Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was first hesitant investing this much on a Chinese mobile radio for my car. This is an exact clone of the FT-8900, which is about $180 more more expensive AND less capabilities. To my surprise, I am very happy with this purchase. Chinese radios has been criticized by many ham operators but little do they know that all "Japanese made" radios are actually made also in China, or parts of it at least. This is no exception. I see a well built and very good quality ham radio. It does exactly what the FT-8900 but with unlocked transmit in all bands! It can also transmit in AM in 10 and CB bands. All this the FT-8900 can not do. This is a good addition to your shack if you are really objective in evaluating quality, performance, and capabilities. I own a Yaesu FT-8800 and other Yaesus but I have to admit that this is better that the FT-8900 in so many aspects. The only thing I did not like about it out of the box is it is set not to transmit if the frequency is busy or has a carrier (Busy Lock). This will be frustrating and can turn off any ham operator. To add to that frustration, there is no option in the radio's menu that can turn that off. Imagine checking into a net but you cant because you're waiting for the repeater to drop, which rarely happens.Bottom line, you won't be able to use it out of the box if you are going to work repeaters. This is the only thing that kills this radio and why TYT designed it as a default is beyond me. Make sure you purchase the programming cable and have the TYT program ready to disable that function. Shipping was fast and seller stands by their product. Download this (TYT-9800 2.06 Eng) to program the radio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-wmkorOvfaZOWRUOFVESUw1Zjg/view?usp=sharing Download this to fix the no transmit due to Busy Lock (instructions included): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-wmkorOvfaZTkFrNjd0NHhJcE0/view?usp=sharing Ps. Your antivirus might prompt you a warning because the program was developed by "unknown" publisher. Its fine and I have verified it with my Norton 360. Bottom line: You are saving aprox. $180 (even with Yaesu's $50 rebate) with same FT-8900 capabilities + a lot more BUT you have to flash/update or use your computer to fix the "Busy Lock" bug.