Radioddity DB20-G GMRS Mobile Radio 20W, Long Range, 500 Channels

Update 5/12/22: after a month of regular use, this radio is holding up well, and is still working very well. Very pleased with it so far. I have been using hand held GMRS radios for years and recently decided to purchase a mobile unit. I chose the Radioddity DB-20g based on a number of reviews, which were almost universally positive. So far my experience with it has been very good. . It was exceptionally easy to set up: hook up the antenna, plug the radio into a power source, and you are good to go! You are ready to talk in simplex mode. Programming the radio for repeater channels is, of course, a bit more complex. The manual that comes with the radio contains almost everything that is needed, but it can be a bit hard to interpret, especially for new users. Fortunately Radioddity offers excellent customer support. I asked several questions via email and quickly received helpful responses. I even got a follow-up email to make certain that things were going ok. I consider that to be excellent service! The radio itself is very basic, in a very positive way. It does everything a radio needs to do, and does it well. But it doesn’t have a bunch of features that you’ll probably never use, but which would require a steeper learning curve. The negatives are few: - the DB-20g cannot be (as of today) programmed with the Chirp programming software. The free programming software from Radioddity is fine, but Chirp is more or less a universal software package that most users are already familiar with. Using the software from Radioddity required me to type in all of the necessary data, while using Chirp would have allowed me to just copy it in. - the manual is not good. The DB-20g is an excellent beginner’s GMRS mobile radio, but I suspect that some beginners would be discouraged by the manual’s lack of clarity and detail. That is hardly unique, as most radio manuals are lacking. Radios are a complex piece of tech that can be difficult to understand. This manual does not make that process any easier! That’s about it for the negatives. The positives: - this radio does not get very hot when being operated, at least in my experience. That’s not true of some radios, which can become hot enough to cause issues. - it performs very well. I have it hooked up to a cheap mag mount uhf/vhf antenna outside my office window, but I can communicate through a repeater 30 miles away. I think that’s excellent! - the radio’s ability to have 9 extra repeaters using any of the GMRS repeater channels programmed into it is extremely useful! I have programmed all of our local repeaters into it, along with repeaters in areas that I frequently visit. Not needing to program those repeaters into the radio every time I want to use them saves a lot of time and effort. - the radio is quite small, which makes it easier to mount in your car or home. - it is easy to move around. I use this as a base station at home, but it only takes a few seconds to move it to my car when I want to. - and, as I noted earlier, Radioddity has excellent customer support. At the price point, the DB-20g is hard to beat. I recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive, relatively simple, reliable radio.

