TYT TH-9800 clicking noise on 2m transmit

[Wayfarer]

Hi all,
 

New member here.  Longtime ham but new to GMRS.

I just got a new TH-9800 and so far it's great.  Nice simple controls, easy to program, wideband coverage, seems to be well made. 

One oddity though.  On 2m, the radio emits an audible chirpy clicking noise when the PTT is pushed and then another chirp/click when the PTT is released.  The sound is not coming from the speaker, it's coming from some component inside the radio, likely a relay.  It's loud enough to be objectionable in the shack, where I plan to use this radio.  440 transmit is quiet, no chirping noise, it's just on 2m.  This happens on both my 2m/440 antenna and a dummy load, both under 1.2:1 SWR and at all TX power levels.

Is this normal for this radio and not something I should worry about?  In the back of my mind, I'm worried it might be a defective relay that will completely fail at some point.  But this is also my first experience with Chinese radios and so maybe this is normal.  I would think if this was normal relay noise, it'd be present on both 2m and 440.  I've never had this on any other VHF/UHF radio I've had, but those have been Kenwood and Icom, so maybe the Chinese radios are different.  The radio is brand new.  

Thanks,

Darren

WRMU706

[LeeBo]

Update:  I went ahead an ordered a second TH-9800 since I was planning to buy a second one for the truck anyway, replacing my tried and true 2m-only Icom.  I should get it in the next week, well within the 30 day return period for defective radios (I bought directly from Radioddity), and I can see for myself if the noise is normal or not and exchange the radio if necessary.  I'll report back after I have the two radios side by side.
Interesting aside, just in the 10 days since I bought the first one, the price of the radio has gone up $40, I assume to reflect the new tariffs.  Even Amazon's price is suddenly up by $35.  I hope our supply of Chinese radios doesn't start drying up.  

Unfortunately this is only going to get worse.


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[AdmiralCochrane]

8 hours ago, LeeBo said:

A simple ground wire from the radio chassis to the vehicle ground may resolve that.


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That is my plan.  Might do ferrets at the same time.  I have read other Mopar owners reporting the same condition.

[Wayfarer]

I just discovered another problem with my 9800. 

The right side of the radio is almost deaf.  I discovered this last night on our way to our local club meeting when I could not receive our local 2m repeater until I was practically underneath it and then I was still only getting a weak signal.  I had the repeater on the right side.  But when I switched to the repeater on the left side, it suddenly came in full scale and full quieting.  

I double checked the programming to make sure I didn't fat finger something - at first I thought I may have entered the frequency off by 5 kHz or something - but it was all good.  I had the right side of the radio on scan the last few days since I got it and was wondering why there was absolutely no traffic on any local repeaters or frequencies.  Now I think I know why.  The right side of the radio is deaf.  

Without an RF gain control, is there anything I can adjust to restore the receive on the right side of the radio?  Any other possible user error I am overlooking?

Plus, the relay on the left side has started clattering almost continuously now on receive.  I'm starting to think the radio I got is a dud and that it's soon going to be going back for an exchange.  

[AdmiralCochrane]

It's a dud.  That is the way these fail.  Knowing this I actually bought an extended warranty on mine.

[Wayfarer]

19 minutes ago, AdmiralCochrane said:

It's a dud.  That is the way these fail.  Knowing this I actually bought an extended warranty on mine.

Yep, have to agree.  Looks like a classic case of infant mortality.

This is the first time in 30 years of hamming that I got a new radio that was defective out of the box.  I wish I could get back all the time I wasted on this thinking it was somehow operator error. 

My ham buddies are going to be telling me a lot of "I told you so" for buying a Chinese radio.  

[WRYZ926]

That is one of the issues I have read about the TH-9800. I'm thinking it has something to do with it being quad band since you don't hear about the TH-7800 having that issue.

Wouxun makes their KG-UV980P quad band. I can't comment on its quality since I have never used one. That being said, the Wouxun KG-1000G is based off of the 980P with a different firmware and it is a good radio.

Now if you don't mind using a dual band radio then the TYT TH-7800 works pretty well. The only complaint I have about it is that there is no mic gain settings and the mic is hot. But that goes with most CCR mobile radios, none of them have adjustable mic gain. You have to remember to hold the mic at a certain distance and at an angle. 

