CQCQ.ca

I picked up a used Icom IC-F3161DT VHF portable to play around with NXDN. In this thread I'll try pass on everything I've learned about this radio, in the hope that it helps somebody else who is considering a similar purchase.

I know the railways will eventually be switching to NXDN, and I suspect that the BC Ministry of Forests is also leaning that way. They have been planning on making the switch to a digital mode for voice and data for a few years now, and I know they use Kenwood and Icom gear. They COULD go with P25, but NXDN is more-affordable. Whether or not anyone local to me actually ends up using NXDN any time soon remains to be seen, but if they do, I'll already have a capable radio and enough knowledge to be able to monitor them. And NXDN seems to be an interesting mode for Amateur use as well.

Why an Icom radio? I'm already familiar with Icom's programming software, which is readily available. There's an Icom service center within an hour from me. Icom gear has always been reliable for me. Used Icom gear is relatively inexpensive. And it's a smart-looking unit, which has to count for something!

They are are also reasonably rugged; they pass all of the important MIL-STD specifications for rain, vibration, shock, etc., and they have an Ingress Protection rating of IP55, which means they're protected from dust (ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment) and water (water projected by a nozzle (6.3 mm) against enclosure from any direction, for a duration of at least 3 minutes, shall have no harmful effects). Ratings from Wikipedia.

In Icom terminology, "D" indicates that the digital module (UT-126H) is installed, and "T" indicates the full keypad model. If you're considering buying a used radio, definitely get the "D" model; adding a UT-126H to a non-D can cost much more than buying a used "D", plus it has to be "activated" by running a piece of software (available from Icom).

When you're looking for a used Icom, you need to ensure that the radio does not have the read/write password implemented (this is separate from the user pw and the dealer pw). If it is, and you do not have that password, the ONLY thing you can do is send the radio to Icom Service to have the CPU replaced, at your cost. So stay away from locked radios; ask before you buy.

There are two versions of the F3161DT, the "regular" version and the "railroad" version. You can tell which version you have by looking at the firmware revision. Hold down the P0 and P3 buttons and turn the radio on; the display will show something like "REV 3.1.1" if regular, or "REV 3.1.1 RR" if railroad. Followed by a hex checksum, followed by the UT-126 revision, ie. "DREV 2.8", followed by another hex checksum. It turned out that I had the RR version. I didn't know it was an RR version when I purchased the radio. Note that the RR version requires different cloning software (CS) than the standard version.

Now here's where things get interesting. One would usually want to update the firmware to the latest version, right? Not for Amateur use! Later firmware revisions have "force narrow" enabled, which over-rides the programming setting in the radio. What this means is that the later firmware forces the radio to use 12.5kHz narrow-FM (NFM), even if you've programmed the channel for 25kHz FM. So it would be essentially unusable for the analog non-narrow-FM Amateur repeaters, or for talking with most Amateur (non-narrow-band compliant) radios. I've read that the last 25kHz-friendly firmware revision is 4.1 (and 4.9 according to a different source). Note that there is an option in the CS labelled "force narrow"; even if it's switched OFF, the late-firmware radios will still only operate in NFM.

Interestingly, Icom appears to have a "patch" available to qualified users (Amateur Radio operators), which allows a late firmware-revision radio to use 25kHz FM. You are supposed to be able to send your .icf (clone file) to Icom and they will edit it, and once you write it to your radio, you will thereafter be able to use newer firmware revisions while still retaining the 25kHz capability. However, I've also read that Icom won't do this.

So what happens if you buy a radio with less-than-desirable firmware? You can flash it with different firmware. In my case, the firmware in the radio was 3.1.1 RR. I obtained CS-F3160/F5060 RR version 4.6.3, and it worked perfectly with my radio. Going through all of the options in the software showed that there were a few options that could be enabled if I had newer firmware (version 4 or newer), but they weren't anything I was interested in, so I am not going to bother upgrading my firmware. Since I have not yet changed the firmware in one of these radios, I don't know the procedure.

If you don't already have a programming cable, you should order one right away. The cable needed is an OPC-966. I bought an aftermarket serial (RS-232C) version from an eBay vendor in China for US$17 including shipping to my door. It took just over a month to arrive via Airmail. The reason I bought the serial version and not a USB version is because all of the eBay ads for the USB version stated "will not work with a 64-bit operating system", and both my desktop and laptop computers are running 64-bit Windows 7. And both have serial ports (bought specifically BECAUSE they had serial ports). The USB cable comes with a driver; the serial cable does not require a driver. I guess they don't have a driver for 64-bit Windows. I used the default COM1 and everything worked perfectly.

