HTX-212 Two-Meter Mobile Transceiver (190-1125) Operation Faxback Doc. # 15169 TURNING ON/OFF YOUR HTX-212 To turn you HTX-212 on or off, press POWER. When you turn it on, all display elements briefly turn on and the HTX-212 sounds three tones. Then it returns to the last-used settings. RESETTING THE HTX-212 When you first use your HTX-212, if it displays PLL Err or EEP Err, or if you ever want to reset the HTX-212 to the factory defaults and clear all memory, follow these steps. Important: This procedure clears all stored information. 1. Turn off the HTX-212. 2. While holding down F+T-SQL, turn on the HTX-212. All display elements stay on for about 2 seconds. See "Extending the Transmit Frequency Range," below and "Using the Menu," Faxback Doc.# 19133, DTMF and Subaudible Tones. EXTENDING THE TRANSMIT FREQUENCY RANGE The following are the HTX-212's default frequency ranges: VFO* Mode: Transmit: 144.600 - 148.000 MHz Receive: 136.000 - 174.000 MHz Memory Channels: Transmit: 144.600 - 148.000 MHz Receive: 144.000 - 148.000 MHz IMPORTANT: Do not expand the transmit frequency coverage unless you are licensed to operate on MARS or CAP frequencies. To expand the transmit frequency coverage, hold down F+DTMF while you turn on the HTX-212. The new frequency ranges are: VFO* Mode: Transmit: 143.000 - 149.000 MHz Receive: 136.000 - 174.000 MHz Memory Channels: Transmit: 143.000 - 149.000 MHz Receive: 143.000 - 149.000 MHz *VFO (Variable-Frequency Oscillator) modes let you scan or select any frequency within the range. NOTE: To return to the default frequency ranges, you must reset the transceiver. See "Resetting the HTX-212," above. SETTING VOLUME AND SQUELCH SQUELCH sets the minimum signal level that must be present before the HTX-212 amplifies the signal through the speaker. Follow these steps to set the squelch to a reasonable setting. 1. Rotate SQUELCH fully counterclockwise. 2. Set VOLUME so you can hear the background hiss between transmissions. NOTE: If you do not hear hissing, turn TUNE/M-CH to select a frequency that does not have communications in progress. 3. Slowly turn SQUELCH clockwise until the hissing stops. If you turn SQUELCH too far clockwise, you might miss parts of transmissions. If you do not turn SQUELCH far enough clockwise, you hear hissing between transmissions and the HTX-212 might not scan properly. USING THE LIGHT Your HTX-212 has two display light levels. To switch between the two levels, press F then DIM. SETTING THE POWER LEVEL Your HTX-212 has two transmit power levels. Low power is about 10 watts, and high power is about 45 watts. To switch between the two power levels, press LOW. LOW or HIGH appears on the display. LOCKING THE CONTROLS To lock the controls on the microphone (except the push-to-talk button), slide LOCK ON to the right. This does not lock the HTX-212's front panel controls. To lock all controls except POWER, VOLUME, SQUELCH, and the push-to-talk button, press F then LOCK. LOCK appears on the display. To unlock the controls, press F then LOCK again. SELECTING A FREQUENCY You can use any of three methods to select a frequency. Direct entry Tuning Scanning Directly Entering A Frequency 1. Press VFO to select either VFO-A or VFO-B. 2. Enter the last five digits of the frequency. For example, to enter 145.050 simply press 45050. NOTES: The HTX-212 rounds the last digit down to 5 or 0. The HTX-212 does not accept entries outside its range. The HTX-212 automatically selects the correct duplex offset for frequencies normally assigned to repeaters and selects no offset for other frequencies. Tuning To a Frequency 1. Press VFO to select either VFO-A or VFO-B. 2. Rotate TUNE, or press UP or DOWN on the microphone, to step through the frequencies. NOTES: You can set the HTX-212 to step in 5, 10, 12.5, 20, 25, 50, or 100 kHz increments. The default is 20 kHz. See "Setting the Frequency Step," below. To step in 1 MHz increments, press MHz. Press MHz again to return to the previous frequency step. The HTX-212 automatically selects the correct duplex offset for frequencies normally assigned to repeaters and selects no offset for other frequencies. Scanning For A Frequency 1. Press VFO to select either VFO-A or VFO-B. 2. Press F. Then press /\ to scan up or \/ to scan down. NOTES: You can set the HTX-212 to scan in 5, 10, 12.5, 20, 25, 50, or 100 kHz steps. The default is 20 kHz. See "Setting the Frequency Step," below. You can program up to five frequencies for the HTX-212 to skip when scanning. See "Storing Scan Skip Frequencies," below. When the HTX-212 