How to Program a TD-H3 — Step by Step

A color-screen handheld with a flat numbered menu that runs from item 0 to item 51. You press MENU, type the number, and change one setting.

This page covers: TIDRADIO TD-H3. One model, so nothing here has to be translated from a near relative — every step below was written for exactly this radio.

What you can do on this radio

• Save a repeater to a memory channel
• Set the transmit tone (CTCSS / PL)
• Set the receive tone
• Set the offset direction and amount
• Set the squelch
• Change the transmit power
• Name a memory channel
• Delete a memory channel
• Turn off the roger beep
• Turn off the voice announcements
• Turn off dual watch
• Lock the keypad
• Factory reset

Save a repeater to a memory channel on a TD-H3

The radio builds a channel out of whatever is showing in frequency mode at the moment you store it. So you put the frequency up first, hang the offset and the tone on it, and write the whole thing into a channel number last. Do it in that order and the channel comes out complete. Do it out of order and you get a channel that looks right and cannot key the repeater.

1. Press VFO/MR until the channel number disappears and you are looking at a bare frequency.VFO/MRThe screen should show: A frequency with no CH number beside it.This is frequency mode. It is the only mode that will let you change the tone and the offset, and the only one you can build a new channel from.
2. Press A/B until the arrow sits beside the line you want to work on.A/BThe screen should show: The pointer moves between the A side and the B side.Watch out. The radio shows both sides at once and only acts on the one the arrow is against. Program the other side and everything will look right and nothing will work.
3. Type the repeater's output frequency straight in — eight digits, no decimal point.type 44642500The screen should show: Your frequency, with the decimal point putting itself in.Watch out. Eight digits including the trailing zero. 446.425 is 4 4 6 4 2 5 0 0 — the manual's own example types 432.56250 as 4 3 2 5 6 2 5 0.
4. Open menu 23 and set Direction to Plus or Minus to match your repeater, then MENU to save it.MENU›23›MENU›shows 23 Direction›▲▼ Plus or Minus›MENUThe screen should show: 23.Direction with None, Plus or Minus underneath.This is which way the repeater listens relative to where it talks. None means simplex.
5. Open menu 24 and type the offset in megahertz — 00.60000 for the usual 2 meter offset, 05.00000 for the usual 70 centimeter one. MENU to save.MENU›24›MENU›shows 24 Offset›type 00.60000›MENUThe screen should show: 24.Offset with the amount you typed.Watch out. This field is in megahertz, not kilohertz. 600 kHz is 00.60000, not 600. Direction and amount are two separate items and both have to be right.
6. Open menu 13 and scroll to the repeater's tone, then MENU to save.MENU›13›MENU›shows 13 Tx CTCSS›▲▼ your repeater's tone›MENUThe screen should show: 13.Tx CTCSS and a frequency in hertz.Watch out. Menu 13 is the tone you SEND, which is the one that opens the repeater. Menu 11 is the tone you listen for. The manual's own worked example gets these two the wrong way round — see the note on this page.
7. Open menu 25, pick an empty channel number, press MENU to store it and EXIT to come out.MENU›25›MENU›shows 25 Memory›type 031›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 25.Memory with a channel number. A channel already in use shows as CH-031; an empty one shows the bare number.That difference in the display is how you tell an empty channel from a used one before you overwrite something. There are 199 channels.

Press VFO/MR to go back to channel mode and your repeater is sitting on the number you chose. If it will not key the repeater afterwards, the tone is the first thing to check and the direction is the second — both of them live in frequency mode, so you cannot fix them from the channel you just made. Come back to frequency mode, set them again, and store to the same channel number on top of the old one.

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

Set the transmit tone (CTCSS / PL) on a TD-H3

The transmit tone is the quiet one your radio sends underneath your voice to tell the repeater you are allowed in. On this radio it is menu 13, and it is the single most common reason a new TD-H3 cannot key a repeater it can hear perfectly well.

1. Get into frequency mode first — press VFO/MR until the channel number disappears.VFO/MRThe screen should show: A bare frequency.Watch out. In channel mode this item is locked out. You can open it and turn the arrows and nothing at all will happen, which looks exactly like a broken radio.
2. Open menu 13, scroll to your repeater's tone, MENU to save, EXIT to leave.MENU›13›MENU›shows 13 Tx CTCSS›▲▼ 67.0 to 254.1 Hz›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 13.Tx CTCSS and the tone frequency. There are 50 of them.Off is the first entry in the list, so scrolling all the way back to the top is how you turn the tone off again.

The screen shows CT when a CTCSS tone is in use. If your repeater wants a digital code rather than a tone — something written as D023 or D754 with an N or an I after it — that is DCS, and it is menu 12 instead. Setting both at once is not useful; pick the one your repeater asks for.

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

Set the receive tone on a TD-H3

The receive tone is the opposite job: it keeps the speaker shut unless the station calling you is sending that same tone. Useful on a busy simplex frequency, and a good way to make a repeater channel go silent if you set it by mistake.

