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I own two of these rapid radios. I dislike that theirs a 1 second delay between them.

I checked out Rapid Radio. Looked good. I have my Ham Radio license but this looked quick and relatively quick to transmit. Bought the 6 pack, $809, and sent one to my sister. Charged the batteries on all 6. Worked for maybe 2 days then my radio quit. They suggested change battery with another radio. I did then 2 of the first 3 we tried won't work. Could very well be a battery problem. I asked if there were any premium quality batteries I could buy. They suggested I buy another charger. I've got 6 of them now. They apparently won't do anything and I've asked for a refund which I don't expect to get. Bought a Retevis ham radio and it works perfect. More than likely I'm going to make a horizontal adjustment with a 4 lb hammer and put them in the trash can where they belong. I strongly advise against purchasing the "radios".

Not acknowledging it is the best thing you can do.

I was monitoring the net and heard this. it makes me sick that this happens.

Here is the correct answer to why they are a scam. First they do not make these or have anything todo with that process and they are not the only seller. These are a dropped shipped product from china with their label and they do not even give you full access to everything they can do. They charge 50usd a year for the sim card. the manufacture will actually sell and refill the sim for $15 usd a year. These are not meant to be emergency radios and even the manufacture says that. They even say they are not even meant to be in the rain as they have no water protection. These are more commercial use as their actually is a dispatcher option you can track the radio on a map, that does cost extra tho, however you can use you computer to talk to these and create user groups. There is even a app you can use to talk to these radios. next, these are gen 1 models, other seller who sell these actually stepped away from this model. I know this as even I sell these radios but im nearly 100 less for a 2 pack. Here is another problem. They lock you in to only being able to use these radios if you buy from them. if you bought from another seller, they would not give access to pare another radio, despite same radio and maker. Then there is a big kicker. say if you bought this radio from them but decided to get the sim card directly from the manufacture to save the 50usd a year. They could log in and lock your radio out. at that point it would be garbage as even other sellers wouldnt be able to move it to another account. just be careful who you buy from

So if there's no cellular service there's no radio service correct that's useless for hunters out in the wilderness

Any suggestions on 2 way radio that will be clear for 10 miles with obstructions?

Great video. Thanks AD4VR

Did not work during Hurricane Milton. No cell network.

They work off of all cell towers so if you lose att but Verizon has cell coverage then it may be worth the purchase.

The Zello radios are cool though.

That's what I'll do, take advice from a stupid hillbilly with a 3rd grade education!!

Very good video. I recently bought one and am getting ready to get out and use it. Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

$50 a year after initial year of service per radio

Pretty cool. Never thought about conducting a net call and videoing it.

Good information. Thought it was too good to be true. Thank you . New subscriber. 😊

Gee....they're not working in hurricane ravaged NC right now...or in other plaves where cell towers or connecting infrastructure has been compromised. There were 857 comments on their website before they shut off the comments....and a great many of those comments were about how their product was nonfunctional. It is not even possible to SHARE their ad now.

Love the video 73 to you KC3RUG

There are very few actual radios left. Mostly computers that can "sort of" function as a radio, but not very well. Real radio is pretty much dead. As far as kids go, the do still make REAL cell phones. I have one. It is my ONLY phone. And it is JUST a phone. It makes and receives phone calls. It DOES NOT connect to the internet, and it DOES NOT have a touchscreen. It is a Consumer Cellular IRIS flip phone. $21 a month, unlimited. It works just fine. I got my technician license in 1988, and my general in 2009. Amateur radio is certainly NOT for everyone, and certainly not for personal use. I have mostly lost interest in it. Way too many rules, and a complete lack of privacy. For example, you live in TRENTON, TN 38382. I also have your full name and exact residence address, but I won't post it here. All you need is someone's call sign, and you can easily get a ton of information about them. I don't post my callsign on social media. I have lost interest in VHF/UHF, and have gone to 11 meters (CB) SSB for DX. I have a clean 100 watt 11 meter setup, and I can use it anonymously. I make long distance contacts on 11 meters all the time.

Thank you for the heads up, there advertisements are really misleading

VERY CORRUPT Company no monthly fee!!!! But $50 per year annual fee--will be a huge consumer protection lawsuit comming up for false advertising!!

