Digital radios best for Mountaineering:

Anytone AT-DP468 DPMR Radio with GPS

These are digital/analog radios. This radio is purpose built for Mountaineering activites such as ACMG Guiding, Search and Rescue, and AT Skiing (ski mountaineering). In conjunction with Peak Alpine, we are currently field testing four of these units. These are not HAM radios. These are not the same as a 'SPOT' in that they do not uplink to a satellite (they communicate with other radios or base stations either digitally (when the other radios are digitally capable, or, 'DPMR'), or analog). They will be for sale when they are granted FCC Type approval*.

In addition to having the regular dual band radio features, it has some of the following features:

  • Cross Band Repeat
  • GPS
  • 'Upend' (tilt) Alarm (for example, when you fall into a tree well, it sends an alarm and GPS co-ordinates out on your pre-set alarm frequency). Tilt angle alarm trigger can be set.
  • Digital Messaging
  • Altimeter
  • Compass
  • Multi Band receive for FM, short wave, aircraft, and AM band (can be used for long range lightning detection when used with long wire antenna).
  • Digital messaging (preset messages, Inbox and Outbox)
  • Contact List
  • Privacy calling via KDC Code (for example, transmitting victim details to rescue base).
  • Encryption
  • Time Zone
  • Temperature
  • Vibrate

Testing results:

We have field tested a couple of these units during the 2015-16 Ski season, and have found the following:

  • The digital protocols are ASELP/AMBE+2c, and are not D-Star compatible. Range is better than D-Star.
  • The upend alarm works in digital and analog mode. Only in digital mode does it send out the GPS co-ordinates and radio identification number to other radios via the messaging function. The GPS co-ordinates are in digital format and need to be converted to UTM's. Time out length for reading the digital message max is 30 seconds. These factors make it problematic using the radio as a tree well alarm in digital mode, and it's easiest to just use it in analog for tree well alarm.
  • Shaking the radio hard can momentarily trigger the upend alarm.
  • The volumne dial does not need much pressure to adjust it, and does not lock with keypad.
  • No temperature sensor
  • Has Altitude and Compass functions that can be calibrated
  • Cannot cross-band repeat in digital mode
  • Sometimes we found GPS accuracy to be compromised by tree canopy, indicating it was not aquiring enough satellites.

Conclusion

The overall build quality and ergonomics of this model are slightly better than the 3318 models in that they have made the rubber side panel more waterproof, the belt clip screws onto the radio frame instead of the battery, and the channel selector knob locks when you lock the keypad. As a seat of the pants observation: battery life is noticably better than the 3318, possibly because of the digital option. This shares, along with the 3318'D' model, the ability to be setup as a cross band repeater.

The GPS co-ordinates are sent out in only one format (Radio sends: W11534.29 N5110.141.397, you then need to convert it to DMS (51 10'14"N 115 34'29"W) or digital format (51.1705556 -115.5747223)). If you want to transcribe that from a digital upend alarm message in the field, it might take you more time than just finding a missing partner after you receive an analog alarm that has no digital ID or co-ordinates. Having to drill down to a message that spreads the GPS co-ordinates out over two windows that times out after 30 seconds is frustrating. Sometimes when the digital alarm goes off, it is preceeded with a less than helpful Chinese voice message.

Who should consider this radio in its present form?
If you were considering the 3318, but would like to have the additional ability to text preset messages, talk to someone else in your group privately, or use the upend alarm in analog mode then this model may be better for you. But keep in mind, you'll need another of the same model to do that. For that reason we'll only sell these in pairs. There is no obvious downside to owning this model over a 3318 other than the additional cost, but there is a bit of a form factor upside. However, if you wanted to have the upend alarm perform flawlessly by sending the victim's location, or you wanted to talk to other Motorola digital radios, you'd probably be disappointed. We got the first models of this radio to come off the assembly line and have sent feedback to the manufacturer, so it would be reasonable to expect them to improve over time.