I should also mention that if you're looking for the UHF version of this radio, the F4161DT is available in two band splits, 400-470 MHz and 450-512 MHz. Obviously you'd want the 400-470 version for amateur use.

Also, there is a newer model of the 3161, the 3261. Since it's a new commercial radio, there is no reason for it to have 25kHz FM, and it doesn't. So stick with the less-expensive 3161 if you want to use 25 kHz FM.


RAILROAD FIRMWARE

The railroad (RR) firmware provides a method to directly-enter the AAR channel numbers for tx and rx, assuming you have a
"T" model (full keypad). I am guessing that the RR firmware is only available with the T models. There is a option to enable this in the CS.

Note: You can convert a non-RR F3161DT into an F3161DT RR. Details are further on in this thread, or here's the direct link to the post.

To enter the AAR channels, when the radio is not scanning you can just enter the tx and rx channel on the keypad. The method of entry depends upon which of the three types of channels you want to use (wide, narrow, or NXDN digital).

Note: You cannot enter Ch's 2-4 as they are grandfathered allocations only used in Canada, and not in the USA.

Channels 2-97 wide-band simplex: enter the 2-digit channel number and press "#", ie. 66#
Channels 2-97 wide-band duplex: enter the 2-digit tx and 2-digit rx channel numbers and press "#", ie. 6678#
Channels 2-196 narrow-band simplex: enter the 3-digit channel number and press "#" (enter the 2-digit channels with a leading "0"), ie. 066#, 120#
Channels 2-196 narrow-band duplex: enter the 3-digit tx and 3-digit rx channel number, ie. 066078
Channels 307-373 NXDN digital simplex: enter the 3-digit channel number and press "#", ie. 312#
Channels 307-373 NXDN digital duplex: enter the 3-digit tx and 3-digit rx channel number, ie. 312320

Your display will show the tx and rx channels, ie. T66R66 for simplex, or T306R312 for duplex.

If you have the bandwidth indicator enabled, your display will show the indicator for wide, narrow, or digital before the channel display, ie. wT66R66, nT066R066, or dT306R312. I enabled mine; the only caveat with doing this is you will lose the last character of your 12-character alphanumeric display (for the non-AAR channels).

Edit: I later disabled the bandwidth indicator as I found I didn't need it, and I preferred having all 12 characters for alphanumeric tagging.

One nice thing is that the AAR channels do not take up any of your conventional memory channels. So despite having almost 300 AAR channels built-in, you still have 512 conventional memory channels.

However, because they are not part of your conventional memory channels, they cannot be "scanned". If you want to scan RR channels, you will have to place them in your conventional memory and add them to a scan list.

AAR channel list on RadioReference

The RR version also provides a second bank of programmable keys. If you go to "Common - Key & Display", under Key & Display Assign you will see "Conventional (Bank 2)", where you can edit the secondary functions of the P0-P4 buttons. In order to utilize the secondary bank, immediately beneath Key & Display" you will see "Menu / Key Banks"; set "Menu Bank Access" to "Home/Bank2". So for me, my P4 (side 1) button is set to "Menu", which toggles between the Home Bank and Bank2. Whichever key is set to "Menu", it will be "Menu" for both banks (so you can switch back). Mine are set to:

Home Bank
P0 - Scan Start/Stop
P1 - Scan Add/Del(Tag)
P2 - High/Low (power output)
P3 - Moni (monitor without tone or squelch)

Bank 2
P0 - Zone (toggles zones in banks of 16 if rotary knob is set to "Zone"; useful when you have more than 16 zones)
P1 - Talk Around
P2 - Surveillance (disables backlight and mutes beeps)
P3 - Tone/RAN CH Select

Note that "Menu" requires a long press to switch between banks. A short press will not do anything except switch on the backlight for 5 seconds (as does any keypress), so instead of dedicating a button for "Light", I just short-press the Menu button. This provides me with one additional programmable option.