I always felt left out. I got my call sign in 2000. I passed the amateur extra written test I just couldn't do code because I have hearing problems. I did my EET. with an emphasis in RF systems and Power Systems .. because of this silly requirement for a mode that is optional to use I was stuck being a technician for decaedes until I passed my general a few years ago and now I can finally enjoy HF.. Not gonna lie.. i felt left out because if I was to disabled to past that part of the test even though I had the working knowledge and skill of an extra.... Unfortunately a few years ago I had a stroke and so all I could muster was General this time...

I think they should have the code requirement But it should be 5 words per minute for all Most do not use it but I think should know it

Thx Keith! Anything you recom'd to communicate if grid goes down?

73 Michigan

Our club president "Mr. Extra Class" told everyone the first of us Tech he heard on 10 meter SSB, he'd reply with 20WPM CW. I replied, Thanks ****, I'll be sure to have a recorder handy so I can turn you into the FCC for Intentional Interference. He went quiet in thought. You see he was the type of CW extremist who ran 20 meter CW mobile when going to/from work, and considered CW to be a Hazing into Ham Radio to keep the CB'rs out, Ignoring that most of us Techs came from CB to Ham, as HE did. There were tons of vocal old timers that felt the same. Not long after we got 10meter SSB many old timers came to our 200khz to say, I Told You So, BUT many joined in due to us having the Enthusiasm for Radio that’d lost a long time before. Around that time the FCC went to 75 meters and swung their Big Stick clearing out Old Timers cussing, interference, and drunken antics. Yep, WE were the problem. 😝 A LOT of us EX-CB’rs are still around keeping the bands active and allocated for our use. I grandfathered into General when Code was dropped in testing and went on to get my Extra about 20 years ago. I’m now a retired Electronics Tech that’s setting up my retirement station. Thanks to US EX-CB’rs and No-Coders Ham Radio is still a service we can enjoy. BTW, I got on the air using CW once as a novice in ‘76 and couldn’t stand it. Years later I found out I had Asperger’s Syndrome (my brain’s wired different, so I “Think Different”) and that’s why I had a mental block against Code. IOW the Code requirement was blocking my advancement due to a medical condition. That’s Not Right. I’m Happy you admit you were wrong. That took a pair. 🍺🍻 73 mike

All of you guys just don’t get it. It sounds like most of you are just completely biased against anything other than a Ham radio. First of all this TH-camr is lying to you. These are not line of sight. These connect to cell towers just like your phone does. Does your phone only get one to 2 miles of coverage, no ! These have the same coverage that your cell phone would and certainly not one to 2 miles so quit lying to people. And that’s why these are so great. I have a team of 100 people and we need to communicate instantly over an encrypted network where we can’t be spied upon and where we can be in our house or down the road or anywhere in the city. These do exactly that. And y’all are worried about the grid going down and all the electricity is gonna stop. I think that’s a little bit overblown. There might be short periods of time where it’s down but it’s mostly gonna be reliable. HAM Radios are only useful when the grid goes down And even then they are not private and you have to have an antenna in your backyard to hit all the repeaters within say 60 miles. Do you use your Ham radio for every day communication needs? Of course not. These rapid radios are far more powerful and functional in terms of pragmatic communications than a Ham radio. For example within your private network you can communicate to the entire group or just to a single person and you can even create subgroups within your network. So my group of 100 men this is what we are using and they work perfectly great! We don’t have any problems with Dropped coverage or limited coverage or line of sight types of limitations. It really pisses me off when like through your teeth and pretend like you know everything

I join ed the navy 1985 got my no code tech soon after did disaster communications since, also MARS I have my no code general, I volunteer with search and rescue for communications. Love it

Not a scam, an overpriced product for uninitiated, this is life..😂

No, they were NOT. Every ID-10-T CB’er is now on every band. Like everything else, they lower the standards and misfits come into the mix. If lowering standards is your idea of improvement. They do it everywhere else, why not amateur radio. The decline of society is about to come to fruition. Jesus is coming back soon … very soon! 73’

My deceased father in law was a ham K0MXK and he got me hooked on Ham back in the 80's.I started studying and the code was going to eventually be what caused me to fade away from getting licensed. I watched my FIL work code as much as he did voice and the code always intrigued me and still does today.Code is what I believed separated the men from the wana be hams .Even if I never get licensed I will always feel that way . He used to tell me all the time that 11 meters used to be a good band .

I appreciate all being said in this comment section, but if all of you think for 1 sec they don't already have a plan to shut down your ham radio communications, you are living in denial. stay safe.

learning code does not make you a better operator.