1. Get into frequency mode — press VFO/MR until the channel number disappears.VFO/MRThe screen should show: A bare frequency.
2. Open menu 11, scroll to the tone you want to listen for, MENU to save, EXIT to leave.MENU›11›MENU›shows 11 Rx CTCSS›▲▼ 67.0 to 254.1 Hz›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 11.Rx CTCSS and the tone frequency.

Most repeater work does not need this at all — you normally set the transmit tone on menu 13 and leave the receive tone off, so you hear everything coming out of the repeater. If a channel has gone completely quiet on you, a receive tone that does not match is the usual cause, and setting menu 11 back to Off is the fix.

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

Set the offset direction and amount on a TD-H3

A repeater listens on a different frequency from the one it talks on. Two settings describe that: which way, and how far. They are two separate menu items on this radio and they both have to be right.

1. Frequency mode first — press VFO/MR until the channel number disappears.VFO/MRThe screen should show: A bare frequency.Watch out. Menu 23 is one of the items the manual lists as disabled in channel mode.
2. Open menu 23 and choose Plus, Minus or None.MENU›23›MENU›shows 23 Direction›▲▼ Plus, Minus or None›MENUThe screen should show: A small + or − appears above the frequency. Nothing showing means simplex.In the US the usual pattern is minus on 2 meters below 147 MHz, plus above it, and plus or minus on 70 centimeters depending on the pair. Your repeater directory gives the real answer. None means simplex.
3. Open menu 24 and type the amount in megahertz, then MENU and EXIT.MENU›24›MENU›shows 24 Offset›type 00.60000›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 24.Offset and the figure you typed.Watch out. Megahertz, not kilohertz — 600 kHz is 00.60000. The field will take anything from 00.00000 to 69.99750, so a wrong entry is accepted without complaint.

You can check the whole thing without transmitting: set the offset, then look at what the radio would send. If your repeater uses an odd split that does not appear in any directory, this pair of items will do it — there is no standard-offset shortcut on this radio to fight with.

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

Set the squelch on a TD-H3

Squelch is how strong a signal has to be before the speaker opens. Ten steps on this radio, and the useful setting is lower than most people leave it.

1. Open menu 1, pick a level from 0 to 9, MENU to save, EXIT to leave.MENU›1›MENU›shows 1 Squelch›▲▼ 0 to 9›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 1.Squelch and the number.0 holds the squelch open so you hear everything including the noise. 9 opens only for the strongest signals — and quietly loses the weak ones you might actually want.

The way to set it honestly is to wind it down until the hiss comes back, then up one step until it goes quiet, and stop there. Anything higher is throwing away range you paid for. This one item does work in channel mode as well as frequency mode, unlike the tones.

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

Change the transmit power on a TD-H3

High drains the battery and low is often plenty, particularly into a repeater you can hear well.

1. Open menu 2, choose the level, MENU to save, EXIT to leave.MENU›2›MENU›shows 2 TX Power›▲▼ High, Mid or Low›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 2.Tx Power and the level. The home screen shows H, M or L along the top.Watch out. The manual contradicts itself about how many levels there are — the menu chapter and the display chapter describe three, while the appendix and the feature list at the front each say two. The display icon table names all three, so H, M and L is what this page uses.

If you are working somebody across the room, low is not a compromise — it is the setting that stops you desensing their receiver, and it is easier on the battery. The manual lists what a memory channel stores and transmit power is not on that list, so check the level after you change channels rather than assuming it followed you.

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

Name a memory channel on a TD-H3

This radio does not have this feature. What follows is what it does have, and why the thing you were looking for is not here.

Short answer: not from the keypad. The radio will happily show you a channel name, but there is no way to type one into it. The name has to come from the programming software over the cable or over Bluetooth. What the keypad controls is only whether the screen shows the name, the frequency, or the channel number.

1. Menu 19 sets what the A side displays in channel mode.MENU›19›MENU›shows 19 MDF-A›▲▼ Frequency or Name›MENUThe screen should show: 19.MDF-A with Frequency or NAME.
2. Menu 20 does the same for the B side.MENU›20›MENU›shows 20 MDF-B›▲▼ Frequency or Name›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 20.MDF-B with Frequency or NAME.Watch out. Setting these to NAME on a channel that has no name in it gives you a blank space where the frequency used to be. Set them back to Frequency if that happens.

The manual puts the limit at three characters in one place and six in another, so do not count on a long name even once you are in the software. If you want names on your channels, that is the one job on this radio genuinely worth plugging it into a computer for — the Bluetooth programming route reaches the same fields without a cable.

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

Delete a memory channel on a TD-H3

Deleting a channel empties it so you can program it again, or just leave the gap.

1. Open menu 26, pick the channel number, MENU to delete it, EXIT to leave.MENU›26›MENU›shows 26 Delete›type 031›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 26.Delete and a channel number.Watch out. The item next door, menu 25, is the one that STORES a channel — same kind of screen, same kind of number, one digit apart. Read the item name at the top before you press MENU.

Storing on top of a channel you no longer want does the same job in one step and is usually what you actually mean. Delete is for clearing space you want to stay empty. Whether a channel gets scanned is a separate setting again — menu 16 Scan Add, one channel at a time.