reaches one end of the scanning range, it starts over at the other end. To set the scanning range, see "Setting the Scanning Range," below. When the HTX-212 stops on a transmission, it either stops scanning, resumes scanning in 10 seconds even if the transmission continues, or stays on the frequency until the transmission ends. To select the scan resume option, see "Setting the Scan Resume Condition," below. If you set the HTX-212 to resume scanning after the transmission ends, it pauses before resuming to ensure you do not miss a reply. To set the scan delay, see "Setting the Scan Resume Delay," below. SETTING THE FREQUENCY STEP The factory default frequency step is 20 kHz. Each time you rotate TUNE one click, or press UP or DOWN on the microphone, the frequency changes by 20 kHz. When scanning, the HTX-212 scans up or down 20 kHz per step. Follow these steps to change the frequency step. 1. Press VFO. 2. Press F then STEP. The HTX-212 displays "St" and the current frequency step. 3. Rotate TUNE, or press UP or DOWN on the microphone, to select the desired frequency step (5, 10, 12.5, 20, 25, 50, or 100 kHz). 4. Press MHz to save the setting. SETTING THE SCAN OPTIONS Storing Scan Skip Frequencies You can store up to five frequencies for your HTX-212 to skip when scanning. This lets you prevent the HTX-212 from stopping on beacon or packet repeater frequencies. 1. Press VFO. 2. Hold F for at least 1 second. FUNC flashes. 3. Press MR. The HTX-212 displays "SC" and the current scan resume setting. 4. Repeatedly press /\ until the HTX-212 displays "S1" and the first scan skip frequency (for ---.--- if no frequency is stored). 5. Select the first scan skip frequency by rotating TUNE, pressing UP or DOWN on the microphone, or directly entering the last five digits of the frequency. 6. Press /\ for the next scan skip memory - S2, S3, S4, or S5. 7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for each scan skip frequency. 8. Press MR to save the setting. Setting the Scan Resume Condition When you scan VFO frequencies or frequencies you stored in memory, the HTX-212 stops at any signal strong enough to break squelch. The HTX-212 is preset to "ti", meaning it resumes scanning in 10 seconds, even if the signal continues. Follow these steps to change the scan resume condition. 1. Press VFO. 2. Hold F for at least 1 second. FUNC flashes. 3. Press MR. The HTX-212 displays "SC" and the current option. ti Resumes scanning 10 seconds cr Resumes scanning after the carrier drops and the scan resume delay expires. SE Does not resume scanning. 4. Rotate TUNE, or press UP or DOWN on the microphone, to select the desired option. 5. Press MR to save the setting. Setting the Scan Resume Delay When you set the scan resume condition to "cr" (carrier), the HTX-212 resumes scanning after the carrier drops. The scan resume delay option lets you set the HTX-212 to pause before resuming so you can hear any reply. The factory default for this option is 2 seconds. Follow these steps to change the scan resume delay. 1. Press VFO. 2. Hold F for at least 1 second. FUNC flashes. 3. Press MR. 4. Repeatedly press /\ until the HTX-212 displays "Sd" and the current scan resume delay (0.5, 1, 2, or 4 seconds). 5. Rotate TUNE, or press UP or DOWN on the microphone, to select the desired scan resume delay. 6. Press MR to save the setting. Setting The Scanning Range When you scan in a VFO mode, the HTX-212 only scans those frequencies within a selected range. The factory default scanning range is 144.0 to 148.0 MHz. Follow these steps to change the scanning range. 1. Press VFO. 2. Hold F for at least 1 second. FUNC flashes. 3. Press MR. 4. Repeatedly press /\ until the HTX-212 displays "SL" and the current lower scan limit. 5. Rotate TUNE, press UP or DOWN on the microphone, or directly enter the lower scan limit's last five digits on the microphone's keypad. 6. Press /\. The HTX-212 displays SH and the current upper scan limit. 7. Rotate TUNE, press UP or DOWN on the microphone, or directly enter the upper scan limit's last five digits on the microphone's keypad. 