They need to bring the Morse code back, or require some form of IQ test so the Amateur licensees (CB radio rule breakers), can be purged from the Amateur community. It's too easy for appliance operators (who don't care about rules), to clog the repeaters with prohibited transmissions.

For me the Code was a pain in the rear. It took me 3 times to pass the test. At my Witt’s end I just literally wrote down the dots and dashes as fast as I could and then decoded it. The examiner told me I was the first to ever seen anyone do that 🤷‍♂️. From that point on I never used code on the air but I do have an Advanced license to this day. The irony to my story, is, all I have is a 2/440 radio. 🤣

I am an extra and became an extra without CW. That being said, I now use CW. I became a member of the Long Island CW club. Going with CW greatly expands the allocated spectrum into HF for techs and it can be far more enjoyable.

No way could I be an extra if code was required. I have learned code on my own, but its painfully slow for me.

New ham here. I got both Tech and Gen this year at 61. I am having a ball and really enjoy talking to people all over the world in voice. I enjoy the accents and the QRZ pages of my contacts. I could see the animosity of the older folks and the code requirement but I have no interest in CW or digital modes personally. That might change but thanks for the video. 73 N4STS

Schaden Expressway

You are right. You ARE BEING MISS LEAD. If you use a cell service, even half duplex, the service wants to know who you are because you are going to be billed for using their service. (IT IS NOT FREE) Maybe the 1st year is a no charge, but some how it is paid for. I have worked for AT&T and other service providers for over 30 years. Providers don’t provide their service free. Buyer beware!!!

It's not really a scam in the true sense, it's just a different comm method than we've seen before, and that's not made clear in the advertising. It is cell technology. But the big advantage of Rapid Radio is that they are a bonded cellular technology which utilizes data services from all three cell carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon). News media use similar bonded cellular data services to do their remote broadcasts. If one cell system is weak or loaded down, data traffic can be spread among the others. That said, ALL THREE cell systems would have to go down before Rapid Radio would be off the air. During the AT&T cell outage a few months ago, Rapid Radios continued to work. They say there is no monthly fee--that's because it's YEARLY. The service costs $50 per year per radio. This is a real bargain, but depends entirely on the long term solvency of Rapid Radio as a company to keep the three carriers paid up. The only down side I see is that the radios don't have the capability to access the Rapid Radio network over a wifi connection at home like Zellow does. They can only work on the cell system. But again, ALL THREE would have to go down before Rapid Radio would stop working. I bought two Rapid Radio handhelds, and plan on buying more, including mobiles. When you order, you can specify what talk group names you want, and can have more added at any time. I asked for four talk groups in each radio for our different family locations, and so far the radios are working great.

Excellent video! Having to learn the language of CW before being allowed to use a ham radio for voice or messaging is like being forced to learn Spanish before you’re allowed to speak English or Russian. All of them are forms of communication.

Was there a Discount Code?

Ive seen power supplys that cost 20 bucks

I wouldn't mind obtaining a xeigu sdr HF radio, mountain-topper radio, pixie HF radio, htx-100 and, a ft-891 eventually.

I agree, and I almost got discouraged although i was gifted a uv5r i like it. I ended getting a ft-817 but its complicated and frustrating for me at times i have a nice vertical hf antenna and a crummy 2m/70cm antenna mag mount. I do have a ADI ar-147 and a Kenwood tm-221a im saving up for a antenna, coax and power supply. I really should get a elmer but i suspect the local radio club in my area. 73, kq4hcu

I became a technician, to learn cw and chew the rag as well as be portable. 73, kq4hcu

I have 2 of those antennas and love them. I have no trouble making repeaters 30 - 35 miles away with just an HT.. They are great for portable operations and camping trips with an HT. It works even better with a 50w radio.

the FCC was quite correct when they no longer require Morse code to get a ham license, it's just another digital mode like ready packet, and now it's a small people got the ham license because the way it is a lot of people starting to also use Morse code even more,

What gets me about this code thing, was , back in 1989 when my uncle and I got into Ham, he HAD a Commodore 64 with the MFJ 1278(i think) terminal node controller, and I could have used THAT to do code as fast as you wanted to receive it, but since my hear couldnt, I couldnt, least on the HF bands. Question: Can an operator use a rotary phone dialing plan to send a numerical set of dits, and use a computer to convert THAT into text? Three digits represent an ASKII letter, and go THAT route? I could have counted dits way better than hearing patterns.