How to Program a TH-D75 — Step by Step

Kenwood's flagship handheld, with APRS and D-STAR both built in. The menu looks like a tree of icons, but every item also has a three-digit number you can type straight in — which turns a long walk into three keypresses.

This page covers: Kenwood TH-D75A, Kenwood TH-D75E. They share the same firmware, so the steps below are identical on all of them whatever name is printed on the front.

On a Kenwood, Tone and CTCSS are two different things

This catches out anyone arriving from a Baofeng or a Yaesu. Pressing TONE cycles through Tone, then CTCSS, then DCS, then Cross Tone, then off — and they are not the same setting. TONE sends a tone and lets you hear everything, which is what a repeater needs. CTCSS sends a tone AND silences your radio unless a matching tone comes back, which is a different job and the usual reason a Kenwood goes quiet on a repeater that works fine for everybody else. If you want into a repeater, you want Tone, not CTCSS.

Learn the numbers and skip the menu entirely

This is the thing worth knowing on day one. The menu is a tree of icons you can walk through, but you never have to: from the menu screen you can type the item's three-digit number on the keypad and land on it directly. Offset is 140, key beep is 914, voice guidance is 916, reset is 999. Write down the four or five you actually use and the menu stops being a menu. Two keys are worth learning with it — A/B is OK and moves forward, MODE is Back — because the labels for them live along the bottom of the screen rather than on the buttons.

What you can do on this radio

Rather do this on your phone, standing at the radio?

The app walks you through the same steps one at a time, on a screen sized for a phone.

Open Radio Rosetta

Save a repeater to a memory channel on a TH-D75

The order matters on this radio: you build the whole thing on the frequency display first — frequency, offset, tone — and only then write it to a channel. Get in the habit of that and the rest of the Kenwood makes sense.

Have these to hand before you start

  • The repeater's output frequency — what you listen to.
  • Its tone, if it uses one. And if you do not know it, this radio can find it for you.
  • Whether the offset is standard. On the usual band segments the radio works it out itself.
  1. In VFO mode, type the repeater's output frequency on the keypad and press ENT.VFO›type 146.940›ENTThe screen should show: Your frequency.This is the frequency you listen on. The transmit side is worked out from it by the offset.
  2. Check the offset direction with F then REV, which cycles simplex, plus, minus.F›REVThe screen should show: A + or − beside the frequency, or neither for simplex.Watch out. On most repeater segments you will not need to touch this at all. Automatic Repeater Offset sets the direction from the frequency — the manual prints the whole US table, and 146.940 gets a minus by itself. Set it by hand only when the repeater is unusual.
  3. The offset amount is menu 140 if you ever need to change it.MENU›140›A/B›shows Offset frequencyThe screen should show: The offset in MHz.It leaves the factory at 600 kHz on 2 metres and 5 MHz on 70 centimetres, which is what nearly every repeater uses. Note that changing it here also changes what Automatic Repeater Offset applies.
  4. Press TONE until the display shows Tone — not CTCSS.TONEThe screen should show: The Tone icon.Watch out. This is the Kenwood trap. TONE sends a tone and lets you hear everything. CTCSS sends a tone and also silences your radio unless a matching one comes back. For getting into a repeater you want Tone. Choosing CTCSS here is the single most common reason a TH-D75 sits silent on a repeater that everybody else can hear.
  5. Then F then TONE to choose the tone frequency, and ENT to set it.F›TONE›▲▼ your tone›ENTThe screen should show: The tone frequency, blinking, then set. The default is 88.5 Hz.
  6. Now write it: F then MR, choose the channel number, then ENT.F›MR›type 015›ENTThe screen should show: The memory channel registration screen, then your channel.One save, and the whole lot goes in — frequency, offset direction, shift, tone on/off, tone frequency, even the reverse setting.

If you do not know the repeater's tone, this radio will find it. Press TONE to switch the tone function on, then press F and hold TONE to run a Tone Frequency ID scan — it listens to an incoming signal and identifies the tone, and A/B then stores what it found. Very few handhelds can do that, and it saves a trip to the repeater directory.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the transmit tone (CTCSS / PL) on a TH-D75

Two presses, and the important part is stopping on the right one.

  1. Press TONE until the display shows the Tone icon.TONEThe screen should show: Tone.Watch out. Each press moves you on: Tone, then CTCSS, then DCS, then Cross Tone, then off. Tone is the first one and the factory default. Go one press too far and you are on CTCSS, which does something quite different.
  2. Press F then TONE, scroll to the repeater's tone, and press ENT.F›TONE›▲▼ your tone›ENTThe screen should show: The tone frequency blinking, then steady.There are 50 standard tones from 67.0 to 254.1 Hz. The radio starts on 88.5, which is common but by no means universal.

