TYT TH-9000
Opinion
Ordered one on 2012/03/23 from Radio-Mart, along with a USB cable. Total including shipping was $180.
I've had this radio for a couple weeks now, and have been quite pleased with it. It's slightly larger overall than the Alinco DR-235T MkIII (145mm x 47mm x 190mm vs the Alinco's 142mm x 40mm x 174mm), but not nearly as much as the clunky, fat-assed Jetstream_JT220M (note: need actual dimensions of JT220M, I don't think the published ones are correct).
My basic impression of the radio is that it has a good, solid feel. The audio is somewhat compressed according to on-the-air reports, but not objectionable. You'll need a cheat-sheet for the F1..F5 keys, since they're labeled F1 through F5 (and since they're programmable, you'll need some way to remember what functions if you've re-assigned them). The radio's user interface is awkward; you'll definitely want to use the PC programming software to manage this (note that the current version does not allow setting the display color, and will revert it to blue after each programming). In spite of what appears to be some limitations in the usability, I still like it better than then JT220M (Of course, a crystal controlled rig would be an improvement over that radio). The DR-235T is still my favorite, but 55+ watts and $70 cheaper is a compelling argument.
Functionally, the radio appears to be a clone of the Jetstream_JT220M, but with a few updates. There is a lot more functionality is supported on the microphone of this radio than the JT220M or the DR-235T, but the keys don't act as you expect, and they're probably not worth bothering with. It's interesting to note that the displays in all three radios are nearly identical. I suspect the Alinco is the original, and the other two companies bought or cloned the glass.
Once nice thing over both the other radios is that the TH-9000 has moved into the '90's, and uses an RJ-45 connector instead of the 8-pin round connector. It also looks like the TH-9000 supports separate transmit and receive PL frequencies, although I have not tested this.
Unlike the DR-235T and the JT220M, you can't set the alpha tag on a memory via the front panel. This has to be done through the software package. The DR-235T also has a nice feature in that if you press the 'Func' key on a memory with the alpha tag, it will show the actual numeric value for 5 seconds. This functionality is not present on the TH-9000 (which, actually, is one of the only things I personally find really lacking).
All three radios support an "alarm" feature, where if you pull a plug out of the alarm jack, it will start transmitting. This is about as useless a feature as I can imagine on a radio, and I'd just as soon they put the effort into improving the UI or something more useful. I suppose it's all a marketing thing because you release a new radio with less features than a competitor, even if they're ones that nobody ever uses.
It appears that the Vero VR-2200 is a re-branded TH-9000. The KST KM-9000 seems to be another.
Now if only we could get one of them to make a model with a remoteable head...
Notes
The "T" style power connector, which at first glance appears to the same as used on any Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, Alinco or other mobile radio is NOT. If you look closely at the "T" connectors, you'll see the male pin is offset to one side on the leg of the 'T' and offset towards the top on the bar of the 'T'. The TYT connector is completely opposite; the leg pin is to the other side, and the bar pin is opposite. Any existing power cords you own will not work. OTOH, I personally believe in chopping off those connectors and replacing them with Anderson Power Pole connectors.
The radio's dimensions are 145mm(W) x 47mm(H) x 190mm(D) / 5.71(W) x 1.85(H) x 7.45"(D)
The Golden One GY-1907MU and Golden One GY-1907MV are UHF and VHF versions of the TYT-9000. A 220MHz version appears to exist.
Information Pages
Accessories
None yet
Software
Manuals, Schematics, Etc
- TH-9000 Owners Manual
(18.66 MB) (Direct From TYT) - TH-9000 Schematics 1 (316 KB)
- TH-9000 Schematics 2 (3.6 MB)
- VR-2200 Product Brochure (1.44 MB) (Clone of TH-9000)
