Radtel RT-470x Review

I decided to start my reviews of Radtel radios with the Radtel RT-470x because it was the closest radio I saw to the current Baofeng lineup. I wanted to save the radios that looked substantially different for later. And this radio definitely has a lot of similarities to several of the Baofengs that I have reviewed recently.

Starting off, the basic size and shape is definitely Baofeng-like, and it even feels like one in the hand. It fits fairly well and has no sharp edges that poke me when I use it, even the extended battery is nicely sloped. My index finger falls right on the PTT button, as it should, and has no issue pressing it. The edges of the clip are also well-rounded.

The belt clip has plenty of spring tension without being too difficult, and has an L shape at the bottom to keep it on your belt. I do prefer hooks compared to the L shape as they tend to stay on my belt better when moving around, getting in and out of the car, and bending over. This one feels reasonably sturdy and has an interesting finish.

The buttons on the front of the Radtel RT-470x feel good and have an excellent tactile click when pressed. They are a little close together for my big fingers and seem a little small. The buttons on the side feel good, and unlike some of the newer radios I’ve played with lately, the PTT button presses even when pushed at the very top or very bottom of the button.

The screen seems like the same 1.77 -in color LCD that is used by a lot of these type radios today. It is bright, and the colors are well saturated, and like most of these you cannot read the screen when the backlight is off. I do like the fact that they made good use of the screen real estate, making the frequency numbers very large. My old eyes are very thankful. It is also one of the radios where you can not change the screen timeout from the radio, you have to connect it to a computer to change, and I hate that.

Since this radio has a little heft to it and what appears to be an extended battery, that gives it a pretty wide base to sit on. It sits well on the desk with virtually no chance of falling over unless you whack it. I do find the bottom a little slick and on a smooth desktop surface it can slide quite a bit. Of course, that’s not unusual for these radios, either.

The menu system on the Radtel RT-470x will seem extremely familiar for anyone using some of the new Baofeng radios. I am quite sure that it is using the same, or extremely close to the same, firmware as the others. The good news is that unlike some of them, when you press the menu button the menu takes up the bottom half of the screen, and is in a nice white font that is easy to read on the black background. Navigating the menu works exactly like any Baofeng radio and is easy to navigate with extremely familiar terms.

There appears to be two versions of this radio, an old PCB and a new one. While the CPS software and chirp will program either of the two versions, you need to be careful with firmware updates. You can look in the menu for your current firmware version and if it is a 1.x you have the older version and if it is a 2.x you have the newer version. Radtell warns if you attempt to flash an old PCB with a new version 2.x firmware, you will brick the radio.

— Find out what battery fits the Radtel RT-470x with our battery finder tool —

If you want to use your computer to program the Radtel RT-470x, I recommend you use CHIRP, although Radtel’s CPS is not bad. I really like the flexibility that CHIRP gives me to program hundreds of different radios, and since so many people use it, if I have any questions there are a lot of forums to provide answers.

Whatever you choose to use to program the radio, it uses a standard two pin programming cable that virtually all Baofeng style radios use. I used the one that came with my original Baofeng UV-5R radio, well over 10 years ago.

Performance:

The Radtel RT-470x puts out 4.4w on 2 m, and 1.6w on 70 cm. Since most people use two meters substantially more than 70 cm, this will fit most people just fine.

The antenna on this radio, while being tri-band, is a pretty poor antenna on any frequency. No factory antenna is very good, but this one is particularly poor. With just over -10 return loss at 2 m and just under -10 at 70 cm, and around two for SWR it 2 m and well over two for SWR on 70 cm, it should be replaced fairly quickly if you want any kind of good performance.

The spectrum analysis of the Radtel RT-470x surprise me. The transmitted signal is fairly compact, extremely stable, and not terribly spread out. It is probably better than most radios in its class.

Unfortunately, the spurious emissions tell a different story. Its overall score is quite a bit lower than the average Baofeng radio. In fact, the first harmonic just under 300 megahertz is only about two dBm below the actual transmitted signal. Not only is this way out of FCC specifications, just this one spurious emission (of which there are several) is eating up almost 40% of your transmitted power. That is power that is not carrying your voice to the receiving radio, and is generating heat and draining your battery with no benefit.

Images:

Radio Specifics:

Test Images:

• 1.77″ Color screen
• Double PTT button
• USB-C charging
• AM air band receive
• 2m/1.25m/70cm TX
• FM radio
• Wireless frequency copy
• Updatable firmware
• Flashlight
• NOAA weather reception and alert

My Radtel RT-470x did not come with a drop in charger, however, the battery has drop in charger contacts on the back, so one may be available. As is the fashion these days, there are probably kits with so many different accessories that it’s hard to keep count. If you need to drop in charger, you can probably find one.

Of course, the radio is USB-C chargeable with a port on the bottom of the battery. It seems to charge well, although the battery only tests to hold 1408mAh instead of the rated 2800mAh. Oddly enough, it is also a 5 volt battery instead of the standard of 7.4 volts.

Conclusions

Would I recommend the Radtel RT-470x? I would have to say no. While I like some of the niceties and how well the buttons and knob work, I just can’t find anything this radio does well. Even though the transmitted signal is fairly clean, the spurious emissions eat probably half of your transmitted power. Add to that a terrible antenna that you would most definitely have to replace immediately. Lastly, the battery has almost exactly half of the milliamp hour capacity it’s rated for and a color screen that is going to use more battery life than a radio with a standard monochrome screen, and it will  leave you starving for battery fairly quickly.

Here are some reviews of the radio!