8. Press MR to save the settings. RECEIVING TRANSMISSIONS To receive a transmission, turn on the HTX-212, adjust the volume and squelch, and tune to the frequency you want to monitor. The HTX-212 displays BUSY, and the signal-strength indicator shows the relative signal strength when it receives a signal. NOTE: If BUSY appears, but you hear nothing from the speaker, be sure the DTMF page and tone-squelch features are turned off and SQUELCH is set correctly. To turn off DTMF page, press DTMF once. To turn off tone squelch, press T-SQL until neither T nor T-SQL appears on the display. See "Activating Subaudible Tone Transmit and Squelch," Faxback Doc. # 19133, DTMF and Subaudible Tones. TRANSMITTING CAUTION: It is illegal to transmit if you do not have a Technician Class (or higher) license issued by the FCC. 1. Select the desired frequency. NOTE: If you select a repeater frequency, the HTX-212 displays + or - to show the offset direction. To operate with no offset (simplex) on that frequency, press SHIFT until neither + nor - appears. 2. Press LOW so LOW appears on the display. This selects the low power (10 watt) setting. 3. Press the push-to-talk button on the side of the microphone to transmit. The signal strength meter shows half-scale for low power (or full-scale for high power). Release the push-to-talk button to listen for a reply. NOTES: If the other party advises you to improve your signal, press LOW. HIGH appears on the display, and the HTX-212 transmits at high power (about 45 watts). If you try to transmit outside the permitted range (144.600 to 148.000 MHz default or 143.000 to 149.000 MHz if you extend the range), the HTX-212 displays "tF Err" and beeps twice. Transmitting DTMF Tones To transmit DTMF tones, follow the steps for transmitting. While holding down the push-to-talk button, press the digits on the microphone to transmit the tones. NOTE: If auto-reply is turned on, you must hold down push-to-talk while you transmit. If auto-reply is off, you can release push-to-talk after you enter the first digit. The HTX-212 transmits for 1 second after you enter the last digit. See "Using Auto-Reply," Faxback Doc.# 19133, DTMF and Subaudible Tones. Limiting Transmit Duration When you communicate on the 2-meter band, you should keep your transmissions as brief as possible. Most repeaters have built-in timers that limit single transmissions to 3 minutes or less. You can set the transceiver to stop transmitting and sound a beep if a single transmission exceeds 3 minutes. Follow these steps to turn the transmission time-out option on or off. 1. Press VFO. 2. Hold F for at least 1 second. FUNC flashes. 3. Press MR. 4. Repeatedly press /\ until the HTX-212 displays "to" and either "on" (if the time-out option is on) or "oFF" (if the time-out option is on). 5. Rotate TUNE, or press UP or DOWN on the microphone, to select "on" (to turn on the time out option) or "oFF" (to turn off the option). 6. Press MR to save the settings. TURNING THE KEYTONE BEEP ON AND OFF You HTX-212 sounds a beep each time you press a button. Follow these steps to turn off this keytone beep. NOTE: This does not affect the alert tone, alarm scan beep, or the transmit limit beep. 1. Press VFO. 2. Hold F for at least 1 second. FUNC flashes. 3. Press MR. 4. Repeatedly press /\ until the HTX-212 displays "bp" and either "on" (if the beep option is on) or "oFF" (if the option is off). 5. Rotate TUNE, or press UP or DOWN on the microphone, to select "on" (to turn on the beep option) or "oFF" (to turn off the option). 6. Press MR to save the settings. SETTING SUBAUDIBLE TONES Follow these steps to set the subaudible tones for the VFO mode. After you set the tones, you must activate the function to turn it on. 1. Hold F for atleast one second. FUNC flashes. 2. Press T-SQL. The unit displays tC and the currently set transmit tone. 3. Rotate TUNE or press UP or DOWN on the microphone to set a different transmit tone. If you do not want a transmit tone, select oFF. 4. Press up arrow. The unit displays rC and the currently set receive tone. 5. Rotate TUNE or press UP or DOWN on the microphone to set a different receive tone. If you do not want a receive tone, select oFF. 6. Press T-SQL to save the settings. Activating Subaudible Tone Transmit and Squelch 1. Press T-SQL once. T appears. The HTX-212 includes the selected transmit tone with your transmissions. 2. Press T-SQL again. T-SQL appears. The HTX-212 includes the selected transmit tone with your transmissions and requires the selected receive tone to open squelch. 3. Press T-SQL a third time to turn off both subaudible tone transmit and squelch. Neither T not T-SQL appears on the display. When the alert function is turned on, the unit sounds a sequence of three tones when it receives a transmission that it includes the correct subaudible tone (if the tone squelch is activated). To turn on the the alert function, press F then ALT. ALT appears. The alert function automatically turns off after three tones sound. (CS/ir-04/04/96)