General Description

The Retevis RT-95 is a compact 25W dual band mobile. Its 200 channels are easily programmed using either the factory software or CHIRP. It has all the features needed for a solid compact mobile installation.
 

In the Box
 
Included with the RT-95 Mobile:
-  Microphone
-  Metal mounting bracket with screws
-  6.5' 12V Power Cord
-  Programming Cable
-  37 Page User Guide (English)
       Also available online (Spanish)  (Multi-Language)
 
The RT95  Weighs in at 17.7 oz (502g)
Chassis Size is  6.4" (W) x 1.6" (H) x 4.9 (D)"  (163 x 41 x 124 mm)

 
Frequency Ranges
 
Band 1  144-148   430-440 MHz
Band 2  136-174   400-490 MHz
Band 3  144-146   430-440 MHz
 

Enclosure and Mount
 
The main chassis weighs in at 17.7 oz with the entire back and upper chassis serving as a heat sink. There is no fan, but I found that the heat generated by this 25w radio is sufficiently dissipated as long as there is ventilation around the chassis.
 
The included bracket and hardware allows you to mount the radio in any position in the vehicle.
 
The rear of the radio has an SO-239 which will mate with a standard PL-259 connector and a speaker output jack.
   
The front panel includes:
-   RJ45 style microphone/programming jack
-   6 illuminated control buttons
-   Function button
-   Control knob
-   Power On/Off button.
 
 
Programmable Function Buttons
 
There are 6 programmable buttons on the front panel that can be programmed to your liking. The Function button above the knob allows you to set 2 functions to each button. There are 18 possible function selections that can be assigned.
You can assign these functions in any order of your choosing.
  Transmitter
 
I used my 13.8VDC power supply to power the RT95 here on the bench. The transmitter easily produced the rated 25W power into a calibrated Bird Termaline Wattmeter.

RT-95	Low	Mid	High
VHF	4	15	26
UHF	5	16	24

Receiver
 
The receiver's sensitivity and quality is excellent with plenty of audio output into a 2W audio amp.
 
 
Frequency Ranges
 
As mentioned above, the radio comes in one of 3 frequency ranges.
These ranges can be easily reassigned if needed.
Band 1  144-148   430-440 MHz
Band 2  136-174   400-490 MHz
Band 3  144-146   430-440 MHz
 
Mine originally came assigned to Band 1, which did not cover the entire UHF ham band. That was easily changed. The Procedure took less than a minute.
 
 
Microphone
 
The microphone keypad is illuminated for easy viewing. Along with the 16 button keypad are two buttons on the right side for up/down channel selection.
The illumination level of the microphone is adjustable.
 
I checked in to a few local nets and the audio reports were excellent. The DTMF tones are distinct and loud. There is no audio gain control so I needed to speak about one inch from the microphone.
 
There are also 4 programmable buttons that can be programmed to any of 16 functions.
   
Channel Scanning
 
The radio's Scan function has a scan rate of approximately 3-4 channels per second.  The scan mode does not automatically restart at PowerOn, but two quick keypad presses and the scan resumes.
 
 
Display
 
The high resolution OLED displays the large easy to read 6 character channel name or frequency on the 1.74" (4.5cm) screen. The display clarity is excellent.
-  Just above the channel display is a truly functional 9 Bar S-Meter.
-  A simple press of A/B button switches between two selected channels.
-  A unique display option is the rotatable screen option. A simple press of a panel button will invert the screen for that upside down mounting position.
   
Programming / Cable
 
The radio can be programmed using either the factory provided software or CHIRP.
 
The optional programming cable is a USB to RJ45 that plugs into the microphone jack on the front of the radio. The Prolific PL2303GS UART chip is located in the USB cable.
 
The RT-95 can also be programmed manually by pressing the Function button on the front panel.
 
 
Software
 
There are 2 versions of the software. One for the RT95 and one for the RT95VOX. Be sure to load the proper software. The bandwidth default on mine was 12.5 kHz. Be sure to set the bandwidth to 25kHz for Wideband operation.
 
 
Mobile Power Cable

The radio comes with a 6.5' (200cm) power cable. Direct connection to the battery is not required as my radio only drew 6A max on high power transmit.


Base Station Operation
 
When running this radio as a base station, a power source of at least 6-7A continuous would be adequate. A 10A supply would be more than sufficient. Here are a few power supply Examples that may assist.
 
 
In Summary
 
The RT-95 is a dual band mobile designed with all basic features needed for easy operation. The programming is easy to understand, the display is clear, and has plenty power for around town or off road use. The small size makes it easy to install in any vehicle.
 
The User Manual is one of the better ones that goes into detail of the various functions.
 
  
Available from Amazon
     RT-95 Mobile
     Progr  Cable