Anytone AT3318UV-E: Mini-review

A mini-review from Mike on the Anytone AT3318UV (A,B,C,D &E) Yahoo Group:

"I talked a friend into buying two of these tri-band handhelds because of the advertised FHSS (frequency hopping spread spectrum) feature, which turned out to be more of a random frequency trunking feature and probably a misunderstanding of the FHSS term by the Chinese manufacturer.

The radios were purchased from the exclusive US importer "Import Communications", who notified all buyers about the mistake with the FHSS option and offered a refund if so desired. 

So here I sat with my friends two otherwise good looking and great sounding 2m, 220MHZ and 440MHz plus part 90 certified handhelds as he mulled over keeping or returning the radios. After reading up on the manual, perusing the extensive programming software and living with these handhelds for a week I decided I can't live without it and and purchased one from my buddy who originally bought the pair.

These radios cover 136 to 174, 220 to 225 and 400 to 520MHz transmit and receive plus .52 to 30MHz AM HF (10KHz steps), 64 to 108MHz WBFM, 118 to 136MHz AM and 225 to about 260MHz FM receive only. The radio works surprisingly well in the AM broadcast and HF SW bands with an appropriate antenna and I did not detect any overload problems feeding it with a large G5RV type HF antenna.

The radios have a very extensive but fairly easy to navigate menu system unlike any Baofeng or Wouxun I have used and I love the various banks I can assign to memory channels to scan only specific banks if I want or I can scan the entire memory. There is also a quick talk around feature for your programmed repeater frequencies and all sorts of other nifty features that I don't see on other Chinese brands.

When using the AM/FM broadcast or SW feature, if you receive a call on whatever two way frequency is being monitored the broadcast band will temporarily mute during the call then pop back in about 5 seconds later. You can listen to music or local news and not miss a radio call. 

The receiver performance is also much better than Baofeng and Wouxun radios I've tested. I live in a very RF rich environment and was recently comparing a Baofeng UV-5R, a Wouxun UV8 plus a Yaesu VX-8R and FT-60 at a local hilltop about a half mile from a major repeater site with lots of RFI.

While listening to some simplex activity on 146.52 I noticed both Yaesu radios were hearing lots of things the Baofeng was not. Some of the signals that were almost full quieting on both Yaesu radios just did not exist on the Baofeng UV-5R. I was also playing with the cross band repeat on the new Wouxun KG-UV8D at the same location and noticed it was not repeating things that I could hear clearly on the input frequency on the Yaesu radios. 

I repeated the same tests with the new Anytone AT-3318UV-E and its on par with the Yaesu radios and could hear every weak signal the Yaesu's could in the heavy RF environment. The Anytone also cross band repeated weak signals very well under the same conditions.

I'm not knocking the inexpensive Baofeng radios, for the price they great little radios and they measure very sensitive on a service monitor. But put them in a busy RF environment and their shortcomings will show up. The Wouxun KG-UV8D is also a really nice radio and quite a leap from the first Wouxuns I played with. But the AT-3318UV-E performance is is better and you get 220MHz tx/rx and a lot more features for just a little more money.

Playing with the AT-3318UV-E menus its also apparent that Anytone engineers are familiar with how American commercial and amateur users interface with two way radio equipment. Other Chinese brands have odd and useless features and will not do many things that radio users are demanding. 

The transmit and receive audio is extremely good and better than most handhelds I own including many Motorola, Yaesu, Icom and the like. The receive audio is almost Hi-Fi and people who I know personally come out of the speaker sounding much more like themselves than any other handheld radio I have used in recent times. I also gets great unsolicited transmit audio reports.

The 3318UV-E is also more compact than a Wouxun KG-UV3 type or KG-UV8D, which I had just purchased and sold after playing with the Anytone. So far battery life is very good from the stock 1800mah pack and I can't say enough good things about this very modestly priced handheld, its just a winner all around, despite the misunderstood FHSS feature.

I think the closest competitor to the AT-3318UV-E model is probably the Kenwood TF6a, which runs about $190 more and is not FCC Part 90 compliant, although its HF receive is SSB capable. The TH6a is also a design from 10+ years ago.

