Low cost, high quality entry into DMR HT's; Five Stars

KG7TPX: This is a rugged HT with a super long-lasting Li-ion battery and a great color screen. The TEKK D-500 is a low cost way into DMR communications. If you haven't already read it, see the ARRL review article in the March 2017 magazine (http://www.va2pv.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/QST-TEKK_D-500-ReviewVA2PV-February2017.pdf). The article really helped me get started with programming the radio. Once you get to know the local talkgroups and you get the "code plug" right, the radio itself is intuitive and easy to operate. Although the included rubber duck worked with the stronger repeaters, when I hooked up my Comet GP-3 to the D-500, the QSOs really opened up. Just get the right antenna cable convertors (the radio is SMA-male). I'm one of those who sees how far I can go without reading the manual which in this case wasn't a big problem. The manual is not great (too little detail when needed and too much detail when not needed). It lacks descriptions of the HT screen icons and other nice-to-have explanations. But there are YouTube videos and good information on Facebook. The Pacific Northwest DMR group (PNW) provides a lot of very helpful documentation for DMR beginners on up. And as others have said, the folks at BridgeCom Systems are very helpful.