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kb2zgn

On Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:22:05 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

are you happy with the way the radio works? Does it work as specified on both UHF and VHF?

As he didn't answer here, I'm guessing it was just a spam post, but I did buy an
FD-880 and will give you my impressions of it.

It is a very solidly built radio, compact and with a great feel to it. It has
128 memories, but they are not divided into any banks, nor are any specific to
either band. It's a little inconvenient, but I've programmed mine to alternate
between VHF and UHF frequencies - ie, all odd number memory channels are VHF,
while all the even number ones are programmed with UHF frequencies so I don't
have to spin the dial too many times to access one or the other bands in memory
if I had kept them all together. There is a programming cable and software
available for it.

A number of people I have talked to on it are surprised at the sound quality as
well as the signal strength. My FD-880 measures 5 watts on high power into a
dummy load. The receive audio is outstanding. Clear and very loud when turned up
just half way.
Programming takes a little getting used to, but isn't that the case with any
radio? Anyway, once you've gotten used to it, it's a snap.
There are 2 features I don't have much use for, but I'll mention them anyway.
That's the FM radio, (the 76 to 108 MHz broadcast variety) and stopwatch
functions. The FM radio works, but that's about the best I can say for it. You
can program 9 or 10 stations into their own memory locations to be recalled at
any time. If you are listening to the radio, and a call comes over the VHF or
UHF frequency set, the FM radio function will be interrupted so you can hear the
programmed frequency.
The stopwatch - the best thing about the stopwatch is that it can be disabled in
the menu! ;-) Using the stopwatch disables the transmit and receive functions.
This radio is well worth every penny paid for it, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy
another.

Cons - yes, there are a few, but in my opinion, minor.
The "meter" bar shows full scale on any received signal - or more accurately, it
is only an indication that the squelch is open, not of signal strength.
I read, (and have confirmed) that the DTMF tones are coupled to the transmit
audio via the mic from the sound from the speaker. This means that if you have
headphones on, the DTMF tones can not be transmitted because the mic can not
hear them. Same holds true if you simply have the volume turned down all the
way. It they don't come out of the speaker, the mic can not pick them up to
transmit them.
The only way to charge the batteries is when they are attached to the radio.
When you plug in the charger, it powers the radio up, even though the radio is
turned off. It bypasses the on/off switch when charging, but seeing as the power
switch is part of the volume control, at least it's turned all the way down when
charging. The only sound you can hear is when the squelch, (for which there is
no control except in the menu) opens and closes, it makes a click or pop sound
from the speaker.
Weird, but I guess that's why it cost me less than $100.00 US even with a spare
battery and shipping included.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment. I hope it helps. I really do like
this radio. My HTX-204 is a better radio, but I grab the FD-880 when I go
anywhere. That should tell you a lot.

Bob KB2ZGN

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