The sale ends the day he hits order again. One more box A, one more box C, and a Radioddity GD-168 he has been watching. The 168 is a kit, and the price is why. He could probably have asked for one to review. He buys gear too. That is part of how the later review units happen.
A G90, ordered a couple of weeks ago on the same Black Friday run, is the other box he is waiting on. It landed at JFK. It came from China, a week or so in the pipe. Tomorrow, or Friday at the latest. He is recording on a Wednesday, which is the only calendar the viewer gets. The 168 and mystery box A shipped from China as well. They are in a carrier’s hands and have not made the plane. Box C went through Amazon. That one is here. He will open it and sit on the file until the rest shows up, so this is one video and not a string of them.
The Gateway Radio
Radioddity asked what he was going to use for the Winlink gateway. A Retevis RT95. They told him no. The new one is the DB50, and they would ship it when the warehouse had them. He said send it. It left yesterday, in the air toward New York City, then to him. He thinks that is the last piece. Radio, antenna, mounts, computer. He still has to apply before the gateway is legal. The video is the one to watch for.
When he describes it he calls it the DB50B. Fifty watts. 2 meters and 70 centimeters. GPS. APRS. A Bluetooth KISS TNC, and Bluetooth programming from their app. No screen on the face. The screen is on the microphone. Firmware over the air. A USB-A port on the radio that can charge something else. The same computer can hold the APRS iGate. He does not think it will be the Pi this time. A Dell mini OptiPlex they got free when the local 911 center cleared out equipment. An i3 or an i5. He would have to look. He has already put an SSD in it and more memory. Windows comes off. Linux. Maybe Proxmox. Gateways on top of that. Comments if that video should move up.
The 17R Plus
Knife on the far side of the tape. He stops to check the value and the computer will not scroll. He first reads a number that is not a radio price. Box A is the $219.99 list. Back to the carton. Heavy. A Baofeng. A UV-17R Plus. They do not have one. A microphone in the same carton is the 168 kit, and he says so before anyone files it under the mystery box.
The face is the mini’s face, and the radio is not a mini. He holds them up. USB-C on the back of the battery. A screw that makes him think waterproof, or at least resistant. The usual headset. The antenna is flexible, which is not the Baofeng whip he expected. Belt clip. A small charging brick and a USB cable with the green plugs the minis used. Not the large brick. A thick manual, more than one language by the look of it. He sees dual watch before the page loads.
The list is back. Box C, a $199 value, and this is the 17R with the extra cable and antenna. The cable they mean is the USB-C lead. There is another 17R on the page. This is the Plus. A dollar between them. $25.99 and $26.99.
The sales page, as he reads it: multiband, airband, 5 watts, NOAA, wireless copy, 2500 milliamp-hours, USB-C, CHIRP. FM and AM. Airband receive. 220 on receive and not on transmit. Receive ranges he reads through 350 to 390 and 400 to 520. Transmit on 2 meters and 70 centimeters. Another radio for the spectrum analyzer, whenever he gets through the pile. Spurious emissions, and whether they are clean. The Plus battery is 2500. The one that is not the Plus is 1800. Single pack, the upgraded antenna. A dual pack exists. DTMF, a voice scrambler, the headset. He is not the FBI.
Subscribe, and be on the live, if the radio should go to someone else. He will pick the recording up when the next carton lands.
Ten Days
He calls it ten years. It has been ten days. The pile is the second mystery box, the radio he bought, the radio they sent for the project, and a small pink one he thinks is Amazon and not part of this wait.
The pink label says California. It came from China, then the West Coast, then a shipper he will not recommend where he lives. The driver today was fine. All three packages sat in a Syracuse warehouse for four days. Customer service sent a generic note. Busy season. Weather. He asked them to confirm the suite. This carrier leaves boxes at other suites, in the grass against the building, sometimes with no photo. Once at a different address. Once in a pair of hands in the parking lot, and the photo is the hands. He offered to pick them up. They did not answer that, or the part about a snowstorm and a plow pile. The cartons are not cheap. He is glad of the UPS driver, the FedEx driver, the occasional DHL driver, and the mail carrier, who leaves with a full bag because of the businesses in the building.
Bubble wrap. Something for a different project, and he puts it back. He has a sound effect and would rather make the noise himself. Not Meshtastic. A sneak peek and nothing else.
The next carton is the one Radioddity sent after they asked to be the radio in a project he was already shooting. Winlink, and probably the APRS iGate that the Pi video just built. DB50B. New, and sealed well enough that the Winlink video is where it comes out of the wrap. The bracket is the mounting piece. Dual band, 2 meters and 70 centimeters, Bluetooth TNC, and the computer is sitting there for the software. A small box is a Bluetooth PTT. Review later, and the install later.
The last carton is the mystery box and the GD-168, bought together. He thinks the mystery piece was group A and he is not opening the website again. A 168 combo means accessories. A gooseneck, which he believes is the 168’s. He bought one because the mystery boxes never produced one. Not everything arrives free. A label he cannot place turns out to be a cup-holder mount, and he thinks that is the bundle too. He does not remember the list. The bundle was about $60 under the radio alone, so he took the bundle.
