I purchased this marine radio from Jaycar . The box said it had a range of 20 kilometers but when I tested it in a park the two radios lost signal in less than 100 meters with a clear view. Any trees or building or obstructions and the signal was immediately lost. I checked the power setting and it was set to 5 watts.

Jaycar were unco-operative and wouldn't return my money saying it was intended for use at sea. They did sell me a more expensive radio set in exchange but in our dialogue the manager thought of every excuse why the radios lack of performance was my fault. The shop price was $268 for a pair but their internet page shows the radio selling for $99.00 each. My fault for not researching properly

I,ve used this DC-1065 since 2015, almost everyday without a single problem.
The battery quit after 3yrs and the charger was replaced, but the unit still gets good range transmitting and receiving. I mostly use it with a head phone/mike system and have always had clear communication within its range capabilities.
I went on this site out of curiosity and am surprised at all the negative comments.

I am a novice cb user. Purchased the dc1065 recently. We used it and a 1 watt unit to give directions when parking our van onsite. I played with all the functions and now will not receive but transmits on channel 40. Works ok with other channels. Anybody have a solution?
Stumped ( I still have the manual)

Bought the tradie 5w twin pack for event use, with different staff. The actual radios are OK
But accessories like headsets earpieces etc,which are important.for the way we work.are substandard
There are no other suppliers of earpieces/headsets of quality for these radios as they have a 3.5mm jack So you are stuck with the poor quality Jaycar ones

Good and some bad points
I personally own this very same unit (unit was built in 2012 as spec'd on the PCB) and I have been very happy with it.. Kinda
Now, after selling these for years I have heard most of the problems with them
DON'T tighten the antenna! It will rotate eventually and break off the coal cable inside! a small screw plate hold the SMA connector in place and its not Key'd to the body so its able to rotate if it ever comes loose and snap the fragile wires inside
also, it states 5w but from experience you'd be lucky to see greater than 2.8w (mine is 2.45w)
- Trav
RF Technician

We have sold this unit for 5 years and had two faulty units in that time, along with VERY GOOD Customer SATISFACTION
New users of Handheld UHF Radios - (even if they have been used to uhf mobile or base station setups) do not know the charecteristics of them.
The UP TO 20KM range is possible in certain conditions - it is a bit like a mobile phone, television, AM or FM Radio - if you are too far from the transmitter it will not work as MOST MIGHT THINK THEY SHOULD!
With a UHF CB and you want to transmit 20 km get a Mobile unit then fit a $200 dollar Antenna and you might!
It is like comparing a Mini Minor to be as good as a Rolls Royce, you only get what you pay for!

Very weak Rx compared to other UHF 2 and 5 watt units I have, I rate this at 2/5.
Poor Tx, the unit claims 5 watts, my watt meter registers 2.25 watt on a full battery. I rate this at 1/5.
The PTT button collapsed on the second day. Repaired it once. On the second collapse, I gave up.
The PTT is very poorly manufactured and will collapse on all units, its just the way its made.
On a positive note, this unit is easy to disassemble and repair, all smd components are well placed and
servicing is not a hard task. Overall assessment 1/5.

The packaging clearly states in large print that the range is up to 20km. We were lucky to get transmission at 1km with a clear line of sight.
Do not buy these.

Just purchased a Digitech DC1065 unit and so far, so good. It seems to receive OK and I've done some call checks on channel 11, all successful. I'm a novice so may be when I'm on the road, my view will change but playing with the unit for two days hasn't yielded any glaring faults. I hope the two 'terrible' ratings are not as bad for me.
Easy to understand and use
Nothing yet

I have bought a Digitech DC 1065 with very weak reception. Have taken back to Jaycar they said nothing wrong with unit
I have used many UHF radios in my 57 years started working in truck industry in early sevenths so not new to to the use of one
So I recommend don't buy a Digitech DC 1065