Retevis RT97 and RT97S USB Driver Installation

The USB Driver for the programming cable included with the RT97 and RT97S repeaters may need to be manually installed depending on your version of Microsoft Windows. The default driver version that Windows Update will install is typically too new to work with the chipset in the USB cable.

  1. Download the Prolific USB Driver package here (also available on the product listing page for the repeaters): Download Prolific USB Driver
  2. Extract the RAR archive using a tool like WinRar or 7-Zip to a folder on your computer and run it, or just double-click on the .exe file.
  3. Follow the instructions in the installer to install the Prolific driver version 3.4.62.293 from 10/17/2013 on your system.
  4. Open Device Manager by clicking on the Windows Start button in the bottom left of your toolbar, then type "Device Manager" in the search box.
  5. Plug in your USB cable to an available port on your computer.
  6. Navigate to the Ports (COM & LPT) section and expand it to view the COM ports on your computer. You should see a "Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port" device with a COM port number next to it. If you have more than one, ensure you disconnect any other programming cables or devices that may come up as a Prolific device, to ensure you only update the driver for the desired device.
  7. Right-click on the Prolific port, and choose "Update driver"
  8. In the next screen, choose "Browse my computer for drivers", then choose "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer"
  9. If the "Show compatible hardware" checkbox is checked, you should see at least one Prolific USB driver. If you see more than one, be sure to choose version 3.4.62.293 from 10/17/2013 that we just installed, then click "Next"
  10. Reboot your computer even if you aren't asked to reboot the computer by Device Manager. This will ensure the new driver is loaded for the cable.
  11. Open the RT97 programming software, click "Set (S)" from the file at the top of the program, then click "Communication Port (C)".
  12. Select the COM port number that your cable is assigned to and click "OK".
  13. Read from your repeater using the blue button with the arrow pointing to the left at the top of the program. You should be able to read the programming off the repeater successfully now.