While the new ABBREE AR-880 is not the cheapest digital + analogue radio out there, it is certainly one of the slimmest. It’s also waterproof to the IP67 standard. This means it is waterproof while being submerged in water approximately up to 1 meter in depth for up to 30 minutes. So being caught out in the rain with this radio should be no problem at all. Like water off a ducks back. It’s also dust proof. The ABBREE AR-880 is a 10 Watt dual band transceiver with 512 channels, dual time slots, AES256 encryption and SMS features. The fairly large 2.4 Inch LCD screen is colour and has a really nice smooth professional contrast. It looks high quality.

Being nice and thin, digital and analogue, also waterproof / dust proof and with an emergency alarm, it will be a radio well worth considering for those who spend a lot of time outdoors. Hikers, campers, outdoor / lone workers etc. It looks a lot like the Hytera HP782.

ABBREE AR-880 frequency range: VHF: 136-174MHz and UHF: 400-470MHz.

The only issue some people have had with the ABBREE AR-880 is the lack of programming software that is available. ABBREE does state that the CPS software for this radio can be found on their official website, but users can’t seem to find it. I did have a look myself and I could not find it either. At this point I don’t think it is on the official website at all. However, there is stock software on the radio that is usable, and I would expect ABBREE will be updating their website soon. As I’m sure they have received many emails from buyers of the AR880 asking where the software is. Update: the software can now be downloaded here.

Promotional video of the ABBREE AR-880 DMR showing some of its features and specification

The ABBREE AR-880 has a double charging desktop charger. Meaning it can charge the radio in one slot and has another slot for a separate battery [spare battery] to charge at the same time. Cool feature. Very convenient.