[LeeBo]

Yep, have to agree.  Looks like a classic case of infant mortality.
This is the first time in 30 years of hamming that I got a new radio that was defective out of the box.  I wish I could get back all the time I wasted on this thinking it was somehow operator error. 
My ham buddies are going to be telling me a lot of "I told you so" for buying a Chinese radio.  

If you’re going to get a lot of “I told you so”, the they don’t sound like “buddies” to me.

I bought my 9800 knowing it was a cheap Chineseium radio that may or may not last long and that I knew I would upgrade in the future.

But I bought it to “get my feet wet” in the world of mobile amateur radio.


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[WRYZ926]

2 hours ago, LeeBo said:

I bought my 9800 knowing it was a cheap Chineseium radio that may or may not last long and that I knew I would upgrade in the future.

But I bought it to “get my feet wet” in the world of mobile amateur radio.

That is the same reason I bought the TYT TH-7800. And the first one worked well enough that I bought a second one for the vehicle. The one in the shack has since been replaced by an Icom IC-2730 but that TH-7800 is now used for Winlink. And the TH-7800 is still going strong.

[Wayfarer]

I'll try the TH-7800.  When I bought the 9800 I didn't even know there was a 7800.  I only need 2m/440, so the 7800 would be just fine.  

My buddies said I'd be frustrated with defects and questionable performance, especially coming from the Big 3 Japanese radios.  It was worth a try to find out for myself.  If the 7800 is more reliable, then that'll be my next experiment with Chinese radios.  

Kicking myself for selling my Kenwood V71A several years ago.  I'm primarily an HF guy and never used that Kenwood.  But now that I'm becoming more active in our local club, I'm doing more VHF/UHF now and wish I had my old Kenwood back.  I'd buy another but the used prices are ridiculous, way higher than the new price was just a few years ago.  The Icom 2730A looks good too, but once you add in the cost of all the brackets, separation cables, control head mounts, etc., it's as much as a V71A and I refuse to participate in the Icom accessories customer fleecing model.  Let's hope the TH-7800 works out.

Edit:  Looking for a TH-7800, I see that there is actually a newer model, the TH-7900.  Any reason not to go with the newer model?  Sorry for the thread drift.

[WRYZ926]

The TH-7800 in my vehicle has done well over the last 15 months being exposed to sub zero temps to 100+ temps inside the vehicle. The only negative I have is the mic is hot and there is no way to adjust the mic gain. I just make sure to hold the mic at an angel which helps. Watch R&L electronics for when they have the TH-7800 on sale.

That being said, the Icom IC-2730 is worth the upgrade as far as the radio itself goes. I use mine in the shack so I didn't need the mounting bracket. I do agree with you that Icom is bad about gouging for the mounting hardware and accessories though.

I don't even use the mounting brackets for the main units on my radios in the vehicle, They sit under the seat and the remote heads are mounted to a Lido seat bolt mount.

[LeeBo]

The 2730 will be my next mobile unit. I’ll use the 9800 as a base unit.


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[GrouserPad]

On 2/7/2025 at 9:08 PM, Wayfarer said:

edited

Ive got a chinese radio that also is right side deaf. I can go to one side and kerchunk repeaters and get all kinds of response from them. But if i go to the other side and kerchunk them, I get no receive back on that right side. It sucks because it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. If I switched the freqs to the same on both sides and key up on the "deaf" side it will transmit fine and the other side of the radio will pull in the rx perfect but the right sidee i tx'ed from will not. I sent it back. We will see how the customer support is. So far so good and good quick response for return shipping labels and what not. So I'm hopeful.

[Wayfarer]

3 hours ago, GrouserPad said:

Ive got a chinese radio that also is right side deaf. I can go to one side and kerchunk repeaters and get all kinds of response from them. But if i go to the other side and kerchunk them, I get no receive back on that right side. It sucks because it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. If I switched the freqs to the same on both sides and key up on the "deaf" side it will transmit fine and the other side of the radio will pull in the rx perfect but the right sidee i tx'ed from will not. I sent it back. We will see how the customer support is. So far so good and good quick response for return shipping labels and what not. So I'm hopeful.

Where'd you buy yours from?  I got mine from a well-known Chinese company with a small U.S. presence that is known for good service.  I plan to call/email them tomorrow and start the exchange process.  Good luck with your radio.

[GrouserPad]

1 hour ago, Wayfarer said:

Where'd you buy yours from?  I got mine from Radioddity.  I plan to call them tomorrow and start the exchange process.  Good luck

I sent you a message on here or a pm. Whatever they are called.