Received the radio today and got to work getting everything situated. When it came time to program and add my frequencies I was annoyed. I attempted to use the software that you’re suppose to use with this radio and I will say it f#%^*%£ sucks. I hope and pray chirp and this brand can make it compatible to use. Other than that radio is pretty good it is small fits literally in your palm. Plugs into a cigarette lighter outlet which is ok I suppose. But overall I give it 3 stars because of the headache I endured trying to program this radio. And I haven’t still yet manually. Update: This was the issue I was having. Took me a few days maybe but whatever. 1. Understanding the Band and File Structure Your DB20-G radio is capable of handling frequencies across different bands, but each band, whether it’s VHF (136-148 MHz) or GMRS (462-467 MHz), should be treated separately when it comes to programming. This is because the radio operates differently on each frequency range, and mixing these bands within a single file may confuse the programming software or the radio itself. For instance, if you’re operating in the GMRS band (UHF: 462-467 MHz), the radio is set to behave according to GMRS regulations (with specific channel steps, offsets for repeaters, etc.). On the other hand, operating in the VHF band (136-148 MHz) requires different settings. The radio needs to have clear separation of the files it uses, and trying to save and upload a mixed file (containing both GMRS and VHF frequencies) may cause conflicts or simply prevent the file from being loaded into the radio correctly. 2. Separate Frequency Files by Band To avoid issues, you should create separate frequency files for each band that you want to use. Here’s how you can structure the files: • File for GMRS (462-467 MHz): This file will contain all the GMRS frequencies, including any custom frequencies you want to add or any repeater configurations. • File for VHF (136-148 MHz): This file will contain the VHF frequencies, potentially for ham radio or other use. Ensure that only frequencies within this band are included. • Other Bands (UHF 400-470 MHz, etc.): If you’re using other bands for amateur radio or specific applications, create separate files for each. Make sure that each file only contains frequencies from the band you intend to use. Do not mix bands in the same file. 3. CPS Software and File Management When using the CPS (Customer Programming Software) for your DB20-G, follow these steps for managing the files: 1. Start by programming the GMRS frequencies: • Open the CPS software and input or download the GMRS frequencies you want to use. Make sure these are configured with the correct channel steps, offsets, and power settings. • Once you’ve set up all the GMRS frequencies, save this file separately. For instance, name the file something like “GMRS_Frequencies.db20” to make it clear that it contains only GMRS frequencies. 2. Next, program the VHF frequencies: • Open the CPS software again and start a new file specifically for VHF frequencies (136-148 MHz). Make sure the configuration is appropriate for the VHF band, such as power settings, channel spacing, and repeater offsets, if needed. • After configuring the VHF frequencies, save this file separately as well. Name it something like “VHF_Frequencies.db20” to avoid confusion. 3. Repeat for any other bands you may want to configure. 4. Uploading Frequency Files to the Radio When it comes time to upload frequencies to the radio, only upload one file at a time. Here’s the process: • Step 1: If you want to use GMRS, upload the GMRS frequency file (e.g., “GMRS_Frequencies.db20”) to the radio. • Step 2: If you want to switch to the VHF band later, you will need to upload the VHF file (e.g., “VHF_Frequencies.db20”) separately. The key is that you cannot mix frequencies from different bands in the same file, and you cannot upload a file that contains both GMRS and VHF frequencies at once. Each file must be uploaded separately, depending on which band you plan to use at that time. 5. Naming and Organizing Files To make the process easier, ensure that your files are clearly named and organized. Here’s an example structure: • GMRS_Frequencies.db20: Contains only GMRS frequencies (462-467 MHz). • VHF_Frequencies.db20: Contains only VHF frequencies (136-148 MHz). • UHF_Ham_Frequencies.db20: If you use UHF for ham radio, create a separate file for those frequencies as well. Having this clear separation makes it easier to manage and prevents accidental overwriting or misconfiguration of your radio.

Solid radio. This is a strong radio that works very well. It can be programmed without a computer or chirp. It is nice and compact and comes with everything that you need except for an antenna. It works well with a Nagoya UT72G. This is a great high powered radio that can reach the Repaeater 25 Miles away no matter what the weather is. I can reach this same repeater with any handheld I have when the weather is calm, but when it starts getting stormy the handhelds start cutting out, but this radio has no issue. This radio is popular on our local repeater, and after using it a bit I understand why. Great radio for a good price.

[Review Updated: See Below] I really liked this little radio, right up until I tried to do more than fool around with it. For the price, it works quite well. It's super convenient to site and mount because of its size, and my meter shows it transmitting with power not too far off from what's advertised. The programming cable and software even worked right out of the box, without a lot of diddling around with settings or drivers. Things went off the rails when I tried to program it, however. Of the "500 programmable channels", you can only actually transmit on only 32 of them, and of those 32, you can only change the frequency on 9. Those 9 have a built in frequency offset you can't change, meaning they *have* to be repeater channels, so you can't have a customized normal GMRS channel with PL/CTSS codes on it. You can't even repurpose one of the seven preprogrammed FRS-only channels (which the unit prevents transmission on, so why even bother having them in the main channel list?) to use for normal GMRS transmission, because they are hard-coded to only use the FRS frequencies! Because of this, if you want to have a channel that uses PL/CTCSS codes, you either have to permanently reprogram one of your primary channels to use that code, or manually change the code setting from the front panel every time you want to use it. this is a pain in the ass if you want to be able to switch on the fly between groups. You literally have to pull over and reprogram the radio to switch! On top of this, one of the selling points for me was that the unit can receive FM broadcast frequencies, because I like to have a news station at hand for emergencies as a backup if something goes wrong with the car radio. However, the programming software won't even allow you to program an FM broadcast frequency into one of the Rx-only channels, so the only way you can get at an FM station is to put the unit in VFO mode and manually enter a frequency. That's unhelpful unless you like to pull the car over every time you want to change stations. It does scan the FM band pretty well, though, so it's not completely useless. I confirmed all of this with tech support. It's all "as-designed". So basically, if you want to play with GMRS with basic settings, and maybe use the occasional repeater, this is a great unit! If you want to be able to customize it in the least for convenience over a range of uses, it's a waste of money... [Update To Review] The great and powerful intarwebs brought me to the tech support Radioddity wouldn't (or couldn't because they were prevented by the FCC?) give me! Turns out, if you change the "Model Information" in the programming software such that the frequency range is listed as "UHF(400 - 470 MHz) VHF (136 - 174 MHz)", two things happen. First, all the programmed channels you started with go away (not great,, because you have to re-enter them by hand) and second, most of the channel programming restrictions go away (except for the FM broadcast thing). Having to retype all the channel info by hand (because they don't allow copy paste in the software?!?!?) sucked pretty hard, but I now have a bouncing baby DB20-G with all the duplicate channels I desire! Definitely worthy of an extra star...

