Albrecht UltraForce Amateur 10 m User manual

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UltraForce
Amateur 10 m
Transceiver
OPERATINGMANUAL
2005 Edition
ALAN Electronics GmbH
www.albrecht-online.de
www.alan-germany.de

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.TABLEOFCONTENTS
Introduction ................................................................................................ 2
Installation .................................................................................................. 3 - 4
Front PanelControls and Functions ...........................................................4 - 8
Other Features ........................................................................................... 8
Programming Options..................................................................................12
Specifications ............................................................................................. 10
Frequency / Channeltable...........................................................................14
EuropeanWarrantyConditions
Your distributor, where You havepurchased thisradiowarrantsthisproduct to befree of
defects for a period oftwo (2) years fromthe original date ofpurchase. Thiswarranty isnon-
transferable.Thiswarranty issubject torepairor replacementofdefective componentsonly.
Thiswarranty is voidif the radiohasbeen tampered with or misused. WheneverYour radio
should become defectiveduring the warranty period, please contact Your dealer and ask him
forhisservice proceedings. The distributor ordealer may repairthe radio, replace it or
arrange repair by an authorised Albrecht/ALAN Service subcontractor.
Adressesofauthorised service subcontractorswill be also availablefrom
www.hobbyradio.de/service-anschriften.htm
IMPORTANT: RETAIN YOUR SALESRECEIPT
Please keep your salesreceipt ofthe purchase and send thisora copyofthistogetherwith
the radiofor any repair during the warranty period. Ifthe salesreceipt or it’scopy isnot
enclosed, the radiocannot be repaired under the warranty conditions.
INTRODUCTION
Congratulationson your purchase of thisAlbrecht UltraForce 10 meterFM/AM/SSB/CW
transceiver. Yourtransceiver isdesigned to provide yearsofenjoyment and trouble-free
service.There aremany featuresand functionsdesigned into thistransceiver.To ensure that
your investment isenjoyed to it’s fullest extentplease take a fewmomentsand thoroughly
read this manual.
Your UltraForce amateur radio transceiver isa microprocessor controlled,user programmable
radio combining bothhigh RF performance with a user-friendly environment.The radioisbuilt
rugged to withstand yearsofuse in harshmobile environments. Although engineered with
mobileuse inmind the radio,with the addition of a high quality 10Amp regulated power
supply, may be easily adapted tofixed station operation.
Someofthe featuresofthe UltraForce are:
• an advanced design liquidcrystal display that providesthe operator with a full visual
account ofthe transceiversoperating status,
• automatic frequency scanning from either the frontpanelor microphone, memory
storage ofyour favorite frequencies,
• programmablefrequency resolution of either 1 kHz, 10 kHz or 100 kHz, and split
(offset) frequency operation forrepeater use.
These are just a fewofthe featuresthat make the UltraForce a pleasure to own and operate.
IMPORTANT: TheUltraForceisdesigned for entry levelamateuruse. The transmitterofthis
radio can be operated inmost countriesofthe world only witha validamateur radio operator’s
licence.

