PUXING PX-777 - DETAILED ENGLISH INSTRUCTIONS
As the Puxing 777 Chinese / English manual leaves something to be desired. Here is a detialed description of the radio operation in detailed English courtesy of WD5GNR.
Note that you can "lock" the radio via software so that the operator can't change much of its configuration. I am assuming that the radio is unlocked.
Of course, the top two knobs are volume (with on/off) and the encoder. You use the encoder for just about everything.
The radio has two main modes: Frequency and Channel. When in frequency mode, the display shows the operating frequency in MHz (with or without a channel number on the right -- more about that in a second). In channel mode, you'll see the name of the channel (by default "CH-001" or "CH-100" or whatever number the channel is on). To change modes, start with the radio turned off. Press and hold the ENTER key and turn the radio on. Once the radio display appears you can release the ENTER key. The radio remembers the mode until you change it again.
In frequency mode the VFO/MR button lets you pick between a VFO or the channel memories. In VFO mode, no channel number appears in the right of the display and the encoder just changes the frequency as you'd expect. In MR mode the channel number appears on the far right of the display and the encoder changes the channel number. Although the device has 128 memories, if you don't set a channel it doesn't show up as "empty"; it just doesn't show up. Note that in channel mode, the VFP/MR button doesn't do anything. When displaying channel memories you'll hear a gentle beep when you hit channel 1 (unless you have sounds turned off).
When receiving, the keypad lets you set the frequency (VFO mode) or the channel (channel memory mode). You can also press and hold (for 2 seconds) * to lock the keyboard (or unlock it). Note that this does NOT lock the push to talk or the transmitter, just the keyboard and the encoder knob. When locked a little key appears in the LCD. You can also press # and hold it (for 2 seconds) to reverse the transmit and receive frequencies (assuming they are different). This lets you listen to the input of a repeater, for example. When transmitting, the keypad sends TouchTones (this can be programmed, but I'm assuming that's how yours is programmed). If you need the A, B, C, and D DTMF keys they are mapped to MENU, ENTER, VFO/MR, and the orange call button, respectively.
On the left side of the radio is an orange "call" button. This is used with selective calling, so I doubt us hams will use that very much. The small black button is the monitor button. Pressing it opens the squelch so you can hear anything being transmitted. This is especially useful if you have the tone squelch on, you see the "S meter" moving but you don't hear anything. Pressing both the orange and black buttons and holding them will transmit an "alarm" signal which is probably not a good idea! Of course, the big black button is the Push to Talk (PTT) button.
The menu system is very simple. Press MENU and then you can select a function with the keypad or the encoder (there are more functions than keys). When you see the function you want followed by a question mark, press Enter. Then use the encoder or keyboard to pick a value. Confirm with enter or cancel with VFO/MR. The functions vary a little depending on frequency mode or channel mode.
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#
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Key
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Name
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Mode
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Function
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1
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1SCAN
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SCAN? 01
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Both
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In VFO mode, scans up from the current frequency until a signal is found (you can set what this means using 13 below. In Channel mode, scans the channels instead. While scanning, press Enter (or PTT) to stop scanning; move encoder clockwise to continue; move encoder counter clockwise to reverse the scan direction.
In channel mode, this always scans channels, of course.
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2
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2PRI
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PRI? 02
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Both
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The same as 1SCAN but in channel mode, only priority channels are scanned. You can set which channels are priority when programming. If frequency mode, scan is limited to 1MHz.
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3
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3VOX
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VOX? 03
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Both
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Sets the VOX level (0=off, 1-9 is sensitivity).
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4
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4POWER
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POW? 04
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Both
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Set transmitted power (must use encoder knob).
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5
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5SQL
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SQL? 05
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Both
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Set squelch level. Low levels lets you hear weaker signals, but may let you hear noise too. Higher levels mask weak signals.
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6
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6SCR
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SCRM? 06
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Both
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Sets scrambler on/off (must use encoder knob). When using the scrambler, voices are inverted which stops casual eavesdropping (but doesn't deter anyone who has a scrambler.
