RT Systems Programming Software and USB-57B cable for the Yaesu FT-70D Dual Band Digital HT

easy to download and use

Previously used Chirp until my cable stopped working. Decided to spend money on this as it claimed to be easier, and it really is.With Chirp had to remove the battery while on, hold buttons down while putting the battery in, the change to send/receive mode.With this you are just plugging into the 3.5mm headset jack and putting into send/receive.The price may turn some off because it is a per model setup, but having only a single model of handhelds made this a wonderful purchase.

Good quality

Ease of setting up frequencies and PL tones.

The basic product is great--what the HT manufacturers should provide but do not. I have several versions of the RT cables and software. This one had some problems getting the cable plug seated in the HT so that it would be recognized. Don't know whether the problems was with Yaesu jack or the RT plug. Frustrating until I figured it out, by putting the plug in and pulling it out several times.

It would seem the manufacturer of the software doesn't use CDs . So, while I'm in the field away from the internet and something happens I'm just SOL. I will think twice about purchasing from this manufacturer in the future. The cost is too much to be left without backup.

This software plus the included cable is a no-brainer improvement over the factory stuff. Yes, RTS wrote the original factory software that uses Yaesu's clumsy method for programming the radio. But that was at Yaesu's direction. In contrast, THIS software plus cable uses the radio's "clone" method to do the programming, so none of that "remove the battery" and "now boot into a special mode" nonsense. Instead, just plug the new cable into the microphone port, set the radio to clone, and then tell the software to either send or receive. The sheer convenience and straightforward usability makes this purchase a no-brainer in my book, even though it's kind of spendy. But a lot of the cost is for the cable, which appears to have active electronics in it.

A must have for the YAESU handheld.(And/But....because Amazon refuses to return money they stole from me the item cost an additional $10.00. (As does every item I purchase from the moment they took my money and gave me nothing for it.)