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

Turn off the roger beep on a TD-H3

The roger beep is the chirp the radio sends when you let go of the PTT. On a repeater it lands on top of the repeater's own courtesy tone, which is why most people turn it off.

1. Open menu 31, set it to Off, MENU to save, EXIT to leave.MENU›31›MENU›shows 31 Roger›▲▼ Off or On›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 31.Roger with Off or On.

Do not confuse this with menu 6 Beep, which is the click you hear when you press a key and is yours alone, or with menu 30 TAIL and menu 40 RP-STE, which deal with the burst of noise at the end of somebody else's transmission. Three different beeps, three different items.

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

Turn off the voice announcements on a TD-H3

The voice announcements read out what you are doing as you do it. Helpful while you are learning the menu, wearing thin by the second day.

1. Open menu 14, set it to Off, MENU to save, EXIT to leave.MENU›14›MENU›shows 14 Voice›▲▼ Off or On›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 14.Voice with Off or On.It reads out the item you are on as you scroll, which is what makes walking a 52-item menu slow.

The announcement at switch-on that tells you whether you are in frequency mode or channel mode comes from this setting too, so it goes quiet as well. If you would rather keep that one and lose the rest, the radio does not offer that — it is all of them or none.

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

Turn off dual watch on a TD-H3

Dual watch is the radio listening to both sides at once and jumping to whichever one comes alive. It is genuinely useful and it is also the reason people find themselves transmitting on the wrong frequency, so the second item here matters as much as the first.

1. Open menu 9 and set D.Wait to Off to watch only the side the arrow is on.MENU›9›MENU›shows 9 D.Wait›▲▼ Off or On›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 9.D.Wait with Off or On. With it on, a two-arrow symbol appears on the channel line under the main frequency.
2. While you are in there, check menu 15. MAIN always transmits on the side the arrow is against; BUSY transmits on whichever side last heard something.MENU›15›MENU›shows 15 TX-SEL›▲▼ MAIN or BUSY›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 15.TX-SEL with MAIN or BUSY.Watch out. BUSY is the setting that surprises people. You hear a station on the B side, key up expecting to answer on A, and the radio sends on B. If you have ever transmitted somewhere you did not intend on this radio, this is almost certainly why.

The radio also has a separate FM dual watch on menu 18, which is about listening to the broadcast band with one ear on the ham bands. It is not the same setting and turning one off does not turn the other off.

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

Lock the keypad on a TD-H3

Worth doing before the radio goes on your belt. There are two ways in: a key you hold, and a setting that does it for you.

1. Hold the ✱ key for more than two seconds to lock the keypad, and hold it again to unlock.hold ✱The screen should show: A small padlock appears along the top of the screen.Watch out. The display icon table says to hold # instead. Four other places in the same manual say ✱ — the keypad diagram, the keypad lock section, and menu 22 in both the functions chapter and the appendix — so ✱ is what this page uses. If ✱ does nothing on your radio, try # before assuming the lock is broken.
2. To have the radio lock itself when you leave it alone, open menu 22 and set AUTO LK to On.MENU›22›MENU›shows 22 AUTO LK›▲▼ Off or On›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: 22.AUTO LK with Off or On.The manual gives two different delays for this — 8 seconds in one place and 15 in another — so expect it to lock sooner than you think rather than later.

The manual does not say whether either method locks the PTT, so do not assume a locked radio in a bag cannot transmit. What it does say is that the lock does not stop the repeater tone burst: holding PTT and LAMP together still sends it with the keypad locked, which is occasionally exactly what you want.

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

Factory reset on a TD-H3

Three kinds of reset on this radio, and the difference between them is whether your channels survive. Read the options before you commit — the manual does not describe a confirmation step, so assume there is none.

1. Open menu 35.MENU›35›MENU›shows 35 ResetThe screen should show: 35.Reset with VFO, CH or ALL underneath.
2. VFO resets the frequency-mode settings and leaves your programmed channels alone.▲▼ VFO›MENUThe screen should show: VFO on the value line.This is the one to try first. It clears up almost everything that sends somebody looking for a reset — a radio that has gone quiet, a tone set by accident, an offset nobody can find.
3. CH resets the channel side.▲▼ CH›MENUThe screen should show: CH on the value line.Watch out. The manual describes this only as “Channel Reset” and nowhere says whether it empties your channels or only resets their settings. Treat it as though it empties them.
4. ALL resets both. Choose it only if you genuinely want the radio empty.▲▼ ALL›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: ALL on the value line.

If you have your channels in the programming software, a reset costs you nothing and is often faster than hunting for whatever got changed. If you do not, read the channels out to the software first — that is ten minutes that saves an evening.

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

Not covered yet on this radio

Listen on the repeater's input

These are honestly missing rather than hidden. Nothing goes on this page until it has been walked on the radio itself, or two independent sources agree on it, or it comes straight out of the manufacturer’s own manual for this model — and guessing at a keystroke is exactly the failure these pages exist to avoid.