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 2002 RadioShack Corporation.

All Rights Reserved.

RadioShack and RadioShack.com are trademarks

used by RadioShack Corporation.

19-1108

OWNER’S MANUAL — Please read before using this equipment.

Thank you for purchasing a RadioShack HTX-420 2-Meter/70 cm Dual Band FM Amateur 
Transceiver. Your transceiver is compact and rugged, making it easy to carry almost anywhere. 
The crystal controlled circuitry provides accurate and stable frequency selection, making it an 
ideal choice for your amateur communications needs. 

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Amateur radio is a great hobby that has 
enriched the lives of millions of people all 
over the world. Your transceiver is the perfect 
first radio for anyone entering the exciting 
world of amateur radio, or as a great 
additional transceiver for the experienced 
amateur radio operator. Your transceiver 
opens a door for you to the world from almost 
anywhere! All you need is an Amateur Radio 
Operator's License (Technician Class or 
higher) issued by the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC). If you 
do not have a license, it is easy to get one, 
and help from licensed operators is available. 
Find out if there is a ham radio club in your 
area. Most clubs welcome newcomers and 
are glad to help you get your license. Here 
are a few tips to help you get started. 

You can turn on your transceiver and scan 
the entire band to hear what is going on; 
however, do not attempt to transmit until 
you get your license
. If you transmit without 
a license, you are in violation of federal law 
that can lead to severe penalties. Ham 
operators take the FCC rules very seriously 

and want nothing to do with “bootleggers” – 
their term for people who operate without a 
license. 

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If you do not hear anyone talking about a 
local club as you listen to local transmissions, 
write to the American Radio Relay League 
(ARRL) at the following address to find out 
how to contact a local affiliate. The ARRL is 
the national organization representing 
amateur radio in the United States. The 
league has more than 150,000 members. 
Most are ham operators, or members in the 
process of obtaining their license.

The American Radio Relay League
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111
http://www.arrl.org

Start studying for the license exams. Most 
people can go from knowing absolutely 
nothing about amateur radio to passing the 
Technician written exam in less than a 
month.

The exams test your knowledge of basic 
radio regulations and elementary radio 
theory. Many clubs hold license classes 
which can be a fun and easy way to learn 

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Preparation .................................................................. 2

Using Internal Batteries  ........................................... 2
Using AC or DC Power  ............................................ 2
Connecting the Antenna  .......................................... 2
Attaching the Belt Clip  ............................................. 2
Attaching the Wrist Strap  ......................................... 2
Connecting a Microphone/Speaker  ......................... 2

A Quick Look At the Display  ........................................ 3
Operation ..................................................................... 4

Manual Conventions  ................................................ 4
Turning On/Off the Transceiver ................................ 4
Setting the Squelch Level  ........................................ 4
Temporarily Opening Squelch .................................. 4
Using the Universal Type Keys  ................................ 4
Selecting Frequencies (Direct Tuning) and Receiving 
Transmissions .......................................................... 4
Transmitting ............................................................. 4

Understanding Repeaters ............................................ 5

Setting the Repeater Offset Frequency  ................... 5
Turning Repeater Operation On/Off and Changing 
The Offset Direction  ................................................. 5

Memory Operation ....................................................... 5

Storing a Transmit/Receive Frequency .................... 5
Recalling Memory Locations .................................... 5
Checking Memory Location Settings  ....................... 6
Clearing a Single Memory  ....................................... 6
Using the Calling-Frequency Memory  ..................... 6

Scanning Operation ..................................................... 6

Scanning for Active Frequencies  ............................. 6
Scanning Standard Memory Locations  .................... 6
Skipping Memory Channels While Scanning  ........... 6

Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System Features 
(CTCSS) ...................................................................... 6

Setting the CTCSS Tones  ........................................ 6
Using the CTCSS Tones  .......................................... 7

Using DTMF Code ....................................................... 7

Transmitting a DTMF Code ...................................... 7
Using the Transceiver with Packet Radio  ................ 7
Locking the Keypad  ................................................. 8
Lighting the Display  ................................................. 8
Turning the Key Tone On and Off  ............................ 8
Setting the Frequency Step  ..................................... 8
Power Save  ............................................................. 8
Using Auto Power Shutoff ........................................ 8
Limiting Transmit Duration (Time-Out Timer) ........... 8
Tuning the Weather Radio Frequencies  .................. 8
Using the SAME Alert  .............................................. 8
Using the Electronic Compass ................................. 9
Selecting the Transmit Power  ................................ 10
Cross Band Channel Operation  ............................. 10
Dual Watch  ............................................................ 10
Receiving the Air Band  .......................................... 10
Changing the Transmit Frequency Range  ............. 10

