Retevis RB17V MURS Radio Review

One of the things I really like about the Retevis RB17V is that it just feels good in the hand. It is solid well-built doesn’t have any hard edges and is easy to use. When you’re looking for a MERS radio, a radio you can hand to anybody and tell them which channel to turn to, and it just works this is the type of radio you’re thinking of. The edges have been rounded so that nothing pokes you while you’re using it. Even with my large hands it fits pretty well.

The only buttons you’ll really find on this radio are on the side and one on the top. My only complaint is that the PTT button could use a little more resistance and have a little more of a click to it. This is being kind of nitpicky, as it works very well. On top, you have two knobs, the one on the left allowing you to switch between channels one and five, the one on the right is power and volume. Both of them work excellently.

Well there is no display to speak of, they have made good use of that area for an excellent sounding speaker. You will have no trouble hearing, and understanding transmissions.

A very nice feature of the Retevis RB17V, that you probably take for granted on most radios, is the belt clip. The spring has just the right amount of tension, it is just long enough to catch most belts, and it has an excellent little hook at the bottom insuring it does not come off your belt are released from your pocket accidentally. I know this sounds minor, but the majority of radios I pass out for people to use wind up hitting the floor at some point. An excellent clip goes a long way to minimizing that issue.

The battery on the Retevis RB17V is a nice chunky heavy battery. This gives the entire radio some heft and gives you an extremely long talk time. While the battery says it’s 4400 milliamp hours it actually tests out at 3,230 milliamp hours which is still a considerable amount of battery power for this little radio.

The radio comes with a battery that is USB-C chargeable. It also has contacts and slots for a drop in desktop charger. My unit did not include the desktop charger, however I have seen some kits that do. If you plan on using this in a business environment, then a desktop charger makes sense. I only have a few of these, so the USB-C charger is more than sufficient.

Performance:

Looking at the performance of the Retevis RB17V, we start with the antenna. Unlike most inexpensive radios, the antenna on the Retevis RB17V is specifically designed for its frequency range. This means it does very well in that range, and doesn’t waste effort on bands that it doesn’t transmit in. While certainly not a perfect antenna, it is more than sufficient for daily use.

The spectrum analysis shows a reasonably good signal that is slightly inconsistent. It is, however, better than most Baofeng radios. I am not sure how much of a benchmark that actually is, but there it is anyway.

Although the radio only transmits about two Watts, it does so fairly efficiently. While it does have spurious emissions, they are reasonably low for a budget radio. This allows for maximum power transmission on frequency, and more longevity to the electronics of the radio.

Images:

Radio Specifics:

Test Images:

• All 5 MURS channels
• 4400mAh battery
• VOX function
• Emergency alarm
• 9 step squelch

There is no programming of this radio since it only has five channels and those five channels are MERS channels. There  also is no FM radio, or weather stations. This is a radio that does the one thing it’s made for, and does it pretty well, for a reasonable price.

Conclusions

So would I recommend the Retevis RB17V? Absolutely! This is an extremely well-built radio, that performs very well, for a reasonable amount of money. For what it’s for, and the price you pay, I’m having a really hard time finding any faults. Yes, you can get radios that do more. Yes, you can find radios that are less expensive. No, you aren’t going to find anything better for less.

Here are some reviews of the radio!