The GD-168 is small. Review, setup, and programming are another video. DMR. They already own DMR radios that are UHF only or otherwise fussy. One of them is a pain and still earns a place in emergency communications because it travels. This 168 is not the mystery.
One box left. The item is gone from the site. Sold out. He wants them to do it again. Brown carton. A pair of HD1s. He had been about to ask his contact for a set to review. They are not ham radios. They were on the list, and he knew that. FRS. The grandkids, lately, hear FT8 in the background and decide it is aliens. These they can key. The cases feel solid and look sealed. USB-C, once he reads the diagram. A cradle came with them. He does not need the large supply. One cable, two ends, both radios, one block. They may live in a truck emergency pack. A video is already planned around the two minis in a small medic pouch on the couch. The back panel comes off, which is why the pouch would not open. Two HD1s will not sit side by side. The other side has a pocket. A mini fits next to one of them. He puts the radio back. Belt clips. One of them has a charge. PTT on the front and on the side. What he thinks is the PTT is the volume. Headphone jack. Channel, call, monitor, scan, menu. The speaker is too loud and he says so.
Worth the wait. Not a ham radio, and he is fine with it. He wanted the pair. The last mystery box of the sale was the one everyone could have predicted from the list. Five hundred subscribers, on the live, present, or the drawing does not include you.
Transcript
Last day of the Radioddity mystery-box sale. One more A, one more C, and a GD-168 kit he has wanted. He buys gear, not only review units. A G90 bundle from a couple of weeks ago is at JFK, from China. Tomorrow or by Friday. He is recording on a Wednesday. The 168 and box A are still in China. Box C came through Amazon today. He will hold the video for the rest.
The Winlink radio was going to be a Retevis RT95. Radioddity is shipping a DB50 instead. It left the warehouse yesterday. He calls it the DB50B when he lists it. Fifty watts, 2 meters and 70 centimeters, GPS, APRS, Bluetooth KISS TNC, Bluetooth programming, display on the mic, wireless firmware, a USB-A charge port. The iGate may share that computer. Not the Pi. A Dell mini OptiPlex, i3 or i5, free from the local 911 center, SSD and extra memory already in it. Linux, maybe Proxmox. He still has to apply for the gateway.
Box C. He misreads the value, then finds the $199 list. Box A is up to $219.99. A UV-17R Plus. A mic in the carton is for the 168 kit. Bigger than the mini, similar face, USB-C battery, a screw he reads as water resistance, flexible antenna, small charger, green plugs, thick manual, dual watch. The Plus with extra cable and antenna is $25.99. Another 17R is $26.99. Five watts, NOAA, wireless copy, 2500 milliamp-hours against 1800, CHIRP, airband receive, 220 receive only, transmit on 2 meters and 70 centimeters. Scrambler on the sheet. Spectrum analyzer later. Subscribe and be on the live.
Ten days later. A pink Amazon box is not this project and not Meshtastic. The shipper held three cartons in Syracuse for four days. Bad drops, a photo of hands, no answer when he offered to pick them up. UPS, FedEx, DHL, and the mail carrier get the thanks. The DB50B stays wrapped. Bracket, Bluetooth TNC, a Bluetooth PTT in a small box. The GD-168 was purchased. Bundle about $60 under the bare radio. Gooseneck and a cup-holder mount he thinks belong to it. Review later. DMR. The last mystery box is sold out. Two HD1s. FRS. Grandkids, FT8, aliens. USB-C, one cable for both, hard case. Truck kit, maybe, and cheaper radios for the kids. Two will not fit the medic pouch side by side. One fits next to a mini. Already charged. Loud. Not ham, and he wanted them anyway. Drawing at 500 subscribers, on the live.
Frequently Asked Questions
What showed up the day he filmed the first half?
Box C, through Amazon. A UV-17R Plus they did not already own, plus a microphone that belongs to the GD-168 kit he ordered at the same time. He puts the box value at $199 after a figure that comes out as $1.99. Box A, the one still in China, is the one listed up to $219.99. The G90 is a separate Black Friday bundle, already at JFK.
What was in the last mystery carton?
A brown box with two HD1s. He knew FRS radios were on the list and had been about to ask his contact for a pair to review. The case looks sealed. USB-C charging, a cradle in the box, one cable that can hit both radios, one block. One of them already has a charge. PTT on the front and on the side. He apologizes for the speaker. The grandkids have been listening to FT8 and calling it aliens. These can actually be keyed. He is also building an emergency pouch around the two minis, and one HD1 fits beside a mini.
Did Radioddity give him the GD-168?
No. He bought it, with a bundle, because none of the mystery boxes had produced one. The bundle was about $60 less than the radio by itself. He does not remember every piece. A gooseneck antenna and a cup-holder mount are in that shipment and he thinks they belong to the bundle. The review, the programming, and the DMR features are another video. They already have DMR radios that are UHF only or otherwise limited, including one that is awkward and still useful for emergency communications because it is portable.