So there is my story about a pair of radios purchased for a specific feature and when that feature did not pan out the radios turned out to be so good I couldn't send them back.

Mike"

AT-3318UV: AM Aircraft Band Receiving

Ed has posted on the AT-3318UV Yahoo Group to clarify how to receive the AM aircraft band on the AT-3318UV-D & AT-3318UV-E:

"Some people have been confused in how to access the AM aircraft band with the UV-D and UV-E models. Hopefully this will help. 

To access any of these bands, you must set MENU 34 to "ON". Please note that MENU 18 (BAND) has nothing to do with receiving any of these bands. You must also have the appropriate band set to "Enable" in the Function Setup window of the programming software. If the band is not "Enabled" in the software, each band will show on the radio's display but there will be no reception possible. 

The four bands are accessed in the radio in the order of FM, AM, SW and LW. The last band used will be the first one accessed. Press FUNC + FM and one of the four bands will show on the radio's display. You can step through the remaining three bands by pressing FUNC + BAND for each change. To stop the radio from receiving one of the bands, press FUNC + FM. 

Choices made in the Function Setup window of the software will determine whether the band starts in VFO mode or in MR mode. Pressing the V/M button will switch between the modes. Using the keypad numbers, you can directly enter either a frequency or a saved channel, depending on the mode the radio is in. Pressing FUNC + SCAN will begin scanning the saved channels or the frequency range depending on the mode." 

The reception of FM Broadcast, AM Aircraft, Shortwave & Longwave are all tied together. FM and AM are available in both VFO and MR modes. You can store up to 99 channels for both FM and AM mode. SW and LW are only available as VFO mode."

Import Communications Updates

Ed sent out a newsletter with several updates:

September 16, 2014

Dear Customers,

We have some new items at Import Communications with features not found on other imported radios. Things like Frequency Hopping, 2-Tone pager mode and AM Airband receive, just to name a few. Please visit our home page for more details. www.ImportCommunications.com

AT-3318UV-A ............................. in stock now

• Can double as a 2-Tone Pager (any one of 16 different 2-Tone tones can be assigned to any saved channel)
• Both 2-Tone & 5-Tone decode and encode
• PTT id
• PTT DTMF
• CTCSS & DCS (that work correctly in receive mode)
• Stun / Kill
• Memory banks (10 banks, up to 32 channels per bank)
• Assign any channel to multiple banks
• Assign any or all banks as “active”
• Add or remove active banks by key-press
• Fast Scan Rate / Normal Scan Rate, you choose
• Scanning resumes automatically after off/on cycle
• Can operate both VFO and Memory mode at the same time
• Display the frequency of a named channel with a button push
• Independent squelch level for each channel
• Squelch level adjustable on-the-fly
• Remove channel from scan list via the keypad
• Totally lock keypad but still change channels and adjust squelch
• Single or dual PTT buttons
• Talk-around button
• No battery drain during storage
• FCC Part 90 certified
  

AT-3318UV-D ............................ in stock now

• All of the above features, plus
• TRUE DUAL BAND, receive two signals at the same time
• Transmit and Receive at the same time
• CROSS-BAND REPEAT mode
• AM Aircraft band receive
• FM broadcast receive
• Shortwave & Longwave receive
• MSK encode & decode
• FHSS – Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (for private, undetectable transmissions)

AT-3318UV-E ........................... in stock now, limited supply

• All of the above feature, plus
• Tri-Band Radio - transmit three bands
  

                    Transmit 136-174 MHz (5 watts)
                                      222-225 MHz (4 watts)
                                      400-520 MHz (4 watts)
                      Receive 136-174 MHz
                                      220-260 MHz
                                      400-520 MHz
                                         64-108 MHz FM (FM Broadcast)
                                       117-137 MHz AM (AM Aircraft Band)
                                       2.3-29.9 MHz AM (Shortwave Band)
                                     520-1710 kHz AM (AM Broadcast)


