Abbree AR-318 Mini Mobile Radio Review

If there is one thing I hate about my own blog is that I seldom have time to review things I purchase with my own money.  I almost always have 2 or 3 items either on the table or inbound at any given time.  The tech that I buy with my own cash gets pushed way down the list.  One such item is the Abbree AR-318 Mini Mobile Radio ($77).

I could spend a week researching the origins of this radio who makes it, and who rebrands it. It seems to be identical to the Baojie BJ-318.  Searching for information is not as easy as it should be though.  So far I haven’t uncovered a ton of usable information other than a product manual.

Setup

I got mine from the Abbree AR-318 link above.  When I went to program it I initially thought it had to be done manually.  And in fact I did program in a couple of local repeaters manually.  A popular radio programming software, CHIRP does not list the AR-318 as supported.  However, the Baojie BJ-318 does seem to be supported.

Ok, now I am pretty confused.  Had I bought the Baojie from Amazon (for the same price) I would have also gotten a programming cable. And I would have gotten it a heck of a lot faster. Took me a month or two to get this.   So i ordered this cable to see if it would work.

Spoiler Alert:  It worked perfectly.  So these are the same radios and I was able to program it quickly using the RepeaterBook functionality in CHIRP.

Hearing Protection

When I first powered the Abbree AR-318 on it let loose a beep that scared me senseless..  The beeps were SOOOOOO loud as to not be even a tiny bit amusing.  But like any good radio with Menus you can silence the beep and it was literally the first thing I did after powering it up.

Who Makes This?

I’m working on that.  I finally found a manual for the Baojie BJ-318 and there is no manufacturer info nor an FCC ID number in the documentation.  The sticker on my radio shows:

Xiamen Aorui Electronics Co., Ltd

Looking that manufacturer up in the FCC ID Database shows 4 radios and none of them being the AR-318.  I can find no FCC ID info on this radio.  Pretty sure this is something you can certainly buy but is not necessarily “legal” to use in the United States.

Unlocked

The frequency range of this radio is:

• VHF: 136 MHz – 174 MHz
• UHF: 400 MHz – 490 MHz

That means the radio is unlocked and you can program in MURS and GMRS frequencies.  You are NOT supposed to do this however, this is a developing trend in the amateur radio market.  People want radios that are hackable, and that can do everything.   That is clearly against Part 95 FCC regulations, but, hey, just about every inexpensive radio you can buy off the internet is that way now.

Power Output

Listed power output claims are

Low≈ 5 W, Medium ≈ 10 W, High ≈ 25 W

We will check that out in a second but I should note that if you use CHIRP to program the radio their manual states the following:

The individual channel power settings are ignored’ by the radio. The BJ-318 CHIRP software only allows setting individual channel power to Low (5W) or High (25W). Once uploaded, and a channel is active, manually change power levels using microphone control in VFO mode or front panel.

So CHIRP users should beware that they may have to manually change power settings.  Also know that if someone claims to have a 25 watt radio that the reality of that is always going to be a little less than advertised.

Let’s look at the power outputs using a dummy load. First let’s look at VHF (146.610 MHz).  It is showing 17.23 watts on high power setting.  So certainly not 25 watts.

VHF

UHF

Looks like my power output is 10.6 at 449.875 MHz on high power.  Certainly not 25 watts either.  I feel like this should be higher and I triple checked that I was on high power.  It should be higher than VHF output though as is usually the norm.

While you may be thinking “this is unacceptable”, it really is kind of the norm with these inexpensive dual band radios from China.  I will admit this radio is probably on the low end of that average though.  Additionally, I don’t have an oscilloscope so I can’t really tell what the 2nd, and 3rd order harmonics are.  I have seen some YouTuber’s show that it is surprising clean output.

What Is Great About This Radio

In a world of super expensive base station and mobile amateur radios I wouldn’t shed a whole lot of tears if someone stole a $77 dollar radio or if it just stopped working.  It is perfect for my truck and camper.  While I certainly wish I had the best of the best the fact is this is a highly functional radio FOR THE COST.   If you want better, buy an iCom or a Yaesu.

Another great feature is that the power consumed won’t melt your automotive wiring and you can power this from your cigarette lighter 12 volt DC port in your vehicle.

Should You Buy The Abbree AR-318?

I can go either way on this one.  I bought one and it is doing duty in my truck now.  It is easy to remove especially since it is powered from the 12 volt DC port and like I said if I left the window down and ran in the grocery and came back and it was gone I don’t think I’d shed a tear.

But it works and I can hit my local repeaters with it and THAT IS WHAT MATTERS.  Radio is always very subjective based on your location.  My location is SURROUNDED by trees and I’m right on the edge of the Croatan National Forest.   My location may work great, and your location may not work so well.  Again, subjective.