QYT KT-980 Plus Mobile Radio 75W 200CH Multiple Function VHF/UHF Dual Band Quad Band Standby FM Vehicle Transceiver Radio (Upgrade Version of KT-UV980)

I just received the radio yesterday and have found out there isn't any programming software specific to this radio, nor does the manual give any idea how to program it to work with a repeater. I did connect it to a service monitor and found out it is working within the advertised parameters on 2m and 70cm bands. AT best I have to say the author of the manual left out a great deal of necessary information.After hours of researching on internet turned up nothing concerning programming I will put the solution right here. Purchase the programming cable, although the manual does not explain how it connects to the radio. It plugs into the port under the left knob and a USB port on your computer. Use Chirp to read the radio before programming anything, DO NOT USE QYT UV980 as your model, use QYT KT-8900D as your model information. Read the radio so you do not loose the installed firmware. Now enter your channels in chirp and I do recommend saving the data on your laptop as well as writing it to the radio.I'm not faulting the hardware in any way at this point, only the extreme lack of pertinent information in the accompanying documentation. It is definitely not a radio for a newly licensed Ham. If you are newly licensed please talk with other Ham operators in your area for the best radios. I suggest the Anytone, Baofeng, Icom, Kenwood, Quansheng, and Yeasu brands as they are all much easier to program and use.

I own three of these 980Plus radios and use 1) RT Systems, (2) CHIRP [yes CHIRP free programming software NOW supports the QYT 980Plus, this is 2019 not 2017 like the early reviewers] and 3) QYT's own downloadable software to program them ( I use RT Systems cable, but a FTDI chip cable works better than the Prolific chip programming cable that gave Windows 10 a problem) Go with the FTDI chip programming cable set if you can. Some of my older prolific or clone devices worked fine under Win XP but Win7. Win8 Win 10 disliked the Prolific DriverGreat radio

The radio worked for about 3 hours during which I listened and occasionally talked. Then the radio went up in smoke with the final burnt out. It definitely was not worth the price.

Took a while to arrive but great radio for the $$

Big , but not too big , fit in a Nissan Xterra with a little work.

First of all, the lack of programing software is an issue. I was unable to program it using Chirp using any of the available radios Chirp had listed- using the 8900D did not work for me. There is nothing else that is available that I can find to program the radio in spite of the vague pronouncements in the adds for the radio. The manual was clearly translated by someone who is not completely familiar with the English language, which is a problem. I've been able to muddle through based on my prior experience with ham radio, but I have found that some things simply won't program as they should- i.e., i've been trying to program a repeater frequency into channel one, but the unit frustratingly will not recognize anything in that channel other than a simplex frequency.In addition to this, the most frustrating issue with me is its inability to reach out very far to a repeater. I actually purchased the radio to join a local ham net to use as a "base". While I can hear everyone perfectly, I have yet to trip the repeater myself. Full disclosure, the repeater is about 25 miles away, but I have a dedicated two meter antenna about 20 feet off the ground, in Florida (Flat, no mountains to interfere) and an SWR of 1.0. The unit is drawing 2.39 amps at 13.8 volts off my power supply at transmit, which calculates out to about 33 watts, not the promised 75 watts. I am able to reach out and touch other repeaters not nearly so far away, but the range is disappointing.Having said all that, the received transmissions are crisp and clear, the display is easy to read, and the unit is compact as promised. Were I to have a second opportunity to purchase a unit, I would probably go with something a bit more expensive and a bit more useable. I might "gift" this unit to one of my children and go for something else all together...

-This ain't a little radio-..The 7 amp power supply would run my old QYT KT8900 to 28 watts High but is limited on the QYT 980+ to 10 watts out. However with the biger power supply i get a good 80+ watts VHF at a 1.1 SWR and 50+ watts UHF at 1.3 SWR. You can load with Chirp 8900D and then tweak a little more with the QYT software. It runs cool and TX for a while before the fan even came on. The sound is supurb in this model!!.. The readout is easy to see . It is the bigger overall size which is more convient in a truck. Run a regular HF power supply and you will have better luck...73..

I am having problems of power output on VHF. I have tried several times to contact manufacture's tech support (ei. Joe) that contacted once by email and never responded back nor follow up. I am very disappointed about the tech support of QYT because they do not provide support other than from China but never get back to you. It is a shame for QYT.