Set this on each band separately if you use both. And if you have already stored the repeater as a memory channel, the tone goes with it — recall the channel rather than setting the tone again every time.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the receive tone on a TH-D75

On this radio the receive tone is not a separate setting you add — it is a different choice on the same button, and it replaces the plain transmit tone rather than joining it.

  1. Press TONE twice to move past Tone and land on CTCSS.TONE›TONEThe screen should show: The CTCSS icon.CTCSS on a Kenwood means encode and decode together: it sends your tone and keeps the speaker shut unless a matching tone comes back.
  2. F then TONE picks which tone, the same as before.F›TONE›▲▼ your tone›ENTThe screen should show: The CTCSS frequency.

Use this deliberately or not at all. With CTCSS selected the radio stays silent for anything not carrying that exact tone — including, very often, the repeater you were trying to use, because plenty of repeaters do not send a tone back. If your TH-D75 has gone quiet and you cannot work out why, press TONE until it reads Tone instead.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the offset direction and amount on a TH-D75

The direction and the amount live in two completely different places, which is worth knowing before you go hunting.

  1. The direction is F then REV, on the keypad. Each press cycles simplex, plus, minus.F›REVThe screen should show: + or − beside the frequency, or neither.Watch out. It is not a menu item. People look for it in the menu, do not find it, and conclude the radio cannot do it.
  2. The amount is menu 140 — type 140 from the menu screen to go straight there.MENU›140›A/B›shows Offset frequency›▲▼ the amount›A/BThe screen should show: The offset frequency in MHz.Anything from 0 to 29.95 MHz in 50 kHz steps. Defaults are 600 kHz on 144 and 5 MHz on 430, which covers almost everything.

Most of the time you need neither. Automatic Repeater Offset reads the frequency and applies the standard direction for that band segment — the manual prints the entire table for the A model. One thing to watch: ARO stops working while the Reverse function is on, so if the offset seems to have vanished, check whether you left Reverse switched on.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the squelch on a TH-D75

  1. Press F then MONI, then set the level.F›MONI›▲▼ the levelThe screen should show: The squelch threshold.Higher means a signal has to be stronger before the speaker opens. Set it just above where the background noise stops and no higher, or you will lose the weak stations you actually wanted.

Squelch is set separately for band A and band B on this radio. If one side is noisy and the other is not, that is why — you have only set one of them.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Change the transmit power on a TH-D75

  1. Press F then MENU to cycle the transmit power.F›MENUThe screen should show: The power level.Watch out. F then MENU, not MENU on its own — MENU alone opens the menu mode. It is an odd pairing to remember, and it is the fastest thing on the radio once you have.

Low power is enough for most repeaters you can hear well, and on a handheld the battery difference over an evening is real.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Listen on the repeater's input on a TH-D75

  1. Press REV.REVThe screen should show: An R icon appears.The transmit and receive frequencies swap, so you are listening on the repeater's input — hearing the other station directly instead of through the repeater.

If you can hear them well this way, move to a simplex frequency and leave the repeater free for somebody else. Three things the manual is explicit about: you cannot switch Reverse on or off while transmitting, an error tone means the swapped frequency is outside a legal range, and Automatic Repeater Offset stops working while Reverse is on — so switch it back off when you are done.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Name a memory channel on a TH-D75

Sixteen characters per channel, typed on the keypad the way you used to text on a phone — press a key repeatedly to walk through its letters.

  1. Press MR for memory mode, then ENT to bring up the memory channel list.MR›ENTThe screen should show: The list of channels.Menu 200 gets you to the same list if you prefer.
  2. Select the channel and press MODE to open the edit menu for it.▲▼ your channel›MODEThe screen should show: The memory channel edit menu.
  3. Choose Name, press A/B, type the name and press ENT.▲▼ Name›A/B›type the name›ENTThe screen should show: Your name against the channel.Watch out. A/B is the delete key while you are typing, not a confirm — it removes the character at the cursor. ENT is what saves. Get those two the wrong way round and you will wipe what you just typed.
  4. Back on the channel list, A/B switches the display between frequencies and names.A/BThe screen should show: Names instead of numbers.Worth doing once you have named a few, or you will not see the benefit.

Channels are also sorted into 30 groups automatically by their hundreds digit — channel 0 to 99 is group 0, 100 to 199 is group 1, and so on. That is worth planning around before you store two hundred channels in no particular order.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Delete a memory channel on a TH-D75

  1. Press MR, then ENT to bring up the memory channel list.MR›ENTThe screen should show: The list of channels.
  2. Select the channel you want gone and press MENU.▲▼ the channel›MENUThe screen should show: The memory channel list menu.Watch out. MENU here, not MODE. MODE opens the edit menu for renaming and grouping; MENU is the one with Clear Memory on it.
  3. Choose Clear Memory, press A/B, then A/B again to confirm.▲▼ Clear Memory›A/B›A/BThe screen should show: A confirmation message, then the channel gone.MODE at the confirmation backs out without deleting anything.

