the radio to the lowest power level needed to communicate with the person that you are talking
to. A good level to start with is Medium. On the Alinco, H/L (High/Low power) is displayed
above the CALL key. This means that power selection is a second level function. Push the
Function (FUNC) key followed by the CALL key to select power level. Repeating this set of
key strokes will cycle you through the High, Medium, and Low power levels of the radio. For a
Medium power setting, Mi appears in the upper left corner of the display. For a Low power
setting, Lo appears in the upper left corner of the display. For a High power setting, neither Mi
nor Lo appears in the upper left corner of the display. Stop at the setting that you want.
Squelch
: Push the Squelch (SQL) function key. Turn the Tuning Knob counter clockwise until
you hear continuous background noise (hissing). Now turn the knob the other direction until the
hissing stops and the radio is quiet. Push the Squelch (SQL) function key again to terminate the
function. This sets the sensitivity of the radio so that you can hear others without the nuisance
of background noise.
Volume Control
: Finally set the volume control to an audio level that is comfortable.
Receiving:
You should now be able to receive the transmissions from the person that you want
to talk with.
Transmit
: To transmit, push the PTT (Push To Talk) key on the microphone. Wait a second
after pushing the PTT key before speaking to give the radio time to enter the transmit mode. If
you do not do this, the first word that you speak may not be clearly transmitted. Speak in a
normal voice. Speaking too loudly will distort your transmission. Also, talk across your
microphone, from the side, instead of directly into it. Talking directly into the microphone can
cause background hissing.
REPEATER OPERATION
: Repeater operation permits communications over an extended
area. A repeater located on a high hill or mountain top has line of site coverage over a
considerable area, often 15 to 20 miles.
A repeater amplifies signals it receives on its input frequency and retransmits them on its output
frequency throughout its area of coverage. As a repeater user, you will listens to others on the
repeater output frequency. This is the frequency that is listed for the repeater in repeater
directories. For example, the output frequency for the Bozo Repeater is 147.885 MHz and the
Grissom Repeater is 146.850 MHz. The repeater input frequency, for 2 meter repeaters, is off
set or shifted 600 KHz or -600 KHz from its output frequency. When you transmit to a
repeater, the output of the radio must shift + or - 600 KHz, as appropriate, to the repeater’s input
frequency. The off set for both Bozo and Grissom is negative. The Bozo output frequency is
147.885 MHz. So when you transmit to Bozo, your radio must transmit at a frequency of
147.285 MHz. You must program this + or - off set into the radio in order to use the repeater.
Most repeaters in metropolitan areas utilize an access tone to avoid receiving and retransmitting
signals actually intended for a different repeater operating on the same frequency. This tone is
known as a PL or CTCSS tone. There are actually 39 tones available for use ranging in
