How to Program a KG-UV8D — Step by Step

A numbered menu like the Baofeng, but the numbers are different — this is exactly where people get caught out.

This page covers: Wouxun KG-UV8D, Wouxun KG-UV8D Plus, Wouxun KG-UV8E. They share the same firmware, so the steps below are identical on all of them whatever name is printed on the front.

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

Save a repeater to a memory channel on a KG-UV8D

Same shape as the Baofeng — set the frequency, hang the settings off it, save it once. The numbers are different and the save is simpler.

1. Press A/B so the upper display is the active one.A/BThe screen should show: The pointer on the A side.
2. Press VFO/MR to get into frequency mode.VFO/MRThe screen should show: A frequency with no channel number.
3. Type the repeater's output frequency on the keypad.type 146.940
4. Menu 16 sets the transmit tone.MENU›16›MENU›shows T-CTC›▲▼ your tone›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: T-CTC, then the tone.Watch out. On the Baofeng this is menu 13. Here it is 16.
5. Menu 23 sets the offset amount.MENU›23›MENU›shows OFFSET›type 00.600›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: OFFSET, then the amount.
6. Menu 24 sets the direction: 1 for plus, 2 for minus.MENU›24›MENU›shows SFT-D›type 1›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: SFT-D.
7. Menu 27 saves it. Pick a channel number shown in blue.MENU›27›MENU›shows MEM-CH›type 015›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: MEM-CH, then the channel number.Blue means empty, black means something is already there. This is the one nice thing this radio does that the Baofeng does not.

One save, not two — unlike the Baofeng, this radio works the transmit frequency out and stores it for you.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Set the transmit tone (CTCSS / PL) on a KG-UV8D

1. Open menu 16, pick the tone, press MENU, then EXIT.MENU›16›MENU›shows T-CTC›▲▼ your tone›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: T-CTC, then the tone.

T-CTC is the transmit tone and it is the one a repeater needs. R-CTC on menu 15 is a different job and setting both when you only needed one is the usual way to end up hearing nothing.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Set the receive tone on a KG-UV8D

1. Open menu 15, pick the tone, press MENU, then EXIT.MENU›15›MENU›shows R-CTC›▲▼ your tone›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: R-CTC, then the tone.

This silences the radio for anything not carrying that exact tone. It is genuinely useful on a busy shared frequency and it is also the single most common reason a radio goes mysteriously quiet. If yours has, look here first.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Set the offset direction and amount on a KG-UV8D

Two menus, and they sit next to each other. If you have come from a Baofeng, note that the two are the other way round from what you are used to.

1. Menu 23 sets how far away the repeater listens.MENU›23›MENU›shows OFFSET›type 00.600›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: OFFSET, then the amount.Watch out. On the Baofeng this is menu 26. Carrying the number across from a Baofeng cheat sheet lands you in the shift-direction menu instead.
2. Menu 24 sets the direction. Key 1 for plus or 2 for minus.MENU›24›MENU›shows SFT-D›type 1›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: SFT-D, then your choice.You type the number rather than arrowing to a symbol, which catches people out because most of the other menus on this radio work the other way.

Set these before you save the channel, not after. The radio works out the transmit frequency at the moment you save, so changing the offset afterwards does nothing to a channel already stored.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Set the squelch on a KG-UV8D

1. Open menu 2, pick a level, press MENU, then EXIT.MENU›2›MENU›shows SQL›▲▼ 0 to 9›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: SQL.

Turn it up until the hiss stops and then leave it alone. Every notch past that point is a weak station you will never hear, which on a handheld is most of the interesting ones.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Change the transmit power on a KG-UV8D

1. Open menu 4, choose your power level, press MENU, then EXIT.MENU›4›MENU›shows TXP›▲▼ high, mid or low›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: TXP.

This radio gives you three levels rather than the Baofeng’s two. If the repeater hears you on low, stay on low — it roughly doubles how long the battery lasts and keeps you from covering up someone further out.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Name a memory channel on a KG-UV8D

This radio can do something the Baofeng cannot: put a name on a channel without a computer. Save the channel first, then name it.

1. Get into channel mode and land on the channel you want to name.VFO/MR›▲▼ the channelThe screen should show: The channel number you are about to label.The name attaches to whichever channel you are sitting on, so landing on the wrong one is the easy mistake here.
2. Open menu 26 and press MENU to start editing.MENU›26›MENU›shows CHNAME›MENUThe screen should show: CHNAME, then an edit cursor.
3. Use the arrows to pick each character and MENU to move along to the next one.▲▼ each character›MENUThe screen should show: Your name building up, one character at a time.Watch out. It is a short field, so a repeater callsign fits and a description usually does not. Use the callsign.
4. Press EXIT when the name reads the way you want it.EXITThe screen should show: Back to the channel, now showing its name.

If the screen still shows a frequency rather than the name, that is the display setting rather than the name — menu 21, CH-MDF, controls what the channel line shows.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Delete a memory channel on a KG-UV8D

1. Open menu 28, type the channel number, press MENU, then EXIT.MENU›28›MENU›shows DEL-CH›type 015›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: DEL-CH.

There is no undo. Check the number on the screen before you confirm, because the channel you meant to keep and the one next to it look identical at a glance.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Turn off the roger beep on a KG-UV8D

1. Open menu 5, set it to OFF, press MENU, then EXIT.MENU›5›MENU›shows ROGER›▲▼ OFF›MENU›EXITThe screen should show: ROGER, then OFF.

This menu has a begin tone as well as an end tone, so if something is still chirping after you switch the roger beep off, look at the other setting in the same menu.

Checked on the radio itself, not just read off a manual.

Not covered yet on this radio

Factory reset · Listen on the repeater's input · Lock the keypad · Turn off dual watch · Turn off the voice announcements

These are honestly missing rather than hidden. Nothing goes on this page until it has been checked on the radio itself, and guessing at a keystroke is exactly the failure these pages exist to avoid.