FCC Information  ........................................................ 10
Care ........................................................................... 10

ERR Display  .......................................................... 10

Service and Repair  .................................................... 11

Resetting the Transceiver  ...................................... 11

Specifications ............................................................ 11

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If an icon appears at the end of a paragraph, go 
to the box on that page with the corresponding 
icon for pertinent information.

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— Warning

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 — Caution

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 — Note

Full 16-Key DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi 
Frequency) Keypad — 
lets you dial and 
make telephone connections. See 
“Transmitting a DTMF Code” on page 7.

Programmable Frequency Steps — let 
you set the frequency increment for 
tuning or scanning to steps of 5, 6.25, 7.5, 
10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25, or 50 kHz. See 
“Setting the Frequency Step” on page 8.

SAME Weather Alert — uses Specific 
Area Message Encoding (SAME) digital 
information to determine and display the 
level of weather events. See “Using the 
SAME Alert” on page 8.

Electronic Compass — provides two letters to 
indicate direction (such as SW or NW) and up to 
three digits to show directional angle (such as 
360°, 180°, 90° or 45°). See “Using the 
Electronic Compass” on page 9.

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You must have a Technician Class or higher 
Amateur Radio Operator's License, and a call 
sign issued by the FCC, to legally transmit using 
this transceiver. Transmitting without a license 
carries heavy penalties.

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Summary of Contents for 19-1108

Page 1: ...ernal Batteries 2 Using AC or DC Power 2 Connecting the Antenna 2 Attaching the Belt Clip 2 Attaching the Wrist Strap 2 Connecting a Microphone Speaker 2 A Quick Look At the Display 3 Operation 4 Manu...

Page 2: ...sceiver s EXT jack 3 For AC power connect the other end of the power cable to the power supply then plug the power supply s power cord into the power source For DC power plug the other end of the powe...

Page 3: ...s when the transceiver is out of range 7 indicates the battery strength 8 z indicates the keypad control is disabled to prevent accidental setting changes 9 q appears when you use the cross band featu...

Page 4: ...lch VHF repeater offset UHF repeater offset receive tone squelch CTCSS transmit tone squelch CTCSS DTMF SAME area code and SAME on off is described in the relevant sections 5 6 0 4 37 0 5 4 6 670 0 0...

Page 5: ...2 Repeatedly press 8 or 9 or rotate CH to change the offset to a new value ranging from 000 to 8 000 MHz 3 Press 7 until K K K K HFJ HFJ HFJ HFJ appears 4 Repeatedly press 8 or 9 or rotate CH to chang...

Page 6: ...displayed frequency stops on each active frequency for 8 seconds 2 To change the scan direction press 8 or 9 or rotate CH 3 To stop on a frequency or to stop scanning press SC or PTT 5 00 0 56 0 4 14...

Page 7: ...Repeatedly press 8 or 9 or turn CH to select the desired DTMF memory location 3 Enter up to 16 characters 0 through 9 and A through F E F The radio sounds a short beep for each entry and a long beep...

Page 8: ...e e e e 6 0 64 05 6 74 6 10 6 176 6 4 When you communicate using repeaters keep your transmissions as brief as possible Most repeaters have built in timers that limit single transmissions to 3 minutes...

Page 9: ...Statement J IJ J IJ J IJ J IJ for Test The weather alert operates only when the transceiver is in weather mode 06 4 0 174 4 N5 5 1 5 You can store up to nine SAME codes Refer to the SAME codes at http...

Page 10: ...display Press 8 or 9 or rotate CH to tune to the frequency you want to hear The air band receiving range is 108 to 136 9875 MHz 0 0 6 64 05 6 4 37 0 4 0 You can change the standard transmit frequency...

Page 11: ...AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING THOSE OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DURATION OF THE WRITTEN LIMITED WARRANTIES CONTAINED HEREIN EXCEPT AS...

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