... modern rigs have got some pretty neat features, too.
Today I used new software and a USB cable to reprogram my mobile Yeasu FT-857D. Previously, I had entered about 20 channels worth of freq, tone and offset data from the front panel. A royal PITA. Also, the rig, having been factory programmed with the five original 60M channels, needed to have Channel 3 changed, per subsequent FCC Rules. With great trepidation (all software seems to dislike my cologne), I plugged the USB cable into the backside of the rig, connected it to the laptop and turned on the radio per instructions. Everything talked to everything else as it was supposed to, and I ended up with 20 new FM channels in memory. The 60M channels seem to have been changed, too, but the front panel lists the center freqs, not dial freqs, so I'm going to have to re-verify when I get a Round Tuit.
However, the menu defaults seem to have been restored to factory settings and not what I selected. For example, the display color and intensity are what's known as "Obnoxious Orange." I prefer the "Kool Blue" that matches my car's display. Again, these changes await another Round Tuit.
I realize that the more modern milrads, such as the PRC-119, can be programmed via data input from a programming software suite similar to the one I used, but my milrad collection isn't that modern. So today's experience with the -857D was pretty satisfying and educational for me.
73 de
Gene Smar AD3F