly shielded consumer electronics. Forget about using car Bluetooth with the D878UV. Forget using Bluetooth headphones. Vehicle sync did not work with any of my Toyotas. It paired with each device, but pressing the remote PTT button made my devices think I was making a call instead of pressing the "Once" button. Even when I used the radio's built-in microphone and car speakers just for audio playback, the radio refused to communicate. Second, although I was able to pair the radio with multiple Bluetooth headsets, the TDMA technology used for DMR resulted in a deafening "chirp" with every button press. Consumer electronics just aren't well protected against the TDMA technology that was so prevalent in Nextel's days. Come on. no Buy. That. Radio. Per. in.Bluetooth. Period. It's garbage. skip it And that, my friends, is the difference between the D868UV and the D878UV. If you're looking for a "lightweight" TH-D72A for APRS or Bluetooth to make wired headphones or car speakers redundant, you shouldn't be bothered. This radio won't take you there. But wait, there are still many disappointments ahead! 1) My radio arrived with the latest and greatest firmware v1.12. FW 1.12 *broke* the option to select narrow/wide analog bandwidth. Oh yeah, and the CPS software used to program the radio ALSO had a broken narrow/wide option. Solution? You will need to export your channel list to a CSV file, open it in Excel, update the bandwidth from 12.5k to 25k, then re-upload to the CPS software and then re-upload the new codeplug to the radio. Yes, it's broken, but at least there's a workaround. 2) In addition to breaking (or at least not "fixing") the analog bandwidth switch, firmware 1.12 also made it impossible for the end user to simply change the frequency range. by rebooting the radio using the PTT-#1 key combination, which was available in previous firmware versions. You must now download new software (other than CPS software) to change the radio configuration. Failed again but with a workaround. 3) As mentioned before, the USB cable and driver configuration are buggy to say the least. Forget about half the time it failed when transferring large contact lists for a long time. I had to either unplug/replug the cable after each boot, or rescan my laptop's hardware with Device Manager after each boot. Caught. It seems to work, but it's not perfect. If I had to do it again and again I wouldn't mind an extra $70 for this radio over the D868UV. I would save money and buy a D868UV with GPS. Then I would invest another $70 to buy a Yaesu or Kenwood with a better analog GPS implementation. The *promise* of a quick firmware update for the D878UV gives me hope for its future. It's not worth the extra money or headache just yet, but it *may* be someday. I doubt the Bluetooth functionality will be fixed anytime soon as the TDMA technology behind this radio will always get in the way of poorly isolated consumer Bluetooth headsets and car audio technology. My final recommendation. Save money and buy D868UV or BTech 6x2. instead of GPS. Forget the tricks of analog APRS and Bluetooth connectivity. They're not prime time ready and not worth the headache. UPDATE: DMR transmissions from this radio (but oddly *not* my much cheaper RD-5R) disable the circuit breaker on my wife's hair dryer. I need to do some more research to find out why the RD-5R doesn't work and the D878UV. UPDATE: As many reviews have pointed out, you can't turn the volume down to "true" level 1. It reaches the performance limit, which is still far too loud in some public situations. UPDATE: DO NOT program the radio with the cable provided while it is in the charging cradle. If it continues to transfer data after a reboot, it can damage other chargers and electronic devices plugged into the same power strip.