It asks before it does it, which is more than most handhelds manage. Repeat from the channel list for each one you want to clear.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Turn off the roger beep on a TH-D75

There is no roger beep on this radio. It does not send a tone at the end of your transmission, and there is no setting to turn one off. If something is beeping, it is the key beep.

  1. Menu 914 turns the beep on every keypress off.MENU›914›A/B›shows Key beep›▲▼ Off›A/BThe screen should show: Key beep off.Type 914 from the menu screen and you are there in three keys.
  2. There is a separate beep volume setting alongside it if you would rather turn it down than off.MENU›963›A/B›shows Volume lockThe screen should show: The beep volume.

If somebody on the air tells you that you are sending a beep, it is not coming from this radio — check whatever repeater or hotspot you are going through.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Turn off the voice announcements on a TH-D75

This radio does announce things out loud, but unlike the cheap handhelds it is switched off by default — so this page is as often about turning it ON as off.

  1. Menu 916 sets it: Off, Manual, Auto1 or Auto2.MENU›916›A/B›shows Voice guidance mode›▲▼ Off, Manual, Auto1 or Auto2›A/BThe screen should show: Your choice.Manual reads out the current status only when you ask. Auto1 reads out whatever changed as you operate. Off is the factory setting, so if yours is talking, somebody has turned it on.
  2. There is a speed setting with it, from 1 to 4.▲▼ speed 1 to 4›A/BThe screen should show: The guidance speed.1 is normal and 4 is about one and a half times faster. Worth turning up once you know what it is going to say.

Worth knowing this exists rather than just switching it off. On a radio with this much on the screen, having it read the menu item aloud is genuinely useful for anyone who cannot easily see the display — and there is one more thing: PF2 held while switching on sets voice guidance to Auto1, which is how you get it back if a Full Reset has left you unable to read the screen.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Turn off dual watch on a TH-D75

This radio watches two bands at once by default, which is half the reason people buy it and the whole reason it sometimes transmits somewhere you did not expect.

  1. Press F then A/B to switch between dual band and single band.F›A/BThe screen should show: Two bands on the display, or one.Single band is the definite fix if you keep answering on the wrong side. One band on screen is one band the PTT can use.
  2. If you would rather keep both, A/B on its own moves which band is selected.A/BThe screen should show: The selected band highlighted.Watch out. Squelch, tone and offset are all set per band on this radio. So a setting that appears not to have worked has very often been applied to the other side.

Worth running single band while you are learning the radio. You can always turn the second one back on once you trust yourself to notice which side is live.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Lock the keypad on a TH-D75

  1. Press and hold F to lock and unlock the keypad.hold FThe screen should show: A padlock icon appears.
  2. Menu 960 decides what the lock actually covers.MENU›960›A/B›shows Key lock type›▲▼ what gets locked›A/BThe screen should show: The lock type.Worth a look — the default may not lock everything you assumed, and this is where you widen it.
  3. Menu 963 locks the volume separately, at whatever level it is set to when you switch it on.MENU›963›A/B›shows Volume lock›▲▼ On›A/BThe screen should show: Locked Volume appears if you then turn the control.Watch out. The volume control is not covered by the key lock. If your radio keeps ending up silent or deafening in a bag, this is the setting you actually wanted.

Set the volume where you want it before turning 963 on, because that is the level it keeps.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Factory reset on a TH-D75

Three resets rather than the usual two, and the middle one is almost always the right answer. There are also two ways in, which matters if the radio is too confused to reach the menu.

  1. From the menu screen, type 999.MENU›MENU›999›A/B›shows Transceiver resetThe screen should show: VFO Reset, Partial Reset and Full Reset.
  2. Partial Reset is the one to reach for.▲▼ Partial Reset›A/B›A/BThe screen should show: A confirmation, then the radio resets.It puts every setting back to factory EXCEPT your memory channels and your DTMF memories. That fixes a misconfigured radio without costing you the repeaters you programmed.
  3. VFO Reset is gentler still — it only clears the VFO and what goes with it.▲▼ VFO Reset›A/B›A/BThe screen should show: The VFO back to default.Worth trying first if the problem is confined to the frequency display rather than the whole radio.
  4. Full Reset clears everything you have customised.▲▼ Full Reset›A/B›A/BThe screen should show: The radio back to factory.Watch out. Memory channels included. The date and time survive, and nothing else does. If you programmed this radio by hand rather than from software, that is your whole evening.
  5. If you cannot get into the menu at all, hold F while switching the radio on and the reset screen appears directly.power off›hold F›power onThe screen should show: The same three choices.This is the way in when something has gone wrong enough that the menu is not reachable.

One footnote from Kenwood worth keeping: after a Full Reset, holding PF2 while switching on sets voice guidance to Auto1. That is how somebody who cannot read the screen gets the radio talking again — a small piece of thoughtfulness that is easy to miss in the manual.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

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