RELEVANT LINKS

Product info and specs
F3161/F4161 Instruction Manual (main)
F3161DT Instruction Manual (Railroad version)
F3161/F4161 Operating Guide (NXDN verions)

F3161/F4161 Instruction Manual (non-digital versions)
F3161/F4161 Instruction Manual (Factory Mutual Approved versions)
F3161/F4161 Instruction Manual - IDAS

F3161 Service Manual
F4161 Service Manual

This is the SERIAL programming cable I bought. It works fine with my Panasonic Toughbook and Intel Desktop, both of which have 9-pin RS-232C serial ports. If you don't have a serial port, you'll need the USB version, which I have not used.
Serial programming cable on eBay

Greg

PROGRAMMING

I highly-recommend you read the help files that come with the programming software.

The first thing you should do is READ your radio and save the file. Then you can always go back if necessary. Name it something useful, like "3161_original.icf" or similar.

PROGRAMMING YOUR FIRST FREQUENCY
Run the cloning software (CS).
- Radios with RR firmware require the RR CS.
Double-click Memory CH (or click the + to expand the menu).
Click Zone Operation.
On the Zone 1 line, under Text, enter the alpha tag for that bank, ie. "AMATEUR".
On the left, you will see your new Zone appear.
Click on your new zone.
Enter the RX frequency.
The TX frequency will automatically show up as a left-arrow; if this is a simplex frequency leave it.
If it's a duplex frequency, enter the TX frequency.
Double-click the data field under W/N to select Wide or Narrow bandwidth.
- Most amateur frequencies are Wide.
- Most commercial frequencies are Narrow.
Enter the RX CTCSS tone; you can double-click the data field for a list, or just enter it.
Enter the TX CTCSS tone.
Enter the alpha tag for that frequency. You have 12 characters.
TOT is Time-Out TImer.
Double-click the data field under RF PWR to set the output power to one of three levels.
- I leave it at High, and use one of the programmable buttons to select power level.
I don't use PWR Save.
Enter "1" under Scan List. This puts this frequency in Scan List #1. You can put any frequency from any Zone into any Scan List.
CH Type: Set your first channel up as an analog frequency.
- Analog receives and transmits in Analog only (select this one).
- Mixed-Ana receives in analog and digital, but transmits in Analog.
- Mixed-Digi receives in analog and digital, but transmits in Digital (NXDN).
- Digital receives and transmits in Digital (NXDN) only.
Ignore the rest of the line (scrambling, etc.).
Save the changes to a NEW filename.
Write to the radio.

SCAN
Double-click SCAN.
Click Scan List.
On the first line, enter an alpha tag for the first scan bank.
Any frequencies programmed with "1" under Scan List will be located in this scan bank.

You can have your display illuminate when the radio hears a transmission and stops scanning.
Under SCAN, Scan Setting, Indicators: Backlight at Stop Scan: On
Note: If the signal strength isn't high enough, the backlight will not illuminate, even though the radio has stopped scanning and you can hear the transmission.


I set up my options as follows:

Programmable Keys
(See above note regarding additional bank available with RR firmware)
P0 - Scan Start/Stop
P1 - Scan Add/Del(Tag)
P2 - Zone (toggles zones in banks of 16 if rotary knob is set to "Zone")
P3 - Moni (monitor without tone or squelch)
Side 1: Menu (toggles between banks with RR firmware)
Side 2: CH Up (first button below PTT) (using the buttons instead of the rotary knob for Ch selection allows more than 16 ch's per zone).
Side 3: CH Down (bottom button below PTT)
Emer: Scrambler/Encryption (orange button up top)

Menu / Key Banks (RR firmware only)
Menu Bank Access: Home/Bank 2

10Key
Select: AAR CH (enables direct access to AAR ch's, assuming RR firmware)
DTMF Decoder: Air Signaling
Assign Customize key: Disable
Hot DTMF Keypad: Disable

Display
Opening Text: My name and Amateur call sign
Opening Beep: Off
Display Lines: 2 Lines
MR/Code Display: Zone + MR CH
Rotary Selector: Zone
- If you use the rotary selector for Memory Ch, you are limited to 16 memory channels per zone.

Set Mode
If the Enable/Inhibit is set to Enable, the feature can be changed via the User Set Mode, if User Set Mode is enabled.

