AnyTone AT-778UV Dual Band Transceiver Mobile Radio VHF/Uhf Two Way Radio

Love this radio but it's keypad locked up recently. Mic keys (except ptt) work but nothing on the unit works. Does anyone know of a place I can send this for repair? I tried to factory reset via the software etc. But no luck. This is my main home desk 2m/440 radio used on 5 watts 90% of the time with a mag mount dual band antenna on my metal frame large box fan. SWR adjusted down to 1:1. KF6YKM since late 90's. Any info appreciated.Ham since 99 - Advanced Class License - This is a REAL dual band radio in the same ballpark as the big boys. The COLOR screen is phenomenal: Full of info and very colorful which really makes it a pleasure to operate. Operation and programming is easy and simple. I ordered the cable but not felt the need for it. Others have complained about the DTMF functions. It has them but since I don't use them it doesn't affect me. It offers dual watch altho I don't really use that either. Power is nice. 5-15-25 watts. And changeable on the fly. I am repeater guy so 5 watts on a indoor j-pole is fine. I also tested it on a 1/4 wave dual band mag mount on my older fan with a metal case and works nicely as well. For $120 this little rig can't be beat. I did not read the manual at all. (it is a bit rough.) Went on youtube, watched a fellow show how to program / use it and voila! Easy. Has a logical menu system layout and intuitive interface. It feels like a rugged rig. I have had two other "mobile" style Chinese rigs. The first was was okay for $60 but hard to program manually. The second I ordered recently ($80) and returned. No transmit audio. Three bands - 2m, 220 and 440. I could key the repeaters up but no audio came thru. I tested locally with my HT's and true. No output audio. Returned it here to Amazon. It was tough to program manually as well altho CHIRP supports it and made it much easier. Often I like to program on the fly and this AnyTone rig is easy for that. BTW, CHIRP so far does not support this little rig BUT it has it own downloadable software. Not tried it but looked at it. Looks capable enough. Okay, bottom line - how does it sound: Speaker audio out is nice and clear and loud. Some have complained it takes two keys to adjust volume and squelch and that is true. I don't find it a big deal as the keys are next to the multi function rotary dial. Thumb press and turn. Voila. Had a buddy of mine check the audio on a repeater and reported it sounded good, loud and crisp. Can't ask for anything better. I had a feeling it would sound fine as I used it simplex here with the granddaughters helping and it worked and sounded fine. This rig is semi wide banded so working on MURS and GMRS is possible. Of course stay within legal guidelines and make sure your antenna is tuned for those bands. GMRS 10 year licenses are $80 last I checked and MURS is free but keep the power low. Same with FRS. So from a non technical ham that just wants to use a good rig and hear and be heard without too much hassle to work and program, I give this rig two thumbs up.

This radio is excellent. I’ve received perfect signal reports (or as close as you can get to one) and I now have one in my car and one as my “base station” in my townhome. It pulls constant 13.7 volts, runs off of my external batteries perfectly, and is super easy to program with chirp.My car radio is connected to a magnetic mount antenna and my base station radio is connected to a j pole.The settings could be a little more descriptive and the manual could do a much better job at stating what all the settings are, especially for the shortcuts. For example, it states what the dual watch setup is but never states that it will show up as “RDW”. You have to go to the specific function number it mentions to figure that out. There are lists that people have put together for this - but that shouldn’t have been needed.This is a relatively small issue compared to the great price, ease of installation, great microphone, and overall value. The manual shortcomings isn’t enough of an issue for me to take off a whole star for it.

My unit came with a flash drive containing the software. Here is a summary of how to program the radio.1. Install the software as you would with any software.2. Click on the newly installed icon and you will see an option to install "USBToComPort_Win8." You must install this driver.3. Open the software and turn on the radio.4. In the software, click on "SET," and then, "Set Com." The Com port window will open. Click on the pull down for the available Com ports and leave it open. Plug the programming cable into the radio. Now plug the other end of the cable into a USB port on your computer and watch for a new Com port to pop up in the pull down menu. Select that Com port.5. Click on "Program," and then click on "Read from Radio." You have to do this step first to save an image (configuration) of your radio. Once this is done, you now have a usable file in which you can begin entering your frequencies. Click on "File" and "Save As" and give your new file a filename.6. Enter your frequencies, CTCSS etc. and any configuration settings you want, like AOP (automatic power on), DTMF, scan type, default volume, etc (see screenshots below).7. Click the file save icon.8. Click "Program," and then click "Write to Radio."9. Done.I really like this little radio. It's built solid, and the greater portion of the case is aluminum heatsink. The receive sound quality is very good, and reports on the transmit sound quality are also very good. And I found it quite easy to learn and use. I am using an old ATX computer power supply, so my input voltage is only 12.4V, but I get full quieting on every repeater within about 25 miles. I don't have a reliable power meter to measure the actual output. This little radio does everything I need, and it does it well. If I buy a radio for the car, I'll buy another one of these. At this price point, it's a no-brainer.