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Ifyouare studying foryour license and want to familiarize yourselfwith the operationofthe
radio, the receivermaybe operated with or without a licensed operator present under the
condition, that essentialpartsof the transmit section have been made temporarily inoperable.
Under no circumstancesit isallowed to use thisamateur radio as“CB-Transceiver”.Even
licensed amateur radio operatorsare not allowed to use thistransceiver for CBradio
purposes. The regulationsrequire that adedicated notified or approved CB transceiver will be
used for CB radio purposes.
For more information regarding amateur licensing,contact your nearest amateur radio dealer,
or for completedetailscontactone ofthe world-wide amateur radioclubs, e.g.inGermany the
“DARC-eV”. Youcan alsofind moreinformations viawww.darc.de
INSTALLATION
1. Contents
Unpack and inspect your UltraForce for missing or damaged components. Your UltraForce
includesthe following items:
• UltraForce Transceiver
• Up / Down Microphone
• Mounting Bracket and Installation Hardware
• Power Cord
• Operating Manual
Install the UltraForce
Choose a location where there iseasy accessto allfront panelcontrolsand aircirculation
available tothe rearpaneland aluminum heatsink. Donot installthe transceiverinany
compartment that restrictsairflow. Attachthe mounting bracket to the vehiclefirst then mount
the transceiver to the bracket.If the rear panelisnot easily accessible you may want to attach
the power cord and antenna feed linepriorto mounting.
Make Electrical Connections
The transceiver isdesigned to work on any 13.8 VDC power source with a negative ground.
The condition of a vehicle’selectricalsystemcan affect operation.A lowbattery,worn
generator/alternator, or poor voltage regulator willseriously impairthe performance ofthe
transceiver.
Any ofthe aboveconditionscouldresultin a high levelof receiver noise generation ora
substantialloss ofthe transmitter’sRF output.Make sure that allof these componentsofyour
vehicle’selectrical systemare in good condition prior toinstallingthe transceiver. Before
making any electricalconnections make sure the AF gain (volume) control on the transceiver
isinthe “OFF” position. Connectthe positive(+)red wire and negative (-)black wire fromthe
transceiverdirectlyto the battery.Connecting directly to the batteryhasseveralbenefits,the
first of which isto maximize RF output.
Secondly, the batteryisa very large capacitorand willhelp eliminate certaintypesofambient
and vehiclenoise. Depending on your mounting location, additional power cablemay be
required. On additional runsof2 m or less use 2.5 qmm stranded wire. Use thicker wire for
longer longer runs.
CAUTION!
• ANY VOLTAGEEXCEEDING15 VDC WILLDAMAGETHERADIO
• MEASURE VOLTAGE ATBATTERY TERMINALS,WITHENGINE RUNNING,
PRIOR TOINSTALLATION!
Legalinformation
The presentlyvalid European “Automotive Directive”doesnot allowto operate this
transceiver from the car’sDC network incarsduring motion.
Please do not use thistransceiver whileYou are riding the car. However, the “Automotive
Directive”isunder revision, and the newedition2004/104/EG (14. 10.2004) again allows to
use non-safety-relevant CE marked after-market equipment likeamateur transceiversin car
installations. Because ofEMC reasons, the car manufacturershavethe right to issue
installationrulesand instructions for installing transmittersand their antennasin cars.These

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rulesand instructionsare validforamateur radioinstallationsaswell as forany other
transmitting device in cars.
Connect theAntenna
The transceiver will operate using any standard 50-ohm ground-plane, vertical, mobilewhip,
long wire or similar antenna. The antenna should be rated at 50 wattsPEP minimum. A
standard SO-239 type connector isprovided on the rear panelof the transceiver. Connection
is made using a PL-259 and high grade coaxialcable (RG213 or RG58A/U isrecommended).
A ground-plane antenna providesgreater coverage and isrecommended for fixed station-to-
mobileoperation.
For point-to-point fixedstation operation, adirectionalbeamantenna operatesat greater
distancesevenunder adverse conditions. Anon-directionalantenna should be used in a
mobileinstallation;a verticalwhipisbest suited for this purpose. The base loaded whip
antenna normallyprovideseffective communications.
For greater range and morereliable operation,a fullquarter wave whipmay be used. Either
of these antennasuse the metal vehicle body asa ground plane.
SWR AdjustmentoftheAntenna
After you havedetermined thattheinstallation iscorrect and the radioisoperational, itis
importantto determine the antenna system’sSWR(Standing Wave Ratio). Priorto takingany
measurements make
sure the SWR bridge (meter)isin good working order and iscalibrated.To ensure yourradio
isperforming properlythe SWR should never exceed 1.5 to 1.Thisiscriticaldue tothe high
level ofgain developed inthe RFdeck. Nevertransmit on any antenna systemwhere the
SWR exceeds1.8 to1. Thiswill stress the output stageand could destroy the RFtransistors;
thistype ofmisuse and failure isnot covered under warranty.
FRONTPANELCONTROLSAND FUNCTIONS
Reference Front Panel Diagram
(1) POWERON/OFFand VOLUME CONTROL
Turnsthe transceiver on and off,and adjuststhe AFgain, or volume.
(2) SQUELCH CONTROL