Backlight: OFF Auto (lights for 5 seconds when any key except PTT is pressed)
LCD Contrast: 50 (0 is low and 127 is high)
Beep: ON
Beep Level: 4 (Linked) (1-5 where 1 is minimum; "Linked" means linked to volume control)
Ringer Level: 3 (1-5 where 1 is minimum)
SQL Level: 2 (0-9 where 0 is minimum)
AF Min Level: 0 (0-255 (where 0 is quietest)
Mic Gain: 3 (1-5 where 1 is minimum)
VOX Gain: 3 (0-6 where 0 is off)
VOX Delay(Sec): 0.5 (0.5-3.0 in 0.5 sec increments)
Horn: OFF
Battery Voltage: ON (displays battery voltage for 2 secs on power-up)
Signal Moni: OFF
Lone Worker: OFF
System Info: - (displays BER (Bit Error Rate) and RSSI (received signal strength indicator), switchable via Ch-UP and Ch-Down. If analog, displays only RSSI.

User Set Mode can be enabled via the CS (located in Common, Security, User Set Mode Access). The view-able options are selectable via the CS; if they are inhibited you will not see them in User Set Mode. NOTE: That's not quite true; some of the inhibited options still show up and can be edited. Don't know why.

Press and hold P1 and P2, then turn the radio on. The display will show "SET MODE" (or "UNAVAIL" if it's not enabled).
You will see "SET" above the P0 button.
Press and hold P0 to see the Set Mode Menu.
Press P0 ("SET") to step through the menu items.
Use the two side buttons below the PTT to change the values.
Press and hold P0 to exit Set Mode.

Bandwidth Display
I believe this option only exists in RR firmware.
Display: Disable
If enabled, this uses the first character of the 12-character alpha display to indicate the bandwidth (w, n, or d). If your alpha tag has 12 characters, you'll lose the last character.

RF Power Selection
RF Power: MR CH Individual
Power SW: Enable

TOT/Lockout
TOT Timer(Sec): 120.000
Penalty Timer(Sec): OFF
DTMF ID Out: OFF
TOT Beep: ON
TOT Reset Timer(Sec): OFF
Lockout Penalty TImer(Sec): OFF
Lockout Override: OFF

Others
Forced Narrow: OFF
Forced Narrow Change: Disable


PROGRAMMING DIGITAL SETTINGS

There is an excellent tutorial on programming your digital settings for Amateur use at NXDNRadio.com.


FRONT PANEL PROGRAMMING

The above User Set Mode does not include being able to front-panel program frequencies. However, you can set that up via a hidden menu in the CS.

ENABLING FPP
Note: You must already have frequencies and squelch settings programmed into your radio.

To activate, run the CS.
READ YOUR RADIO. Do not skip this step!
Click "Help".
Click "About CS-F3160/F5060".
A window will open with the registration info - leave it open.
Type "reserve" (without the quotes, not case-sensitive).
You will hear a beep and see a message that says "Caution! Maker reserve is activated now".
Click OK to close the message.
Click OK to close the registration info window.
You will see a new option in the menu titled "Maker reserve".
Click the Maker reserve option.
Enable the "Set Mode access" option at the bottom.
Under Common, Common, Security, enable Set Mode Access.
Write to your radio.
Turn radio off.
Exit the CS. BE SURE TO EXIT so you are no longer in "Maker reserve" mode.

Warning: If you do not read your radio before entering Maker reserve, and you then write to your radio, your radio will lose all of its tuning.

PROGRAMMING VIA FPP
Press and hold P0 and "Side 1" (the button above the PTT) and turn on the radio. The display shows DEALER.
(If you're doing this with an F5061D/F6061D mobile, hold down P0 and P4 and turn on the radio.)
Enter the Dealer Passcode (factory setting is 159357, which is an "X" on the keyboard; if it's been changed you can read it via CS under Common). The numbers will not appear on the display. The display shows SETMODE.
Press P0. The display shows "ZO001" with "ch-001" on the next line. Note that your custom zone names are not displayed, just the zone#.
Press P3. This allows you to enable channel change ("001" blinks)
Press P1 if you want to change zones (banks). You can only press P1 AFTER you've pressed P3.
Press the Up/Down keys to scroll through the channels and select a channel. (side buttons below PTT)
Press P3 to select the channel you want to edit (channel stops blinking).
Press the Up/Down keys to scroll through the parameters you can change for that channel:
- 9-digit number for rx freq
- 9-digit number for tx freq
- RX CTCSS (rx tone)
- TX CTCSS (tx tone)
- TEXT (12-character alphanumeric text for channel name)

Once you've selected a channel, you can change the functions as follows:

FREQUENCY
Press the Up/Down key to select an rx or tx frequency.
Press P1 to select bandwidth (wide or narrow). You will not have this selection on a channel set up for digital.
Press P3 to edit (the first digit will flash).
To change characters, use the up/down keys or the keypad.
Press P3 again to move down to another digit.
When finished press P3 until the digits stop flashing.
Press the Up/Down keys to move to the next function or channel.

