6
button, located below the tuning dial. This is useful for determining if you are within
simplex range of another station.
Preamp. The radio has both a receiver preamp and an attenuator on the HF bands from
160 through 15 m. On the 17, 10, and 6 m bands, there are two preamps to choose from.
On 2 m and 70 cm, there is one preamp that can be switched in and out. In general, use
the least amount of pre-amplification necessary. Excess pre-amplification can contribute
to interference from strong nearby signals. The PREAMP/ATTEN switch, located below
the display, cycles through the available options on a given band.
Transmit Power. To adjust the transmit power, press the MIC/RF POWER button
(located under the display). This brings up a popup menu where the microphone gain and
transmit power may be adjusted using the Memory Select knob and the outer ring,
respectively. Please do not adjust the microphone gain (unless you are using a different
microphone). The RF Power setting is expressed in percentage of maximum output
power, which is 100 W on HF and 6m, and 50 W on 2m and 70 cm.
If you do need to adjust the microphone gain because you are using a different
microphone or headset, be sure to restore the setting to 50% when switching back to the
factory microphone. Be kind to the operator who follows you!
CTCSS (PL) Tones. When using a repeater that requires a sub-audible tone for access,
use the MENU button to access Menu-2. Touching the TONE soft key in this menu
toggles the CTCSS encoder mode on and off. Touching and holding the TONE soft key
brings up a submenu that lets you select the frequency of the sub-audible tone.
DTMF. If you need to send a DTMF string, here’s how to do it using a virtual DTMF
keypad on the radio’s display (another extremely non-intuitive arrangement). Press the
MENU button repeatedly to get to the Menu-3 screen. Touch the DTMF soft key, then
touch the SEND soft key to open the DTMF send window. Touch “Direct Input” to
display the “DTMF DIRECT INPUT” screen. Key in the DTMF sequence, then touch
TX to transmit it.
Call Channel Operation. To access the four special call channels, select either the 2m or
70 cm. band and press the TUNER/CALL button located in the lower left corner of the
front panel. Rotate the memory select knob to access the other call channel. The Call
Channels are also available when you are in Memory Channel mode and have Bank A
selected. That’s probably the easiest way to get to them.
Here are the channel assignments:
Channel
Frequency
CTCSS
Power
Use
144
C1
147.00 (-)
none
25%
Ashton 2 m Repeater
144
C2
146.955 (-)
156.7
25%
MARC 2 m Repeater
430
C1
443.150 (+)
none
25%
Ashton 70 cm Repeater
430
C2
443.900 (+)
none
25%
MC ACS repeater (WA3YOO)
