Like most of the new radios being introduced, the TCB-881 is a "multi-standard" radio. This means that it is designed for use in most EU countries and you can select what country you are going to use it in, the radio then automatically operates on the legal bands for that country.
This means that in countries that allow AM/FM operation, the radio will even work on AM!
The radio is dual voltage - it will work on either 12v or 24v automatically.
The new "Dynamic Squelch System" is operated by turning the squelch control fully anti-clockwise, this then overides the normal squelch operation.
The idea is that the squelch is then dependant upon "noise" rather than signal squelch, in theory letting clear but weak signal through yet blocking strong "noisey" signals. In practice it does work quite well and makes it much easier than continuously changing your squelch setting manually to suit varying conditions.
The radio offers all the features you are likely to ask for yet remains simple to operate. There are the usual volume, squelch, mic gain, and RF gain controls. The channel change is a rotary control, but there is also a "quick up/down" rotary control that takes you up/down 10 channels at a time!
The multifunction LCD display shows channel number, band (country) and 9 segment bargraph display for signal strength. It is backlit with a blue light, which can be set to 3 levels using a "hidden" menu facility.
The microphone is a decent size and had a good feel to it. There are up/down channel change buttons on the top of the mic, plus a "lock" button to lock the channel change on both the mic and the radio.
The scanning facility on this radio is more sophisticated than on most CB's in that both "pause time" and "delay time" can be adjusted by the user (from 1-99 seconds for either).
Overall the radio offers a lot of features for your money and performance is on par with any other radio currently available.