AT-5888UV III ........................... available mid-October

• Tri-Band Mobile
• This radio will be available October 2014

                       Transmit 136-174 MHz
                                         222-225 MHz
                                         400-490 MHz
                         Receive 108-174 MHz (AM Aircraft Band)
                                         136-174 MHz
                                         200-260 MHz
                                         400-490 MHz


Xiegu QRP Transceivers

X108

• 9 band, 1-20 watt SSB, AM & CW Transceiver
• This exciting new model can be ordered now for delivery in early October

X1M

• 5 band, 5 watt SSB & CW Transceiver
• Not a new product, but still popular and in stock

Rexon Aircraft Transceivers ...................... in stock, limited supply

• AM & FM modes
• Includes VOR with CDI
• 108 – 143.975 AM & FM

Thank you for your continued support.

Regards,
Ed

Anytone AT-3318UV-A: Updated Manual

Ed provided some help and now has an updated manual for the AT-3318UV-A.

AnyTone AT-3318UV-C

I posted about the AT-3318UV-A, but Ed also mentioned the AT-3318UV-C. He says it is:

"a true dual band radio. It will receive two signals at the same time and it will even cross band repeat. This radio will sell in the price range of the KG-UV6D."

On the Yahoo Group, he adds:

"Retail will be $199.95, but may sell for a little less from time to time.Shipment of only 30 will be delivered mid-Jan.
500 more will follow soon, depending on the Chinese New Year schedule.
I will put up an ordering page in a day or so."

AnyTone AT-3318UV-A

I had not seen much from Ed at Import Communications. Now I know why. He is ending his relationship with Wouxun. He is selling off his current inventory of the Wouxun KG-UV6D for $109.95 (inc free AA Pack).

And for his next big announcement, he is introducing a line of AnyTone radios - the AT-3318UV. (Astute readers will recall that Buddy asked me what I knew about this radio in July. My answer was not much.) I suspect these will become more popular just because of the visibility that Ed will bring to it.

First off is the AT-3318UV-A for $99.95:

• 6 Watts VHF
• 5 Watts UHF
• 136-174 MHz & 420-520 MHz & FM Broadcast
• Wide Band & Narrow Band
• 2.5 kHz tuning step for splinter frequencies
• 5/Tone encode and decode
• 199 Channels with Alpha Tags
• Squelch level adjustable for each channel
• Squelch tail elimination
• CTCSS that really works - when scanning channels, radio will stop ONLY when CTCSS tone is present
• VFO Scanning - frequency limits can be set for both VHF & UHF
• Channel Scanning - scanned channels can be ADDED or REMOVED via the keypad
• Frequency Reverse button - exchanges TX & RX frequencies
• Talk Around button - sets TX frequency to repeater's output frequency
• Programmable by computer
• EASY to manually program
• Keypad totally lockable to meet FCC Part 90 requirements

There is a Yahoo Group setup for the AT-3318UV.

I'll post more as I learn more.

AnyTone AT-3318UV

On AliExpress, the AnyTone AT-3318UV is available for $96 + $31 shipping.

Frequency Range:
(RX:) FM: 136-174MHZ + 400-480MHZ
(TX:) FM: 136-174MHZ + 400-480MHZ
FM Radio: 76-108MHZ

Function:
Working mode: UU, UV,V V, U,V
200 Channels+2 groups VFO
Output Power: 5W/0.5W
51 groups+1group user defined CTCSS+1024 group DCS encode and decode.
DTMF encode and decode
2 Tone/5Tone encode and decode
Multi scan: VFO scan +channel Scan+ Priority scan
+CTCSS scan+DCS scan
VOX function(10 levels) multi-scrambler
Wide/narrow band
Squelch Tail Elimination

Accessories:
One charger
One Li-ion battery (1500mAh)
one rubber antenna
one user manual 
One PC cable

Anytone AT-3318UV and AT-398UV

Anyone? I'm googling now.

bbrannan @brickolore Hey, you ever heard of an Anytone AT-3318UV or AT-398UV? Another with true dual band receive maybe. Mon, Jul 29 17:37:09 from web

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