In the Box
 
Included with the radio are the:
-  2200mAh Li-Ion Battery
-  69 page User Guide
-  Charger base & AC adapter
-  Belt clip
-  Antenna – 6.5" (15.5cm) 
-  Software CD
-  Programming Cable
 
 
General Description
 
-  VHF / UHF Dual Band
-  DMR / FM
-  1W / 5W transmit
-  Channels - 1024
-  Chan per Zone - 16
-  Tx Contacts - 256
-  Rx Contacts - 16
-  Scan Groups - 16
-  FCC Part 95 - 2AN62-GD77
 
 
Dual Band Operation
 
The GD-77 is a 5w Dual Band band (UHF / VHF) DMR handheld with dual mode capability that can be used as either an FM analog transceiver or Tier II  DMR. The two line LCD allows two zones to appear on the LCD allowing any mix of analog and digital channels.
 
  
Transmitter
 
The frequency range is VHF 136-174 and UHF 400-470 MHz.
 
My OTA audio reports are good and power levels on analog were very respectable. Power showed just under the rated 5W, into a calibrated Bird Termaline wattmeter.
 

 
Receiver
 
The receiver sensitivity is very good on both digital and analog. I did notice that the Channel Clear tone doesn't sound at the proper time. When using a repeater, the tone does not sound when a station is done transmitting, but rather after the incoming repeater signal drops. With some repeaters this could be as long as 7 seconds after the channel has cleared.
 

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Audio
 
The radio has a powerful 1w audio amp which produces enough volume to be heard in even the noisiest of locations. Al though perfectly readable, I did find the audio on the high pitched side, lacking low frequency response. 
 
 
Enclosure

The GD-77 case has a solid feel. It weighs in at 9.0 oz (254g) with the battery and antenna attached. The battery release is at the top of the radio and the battery slides down to remove.
 
Along with the PTT, there are also 3 programmable buttons. One on top and 2 on the left side. Each can be programmed with two of 15 possible options.
 
 
Antenna

The included dual band antenna is 6.5" (16.5cm) which is a fairly common size for a handheld, and is terminated with an SMA-Male connector.
   
Display
 
The radio has a 2 color LCD. It's a little difficult to read when the backlight is off, but lights up brightly when a button or key is pressed.  The backlight TOT has 3 settings (5, 10, 15, Always) but lacks a brightness control. I found the only two options are shown below.
The LCD will display up to 10 characters. If more than 10 characters, the 11th character is a decimal point as there is no scrolling for longer channel titles.
 

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Programming / Software

If you are entering the world of DMR for the first time, be aware that programming a digital radio is very different than an FM transceiver. Getting into the DMR repeater is relatively easy, but navigating the network is a bit more complex.
 
NOTE:  When I loaded the included software, my virus software (Malwarebytes) flagged the software as malware. Hopefully, this is a false positive.
 
 
Programming Cable
 
The included programming cable is terminated with a Kenwood K1 style connector. It is a straight through cable that does not have the UART chip in the USB connector, much like an MD380 cable.  Although it appears to be the same as a Baofeng programming cable, the two are not interchangeable.
 
My included cable did not fit the jack smoothly and required a good bit of pressure to completely insert.
  Battery and Charger
 
The charger base requires 12vdc input and provides the necessary 8.4v required to charge the 7.4v 2200mAh L-ion battery.  Although the batteries are not compatible with the TYT MD-380, I found the battery chargers are interchangeable.
 
The LED bar on the front of the charger is unmistakable.  Red when charging, and Green when either fully charged or no radio in the cradle.
 

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Caution:  A word of caution regarding the Wall adapter with the USB jack. What appears to be a 5V USB connector actually produces 12vdc.
 
Click on the image below to read what is printed on the side. If this wall adapter is accidentally used to charge a cell phone or tablet, you will more than likely overcharge the device, or worse.
 

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The battery life was very good and I easily get a full days use from one charge.
 
 
 
Conclusion
 
There are several weak spots that need to be addressed, hopefully with future firmware and software updates. 
 
The obvious pros are the following:

-  True Tier II DMR
-  Dual Band VHF/UHF operation
-  Very Affordable

My personal concerns are the:

-  LCD has no brightness level control.
-  Channel Clear tone doesn't respond until repeaters drops
-  Audio output lacks low frequency range.
-  Manual is difficult to understand. 

 
Note: If you like to tinker with your equipment, there is a firmware available for the GD77 called OpenGD77. It's an experimental firmware that has been around for a while and can enhance the capabilities of this DMR transceiver. Available HERE
 
 
Note: This equipment was received for the purpose of a fair and unbiased review. All findings are factual based on the equipment I received. Any issues found have been reported both here and back to the seller or manufacturer.