BTECH GMRS-20V2 20W 200 Fully Customizable Channels Mobile GMRS Two-Way Radio. IP67 Submersible Waterproof, Repeater Compatible, Dual Band Scanning (VHF/UHF), FM, & NOAA Weather Broadcast Receiver

Nice quality radio. Very compact footprint for the base, fits well under dash and out of sight. Mic is hard to read but it simply takes getting used to. Manual seems to be comprehensive but YouTube videos help understanding how to use it.

The radio is what I expected after reading and watching various reviews on Amazon and YouTube. The menus are very similiar to the Boafeng/Btech handhelds. Programing is easy if you use CHIRP. You can copy and past frequencies from your other radios in the 20V2 img file. The only issue I seem to have discovered is the kill function. I was going through the settings for the radio in CHIRP and disabled all DTMF transmit and receive. When I upload the new settings back to the radio, it is killed or locked. The easy but annoying fix is to image your radio as soon as you get it out of the box and save the original image as a separate file. I can reload the original settings back via CHIRP and then update the channel line up. All is well as long as I dont tweak with the DTMF settings in CHIRP and upload the changes to the radio. CHIRP has updated twice since I first received the radio. I suspect the kill issue could be a bug in the CHIRP software with one of the recent updates. Time will tell.

Installed this in a side by side. So far I have not had any issues. Device does appear to work as indicated. Also seems to be pretty water resistant as well as it had been rained on, splashed and no issues. Pretty clear audio and pretty good reception. Would like to have some more features on the radio itself.

I bought the 20V2 to install in a Ford Explorer because of its compact form factor and good programability compared to a more basic radio such as the similar options from Midland. I also was not sure how much I would use a vehicle mounted unit, so was not interested in investing a large amount of money in it. Form factor was critical because my Explorer does not have any practical or convenient place to cleanly mount a traditional mobile two-way radio. I will admit that I was not as enthused with this radio initially, because the speaker/mic is extremely light and hollow feeling, it could use a little extra heft and I was a little skeptical about its performance early on. When I first installed the unit, the main chassis seemed to be running extremely hot at idle, almost burn your fingers if you touched it for too long kind of hot and there seemed to be a lot of bleed over or interference in reception on some of the repeater channels I use. I almost removed it and was going to try finding another option but chose to leave it for a while and then it really grew on me and whatever was causing the chassis to run really hot or the interference in those first couple of days is no longer there, because it is working perfectly and running at a very normal, just slightly warm temperature with no noticeable bleed over or interference. My problems early on may have been something I did myself and did not realize, but I have been very happy with the radio ever since. My only gripe is the awkward hook type hanger for the speaker mic. It should have had a standard speaker mic hanging knob instead, there is even a circle in the molding of the plastic exactly where it should have gone. That problem I resolved by simply installing an aluminum speaker mic knob that I got on Amazon. In summary, is this a high end, high performing radio? No, but at this price point, that should not be expected. In my opinion, the 20V2 is a pretty good value radio for someone needing a very minimal install. The form factor and CHIRP compatibility means that it can be up and running in record time and easily moved between vehicles if needed. I am glad I did not return it after my initial impressions because I have really grown to enjoy using it and it is the perfect combination of form factor and function for my use case.

This radio is perfect for my needs. Even with a stubby Midland antenna on a mag mount, I can easily reach a repeater 23 miles away from my home city—no issues at all. The radio is tiny, which makes it easy to mount just about anywhere, and the fact that all the controls are built into the mic is a huge convenience, especially in tight setups. Another feature I really love is the ability to customize the text colors on the display—it’s a nice touch that adds a bit of personalization and makes it easier to read at a glance. There are a few minor downsides. The mic cable is a little short, but that hasn’t been a problem since I have the unit mounted close by. The screen brightness isn’t adjustable, so it can be pretty bright at night. Also, the menu system isn’t the most intuitive and takes some getting used to. Overall, though, for the price, it’s hard to beat the combination of performance, size, and features this little radio offers. Highly recommended.

Pros: Small and compact for cars with limited space. Using straight out of the box perfect. Cons: The minute you try to set custom offsets from +/- 5 IT WILL NO EXCEPT IT. When you have an issue with manual programming they suggest to BUY the cable. If this a common complaint, as a company I would've included it with the radio. All in I'm at $135 USD for this radio and wire. There are far better radios for that price range that are 1: easier to program manually and 2: usually come with a programming cable. Awesome size and compact design but with expensive accessories that should be added and being locked out from custom offsets so I could use this radio on the transmit frequencies it has available "allegedly" is a no go for me. Being returned as soon as I'm back in town.