Atlas 400X User manual

PRELIMINARY
OPERATION MANUAL
DECEMBER 1994
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1-1. INTRODUCTION
The Atlas 400X Transceiver is designed for single sideband, CW,
and data communications in the 10, 12, 15, 17, 30, 40, 80, and
160 meter amateur radio bands. The conservative 150 watt PEP
-output will provide world wide communication from fixed, portable
or mobile installations.
The high performance and reliability of the Atlas transceiver is
enhanced by the finest craftsmanship, and a most thorough quality
control program. Our staff is made up of highly skilled assembly
workers, technicians, and engineers, many of whom are active
radio hams. Our service department, if and when needed, is
dedicated to making every Atlas owner a satisfied customer.
Speaking for all the gang at Atlas Radio, we wish you many hours
of operating pleasure with you Atlas transceiver.
73 Herb Johnson W6QKI
Chairman of the Board
ATLAS Radio Company

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
BAND COVERAGE:
160 m Band 1.8 to 2.0 MHz
80 m Band 3.5 to 4.0 MHz
40 m Band 7.0 to 7.3 MHz
30 m Band 10.1 to 10.2 MHz
20 m Band 14.0 to 14.4 MHz
17 m Band 18.0 to 18.2 MHz
15 m Band 21.0 to 21.5 MHz
12 m Band 24.6 to 25.2 MHz
10 m Band(l) 28.0 to 28.7 MHz
10 m Band (1) 28.6 to 29.7 MHz
MODES: LSB (J3E), USB (J3E),
CW (AlA), AFSK (F1B)
FREQUENCY CONTROL:
Highly stable VFO common to
both receive and transmit
modes with two speed tuning
control. The VFO is stabil-
ized by our Automatic Fre-
_ quency Lock (AFL). Band
switching is accomplished with
pin diodes.
FREQUENCY READOUT:
Six digit LED display provid-
ing frequency readout to
within 100 Hertz.
EXTERNAL FREQUENCY CONTROL:
Rear socket provides for plug-
in of external VFO or crystal
oscillator accessory for
separate control of transmit
and receive frequencies, or
for network and MARS opera-
tion. Accessories will be
available for expanded cover-
age in 1995.
CIRCUIT DESIGN:
All solid state single conver-
sion with 5595 kHz IF.
PLUG-IN DESIGN:
Transceiver plugs into the
Deluxe Mobile Mounting
Bracket, or into the ATLAS
400PS power supply console,
making transfer or removal a
simple operation. All con-
nectors are standard: SO-239
antenna jack, CW key, external
speaker or headphones, and
linear amplifier control.
POWER REQUIREMENTS:
12 TO 14 VDC, negative ground
CURRENT DRAIN:
Receive - 0.5 A
Transmit - up to 22 A
Average with SSB modulation
will be approx. 8 A.
Optional plug-in AC POWER
SUPPLY CONSOLE available.
ANTENNA IMPEDANCE: 50 ohms
WEIGHT: 7 lbs (3.2 kg)
DIMENSIONS inches:
9 wide, 3.5 high, 9 deep.
3

RECEIVER SPECIFICA nONS
CIRCUIT DESIGN: Front end
design provides exceptional
immunity to overload and cross
modulation. Signals are
converted directly to the 5595
kHz IF without preamplifi-
cation. Converter and product
detector are double balanced
diode rings. IC's are
employed in IF and AF stages.
SENSITIVITY: Requires less
than 0.4 microvolts for a 10
dB signal-pIus-noise to noise
ratio on all bands.
SELECTIVITY: Bob Crawford has
designed a custom eight pole
crystal filter with switchable
bandwidth 0.6 kHz for CW, 1.8
kHz for narrow SSB, and 2.7
kHz for normal SSB, with Shape
Factor of 1.4 (6 to 60 dB).
IMAGE REJECTI0N: More than 60
dB.
INTERNAL SPURIOUS: Less than
equivalent 1 microvolt signal.
AGC CHARACTERISTICS: Audio
output constant within 4 dB
with signal variation from 5
microvolts to more than 3
volts.
OVERALL GAIN: Requires less
than 1 microvolt signal for
0.5 watts audio output.
(CW carri~r, 1000 Hertz heter-
odyne) .
AUDIO FIDELITY: 300 to 3000
Hertz, plus or minus 3 dB.
INTERNAL SPEAKER: 3 in., 3
ohm, .68 oz. magnet. Rear
jack permits plug-in of exter-
nal speaker, or high impedance
headphones. When transceiver
is plugged into the AC power
supply console the front
facing speaker on console
becomes operative.
METER: Reads "s" units from 1
to 9, plus 10 to 50 dB over S-
9. Also reads AFL voltage
when adjusting the AFL con-
trol.
RIT CONTROL: Plus and minus
10 kHz.

