Jingtong JT-5988HP 12-Watt Tri-Power 10/5/3W Dual Band Two Way Radio 4800 mAh Battery 128-Channel Portable Handheld Transceiver

The radio seams well constructed but the true specs are not as advertised! This is a 10 watt radio not 12 watt, there was no programming cable value of ($15-$20). There is no softwear available to program so it must be mainly programmed. The process is very time consuming. Very little to no support. The radio prolly probably dose work well however it’s just not what it says your buying. If your like me and have several radios programmed and want to program this one to work with Others. Programming cable and software are a must. So do too the lack of support and the lower power than advertised, I say this is probably not what you think it is. It’s likely a pretty good radio and probably works well, however...I have six outher radios and three different brands and have not had a problem programming in less than an hour with chirp or factory softwear. I spent almost 3 hours just looking for software that would be compatible. Don’t believe me, just try using the links in the description. I put the radio back in the box and never even used it due to the fact I couldn’t even find programming software for it. I Returned it to Amazon. I just got a newer baofenf UV-5R TP they are try power in 8 watt, Proven design, lots of support and half the price Of this. I was trying to get above 12w without braking the bank. I guess a UV-5R TP at 8 watts for $35 will do for handheld for now.

You have to download 7-zip, a program to open rar files, it's free. In the description, download the programming software. Right click on it after installed, go to 7-zip click on it, go to JT-598W click it and programming will open. Now you will have window like chirp and I think you know where and what to do. If by chance you don't, email me (Deg for you at gmail dot com). Hope this helps someone.

Awesome radio! I've been buying Baofengs for a while and this is definitely a step up! Well worth the price! Came with the programming cable and software however the disk that the software was on was cracked so it was unusable. I did some searching online and found the software. You have to download a program called 7zip to unzip the .rar file and then you can install it normally. If you have ever used Chirp, you will love this programming software. Simple to use and straight forward. I am a ham operator KK4NWX and I both this to use at work on the frequencies my workplace uses as well as be able to monitor local repeaters and Fire/Ems Dispatch as I am also a firefighter.

Nice but suffers from intermod

It's the most powerful 2 meter handheld with incredible range! The output is 10 watts on fresh charge.

using it at local rescue squad works great!

