![TYT-TH9800-with-mic](https://i0.wp.com/ki5wkb.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TYT-TH9800-with-mic.jpg?resize=300%2C190&ssl=1)
The TYT TH-9800 with microphone. This quad bander is capable of FM transmission on 70cm, 2m, 6m, and 10m bands.
The TYT TH-9800 is a quad band transceiver, equipped for FM transmission on the 70cm, 2m, 6m, and 10m bands. Though the radio is a mobile radio, but I am using it for my base station for UHF/VHF. It has a detachable face plate with a pretty long cord. I leave the main unit on the desk and put the faceplate and microphone next to me on my comfy chair. It is capable of 50w out output.
![Dual Band 1/4 Wave Ground Plane](https://i0.wp.com/ki5wkb.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/dualbandgroundplane.jpg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1)
A Dual Band 1/4 Wave Ground Plane Antenna
The coolest feature is the crossband repeater mode. I use this all the time in my neighborhood when talking with neighbors on their Baofeng HTs. Having it up in my attic room connected to my dual band ground plane antenna, lets us talk all over the neighborhood and beyond on low power on our Baofengs. This is great to get a little extra power for short range coms. In our case, we transmit on a band up in the 440s, and the radio re-transmits our signal on a 146 frequency. We have had a lot of fun getting this working.
CROSSBAND REPEAT
![Cross Band Repeater](https://i0.wp.com/ki5wkb.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/xband1.png?resize=300%2C188&ssl=1)
How to use the TYT-TH9800 as a crossband repeater. Source – The Suncoast Amatuer Radio Club Society
You can also use it to crossband repeat into your local repeater, but!…. it is considered bad form to do this without permission and you would absolutely need to be monitoring the radio in case it gets stuck which could really screw up your local repeater if it get stuck on. The idea here is that you could say, be down in your living room, or even basement with an HT on low power, transmit to your TYT- TH9800, and it would pump the signal out at a higher wattage into your local repeater. Use discretion, good judgement, and common courtesy if you decide to do this.
There are a couple of ways to set it up for crossband repeat, and some work better than others. I used this article from the Suncoast Ametuer Radio Club to figure out the best one for my needs. I ended up going with the Ad-hoc Repeater Scheme. https://scarcs.ca/howto/xband
It is best to use this feature on the lowest power needed as the duty cycle can make the radio run very very hot. I do not know that I would attempt it at full power for more than a few minutes.
Performance
The radio has four power output setting. Low (5 watts) , mid 2 (10 watts), mid 1 (20 watts), high (40 watts UHF, 50 watts VHF).
I have only used the radio on the 2m and 70cm bands where it works great. Although it does have the capability to transmit on 6m and 10m, it does not have Single Side Band (SSB), therefore, it is of little use on those bands for me.
The dual VFO feature allows you to transmit and receive on two frequencies simultaneously. I find this useful when testing simplex distances. I can usually find someone willing to test out a simplex with me on the local repeater.
The furthest simplex QSO I have been able to achieve yet has been about 6 miles using 50w. This was me talking to another station using a Baofeng HT. I think this is pretty reasonable.
Other Features
Removable Face Plate
I love the fact that the faceplate is removable. I have the main unit and power supply sitting next to each-other on my desk with a small fan pointed to the back of both. The TYT TH-9800 seems to heat up a little bit when using 50w, and the little fan on the back of it needs all the help it can get. With the faceplate off, I can use the radio comfortably with the faceplate and mic with me in my easy chair, although an auxiliary speaker would make this a little better because the RX sound comes through the main unit.
The Mic
The mic is great. It has 4 customizable buttons that can be used to program different features. It also has a down/up rocker for scanning through channels, a backlight on off switch, and a lockout button. The numeric keypad can be used for inputting numbers for menu features, VFO selction, or to directly select a memory channel.
All in all, I love this little radio, it is very robust, does exactly what I want it to, and for a little over $200, it is feature packed with more things than I have mentioned here.
Buy it here. https://amzn.to/3cUXMSd