I would highly recommend this radio and ended up getting it after lots of research (reading reviews, watching videos, reading reddit posts). I used this setup (see picture) with a 19" Bingfu magnetic antenna (indoor grounded on a cooking pan from dollar tree). Great radio and stays very cool during hours of long operation. With this set up, I was able to hit 2 local repeaters and have had multiple local coversations on simplex channels. One of those repeaters was 11.2 miles away (my transmission was very audible according to a user who was monitoring the repeater). Programing was very easy aswell. If you are familiar with CHIRP, the Radioddity program is very similar and user friendly (lots of great tutorials on youtube if you get stuck). Of note, I dont think you can program privacy tones from the actual interface and will need a computer. Since I mess around with radios frequently, I bought a cheap laptop (I think I paid $100 for it and USB disk drive since some of the programming cables for other radios provide a disk to install the software) to interact with the programming software. Again, great radio especially if you are just starting out. If you are wondering if this is enough for you to do what you are trying to do, I'd recommend running the scenario in an AI like Grok. If you give estimated distance, location/ geographical area (so it knows what kind of terrain you are transmitting over), and the set up you are planning the use (antenna, radio, power source etc with actual item brands/descriptions) , the AI will be able to tell you if the math maths (i.e should it work).

This mobile transceiver is a pleasant surprise: Receive sensitivity is good (.25uV for 20dB quieting), better than expected. Output power is right on 20W at VHF and tapers off to around 17W on high UHF. For a rig that fits in the palm of my hand it has a lot of features; scan, DTCS, split encode/decode, and it comes with a programming cable. I used CHIRP to program my favorite GMRS and ham repeaters and simplex frequencies. All of that at a great price. Radioddity has a real star with this transceiver.

What a great LITTLE radio! It is easy to program and easy to use. The display is small but it is surprisingly easy to read. The performance is much better than expected. The audio quality on transmit and receive is very good too. I use it in my (Ham) shack, mostly to listen to traffic in the area. With a simple small antenna on my roof I am able to work repeaters in nearby towns 40+ miles away with full quieting. I am very impressed with this little radio!

This is a well designed radio. Programming the radio for repeater channels is, of course, a bit more complex. The manual that comes with the radio contains almost everything that is needed, but it can be a bit hard to interpret, especially for new users. The radio itself is very basic, negative: cannot be programmed with the Chirp programming software. The free programming software from Radioddity is fine, but Chirp is more or less a universal software package that most users are already familiar with. Using the software from Radioddity required me to type in all of the necessary data, while using Chirp would have allowed me to just copy it in. The manual is not good. As most radio manuals are lacking. Radios are a complex piece of tech that can be difficult to understand. This manual does not make that process any easier! The positives: this is an excellent beginner’s GMRS mobile radio, this radio does not get very hot when being operated, at least in my experience. That’s not true of some radios, which can become hot enough to cause issues. It performs very well. I have it hooked up to a mag mount uhf/vhf antenna outside my window, but I can communicate through a repeater 30 miles away. I think that’s excellent! I have programmed all of our local repeaters into it, along with repeaters in areas that I frequently visit. Not needing to program those repeaters into the radio every time I want to use them saves a lot of time and effort. The radio is quite small, which makes it easier to mount in your car or home. It is easy to move around. I use this as a mobile unit. At the price point, the DB-20g is hard to beat. I recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive, relatively simple, reliable radio. No Batteries required, 12V or 120V with and adapter to work in your home.