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Used to eliminatebackground or “white” noise when monitoring strong signals. Also used to
activate SCANfeature (see 14). To properly adjust squelch circuit, slowly rotate the control
clockwise untilthe receivedaudio disappears. Nowturn the controlslightly counterclockwise-
thiswillkeep the threshold right on the edge so you will not miss any incoming signals.
(3) MICROPHONEGAIN CONTROL
Increasesor decreasesthe energy developed inthe microphone amplifiercircuit.The gain
increasesasthe controlisrotatedclockwise. For optimum setting,press the push-to-talk
switch on the microphone (see 23) and speak in a constant tone intothe microphone. Agood
test tone istosay the word “four” in a long, drawn out tone. Whilespeaking, rotatethe mic
gain controlclock-wise untilthe modulation LCDdisplay reads+30(see 22). Next, rotate the
controlcounterclockwise until the +30 segmentofthe display startsto flicker.

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(4) RF GAIN CONTROL
Adjuststhe receiversensitivity to both signalsand background noise. Thisaffectsthe
distance at which a signal can be detected. Turning the control counter-clockwise reducesthe
receiver sensitivity.Thisispar-ticularlyusefulin areaswhere large volumesof traffic (signals)
are present.
(5) ROGER BEEP CONTROL
RB position activatesthe end of transmission, or roger beep, tone. Whenactivated a 1kHz
tone will auto-maticallytransmitupon release of PTTswitch (see 23). Thisnotifiescontacts
that your transmission hasended and you are ready to receivetheirsignal.To turn off the
roger beep, put the switch in theS/RF position.
NOTE:In the RBposition, the meter(see 13) measuresS/RF.
SIGNAL STRENGTH / RF METERCONTROL
S/RFposition activatesthe meter(see 13) to measure receive signal strength and transmitter
RF output
power.
CALIBRATE CONTROL
CAL position activatesthe meterto calibrate for SWRmeasuring. To calibrate forSWR,set
the switch to the
CAL position,press the PTT switch (see 23) and rotatethe calibrate control (see 6) until the
meter (see 13) needlelinesup with theCAL markon thefar right side ofthe meter.Once
lined up,release the PTT.
The transceiver isnowready to measure SWR.
NOTE:
When firstattempting to calibrate make sure the transceiver is in the AMmode (see19). If it is
not possible
to calibrate in AM, then switch toFM mode.
STANDING WAVE RATIO CONTROL
SWR position activatesthe meterto measure the standing wave ratio of thetransceiver and
antenna system.After the meteriscalibrated, set theswitch to the SWR position and press
the PTT switch (see 23).
The meter(see 13) willmeasure the SWR.For optimum performance the SWR should be
below1.5 – the first green segmenton the SWRportion ofthe meter indicatesan acceptable
standing wave ratio.
CW
CWposition activatesa separate connected CWkey to make transmissionsin Morse Code
/CWinstead by microphone.
(6) CALIBRATE CONTROL
Rotate to calibrate the meter(see 13) for SWRmeasurements. Seeinstruction 5 for more
information.
(7) RF OUTPUT POWERCONTROL
Continuouslyvariable controlfor adjusting the RF output power ofthe transmitter in allmodes
forQRP operation. To reduce the RF output power rotate the control counterclockwise. To
increase rotate the control
clockwise. The power output isa linear control,therefore the peak toaverage output power
ratiosremain
constant regardlessof power level.
(8) ECHODELAY CONTROL
Variesthe amount of delay, ordurationofthe echo repetition.Rotate clockwise to increase
the amount of
delay and counterclockwise to decrease.
(9) ECHOON/OFFand VOLUME CONTROL
Turnson and off theecho feature,and variesthe volumeor number of echo repetitions. To
turn on the echo

