TYT Handheld Transceiver
Voice Prompts
This article is for blind and vision-impaired amateur radio operators interested in the voice prompting feature of TYT Electronics TH-UVF1-series handheld transceivers. This standard feature gives spoken feedback about keystrokes and menu settings.
Comparing TYT and Wouxun
These radios are similar to Wouxun KG-UVD1P-series handheld transceivers. (TYT Electronics and the Wouxun Company are both located in Quanzhou City, mainland China.) With voice prompts enabled, the radios from both companies give spoken confirmation of keystrokes during operation. Wouxun voice prompts are reviewed in a separate article.
W2CRG compares the pros and cons of his TYT and Wouxun radios on eHam.net (July 23, 2011). He notes that TYT voice prompts are easier to hear—clearer and unaccented—and the menu prompts are more verbose.
When Wouxun radios are in Menu Mode, the menu options and your keypad entries are not spoken. It's necessary to read information from the small LCD display. TYT models, on the other hand, can give useful spoken information about menu options.
Using the TYT Menus
Here is an example W2CRG sent via email showing the steps to set the power level on a TYT radio:
Step Keystroke Audio Prompts
Menu Mode [Menu] "Menu"
Enter Menu #4 [4] "Power"
Selection Mode [Menu] "Enter, High" or
"Enter, Low"
View Options [Down] or [Up] "Low" or "High"
Arrow
Enter Selection [U/V] "Escape"
Exit Menu Mode [U/V] "Escape"
The audio prompts in bold text show where, in a similar example, the Wouxun only beeps. The TYT audio prompts during the Selection Mode and View Options steps depend on the current setting.
In the preceding example, [Menu][4] takes you directly to Menu Number 4. This shortcut only works if you can identify the menu with a single keystroke, like [4]. Entering [Menu][2][7] does not take you to Menu Number 27 on the TYT. Instead, you must step through the menus in numerical order by entering [Menu][Up] or [Menu][Down]. A voice prompt, such as "Power," describes each menu.
Here is a list from W2CRG of shortcuts to access menus directly:
Keystrokes Voice Prompt
[Menu][0] "Menu, ID Code"
[Menu][1] "Menu, Scan"
[Menu][2] "Menu, Priority Transmit"
[Menu][3] "Menu, VOX"
[Menu][4] "Menu, Power"
[Menu][5] "Menu, Squelch"
[Menu][6] "Menu, Scrambler"
[Menu][7] "Menu, Auto Light"
[Menu][8] "Menu, Display Color"
[Menu][9] "Menu, Beep"
[Menu][*] "Menu, Code" (to set CTCSS/DCS)
[Menu][#] "Menu, Shift" (for a frequency shift)
[Menu][U/V] "Menu, Store Channel"
Summary
Voice prompts are a standard feature in TYT Electronics TH-UVF-series handheld transceivers. Spoken confirmation of keystrokes and spoken menu settings make these radios more accessible.
Acknowledgment
Thanks to W2CRG for posting the eHam review and for sending information about the radio.
Author Information
Peter DeNeef, AE7PD, is an Extra Class amateur radio operator in the U.S. This Web site has no ads or conflicts of interest.
Email: HamRadioAndVision "at" gmail "dot" com.
rev. 2/8/2024