TONE
Press the Up/Down key to select rx or tx tone.
Press P2 to select CTCSS tones, DCS tones, or OFF,
Press P3 to edit the tone. The digit will flash.
Press the Up/Down keys to select a particular CTCSS tone or DCS tone.
Press P3 to set the tone.
Press the Up/Down keys to scroll to the next function or channel.

TEXT
Press the Up/Down key to select the text function for the selected channel (default is blank).
Press P3 to edit. You will see a flashing underscore in the display,
Press the Up/Down keys, or use the keypad to select a character.
Press P3 to advance to the next character.
When finished, press P3 until the characters stop flashing.
Press the Up/Down keys to scroll to the next function or channel.

DELETE CHANNEL
Select the channel you wish to delete.
Press P2 to inhibit a channel. The display will read INH.
Note that the channel info will be retained by the radio.

RE-ENABLE CHANNEL
Select the channel you wish to re-enable.
Press P2 to restore the channel; the INH will disappear.

There are times when FPP can be useful. If you're enabling FPP, you may wish to utilize a separate zone just for FPP use, so that your pre-programmed zones don't become disorganized.

Greg

ADDITIONAL NOTES

A friend picked up an F3161DT today. It has 5.1 (non-RR) firmware, and I used CS 5.2 to program it.

His 5.1 firmware already had wideband enabled, either because it was an older radio which had had its firmware updated, or because it was patched by Icom. From the condition of the case, I am guessing that it's an older radio.

He does not have the "Bandwidth Display" option; that might be only for RR-firmware radios.

Greg

Yesterday I bought an F4161DT for UHF use, with 2.2 firmware. I tried programming it with CS 5.2 but got an error because the firmware was too old for that CS (roaming was added in CS 5.1, which is not supported in firmware 2.2). I was able to program it with CS 2.8. As roaming is not needed for amateur use, I'm not going to upgrade the firmware.

In order to install CS 2.8, I had to uninstall CS 5.2.

So I'm running CS 4.6.3 RR for programming the VHF, and CS 2.8 for programming the UHF. As they are different programs (RR and non-RR), I can have both installed and running on the same computer.


BATTERIES

The cheapest place I've found for BP-232N batteries is a local place in the Lake City area of Burnaby called Certified Battery. They are selling a two-pack of BP-232N 2200mA lithium-ion batteries for Cdn$45.91 (approx US$33.14 at time of writing). They are an eBay vendor that allows local pickup (so I can also save on the shipping). The battery brand is UpStart, which has a lifetime manufacturer's warranty.

Greg

Just tried programming my friend's 3161 with his Panasonic Toughbook. Got the "no answer from transceiver" error.

Quickly discovered that the Toughbook's serial port is flush-mounted in a metal panel, as opposed to the normal (cheap) method of having the DB-9M protruding out with nothing surrounding it.

Examining the Chinese programming cable shows that the DB-9F hood has a thin plastic frame surrounding it, which retains the DB-9F. The thin plastic frame is JUST thick enough to prevent the cable pins from connecting.

The solution was to use a short 6' serial extension cable (DB-9F to DB9-M) with flat molded ends, instead of the style with a hard plastic hood. The flat ends will let the pins connect at the Toughbook.

This won't be a problem if your serial programming cable has a flat molded hood instead of a hard plastic hood, or if your computer serial port is not flush-mounted, or if you're using a USB programming cable.

Update: His serial cable arrived, and he was able to successfully use it without a serial extension cable. So the tolerances vary; you may or may not require an extension cable.

Greg

UPDATING FIRMWARE

I read on RadioReference that radios shipped before Dec 2013 will not automatically force narrow on, even if the firmware version is higher than 4.9. Based on the existing firmware revision in my 4161, I figured it was old enough, so I decided to update it.