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feature and increase the echo volume,rotatethe controlclockwise. To turn off the echo
feature rotatethe
controlcompletelycounterclockwise to the OFF position.
(10)ALL MODE TALK BACK CONTROL
AllMode Talk Back isan independent talk back monitor. The AMTfunctionsin all modesand
allows the operator to monitorthe transmitted audio of the UltraForce. To increase the volume
of the talkback rotate the controlclockwise. To decrease rotate counterclockwise. To turn off
the talk backrotate the controlcompletelycounterclockwise.
(11)CLARIFIER
Allows variation of the receiver operating frequency above and belowthe indicated frequency
in allmodes.
The receiveclarifierisprimarily used intuning to an SSB signal.The receiveclarifierhasa
range of +/-1
kHz aboveand belowthe indicated frequency.
(12)FREQUENCY
Rotate clockwise to increase the operating frequency and counterclockwise to decrease the
operating fre-
quency.
(13)METER
The meterindicatesreceivesignalstrength,RF output power, SWRcalibrateand SWR.The
top horizontal
bar graph indicatescalibration andmeasuring ofthe standing waveratio. The centerbar
graph indicatesRFoutput power. The bottombargraph indicatesreceive signalstrength.
IMPORTANT!
Operatingsome of the featuresin 14 through 21 require theuse of the function control.
Toactivate
the function control,momentarily push the FUNC (15)control, the FUNC promptwillbe
displayed in
upper left-hand corner of LCD. Push the control again todeactivate the function
control.
(14)SCAN
Scansfrequenciesinincrementsof10 kHz.There are two waysto scan using frontpanel
entry.
(1) ReceiveAudioOn Scanning: Press the SCAN button. Scan rate isone step every 5
seconds. To stop
scanning pressthe SCAN button again,or momentarilypress the PTT button on the
microphone (scanning willstop without transmitting).
(2) ReceiveAudioMute Scanning: Carefully rotate squelch controlto thethreshold (see 2).
The receiverscan rate will nowbe five stepsper second. When asignalisdetected the
squelch isautomatically disengaged and the scanning ispaused. The squelch circuitwill
automatically reengage and the receiver will continue to scan until to the momentthe received
signalisno longer detected.To stop scanning, press the SCAN button, or momentarilypress
the PTT button on the microphone (scanning will stop without transmitting).
SHIFT
Used for programming offsetsto operate repeater networks.
The UltraForcecan transmit and receive on different frequencies.To program the offset, press
the FUNC button and hold down the SHIFTbutton for 3or more seconds.
Three digitswillappear on the LCD. This isthe offset frequency in kHz. Rotatethe
FREQUENCYcontroluntil
the desired offset frequency isdisplayed. To return tothe main display press the FUNC
button and hold down
the SHIFTbutton for 3 or more seconds, or momentarily press the PTT button on the
microphone (the
transmitterwillnotbe engaged).
To activatethe programmed offsetfrequency, press the FUNC button, and then press the
SHIFT button

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once. +SHIFTisdisplayed on the LCD. The UltraForcewill nowtransmiton the frequency that
isXXXkHz greater than the displayed, orreceive,frequency (XXXrepresentsthe
programmed offset frequency in kHz units).
To transmit on the frequency that isXXXkHz lower than the displayed,or receive, frequency
pressFUNC,
then the SHIFT button. Repeat thisuntil -SHIFT isdisplayed on the LCD.
To disengage the programmedoffset frequency, press the FUNC button and then press the
SHIFT button.
Repeat thisuntil the SHIFTindicator isno longer displayed on the LCD.
MEMORY CHANNEL 3
After programming thisbutton is memory channel3. See M.LOAD \ M.SAVEcontrolfor
programming in-structions.
(15)FUNCTION
Thiscontrolisused to operate the functionsthat areprinted belowthe control buttons. Press
and release,
FUNC willbe displayed on the LCD indicating thatthe function command isactivated. After
you have pressed
one of the buttonsthe FUNC will disappear fromthe screen.
(16)LAST CHANNEL RECALL
Press the LCR button to return to the lastfrequency that was transmittedon for more than 3
seconds.
REPEATER(interesting for USArepeaters only)
Repeater accesstone on and off control. Most repeaters (in USA only)require an 88.5 Hz
tone burst to access. To activatethe 88.5Hz tone burst, press the FUNC controland then
pressthe RPT button. RPT will appear on the LCD indicating that the tone burst willnow
automatically be transmitted wheneverthe PTT ispressed. To deactivate, repeat the same
process.