Summary-------A high power, VHF/UHF, 3-color choice display, handheld; that can not be judged by its cover (its box).Packaging---------(was a downer). The box itself is not sealed.. The individual components are also not sealed in any way. No individual plastic wrap, etc.. The display on the radio was not covered by a peel-away film -- which *may* explain the slight scratch in my display.. The, rather heavy radio body was only separated from the top cover by the paper manual.Any hit to the center of the lid ~would~ hit the radio.(This is an alternative explanation for the slight scratch in the display).---I have a feeling that the box was pre-printed, en-mass, with best case scenarios in mind :-)The box says it is a 12-watt, tri-band (VHF, UHF, THF!) radio, with a powder blue screen. None of the things in the prior sentence are true; as detailed below.Display-------. As noted above, my display came with no plastic peel-away cover. And it came with a scratch. . The background does not have a powder-blue option as shown on the box cover. That is actually the color shown *when you photograph* the screen. You can see how my display actually looks in comparison, in the photo offset.You can however, switch the default color [Menu -> Color button] to one of the 3 "Baofengie" dark blue, purple and kind of an orangish-yellow.I do like that you can lock the display light on (Menu->LED->On). It is always frustrating with Baofengs how the screen shuts off (even at the highest delay setting) making night operation pretty difficult.The JT-5988 will not be a problem to use at night.I am not found of visible back-light bleed-in areas, which is shown on the right of the photo.To be fair, the screen does wear on you.In orange, is is lit pretty well and the information is pretty crisp.Other Items--------------. 4800 mAh battery.It has a high capacity battery.Now the battery was just loose and bouncing around in the box when it arrived, so we'll see if that impacts things.I am leaving it on to see how long it takes to die, just on RX, and will report back.The radio comes with a programming cable (and software).The software is also available here:https://s3.amazonaws.com/jt-5988/JT-5988+High+Mid+Low.rar(Note: The MD5 hash of the jt-598w.exe in the .rar, that I tested with 3 types of A/V software, is f69102eb786ccd754e45b82b36fa7a7d ).Operation Notes---------------. 12-wattsWell, this is the feature that drew me in.The idea of running around with a 12-watt handheld that did not have a 5 pound battery; or notebook-sized case sounded mighty appealing. Alas, it still just sounds mighty appealing.Tested on a MFJ-874, VHF TX hits around 9-10 watts.Not terrible mind you, but not 12 watts either.UHF is around 6.220 is .... Tri-BandThe actual radio shows support for VHF: 134-176MHz, UHF: 400-520MHz), printed within the radio's battery-well -- and on their website.I was not able to key in a 220-range frequency.Try as I might, I could not get the radio to take a 220 frequency.The radio just emits an "Error" voice message when you do.By the way: The box talks about THF (220-260). THF is (Tremendously High Frequency) or the 300 GHz - 3 THz range. Rest assured that this radio does not handle THF.I do not think it handles 220 either.. ScanI like how the scan works [Menu -> Scan (1 button)].It pauses long enough on a channel with activity for you to actually determine if there is something there of value. [unlike a Baofeng].t does what you think it should when pushing up-arr/down-arr & enter.You can stop to hear if something interesting is coming through on a channel by pressing enter and a subsequent enter to get it rolling again.. StepA nice range of step options 0.5kHz to 100kHz are available.The smallest step of .0005 (0.5kHz) actually gives you three steps from, say, 146.400 to 146.401. (The in-between step of .4005, does not alter the displayed number, but shows a teeney [50] next to the last digit. See photo.). Signal Strength iconThe 5 bar signal strength icon works like a Baofeng. That is -- not really. It is either on, or off; 5 bars are always displayed if it is shown. Actually -- if the signal strength is shaky, the icon will flicker onto and off of the screen rapidly (but still always shows 5 bars).Common Questions-----------------It seems that users are not sure how to set up repeater settings with this radio.Here are two ways to do it.01. By the menu:press Menu->3->030 T-CDC - set your transmit CTCSS code31 is the Shift (+, -, off)32 is the Offset number02. By the associated softwareSee photo.Website-------The manufacturer website is poor, both in navigation and in content -- at least as as the English version goes.The Amazon vendor H.R.G. has done a *much more* thorough job of getting together the radio's tips, software and related materials than the manufacturer does. All of this can be found back on the Amazon listing itself; although unfortunately only as text; not as clickable hyperlinks.Vendor------H.R.G. was easy to work with on follow up questions.They have also put together a quick reference to supplant the actual (shaky) printed manual. Again -- this is in the product listings text.Pros==== . A 10-watt VHF/UHF handheld for a $69-ish price. . Programming software and cable. . Ability to lock the LED (back-light) on. . Hefty feel to the radio. It feels like it can take a hit. . This vendor (H.R.G.) is pretty responsive.Cons==== . (How's this for a con?) As handhelds move towards exceeding 10 watts, be careful with any add-on antennas that you've bought before and want to use on them. Some of these, like the Nagoyas, have a Max power output of 10 watts, or less. Just be sure to check the specs on what you have before reusing... . Poor packaging. . Poor support website. . Box and ad claims 12-watts (but sure seems like 10). . Box claims cool powder blue screen (but it is Baofeng blue). . Box claims Tri-band (but I really think it is Dual-band).NOTE:I have seen that you may be able to enable the 220-range via the supplied software.If so, the phone gets a 4 out of 5.3 out of 5, if not.

Great battery life, solid construction, programming wasn't to hard to figure out with help from the Prepari video. I'm overall happy. I just wish the channel presets could be labeled.