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Performance: The A36 Plus performed well in amateur, GMRS, and LMR repeater operations, even with the factory antenna.
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Ease of use: The FPP user interface was found to be more intuitive than the FT4XR.
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Battery life: The A36 Plus demonstrated impressive battery life.
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Civil aviation reception: The radio excelled at receiving civil aviation traffic, even at a distance of 40 nautical miles.
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Developer mode: In developer mode, the A36 Plus allows for entry of SWL frequencies and VHF Low Band.
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Missing features: The A36 Plus currently lacks VHF/UHF split capability for AMSAT users and doesn't display "AM" for SWL and CB frequencies.
Overall, ACT 101 is highly satisfied with the Talkpod A36 Plus. They appreciate the improvements made in this model and believe it has great potential for future enhancements, such as DMR capability and expanded frequency coverage.
from: I performed quite a bit of research on this new 8 watt version of the Talkpod A-36 Plus and so far, I'm very well pleased. The "bugs" that operators experienced with earlier models appear to have been worked out. And be honest, I like this A-36 Plus better than my Yaesu FT4XR. I don't have any equipment for bench analysis, only relying on how I can QSO on Amateur, GMRS, and LMR repeaters. It performed well enough with the factory antenna. Better with the dual band Yaesu FT4XR antenna, and even better with the tuned, single band Smiley Antennas. The FPP user interface is, to me, far easier to use than the FT4XR. The battery life is very good. I've never really been too interested in listening to Civil Aviation, 118-133mhz, as the closest international airport is almost 40 nautical miles and the receivers I had in the past didn't "hear" well at this distance. This Talkpod "hears" av traffic very well. In the "developer" mode (press 9, PTT, and power on) it will allow entry of SWL frequencies, VHF Low Band (29-54mhz) all the way up to 620mhz. Now, unlike when entering VHF Aviation which displays "AM", the SWL & CB freqs don't display "AM". I'll eventually test its CB & SWL reception. I hope it does. The only thing that appears to be lacking is the VHF/UHF split capability for AMSAT users. I don't know if Talkpod reads these (I'll email under separate cover) but I think these have a lot of potential for additional frequency coverage. I'd love to see a DMR version, as well as the addition of 33cm (902-928mhz) Tx & Rx even if only analog. 900 has excellent signal propagation, even on Simplex. I'll probably end up acquiring another.
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