RF Gear 2 Go

[Step 1] - Get the repeater output frequency - _______________ MHz

[Step 2] - Get the repeater PL (CTCSS) or DCS code if that’s required for repeater access -__________

Decide in advance if you will list the repeater selection within your radio by the repeater callsign, the repeater output frequency, or the

repeater location (be advised that the TYT TH-UV8200 allows 7 alpha or numeric characters, in both UPPER and lower-case letters).  Not all

radios allow you to manually name the callsign or list the repeater location directly from the keypad (or allow lower-case letters). The TYT

radios do, but as you’ll see later, it’s not a simple or quick process to complete manually.  More on that later ….

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[Step 3] - List your choice (callsign/frequency/location) here: _______________ There are no right or wrong choices in naming your

channel memories, but if you are lucky enough to have many different repeaters in your area (in my case Gilbert/Mesa, AZ), it’s hard to program

in MESA 01 through MESA 20 and know precisely which repeater is which (by only looking at those 7 letters) - unless you keep a printout of your programming handy.

[Step 4] -Since you are manually programming this memory, you will also need the repeater “split” (or input frequency) and the repeater’s shift (either positive or negative). In most areas of the country, the “split” for UHF repeaters is 5.000 MHz and for VHF repeaters the “split” is normally 600 KHz (shown on most displays as 0.600 MHz).  Be advised that some repeater owners and clubs don’t always use the standard “split” for a variety of reasons, so it’s best to check and make sure before getting started.  If your repeater doesn’t use the standard “split”, write down your repeater’s “split” here - _______________

[Step 5] - To determine if your repeater has a positive or negative shift, look at the repeater’s output frequency (what you listen to) vs. the repeater’s input frequency (the frequency you need to transmit to the repeater). If the repeater output frequency is 447.000 MHz (for example) and the input frequency is 442.000 MHz, then your repeater has a 5.000 MHz “split”with a negative offset (normally shown on the radio display as “-”).  A positive offset would show on the display as “+”instead.  For the sake of having everything handy, write down your negative or positive offset here - _______________

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[Step 6] - Once you have acquired the information needed above, you’re ready to start the programming sequence for one memory.  In the case of the TYT TH-UV8200 radio, you have 256 memories available within the radio, so most folks either purchase a pre-programmed radio or the computer software and cable kit from us directly (to save enormous amounts of time getting their radio(s) ready).  If your radio has already been completely programmed by us and you have no empty memory spaces available, you must select one memory location to later override.  If you’re starting from scratch or have some memories open, jot down one of the open memory channels here for later use - _______________

Before we get started, a reminder that you need to be a licensed amateur radio operator to use any amateur radio repeaters.  Now let’s get started!  Turn on the radio and make sure your radio is in VFO mode. Push the [#] key on the lower right edge of the keypad.  When the display shows a larger black font with numbers only, you are in the correct VFO mode to get started.  Toggle the [#] key a couple of times to see the difference between VFO and Channel mode (trust me it’s important).

Once you have verified you are in VFO mode, enter the repeater’s output frequency (what you will listen to as identified in Step 1) by using the keypad.  Using 447.000 as our example, enter 4 4 7 * 0 0 0 and press the Green keypad button for “OK”.  If the display shows your correct repeater output frequency in a large black font (remember we are using 447.000 as an example only), then you are ready to continue.  If the display goes dark in a few seconds, that’s ok.  That’s your radio trying to save battery power. Push any key (I normally use the Red key) to bring the color display back to life.

Now push the Green key again to bring up the radio’s Menu functions and turn the middle knob on the top of the radio (next to the antenna) until the display shows “Utilities” and push the Green key again to enter the “Utilities” menu.  The radio only gives you a few seconds to complete each of these Menu related tasks, so if you take too long you’ll need to start that particular step over again.

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If the repeater output frequency won't enter correctly, you may have to change the Frequency Step Size selected on your radio.  Type [2 2] (from within the “Utilities” menu to reach Menu 22), hit the Green button for “OK”, and using the top middle knob, rotate the knob to select 0.50K (which allows you maximum frequency entry flexibility), and hit the Green OK button to save your choice.  Please note this step size adjustment only needs to be performed "if" the radio won't allow you to enter the correct output frequency from the keypad, but I generally always set the step size to the smallest size possible to eliminate the issue from ever popping up.  Once you have changed the step size to 0.50K, you should be able to enter the repeater frequency with no issue (if you even had that issue).

