The QYT KT-8R is a little bit of a sleeper radio that crept under most people’s radar. A quad-band radio with a large color screen with a 2000mAh battery for under $80. So what’s the catch? Let’s see.
The QYT KT-8R is a tall radio, I would say big, but it is about the same width and thickness as your standard UV-5R, just stretched upwards. It is about the same as if you bought a BL-5L extended battery for your UV-5R. A notable difference being the sides are curved on the vertical axis, making it surprisingly comfortable in your hand, even if you have large paws like mine.
Other than size, the impossible thing to miss on this radio is the huge color TFT screen measuring approximately 48mm in diagonal.
The QYT KT-8R is a little bit of a sleeper radio that crept under most people’s radar. A quad-band radio with a large color screen with a 2000mAh battery for under $80. So what’s the catch? Let’s see.
The QYT KT-8R is a tall radio, I would say big, but it is about the same width and thickness as your standard UV-5R, just stretched upwards. It is about the same as if you bought a BL-5L extended battery for your UV-5R. A notable difference being the sides are curved on the vertical axis, making it surprisingly comfortable in your hand, even if you have large paws like mine.
Other than size, the impossible thing to miss on this radio is the huge color TFT screen measuring approximately 48mm in diagonal.
Not only is the screen on the QYT KT-8R big and color, it also has an interesting display. Since it is vertical instead of most radios, which are horizontal, the display has been redesigned to provide more information than you would normally get. From top to bottom you can see a transmit power bar graph, under that is your standard fare such as transmit power level, wide or narrow indicator, and battery level.
Next is a reasonably large frequency display which for some reason has a 00 on the end of it. So if you are on 446.000 it actually displays 446.00000 with the last two zeros being much smaller than the others. Below that is the mode you are in such as VFO, and then it shows a display of your four bands and the frequency they are currently set on with a green arrow pointing to the one currently active. You can scroll through these using the blue EXIT button on the right. On the right of the is your DEC indication and battery voltage level. At the very bottom is the model number, which is replaced by a received signal strength display when a signal breaks squelch.
The buttons on the QYT KT-8R have a nice click to them when pressed but seem a little too hard to press. That is the same on the side buttons, except the PTT. The knobs on top are pretty nice, and I really like having two instead of just one, as the center can be used to adjust frequencies and navigate menus much faster than arrow buttons. That center knob though is a little too hard to turn, the click-stops are really strong. You absolutely can turn it, but there is just too much resistance. The volume and power knob, on the other hand, is nice and smooth with a reasonable click for the power.
Using the menu system is very reminicent of your standard Baofeng menus, with the nice addition of being able to scroll with the center knob. When you activate the menu, it appears on the bottom half of the screen in bright yellow. One thing that really caught my attention is the English voice prompts are actually very good English, with very little accent of any kind.
Flipping the radio around, the QYT KT-8R comes with a reasonable belt clip with a nice hook at the bottom to keep it from being accidentally knocked or pulled off your belt. This is especially helpful when getting in and out of your car, or when you are frequently bending over. The spring in the clip might be just a little too light but not bad.
I really like the way the battery attaches to the QYT KT-8R, it has a spring button on each side of the top of the battery. Press in on both buttons and the battery slides down and then pulls away. Replacing it is simple, putting the battery on the back and sliding up until it clicks. Easy-peasy.
The radio is fully CHIRP compatible and so is a breeze to program. The programming cable is just a standard Baofeng cable that virtually all Baofeng style radios use. I used mine from my old UV-5R that I have had for years and it worked just fine.
Performance:
As I have said too many times to count, antennas are always compromises. Nobody walks around with a 2m radio and an actual 2-meter-long antenna stuck to it. For a factory antenna on a quad-band radio, this one is actually not bad at all. You can clearly see it is optimized for 2m, 70cm, and probably 1.25m. The other range in the quad band is 350-390MHz, which in the US is not for amateur radio operators, but primarily military and commercial. Oops!
Power output on the QYT KT-8R is a nice 5.1 watts on 2m, and 3 watts on 70cm which makes it one of the few radios that advertise 5 watts and actually delivers. The spectrum analysis shows that power comes out in a reasonably accurate form, with quite a bit of spatter around it. This would indicate a transmitter a little on the cheaper side.
That cheap transmitter shows itself in the transmitted audio too, with a lot of sibilance, more than most other radios in this class. It is still understandable when you have a good signal, but if the signal is too strong, or you are right on the edge of maximum range, its just going to be a mess.
Images:
Radio Specifics:
| Screen readability | Very Good | |
| In-hand feel | Very Good | |
| Included antenna | Good | |
| Construction quality | Good | |
| Belt clip | Good | |
| Programmability | Very Good | |
| Transmit audio | CLICK TO LISTEN | |
| Frequency accuracy | 145.000 @ 145.000 | |
| Maximum power output 2m/70cm | 5.1 watts / 3 watts | |
| Actual weight | 243g | |
| Battery advertised mAh | 2000mAh | |
| Battery tested mAh | ||
| Radio manual | CLICK TO DOWNLOAD | |
| Programming software | CLICK TO DOWNLOAD | |
| Price based score 0-5 | 3.5 | |
| Overall score 0-10 | 3 |
Test Images:
If you are interested, click here for an article on how I test radios.
FEATURES:
- Quad-band radio
- 200 Channels
- Large color screen
- CHIRP compatible
- Large battery
- 5W output
- Desktop charger
| PROS: | CONS: |
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One concern I have is that the QB-8R battery is not widely available. Ebay and AliExpress seem to be about the only two places I can find one. If you take care of the battery it should last you many years, but if something happens, and you need one a year or two down the road, I am not sure if it will be available. QYT is not like Baofeng or Yaesu in that they sell so many radios, there will be a lot of aftermarket battery manufacturers.
Conclusions
Would I recommend the radio? Sure, if you wanted a pretty good radio on three bands you can transmit on, this one will fit the bill and not break the bank in the process. It has a lot to like and not a lot to dislike. It doesn’t have USB-C charging but does come with a drop-in charger which I prefer anyway. Furthermore, it’s a good value for the price.
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