Here's our impressions of the RD-5R handheld. The RD-5R offers DMR at an affordable price for those who want to go digital for either ham radio or commercial communications. We have a need for both here, as well as encryption, and this radio offers it all. When the RD-5R arrived in the mail, I literally needed only about an hour or two to get this radio up and running. First thing I did was to upgrade the firmware to version 2.0.9 before using the radio. The upgrade went smoothly and I used the version 1.0.0.2 software program for setting up my first code plug. I was able to communicate with other Radioddity handhelds on my encrypted business frequency with no trouble. The encryption follows what Radioddity offers on its other radios. I then set up the radio to work through my hot spot to communicate on ham radio talkgroups. The first reception report I had was from a friend who said the audio sounded great. In addition, all the signals I hear sound great on the RD-5R, too. I will be adding more talkgroups and taking this handheld mobile when I get it up to speed. I'm very pleased with the RD-5R.