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MEMORY CHANNEL 4
After programming,thisbutton is memory channel4.See M.LOAD \ M.SAVEcontrolfor
programming in-structions.
(17)STEP
The STEP button selects frequency resolution in either 1 kHz, 10 kHz or100 kHz steps.
Press the STEP
button, one of the digitswillflash on and off.Press the STEPbutton againto change stepping
resolution.
To tune frequenciesin either 10 kHz or100 kHz increments, pressthe STEPbutton untilthe
desired digit is
flashing. Rotate the FREQUENCY control ineither direction.
The entire frequency range of the UltraForce can be stepped through in 10 or 100 kHz
increments.
To tune in 1 kHz increments, press the STEPbutton untilthe 1 kHzdigit flasheson and off.
Rotate the FRE-QUENCY control.
NOTE: When stepping in 1kHz increments,you are limited to tuning within a 10 kHz
frequency range.
NOISEBLANKER andAUTOMATIC NOISE LIMITER
Noise blanker on and off control.Thiscircuit eliminates pulse type interference usually
associated with auto-motiveignition systems. Toactivate the noise blanker, press the FUNC
controland then press the NB button.
NB willappear on the LCDindicating the noise blanker isturned on. To turnoff the noise
blanker, repeatthe
same process.
MEMORY CHANNEL 1
After programming,thisbutton is memory channel1.See M.LOAD \ M.SAVEcontrolfor
programming in-structions.
(18)CALL
The USA national callfrequency for SSB is28.400 MHz. The radio’soperating frequency is
automatically reset to this frequency when the CALL button ispressed.
MEMORY CHANNEL 2
After programming thisbutton is memory channel2. See M.LOAD \ M.SAVEcontrolfor
programming in-structions.
(19)MODE
Each timethe button ispressed the operating mode is changed. The operating modeis
indicated on the liquid
crystaldisplay: AM,FM, USB, orLSB.
TONELOW
To activatethe tone low feature,press the FUNC button, and then press the T. Lowbutton to
turn on the
receive audiotone control.LOWwill appear on the LCD when the lowtone isactivated. This
feature willroll-off
high frequency noise (i.e. “white” noise). Under many operating conditionsthiswillimprove
the clarity and
understanding ofreceived signals.
MEMORY CHANNEL 5
After programming thisbutton is memory channel5. See M.LOAD \ M.SAVEcontrolfor
programming in-structions.
(20)DIMMER
Press the DIM, or dimmercontrolto decrease the amount ofback-lighting on the front panel
and LCD screen.
(21)MEMORYSAVE

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To saveinmemory a specific frequency and operating mode,select the desired mode and
rotate the FREQUENCY control to the desired frequency. Press the FUNC button,and then
pressthe M.SAVE button. S
will appear on the LCD nextto the frequency. While Sisdisplayed, immediatelypress any of
the memory
channelbuttons(1 - 5).The mode and frequency isnowsaved into memory.If the Sindicator
disappears
before youpress the memorychannelbutton, the information willnot besaved and the
processmust be
repeated.
MEMORYLOAD
To load, or recall,any of the saved memory channelspressthe M.LOAD button. L will appear
on the LCD for
severalseconds.While theletter isdisplayed press the desired memory channel button (1-
5). The pro-grammed mode and frequency willbe displayed.