7
Mic Gain/RF Gain (5)
Mic gain and RF gain are at the beginning programmed to medium values. You switch the setting mode with
button 5
(press once for MIC Gain, twice for RF gain). The current values are shown on the display.
•
MIC gain:
mIc – 9
and values between
3
and
10
After pressing button 5 for some seconds you can set mic gain (or RF gain) with the
channel
selector
or the
UP/DOWN
buttons on the microphone in steps between 3 and 10. For normal vehicle operation the medium setting
is sufficient. Home stations often use a greater distance from the microphone; there a higher microphone gain is
recommended. You should reduce the microphone gain in noisy surroundings (e.g. in trucks) or when using a pre-
amplified microphone. Set the optimum modulation with a monitoring receiver or with the help of a counter station.
RF Gain (Press Button 5 Twice, Then Go On With UP-DOWN)
Setting to full receiver sensitivity (RF gain = 10) is always recommended, when using your device in interference-
free surroundings. If other stronger transmitters are nearby, which could lead to reception interferences, you might
want to reduce the RF gain setting. Even if you only want to hear stations in close-up range you select a low RF
gain setting. In SSB mode for high field intensity it can be necessary to adjust the RF gain setting to optimum
receiving quality.
The RF gain setting is shown on the display as:
r F 9
from
3
to
10
.
Clarifier (10)
This knob is used, as mentioned earlier, for receiver fine tuning and is generally only used in SSB mode if the
counter station is not exactly on the same transmission frequency. In radio ripples with several other stations it
often occurs that for individual stations you have to fine tune with the clarifier for best articulation. Otherwise leave
the knob in medium position.
LCD, S and Power Meter
Your radio comes with a large backlit LCD to read out all settings such as channel, frequency, status displays and
the analog values such as received field strength (S meter) and transmission power. In this way you can see the
most important parameters of your device at all times. The S meter setting corresponds with the international short
wave amateur standard: approx. 100 µV EMK antenna voltage correspond with S 9. The S meter uses a
10-digit
bar display
on the LCD. The stronger a counter station is received, the greater the deflection on the S meter.
For control purposes the S meter works during transmissions as
power meter
and gives you an approximate value
for your output power. You will see that for FM you always have the same display for transmission, for AM the
deflection is generally smaller, and for SSB it fluctuates with the rhythm of the voice.
Further AE 5890 EU Key Functions – The Most Important First
The buttons 4 to 9 of your device are multi-functional and partly adapt – according to operating mode –
automatically or in connection with
function button
(11)
. To avoid confusion in the text of this description you will
find here only the respective name of the function. If you have to press the
MODE
button, you see “
MODE
” and not
the full description for all button functions such as
“
MODE/DW/5
”. Furthermore, the functions on the buttons, which
can only be used in connection with the function button FUNC are printed in blue color. Some of the functions are
blocked in CB mode and cannot be accessed. These functions are reserved for the amateur radio setting of the
device.
Select Operating Mode
Press the
MODE button
(8) to toggle between
AM, FM, USB
and
LSB
modes. The selected mode is shown on the
display. They mean:
AM
Amplitude modulation A3 with full carrier
FM
Narrowband frequency modulation (max. 2.0kHz range)
USB
Single side band modulation, upper side band (
U
pper
S
ide
B
and)
LSB
Single side band modulation, lower side band (
L
ower
S
ide
B
and)
The different modes for CB radios have partly historical reasons, as CB radio is already since the 1950s in
existence.
AM mode (amplitude modulation)
corresponds with the technical process of medium wave and short
wave radio and is today, except for CB radio, only used for aircraft radio. When speaking the transmission power is
varied in the rhythm of the voice (technical term: “modulated”). AM is traditionally the radio mode which is used by
truck drivers worldwide on CB radio. The low residual noise is advantageous if for instance in diesel trucks with little
interference the squelch stays open. The receiving characteristics in AM correspond rather with the human ear:
distant stations seem lower than stations nearby; still you can perceive if other persons are speaking on your
channel, even if a local station seems to blanket everything: at least the blanketing tone can be heard and you can
