Motorola | Resources

How To Program a Motorola Radio

Your Motorola radio programming mode allows you to change some settings while others are left unchanged as they are non-programmable. The programmable settings on your walkie-talkie include

  • Channel
  • Operating frequency configuration (from a pre-programmed frequency list)
  • Interference eliminator code
  • Call tones
  • Microphone gain

By default, your Motorola radio is programmed to these settings;

Channel 1- 8 each with its corresponding frequency from 1-8.

The code is set at frequency 1

Call tone/Vibra call is off

VOX–off

Microphone gain at frequency 2 (medium sensitivity).

To enter the programming mode on your device, make sure your radio is fully charged. Then;

Press and hold the Push to Talk (PTT) and MON button for 3 seconds while turning on the radio. The radio will make a beep sound and display the PROG sign. The channel number flashes on the display, the frequency (indicated by FREQ) and code (indicated by CODE) will alternately display.

Ensure that you hold down the PTT button when programming, if you press and release the PTT button during programming, it takes you back to the program page thereby losing all what you have programmed.

In a simpler way, push down the push to talk (PTT) button together with the button underneath it firmly, and turn the radio on, it gives a beep sound with a flashing green light.

Selecting a channel.

  1. While in programming mode, press MENU until the channel number flashes and the frequency and code display off and on. (note that channel selection is the first setting after you enter the programming mode.)
  2. Press (-) or (+)to select the channel 3. Press and hold Push to Talk (PTT) to exit programming mode or press MENU to continue programming. To program in the frequency 1, in programming mode, press MENU intil 1 displays and the frequency number flashes 2. Press (+) or (-) to select frequency 3. Press the Push to Talk to exit programming or press MENU to continue programming.

Programming the interference Eliminator code

The interference eliminator code helps provides you with codes that filter out static, noise or unwanted messages thus minimizing interference on your walkie-talkie either while transmitting, receiving or on standby.

To program the code, I’m sure by now you know how to enter the programming mode. If not, press down the Push to Talk button and MON together until you see the PROG sign on the display.

  1. Enter the programming mode
  2. Press MENU until CODE displays and the code number flashes.
  3. Press (-) or (+) to select the code.
  4. Press and hold the PTT button to exit programming or MENU to continue programming.

Programming the available channels

You can reduce the number of channels on your radio if you need fewer channels.

To program the available channels,

  1. Enter the programming mode
  2. Press MENU until CH displays and the channel number flashes
  3. Press (-) or (+)  to select the number of available channels you want. (note that the radio retains settings for the channels made unavailable, therefore you can go to the settings and make them available anytime you want to.
  4. Press and hold Push to talk button to exit programming or MENU to continue programming.

Programming call tones and Vibra call

You can set your radio to transmit call tones to other radios in your group to alert them especially if you want to transmit. The call tone is factory set to 0 (turned off) but you can change the setting to a preferred call tone.

Vibra call on the other hand allows your radio vibrate when it receives especially if you haven’t transmitted in the last 30 seconds. The Vibra call feature is an additional option on the call tone. When the Vibra call feature is turned on, the vibra signal is displayed on the radio.

To program the Vibra call;

  1. enter the program mode
  2. press MENU until CA displays
  3. press (+) or (-) to hear and select the call tone. Select call tone 8 or 4 for Vibra call or call tones between 1,2, 3, 4 for audible call tones
  4. Press and hold Push to Talk to exit programming mode or press MENU to continue programming.

To transmit your call tone, press the bell sign on the side of your radio.

To program the microphone gain

  1. enter the program mode
  2. press MENU until the G displays.
  3. Press (-) or (+) to select

1 for low sensitivity

2 for medium sensitivity

3 for high sensitivity

To Edit scan list

To avoid unwanted transmissions when scanning, and for faster scanning, you can edit the scan list to change channels on your radio.

  1. Enter the programming mode
  2. press MENU until a Z sign displays and the channel number and y or n flashes,
  3. press the (-) or (+) to select the channel
  4. press MON to select Y (to include channel) n (to exclude channel)

To program your Motorola radio using the Customer Programming software (CPS)

More than the manual programming, the software programming is very easy to operate and within few minutes, you are done changing the features you want changed on your radio. The CPS is used with the CPS programming cable. The CPS software is made available for free on www.motorolasolutions.com/CLS.

To program using the software, place your Motorola radio into the Drop-in charger tray and connect your radio through the CPS programming cable to the computer once you have verified that the programming cable switch is in the Analog mode. If your CPS cable is showing “CPS/Flash”, switch the position to CPS.

To program,

  1. open the CPS software on the computer and click on the RADIO top tab
  2. click on the READ tab to read the radio or on the drop down menu, Radio Type. Choose CLS to open a new profile or an existing one.

The CPS can identify the radio model it is reading.

  1. Click READ RADIO. Once this is clicked, the radio gives series of beep sounds to show that reading is in progress and will upload a new radio setting.
  2. Once all the settings are changed, click “write to radio” to program your radio with the new settings. The CPS will show a window to confirm successful writing. After then, you can save your profile to use again anytime when programming other radios.

To save, click on “Save to profile” to save to the default path on your computer, to change the location click on “save as” then choose the path you want to get it saved on.

How to program a Motorola radio frequency

The Motorola radio has pre-programmed frequency and to change your radio frequency, it has to be done manually for each channel. You need to set your channels to the same frequency number as your group’s radio.

To program the radio frequency, enter the advanced configuration mode by pressing and holding down the Push to talk button and MENU for 3 seconds while turning the radio on.

Once the radio beeps, it displays PROG with the channel number blinking and the frequency (FREQ) and code (CODE) displaying alternately.

Press MENU until FREQ displays and the frequency number blinks.

Press (-) or (+) to select the frequency.

Press and hold the Push to talk button to exit or MENU to continue programming.

What frequency do Motorola walkie-talkies use?

The Motorola walkie-talkie uses a range of frequencies to transmit and receive messages. There are up to 56 UHF frequencies available on a Motorola walkie-talkie. The frequency chart below shows some of the frequency number and the corresponding bandwidths for transmitting and receiving messages. The frequency may be the same on different Motorola devices, but the bandwidths are sometimes different.

How to set Motorola walkie-talkie frequency.

The Motorola walkie-talkie is designed mostly for hikers, campers and other individuals that love being outdoor more than they are indoor. The device can perform a two-way communication (transmission/receiving) with other walkie-talkies but must be connected to other devices on the same transmission channel.

To set the Motorola walkie-talkie frequency, you must ensure that both devices have their batteries inserted and well charged before use.

With your phone turned off, press down the PTT button and the MON button together at once while turning on your device and hold for 2-3 seconds until the radio beeps and displays PROG. Press down the MENU button to identify the preset channel, then use the – or + button to choose the channel you’d love to communicate on.

Once your desired channel is displayed on the screen, press the MENU key. Now, the frequency number should be displayed on the screen then you use the – or + key to choose your preferred frequency number. Some of the frequencies and corresponding numbers are shown above, you can find the complete frequencies on the owners’ manual.

Display
Number
Frequency (Mhz)

Bandwidth
1464.500012.5/25.0
2464.550012.5/25.0
3467.762512.5/25.0
4467.812512.5/25.0
5467.850012.5/25.0
6467.875012.5/25.0