Type [2 3] (from within the “Utilities” menu to reach Menu 23), hit the Green button for “OK”, and using the top middle knob, adjust the Shift-Direction (or S-D on your display) to your repeater’s correct shift direction (remember the negative or positive setting discussed in Step 5?, here’s where that information goes). Hit the Green OK button to save your choice.

Once that’s done, type [2 4] (from within the “Utilities” menu to reach Menu 24), hit the Green button for “OK” and use your keypad to enter the repeater’s offset step amount [Step 4].  In our example (your repeater may be different), we enter 5 * 0 0 0 0 0 and push the Green OK button again.

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Now we’re ready to enter the repeater’s PL (CTCSS) tone or DCS code from Step 2. Type [2 7] (from within the “Utilities”menu to reach Menu 27), hit the Green button again for “OK”, and using the middle knob on the top of the radio (next to the antenna), turn it until the display shows the needed PL (CTCSS) tone or DCS code for your repeater. Once that’s selected, push the Green OK button to save that selection.

If your repeater uses Narrow Band programming (nearly all amateur repeaters do not, but commercial repeaters generally require narrow-band programming), type [2 9] (from within the “Utilities” menu to reach Menu 29), hit the Green button for “OK”, and using the middle knob on the top of the radio (next to the antenna), turn it until the display shows whichever option you need (wide-band is the default, so 99% of you can skip this step for amateur radio repeaters), and push the Green OK key to save your choice.

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If you have followed all these steps correctly, your radio now has 1 repeater frequency programmed (but not “named” yet).  Push the Green OK button and rotate the knob until the “Channel storage” selection is highlighted and push the Green OK button again to see the Storage Channel blank box.  Enter the blank memory number you wish to use from Step 6 by entering the memory number in three digits (memory 201 would be 2 0 1 as an example) and push the Green OK button to confirm your choice.  If that memory is already used, the radio will prompt you if you want to override the previous memory. If you do, push the Green OK button to continue.

Now comes the decision of what you want to “name” this new saved memory from your keypad. To restate what was discussed previously, most radios only allow you to name your programmed memory (from the keyboard) as either a Channel Number or as a Frequency, but TYT allows you to save the memory (from the keyboard) as either the repeater callsign, channel number, frequency, or location info (up to 7 alpha-numeric characters using UPPER or lower-case letters).

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Using the memory location number (you previously set aside in Step 6), now switch from the VFO mode (you have been using all this time) to Channel Mode by pushing the [#] button on the lower right side of the keypad. Your memory channel number should now be active, but if not, turn the knob on the top of the radio until your memory is selected. You should see primarily a blank memory with no Name, just a memory location number on the right side of the display.

 

To activate the naming option (and while still in the Channel Mode setting), push the Green OK button, select “Utilities”, push the Green OK button, and then select Menu 33 by entering [3 3] and pushing the Green OK button again.

In very small red type in the lower middle of the display, you’ll see the number “123”.  You can use this option if you want to name your memory by the repeater frequency. Simply enter your frequency by using the keypad and push the Green OK key to save the name as a frequency.

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If you want to name the memory by using all letters (or letters and numbers in combination), you’ll need to switch that small “123” number to “ENG” by pushing the [#] key and then using the keypad to enter the repeater callsign or location.  For some of you, this will remind you of the days before smartphones, as you must select a number. “3” for example brings up the options “3 d e f D E F” which then allows you (in a second step) to select the capital letter D by pushing the number 5.

To select the next letter or number for your 7-character channel name, select the matching keypad number and select the letter you want by picking the selected letter using the number above it (remember I didn’t say this was easy or fast). Once you have finished your 7-character name selection, hit the Green OK key to store the name you selected for your first programmed memory. If you make a mistake during this last step, hit the Red key to exit that step and start your channel naming progress again.

Once you exit this last step, your named memory will show up when your radio is in Channel mode.  I suppose knowing how to manually program this radio will be helpful to some, but I honestly think I’d pull my hair out if I had to do these steps manually more than just a couple of times.  Having RF Gear 2 Go program your radio with a standard template for just $20.00 (or getting the software/cable kit from us for $48.95) may be the best money you ever spent, but I admit I’m biased in my opinion.

In any case, I hope this helps you in your manual programming efforts with your TYT TH-UV8200 waterproof radio.

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