As I've mentioned before, the Chinese radio manufacturers have begun a trend toward higher power. The Leixen VV-898 boasted 10W on VHF and UHF, is pretty small for a mobile and went for under $150. Then BaoFeng put out an 8W HT (the BF-F8HP) for roughly the price of their (Chinese) competitors 5W dual-band HTs (about $70). Next up was the QYT KT-8900, a very small 25W (20W on UHF) mobile that could be had for anywhere between $70 and $100. It was also copied as a Juentai JT-6188.
And now, TYT is offering a 10W HT (the TH-UV8000D) for under $80.
One of the (lousy) explanations that I have heard for the steep drop-off of new hams entering and (shortly after) leaving the hobby is that they found out the limitations of their new HTs. As such, they allegedly became disappointed and abandoned the hobby. It certainly wasn't the vehement animus and hysteria against the BaoFeng (and similar) HTs, of course, voiced by most operators endlessly. To me, this seems more of a case for the Wise Elders to educate these newly-licensed operators on the benefits of a better antenna (ground-plane, mobile whip, or Yagi) for their low-powered HTs. Or even informing them of the option of an inexpensive linear amp.
As I've written before, many new hams do come into the hobby having an inflated idea of the performance on an HT/stock duck. The addition of an after-market "high gain" duck is simply working on the margins. Without a decent ground-plane, the transmitted signal is quite variable and the radiation pattern is greatly distorted. Employing a 'real' antenna seems to be "committing" to the hobby, and many are unwilling to take that step for various reasons. When I got into the hobby with a UHF monoband HT (PuXing PX-777), I went straight to an exterior whip on my car and on my balcony at home, and avoided such "disappointment".
Based on the limitations of a 5W (at best) HT with a duck, it seems only natural that many would seek out more power. Just this past week I handed over a 10W Leixen VV-898 to a local operator looking for more power than his 5W HT afforded as a mobile rig. Last weekend I ran into another operator in the south metro suburbs using a BaoFeng 8W HT as a mobile. Though I used a 5W dual-band HT as a mobile for over a year, I switched to the 10W VV-898 several months ago. Not everyone needs a full-powered mobile capable of reaching distant repeaters on a daily basis. And the issue, as always, is "What do you need?" rather than "What's the best?".
The TYT TH-UV8000D (unwieldy name, isn't it?) comes with a high-capacity battery. I have the similar 10W VHF monoband TC-8000 with the same battery, and it really does hold up quite well on high power. The UV8000D also comes with a "high-gain" duck. A 12V "battery eliminator" is also available for the radio ($13) that would make mobile applications more bearable. Of course, any "Kenwood-style" speaker mic works with it. It also has a channel knob on top, as opposed to up/down buttons, that makes mobile operation much easier.
Also interesting (to me, anyway) is that the HT has MSK ID. This is a digital squawk that transmits your callsign (or whatever), and it's optional. On a radio that has MSK enabled, the callsign of the transmitting station is scrolled across the screen. Like any kind of "roger beep", it's really good at irritating "old school" hams -- because it's "unnecessary". Its also "unnecessary" to give your callsign (and the other person's callsign) continuously throughout a QSO, but that doesn't seem to bother anyone.
So, for under $100 (plus the cost of a decent mobile whip), you can set yourself up with a 10W mobile rig that you can remove and use as an HT as is needed. And, you can take it out when it's hot or cold outside, unlike a full-powered mobile. Maybe you could keep it in the glove box of your spouse's vehicle, along with a mag-mount in the trunk, as a substitute rig when you're forced to use that vehicle. Or as a GMRS simplex link between the two cars on a road trip. No, it's not certified for GMRS, but nobody would know and it wouldn't create interference.
I've seen pictures of a spectrum analyser test of the radio showing 10.1W on two metres. The UHF test shows 9.7W on 400 MHz, probably because this is the low end of the spectrum and the output drops as frequency increases. I would imagine that you'd get just under 9W on 440 MHz, and just under 8W on GMRS repeaters.
One thing that people should be aware of is that these higher-powered HTs are very unlikely to give you improved performance operating simplex at ground level. Obstructions, as well as the curvature of the Earth, provide serious limits to this kind of operation regardless of power. Used as a VHF marine radio over water, there might be an extension of usable range with 10W. More likely, though, is that you just get a clearer signal within the same coverage range as 5W got you. Even used as a mobile, the rule of thumb for expectations should be that you will only be able to reach the same repeaters as you could with 5W, but with a stronger signal.
We can most likely expect more of these small, extra-powered mobiles and 10W hand-helds. The Chinese manufacturers need a marketing edge to keep selling radios in a saturated market. They have already moved into full-powered dual-band and monoband FM rigs, and have begun to market DMR HTs. Due to the commercial and public safety market potential, APCO25 (P25) HTs and mobiles could be future market moves.
Meanwhile, the YaeComWood manufacturers seem to be moving toward more expensive, higher quality new releases. They can't compete with the Chinese for the entry-level market. In addition, they've moved production to licensed factories in China, which makes counterfeiting so much easier. The die-cast chassis and injection-molded housings for YaeComWood radios are readily available, and the component sourcing chain is already set up.
HF rigs don't have much commercial application, and companies such as YouKits and CRKits are established on the entry-level end of the limited HF amateur radio market. AnyTone has also sold a cheap 10M rig for years, and there are several knock-offs of their quad-band FM (10/6/2/70 cm) model already. Beyond that, they are cashing in on cheap 150-300W linear amps for HF to squeeze as much market share as possible out of HF, without actually going head-to-head on actual transceivers. Further out, depending on what the limited domestic Chinese amateur market can bear, we may see QRP digital transceivers with native PSK or RTTY featuring keyboard inputs rather than mic jacks.
As far as "quality" FM rigs, I'm sceptical of a move in that direction by the Chinese. The Vero VR 6600 flopped in a big way. It was supposed to be a high-quality dual band rig with APRS, GPS, and Bluetooth (and even 1W 1.25M capability) priced at around $600. Now you can find the bare-bones model for $350. There may be a few full-powered 2M rigs that include a TNC as an afterthought, but all of that is just working on the margins. Nothing for two-metre SSB or AM, and nothing for 6M.
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