Difference between revisions of "TYT TH-9800"

Revision as of 12:16, 24 February 2016

29/50/144/430 MHz

• 256 memory channels
• DTMF mic included!
• Digital FM broadcast band radio
• High/low output power levels
• Reverse frequency selection
• Dual (V/U) squelch set levels
• Dual repeater offsets selectable
• Multi-function scanning
• Repeater offset selectable
• Keypad lock function
• Channel name editing
• CTCSS/DCS encode/decode
• Dual Band/Dual Receive: (Full Duplex)
• Cross Band Repeat
• TX Power: 5-50 Watts
• Memories: 256
• Antenna Connection: Two SO (UHF)

review

This is similar to the Yaesu FT-8900. The speaker is in the main body and not the detachable control head. The left side has all four bands while the right is 2m and 70cm only. It also will receive from additional frequencies outside of the listed transmit range. Single antenna port. Sensitivity on the receiver is very good.

You can program this rig from a computer using the special USB cable. The cable that comes with it is a hacked bootleg knockoff that the Chinese cloned from the well known FDDI chip. The programming software does work, but is crap quality. I have used a Baofeng programming cable with good results.

It came with a lot of power cord. With all the copper we've shipped over to China in scrap, I guess they've decided to share some of it back. I didn't need such a long power cord. I guess you could run it from the cab straight through the firewall to under the hood, right past your battery and down the street to your neighbor's car battery.

There are 3 fuses in the power cord. Two on the positive red wire and one on the negative black wire. Most radios have just the single inline fuse in the positive wire.

The package did not include the TYT programming cable for connecting to a PC. This is sold separately even though it is a counterfeit that TYT proudly stamps their name on.

After using this radio for several months in a vehicle, the loud speaker inside the radio burned out. The speaker could not handle normal volume use. I recommend using an external speaker unless you plan to keep the volume turned down relatively low. The audio amplification is excessive for the internal speaker.

basic usage

Q: Will the TYT TH-9800 transmit on Citizen Band using AM modulation?
A: Yes, but don't do this, it is illegal. You will die.

Q: I hear this thing is buggy and will glitch out, not even put out full power. True?
A: First release models, yes. Updated model known as PLUS model, no. The updated model is stable enough.

Just going to cover some of the most useful features.

The center button on the bottom with the dot is the "setup" button to access the main configuration options.

The letter buttons around the face of the unit A B C on the left and D E F on the right are a type of memory that stores the configuration including:

• Freq, band, and modulation both sides.
• details...

Press and hold in the letter key to "save" the configuration.

Dials are covered well in the manual.

hand mic

The P1 P2 P3 P4 buttons can be programmed to perform common tasks. The defaults are as follows:

• P1 - switch between left and right side A/B selector
• P2 - switch between VFO/MR which is frequency tuning or memory channel
• P3 - PL modes
• P4 - Xmit power level Low, MLow, MHigh, High

repeater operation

The SET/MENU button is the middle button that has a square dot. Sometimes it is referred to as SET and sometimes MENU. Same button.

1. Punch in the frequency of the repeater
2. Press MENU, choose menu #27 SHIFT, short press the top knob. For a 2m repeater set to 0.60M.
3. Set or verify the correct offset | press top knob to save | Press MENU to go back
4. While still in the menu choose #24 RPT.MOD, short press the top knob. This sets HAM Repeater Offset.
5. Set APT.+ / APT.- or for simplex choose APT.OFF | press top knob to save | Press MENU to go back
6. While still in the menu choose #30 TONE F, short press the top knob. This is to set the PL tone (needed for some repeaters).
7. Set the frequency of the PL in HZ | press top knob to save | Press MENU to go back
8. While still in the menu choose #31 TONE M, short press the top knob.
9. For repeaters with a PL this is typically set to ENC. If the repeater doesn't require PL then set this to OFF. | press top knob to save | Press MENU to go back

Note: A PL tone will not be sent to the repeater unless you have ENC (encode) turned on. Be sure to observe this extra step.

firmware variants

Later version is known as the "Plus" model which has an updated firmware that fixes known issues and user complaints.

programming

Anyone else get sick of stupid Youtube videos? Are young people too stupid to read these days? All they can do is sit and watch a video on how to do things. I like to read it in writing. So I am going to write up some reading for you to read when you want to program your rig.

The manual is serviceable for a roughly Chinese to English translation, which is the norm for these radios. To help out where manual might fail you, I have some programming notes here.

You should know that this radio programs much the same as the Yaesu FT-8900. If you get suck looking for information, you can search under Yaesu FT-8900 to find most answers regarding programming that apply to this radio as well.

program from unit

1. Hold down the MENU button to activate memory mode.
2. Turn the top knob to select a memory channel.
3. Press MENU again to save into memory.

program from a computer

Q: Where do I hook the USB cable to the radio? A: There is a mini-USB port on the back of the radio. It is directly under the red and black power wiring.

Q: What type of cable do I use?
A: It is a USB to MiniUSB cable. A null phone charging cable will not work. The TYT programming cable uses a pirate version of the FTDI USB-to-serial chip. Do not let windows automatically install the driver. Reason explained later. Use the old version FTDI driver on the driver disc. The MiniUSB connector is not the tiny MicroUSB like a modern phone has, it is like the older Motorola phones had, or a Playstation 3 controller charger cable. However, those cables will not work. You must use the cable with the FTDI chip inside. There is a lot of misinformation about this cable online. The Internet is full of morons. Do your homework.

Q: What software do I use?
A: You can use the TYT software or you can use CHIRP.

About the cable: This cable has a 5-pin mini usb type b connector interface. It is a serial interface cable with a microchip. You don’t need a CD with Windows USB drivers unless you are getting obsolete or counterfeit versions of the Prolific PL2303 chips. The cables the Chinese are selling are the counterfeit cables. An authentic cable with the genuine Prolific chip is going to cost you about $40.00. The Chinese clone is going to be $5 or less. Your choice if you want to deal with driver issues.

TYT branded cable with counterfeit PL2303 Chip.

The TYT cable uses the counterfeit chip and therefore you will need to be careful what driver you use if you choose to save money and go with the knockoff. Yeah them Chinese, they do a lot of illegal stuff don't they?

Just to be clear, you have the option of buying a cable with a genuine Prolific PL2303 chip, or you can buy the TYT branded cable with the counterfeit chip. There are probably other counterfeit cables available too advertised for this model.

You can program from Microsoft Windows or Linux.

online resources

eHam: TYT9800 Transceiver

http://www.connectsystems.com/products/top/radios%20TH-9800.htm

Yahoo TYT9800 User Group

THIS WIKI PAGE CREATED AND MAINTAINED BY Ke0etZ