skywarner
Member
Setting Up Your Kenwood TM-V71A
Many people are confused about the bands (VHF and UHF) and the two sides (A and B) of this transceiver. I want to clear up this confusion and tell you how I set up my 71A for maximum convenience.
Let’s clear up the first thing. The V71A has two sides, left and right, or, as they are called in the manual, A and B. These two sides are completely independent of the bands VHF and UHF. Gone are the days when A was the VHF side and B was the UHF side. You have two sides, A and B, and each of those sides handles any frequency at all, be it VHF or UHF.
Now let us look at groups. You will program frequencies, perhaps repeaters, perhaps simplex frequencies, into memory locations. The radio has 1000 memory locations. Each 100 memories represent a group. So, from 0 – 99 is the first group, from 100-199 is the second group, and so forth. Here is the nice thing. If you are, for example, on memory 045, and you push the big tuning button and hold it in for a couple of seconds, the radio starts scanning the group that you are in, in this case the first group. You can then switch over to side B where you might be on memory 312, and when you start a scan on that side, you would be scanning Group 3, memories 300 – 399.
Now you might be starting to gain an inkling that this presents wonderful customizable features. Let me tell you what I did.
I programmed local repeaters, both VHF and UHF, into memories 0-99. Then I programmed a big bunch of simplex frequencies into memories 101-199. Then I programmed a set of remote frequencies that I use for cross-banding into 201-299. Then I programmed a bunch of FRS frequencies into the 301-399 group, PMR channels into 401-499, business frequencies 501-599, and law enforcement frequencies into 601-699. I can scan any of these groups whenever I am interested.
Then I programmed mic keys A – D using menu items 512-509, to do GROUP-UP, ENTER, CALL, and A/B. Note that key A at the top is menu 512, the highest number. The function GROUP-UP moves up in groups every time you press the button, so you can quickly run through the different groups you have programmed. When you run out of groups at the top, it moves to the bottom and the sequence starts over. Key B, ENTER, is especially nice. Press the button and you can enter a frequency on the mic using number keys, then press ENTER again, and you are there! CALL changes the frequency to your call channel, and A/B switches sides on the transceiver. Between these keys and the up and down keys, you can quickly get to any memory location in your radio just using the mic keys.
Now, you can – if you want to – put all VHF repeaters in one group and all UHF repeaters into another group, but you do not have to. I group my frequencies by function rather than frequency, so my first group is loaded with “local chat repeaters” and some of them are VHF and some are UHF. Another group might be “law enforcement” with a bunch of frequencies from area sheriffs’ offices and volunteer fire department dispatches. Some are VHF and some are UHF. When I come home to my neighborhood I might scan the group with FRS channels in it.
I used the Kenwood factory programming software (free download) which is clutch and horrible, but it does the job. For each channel you have to enter a special channel edit screen to program tone, which is incredibly laborious. But it will do the job. So, this is how you can program your V71A for maximum flexibility and convenience. It is a wonderful radio.
Many people are confused about the bands (VHF and UHF) and the two sides (A and B) of this transceiver. I want to clear up this confusion and tell you how I set up my 71A for maximum convenience.
Let’s clear up the first thing. The V71A has two sides, left and right, or, as they are called in the manual, A and B. These two sides are completely independent of the bands VHF and UHF. Gone are the days when A was the VHF side and B was the UHF side. You have two sides, A and B, and each of those sides handles any frequency at all, be it VHF or UHF.
Now let us look at groups. You will program frequencies, perhaps repeaters, perhaps simplex frequencies, into memory locations. The radio has 1000 memory locations. Each 100 memories represent a group. So, from 0 – 99 is the first group, from 100-199 is the second group, and so forth. Here is the nice thing. If you are, for example, on memory 045, and you push the big tuning button and hold it in for a couple of seconds, the radio starts scanning the group that you are in, in this case the first group. You can then switch over to side B where you might be on memory 312, and when you start a scan on that side, you would be scanning Group 3, memories 300 – 399.
Now you might be starting to gain an inkling that this presents wonderful customizable features. Let me tell you what I did.
I programmed local repeaters, both VHF and UHF, into memories 0-99. Then I programmed a big bunch of simplex frequencies into memories 101-199. Then I programmed a set of remote frequencies that I use for cross-banding into 201-299. Then I programmed a bunch of FRS frequencies into the 301-399 group, PMR channels into 401-499, business frequencies 501-599, and law enforcement frequencies into 601-699. I can scan any of these groups whenever I am interested.
Then I programmed mic keys A – D using menu items 512-509, to do GROUP-UP, ENTER, CALL, and A/B. Note that key A at the top is menu 512, the highest number. The function GROUP-UP moves up in groups every time you press the button, so you can quickly run through the different groups you have programmed. When you run out of groups at the top, it moves to the bottom and the sequence starts over. Key B, ENTER, is especially nice. Press the button and you can enter a frequency on the mic using number keys, then press ENTER again, and you are there! CALL changes the frequency to your call channel, and A/B switches sides on the transceiver. Between these keys and the up and down keys, you can quickly get to any memory location in your radio just using the mic keys.
Now, you can – if you want to – put all VHF repeaters in one group and all UHF repeaters into another group, but you do not have to. I group my frequencies by function rather than frequency, so my first group is loaded with “local chat repeaters” and some of them are VHF and some are UHF. Another group might be “law enforcement” with a bunch of frequencies from area sheriffs’ offices and volunteer fire department dispatches. Some are VHF and some are UHF. When I come home to my neighborhood I might scan the group with FRS channels in it.
I used the Kenwood factory programming software (free download) which is clutch and horrible, but it does the job. For each channel you have to enter a special channel edit screen to program tone, which is incredibly laborious. But it will do the job. So, this is how you can program your V71A for maximum flexibility and convenience. It is a wonderful radio.
