Duplexing, Crossband Repeat and other Features
As I mentioned before, this radio reminds me of a copy of the Yaesu FT-8800. As a result, it has several features that are quite similar that are worth mentioning.
Crossband Repeat
Crossband Repeat on this radio works very well. Better yet, the feature is not buried by some undocumented key combination as is typical with some other amateur radios. Rather, you simply set each band to the frequencies you wish to use, dial the SET menu to menu 44: X-RPT, and enable it. To turn it off, you just hit the SET button. With some rigs, using crossband repeat results in a long, annoying squelch tail that makes the experience miserable. On this radio, there is a very quick, double squelch tail that is fast and unobtrusive. In fact, it's almost as good as the Kenwood mobile radios. If you're using the radio as a simple remote base where the primary receive is handled by a remote radio, you don't even notice any abnormal long squelch tail. If I can figure out how to use the remote STUN feature, this radio might making the perfect remote VHF/UHF base.
Duplexing
I'm using the term "duplexing" loosely because I can't come up with a more appropriate term. The radio does not support full duplex in the typical sense where you can monitor your transmissions by listening to the same TX frequency. However, you can set the radio to receive on another band at the same time you are transmitting. This feature is useful of you are transmitting on one band while your transmission is being rebroadcast on another band. Working satellites and using remote bases are examples where you might want this capability. To use this feature, go into SET menu 25 - "MUTE" and set it to "OFF". This setting turns "muting" off for the VFO that you are not currently transmitting with. In the example of a remote base, if you are using the radio to transmit into a remote base listening on the 440 band while it is retransmitting on 2 meters, you could monitor the output 2 meter frequency on your other VFO to hear how well you are accessing a repeater or doubling with other stations in a busy area. For satellite work, you can also use this to determine how well you are making it into the bird.
The "MUTE" function is primarily used to control how the sub band is muted when you are transmitting or receiving on the alternate band, but when used in conjunction with other scenarios like remote bases, it is a truly valuable feature.