Yes, there is more than one way to program a radio. The most common way to program your memory channels, etc is directly through the radio itself. While this works and is good to know how to do, programming a radio via the computer can be a very useful method. Most newer radios have the ability to be programmed via a computer interface from almost any computer.

One benefit of programming a radio via computer software and interface cables is that if you plan on taking a trip away from your home area, you can easily load in the frequencies that you plan to use along the way as well as at your destination. These new frequencies can be loaded into a separate code plug file and saved on your computer. Just save the current setup from your radio, and the load the new memory list into the radio.

When you get home from the trip, switching your radio back to the frequencies that you like to have on a day-to-day basis is as easy as plugging the radio in to the computer and uploading your original code plug back in to the radio. This can also be useful if you get a new radio (whether for a spare or because you broke or lost the old one) that is the same model.

Knowing how to program your radio without the use of the computer is something that you should know how to do because eventually you will want to add a new frequency or change an existing one. The other scenario is that if you are in a situation where your computer and programming cable are not available you will still want to be able to manually edit your settings.

If you want to completely reorganize the memory channels on your radio, use a computer if you can. If you just want to change or add a single memory, you may be better off just doing it manually.