Very nice. thanks for the tear down and pics.
This model was very popular as it was probably the very first dual band DMR HT at the time, and 2 local friends bought it back then, however, I am not sure if both have kept it or not, I think at least one had sold his. This model predated the GD77 and UV380 by a long shot. The Ailuence HD1 came after this one, but likely based on it, under a different (ham centric) brand (Ailuence, which is owned by Retevis).
The strange looking antenna is just, strange looking. Unlike Motorola antennas (some), it doesn't assist in the GPSr.
https://forums.radioreference.com/threa ... ve.414074/ mentioned only UHF on the VFO on the upper position and VHF on the lower. Interesting.
There have been several major complaints against this model: easily broken antenna jack in earlier shipped units, easily poor or bad trackball. So later this model did not sell as well when other dual band models came out.
It would be interesting if the dual AT1846S can be used for some analog usage.
It is also interesting that the cost of the MD-UV380 has gone down a whole lot (now I realized it's due to fewer costly components), while some other models never did. (But lately the UV380 has gone back up a bit).