I know I've said that I wasn't going to update my firmware. However, updating firmware is very easy. Simply connect your radio to your computer via your programming cable, then run the firmware updating software (available from your Icom dealer).

The software will check your COM port and that the radio is connected, then tell you to press Okay. It will then write to the radio, which takes a couple minutes. That's it.

I just updated my 4161 firmware to Rev 5.0, using my serial programming cable.

I updated my CS version to 5.0 as well. I did try CS 5.2, but it was too new for my 5.0 firmware.

Reading the radio then checking the "Common - Common - Others" field shows that "forced narrow" is off, and "forced narrow change" is disabled. When you hold down P0 and P3 to view the firmware revisions, "F NARROW ON" is not displayed.

I should note that the best version of the RR firmware is supposed to be 4.6.4. So I've updated my 3161DT to that version.

As far as I know, the latest UT-126H firmware is 3.2. Updating is done the same way as the radio firmware update. I've updated all of my radios to 3.2

Greg

I just bought an Icom BC-121N bank charger. The cups you need are the AD-106. I lucked out, and found a BC-121N on eBay with six AD-106 cups, for US$149 shipped.

Greg

I've picked up a second 4161DT and a 4161 DS, from the same seller, both in mint shape.

The 4161DT had radio firmware 5.1 and UT-126H firmware 3.2, so it was right up to date. And there was no "force narrow enabled".

The 4161DS had radio firmware 3.1 and UT-126H firmware 2.7. I updated the UT-126H firmware to 3.2, but when I attempted to update the radio firmware to 5.0 I got an error message that stated "cannot make boot mode" and to check the COM port, cable, and that the radio was powered up. Haven't figured out that one yet. But the radio works fine otherwise.

I've gone back and edited some of the earlier posts, as I've tweaked the settings and options while learning more about this radio series. So the earlier posts might now reference several radios, and might be different than when you first read it.

I also just bought an Icom UR-FR6000 UHF repeater for experimental and educational purposes. I'll probably set it up for digital-only rather than mixed-mode, as there are already plenty of analog repeaters in my area, and I'd like to promote NXDN.

The UR-FR6000 is actually known as a "repeater module", and is supposed to be a second repeater installed within the housing of an IC-FR6000 rack-mount housing. But the "module" is actually a full repeater, and buying just the module is less-expensive than buying the complete FR6000 repeater. It uses CS-FR5000 programming software, and the OPC-1122 programming cable (RS-232C serial to RJ-45 mic jack).

Note: if you're buying a non-Icom USB version of the programming cable (OPC-1122U), get the version with the FTDI chip and genuine Prolific chipset, not the counterfeit version. How to tell? The counterfeit comes with a driver disc and will NOT work with a 64-bit operating system. The genuine Prolific chipset does NOT require a driver disc as the proper driver is already included with with Windows, and it WILL work with a 64-bit OS. So if the USB cable you're looking at comes with a driver disc and the ad states that it does not work with a 64-bit operating system, it's a counterfeit. You can buy a good USB cable from eBay seller "bluemax49ers". I am not affiliated in any way with this person, and I didn't buy a cable from him (I already had a serial programming cable that I bought a couple years ago for my IC-F2821D mobiles. Serial = no drivers needed.)

Greg

Did you ever resolve the "cannot make boot mode" error? If so, how? I'm having the same problem on my IC-F2821D.

Thanks,
- Steve

Yes, I just solved it tonight.

Apparently my cheap Chinese serial programming cable came with 4 pins on the radio end, and now it only has 3 pins. So I lost one recently. With 3 pins, it still programs the 3161 series radios and will update the UT-126H firmware. But it won't update the radio firmware. I didn't notice the pin was missing because the cable still programmed the radios.

I borrowed a buddy's cable tonight (the same one I wrote about earlier, lol), and used it to successfully update the firmware of my 4161DS.

Somewhat related, I had an "illegal data" error when trying to program my F80DT with the same cable. Switching to my buddy's 4-pin cable allowed me to successfully program my F80DT.

So the problem was my cable, losing that one pin.

The cable is under warranty, but it's almost the same amount of money to ship the cable back to China as it is to buy a new one including shipping. So I bought a new one, and am keeping the "broken" cable as a spare 3161-series-only programming cable.

Greg