TidRadio TD-H3 Multi-Band Transceiver Review

The screen, as you might imagine, is also pretty small but does make up for that with a very bright, colorful, and clear screen. While I did have a problem quickly using the buttons because of the small text, I had no such issue with the screen. Odd feeling, needing my readers for the buttons but not the screen.

Speaking of the screen, the Tidradio TD-H3 has one of the really common setups with the screen in that when it turns off the “backlight” the whole screen goes black. Of course, you can change this behavior with Menu > 5. Backlight and setting it to your desired timeout or Cont to have the light on continuously.

The battery in the Tidradio TD-H3 is marked at 2500mAh, so hopefully that will keep the screen on a while, even when set to continuously. While we are talking about the battery, I will point out that this is one of the best attaching batteries I have used. It comes on and off quickly and easily but is held on extremely well.

The button layout on the side of the Tidradio TD-H3 is good, and they feel firm enough to stop accidental presses but easy enough to use without hassle. I like the placement of the PTT at the top as it really helps my hand position.

Using the menu of the Tidradio TD-H3 is typical of Baofeng type radios, featuring the same basic settings. If you are familiar with Baofeng style menus, then you will be right at home here. I like the fact that they tuck the menu system in underneath the main frequency display. You may think this makes it harder to use because it is smaller and under a bunch of stuff, however the sharpness and clarity of the screen makes this a non-issue.

My only complaint with the screen is the word POWER in the upper right corner. I almost can’t read that without reading glasses and wish they made that a different color other than the dark red that blends into the background it currently is. That’s a small nitpick, but there it is anyway.

The Tidradio TD-H3 charges with a USB-C port on the bottom of the battery and comes with a USB charging brick and cable. It has contacts on the back of the battery, but you need to check the bundle you are ordering, or you might not get a drop-in charger, so check first.

Let’s talk about the performance of the Tidradio TD-H3, which is surprisingly good for a sub $40 radio.

The spectrum analysis shows output is pretty smooth and concentrated pretty much right where it is supposed to be. While the Tidradio TD-H3 is no high-end Yaesu, Kenwood, or Icom, it holds its own and provides a cleaner and better signal than a lot of the rivals at this price point.

The transmitted audio of the radio is pretty good, with a little sibilance which is not at all uncommon on all but the best radios. Received audio coming out of its little speaker is better than I expected from such a small source and is pretty clear.

Where there is a problem is the antenna included with the Tidradio TD-H3, which is pretty bad. The chart below shows very low return loss and high SWR on both 2m and 70cm. I suppose this is the price you pay for trying to cover so many frequencies in receive. If I were going to use this as a daily carry, I would absolutely replace the antenna, as I really only use 2m and 70cm on a daily basis. Your mileage may vary.

Test Results:

• 8 Band receive, dual-band transmit (2m / 70cm)
• Call alert
• USB-C charging and programming
• Wireless radio replication
• Bluetooth programming and firmware upgrade
• 1.44″ Color screen
• Dual PTT
• Built-in flashlight

One thing I am not really keen on is to download the programming software for the Tidradio TD-H3 from Tidradio, they want you to have an account. I am not sure why that is, but like you, I already have far too many accounts and don’t need any more. In addition, far too many companies use this as a way to get your information so they can opt you in to a spam list by default.

I believe I will pass on the whole account thing. The good news here is that the Tidradio TD-H3 is fully supported by CHIRP, so programming software is covered.

A bonus feature is that you can download the Odmaster software by Tidradio from your app store on your phone or tablet and program the radio from there. Personally, I prefer a large screen and to use one program for most of my programming, but I will admit, this works extremely well and is dead simple to use.

I do find it interesting that for the Odmaster software, you do not have to create an account to use it, although they recommend it. After opening the software, it asks you to log in, but there is a big blue button that allows you to skip this step.

Conclusions

My first impression out of the box is that the Tidradio is a nice, small form-factor, dual-band radio with some nice features for a bargain price. Using it for a while, that opinion hasn’t changed. Are there things I don’t like? Of course! No radio, especially in this price range, is everything I want in a radio.

So would I recommend it? Absolutely! At this price, it is a fantastic deal on a solid radio that should cover everything you need a basic dual-bander to do. This is particularly true for the newcomer to ham radio as it has all the features you need at a fantastic price, and drop-dead simple programming with the app using Bluetooth.

The Tidradio TD-H3 is an extremely good value.

Here are some reviews of the Tidradio TD-H3!