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7
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7LED
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LED? 07
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Both
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Controls LED backlighting. Select Auto/On/Off with encoder. Obviously, On will drain your battery faster!
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8
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8COLOR
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LIGHT? 08
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Both
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Uses encoder to set the backlight color to one of three values.
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9
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9BEEP
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BEEP? 09
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Both
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Turns beeping on or off.
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0
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0ANI
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ANI? 10
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Both
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Turns on Automatic Number ID (allows other station to see your station ID which must be programmed).
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11
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N/A
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KEYBO? 11
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Both
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Select manual or auto keyboard locking (in auto mode, the keyboard locks after a short time with no keys pressed).
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12
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N/A
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TOT? 12
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Both
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Sets a timer. I think this sets a transmit time out in seconds.
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13
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N/A
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SCANS? 13
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Both
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Sets scanner mode. Select TO (continue scanning after preset delay), CO (continue scanning when channel becomes inactive), or SE(stop scanning once active channel found)
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14
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N/A
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VOICE? 14
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Both
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Selects voice prompts. With programming software you can pick from heavily accented English or Chinese.
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15
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N/A
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DIFFR? 15
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Frequency
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Sets transmit offset frequency from 0 to over 70MHz. 5MHz is typical for US repeaters. This only applies with option 19 is set to + or -.
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15
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N/A
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NAME? 15
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Channel
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Selects programmed channel names (On) or generic CH-XXX names (Off). Note this operates only in channel mode (the one you set by pressing ENTER while turning the radio on. It does not function in VFO/MR-set channel mode.
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16, 17, 18
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# T-R
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C-CDC?, R-CDC?, T-CDC?
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Frequency
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Sets CTCSS/DCS code for Transmit (T), Receive (R), or Both (C). Press * to select between CTCSS and DCS (unless setting a preprogrammed channel). In DCS mode, press # to select normal or inverted. Note MENU # will select C-CDC.
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19
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*LOCK
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S-D 19
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Frequency
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Sets transmit offset +, -, or 0 (see #15 for the amount of offset).
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20
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N/A
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STEP? 20
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Frequency
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Sets channel step (5kHz, 10kHz, 6.25kHz, 12.5kHz, 25kHz).
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21
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N/A
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N/W 21
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Frequency
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Sets Wide or Narrow FM (I think this sets the receiver's IF bandwidth)
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N/A
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VFO/MR
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N/A
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Frequency
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In frequency mode you can store your current settings to a channel. Press Menu and then VFO/MR. The channel number will blink. You can use the keyboard or encoder to pick a channel to store and press VFO/MR to actually save.
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You can delete a stored channel by pressing VFO/MR while turning the radio on. The screen will say DEL? and show a channel number. Pick the channel you want to delete using keypad or encoder, press Enter (display turns to YES?) and then press Enter again. You can delete all non-preprogrammed channels by holding MENU down while turning the radio on and then press enter until the display reads VFO?. Then press enter. If you press enter when the display says FULL? You will reset the radio.
The display is mostly sefl-explanatory although the manual's reference to "Dispersion to hyper-received frequency" just means positive transmit offset! Here's a short summary:
Battery - Power left
+ (and -) - Transmit offset in effect
S - Scanning
Key - Locked
DT - DCS on
CT - CTCSS on
VOX - VOX on
Bell - Bell function (may be disabled on PX-777+)
R - Reverse mode
PRI - Priority scan
Star - Channel is a priority channel
Triangle - Squelch open (note there is a green light by the encoder that also shows squelch open)
Programming can be done from the keypad or via software and a cable. To enter self programming mode, press the monitor key (the small key under the PTT button) and MENU and hold them while turning the radio on. You can pick a channel and set all of its options including the channel name by following the prompts. If you use the software (at least the software I have), you can read these names, but when you program the radio, the names do not "take" for some reason. You have to enter self programming mode and set the names manually.
73 and enjoy your radio!
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