[warthog74]

On 2/7/2025 at 8:08 PM, Wayfarer said:

I just discovered another problem with my 9800. 

The right side of the radio is almost deaf.

Same thing happened to mine recently. However i’ve owned it for about 12-ish years now, so i’m not too disappointed. Now i just shut VFO B off and have it display voltage instead.

[AdmiralCochrane]

20 hours ago, warthog74 said:

Same thing happened to mine recently. However i’ve owned it for about 12-ish years now, so i’m not too disappointed. Now i just shut VFO B off and have it display voltage instead.

I think those made 10+ years ago were more prone to the problem than those made recently.  The first 9800 I bought years ago only works on one side, but I paid little enough for it that it was still a good deal even though it was half of what it was when new.

[Wayfarer]

Wart & Admiral, good data points.  My right side was defective out of the box, 2025 new radio purchase.  And it had the defective left side relay, also out of the box.  It seems they didn't fully address these problems with the currently new radios.  Evidently, it's luck of the draw with these radios.  

Based on multiple recommendations here in this thread (thanks gentlemen), I ordered a TH-7800 from R&L today, not wanting to take any more chances.  Still have the other new 9800 on its way that I bought before I discovered the first one was faulty, so I'll have both the 7800 and the 9800 here by the end of the week operating side by side.  Wish me luck, seems I'm going to need it.

[WRYZ926]

I think you will be happy with the TH-7800. I've only had mine since October 2023 but both have worked just fine.

[Wayfarer]

On 2/10/2025 at 7:13 PM, WRYZ926 said:

I think you will be happy with the TH-7800. I've only had mine since October 2023 but both have worked just fine.

Update:  I received the TH-7800 and it was DOA.  Out of the box, it continuously bleeped madly, loudly and randomly every few seconds, even with all the beep sounds turned off and the volume all the way down.  The receiver would go full scale with each "bleep."  I worked with the dealer and nothing we tried worked.  Master reset, testing on a dummy load, etc..  So it's defective and on its way back to the dealer.  Excellent customer service from them, btw.  

Now I'm 0 for 2.  I have the second new TH-9800 still sitting in its unopened box here in my shack, but I'm getting rapidly turned off on Chinese radios.  I'm contemplating just sending the TH-9800 back before I even crack the seal on the box, and starting over with a Yaesu/Icom/Kenwood.  This aggravation of dealing with defective radios is not worth the savings over a Japanese radio.  Even if the 9800 works initially, I have no confidence now that it will keep working for very long.  Not sure I want to take a $230 gamble on this 9800 and would rather spend the extra $150 for peace of mind.  

It's too bad these Chinese radios have such horrible QC.  Outwardly, they seem well made and have tons of nice features.  Hopefully in a few years they get their manufacturing problems sorted.  

[WRYZ926]

Sorry to hear that. I bought both of my TH-7800 radios at the end of 2023-beginning of 2024 and I haven't had any problems with them. 

[Wayfarer]

50 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

Sorry to hear that. I bought both of my TH-7800 radios at the end of 2023-beginning of 2024 and I haven't had any problems with them. 

Seems like it's just luck of the draw.  This is why I don't go to Vegas.  

[WRYZ926]

You can get the Icom IC-2730A for $310 at DX Engineering and Giga Parts. And if you are interested in having the MARS Mod done, Giga Parts only charges $35 for the mod if you have them do it at the time of purchase of the radio.

I replaced the TH-7800 in my shack with the IC-2730A. I'll eventually replace the TH-7800 in my vehicle with another IC-2730.

I currently am using one of the TH-7800 radios strictly for Winlink and it will go into a go box along side my Xiegu G90.

[AdmiralCochrane]

If you don't like the copycat, then maybe the real cat is the one for you.   Yeasu 8900.  I have both.

[WRYZ926]

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Hasn't the Yaesu 8900 been discontinued for a few years now?

And yes the TYT TH-7800 and TH-9800 are copies of discontinued Yaesu radios.

[WSEZ864]

5 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Hasn't the Yaesu 8900 been discontinued for a few years now?

Yes.

5 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

And yes the TYT TH-7800 and TH-9800 are copies of discontinued Yaesu radios.

Yes, and I believe they were pirated copies even before Yaesu discontinued theirs.