TRANSMITIER SPECIFICATIONS
CIRCUIT DESIGN: Broadband
design eliminates transmitter
tuning. Single conversion
from IF to output frequency
produces minimum spurious and
mixing products. Two section
low-pass filters on each band
provide harmonic suppression
equal to commercial standards.
EHMISSION: With the SSB
selector switch in NORMal
position operation will be
lower sideband on bands below
14 MHz and upper sideband on
the 14 MHz band and above.
POWER RATING: 150 watts PEP
output on SSB, and 120 watts
CWoutput, (with 50 ohm resis-
- tive load and 13.8 volt D.C.
supply) on 160, 80, 40, 30,
and 20 meter bands and some-
what less on the higher fre-
quency bands.
RTTY POWER RATING: Approxi-
mately 90 watts PEP output
(dependent directly on venti-
lation of heat sink).
TRANSMIT CONTROL: Press-to-
talk with Mic. button, or
manual transmit with Function
Switch on front panel.
CW KEYING: Semi-break-in.
UNWANTED SIDEBAND: More than
60 dB down at 1000 Hertz AF
input.
CARRIER SUPPRESSION: More
than 60 dB down.
THIRD ORDER DISTORTION:
Approximately 30 dB below peak
power.
HARMONIC OUTPUT: More than 40
dB below peak power.
SPURIOUS AND IMAGE OUTPUT:
More than 40 dB below peak
power.
AUDIO FIDELITY: 300 to 3000
Hertz, plus or minus 3 dB.
METER: Reads relative power
output.
LINEAR AMPLIFIER CONTROL:
Rear auxilIary connector
provides for keying of linear.
MICROPHONE: Dynamic or crys-
tal. Plug requirement: Five
pin connector.

MODEL ATLA8-400PS POWER SUPPLY
CONSOLE SPECIFICA nONS
INPUT VOLTAGE: Power supply
operates on 120 volt or 240
volt AC, 50 or 60 Hz. Se-
lected by removing rear panel
and inserting fuses into the
proper clips. {Power supply
shipped in 120 volt configura-
tion}.
INPUT POWER: 10 watts average
in receive mode. 300 watts
transmit peak.
OUTPUT: Low current line:
13.6 volts regulated, t A.
High current line: 13.6 volts
at 22 A.
SPEAKER: 4 in. 1.1 oz magnet,
4 ohm voice coil.
_PLUG-IN DESIGN: Transceiver
plugs directly into power
supply console, automatic~lly
makes connections for antenna
and front facing speaker.
Headphone jack and CW key are
brought out to front panel.
DIMENSIONS inches: 15t wide,
7 high, 9t deep.
WEIGHT: 14t lbs less trans-
ceiver.

2-1. OPERATING CONTROLS
2-1-1. Front Panel
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1 TX POWER control
Output power can be adjusted
from 150 watts PEP down to 5
watts PEP.
4 PTT/TX switch
In the PTT position, the
microphone push-to-talk switch
must be pressed to activate
the transmitter. In the TX
position, the transmitter is
immediately activated.
2 CW/SSB switch
In the CW position, the car-
rier will be transmitted 800
Hz above or below the indi-
cated receive frequency de-
pending on the selected fre-
quency band. When transmit-
ting, the actual transmit
frequency will be displayed.
In SSB position the display
frequency represents the
position of the suppressed
carrier during both transmit
and receive.
5 OPERATE/TUNE switch
This switch should normally be
in the OPERATE position. The
TUNE position actives a CW
carrier permitting adjustment
of the transmitter output
power and allowing low power
antenna tuner adjustments.
6 Frequency display
The operating frequency is
displayed to the nearest 100
Hz. With RIT ON, the fre-
quency displayed is the trans-
mit frequency during transmit
and the receive frequency
during receive.
3 Meter
During receive the meter is
normally used as an S-meter.
It can also indicate the
Automatic Frequency Lock (AFL)
voltage when the AFL switch is
activated. During transmit
the meter is used to indicate
relative output power.
2
7

7 RIT switch
This switch allows the receive
frequency to be displaced from
the transmit frequency. In
the OFF position, normal
transceiver operation occurs
in which the transmit and
receive frequencies remain
equal. In the ON position,
the transmit frequency remains
as originally set and the
receive frequency can be
displaced from the transmit
frequency up to plus or minus
10 kHz by positioning the RIT
control.
8 SIDEBAND (SB) switch
Selects the upper or lower
sideband for both transmit and
receive. On frequencies below
the 14 MHz band NORMal selects
the lower sideband and OPPo-
site selects the upper side-
band. On frequencies in the
14 MHz band and above NORMal
-selects the upper sideband and
OPPosite selects the lower
sideband.
9 BAND switch
The nine amateur bands between
1.8 MHz and 30 MHz can be
selected by this switch. The
10 meter band has two posi-
tions.
10 RIT control
With the RIT switch in the ON
position, the RIT control can
displace the receive frequency
by plus or minus 10 kHz rela-
tive to that of the transmit
frequency.
11 BANDWIDTH switch
This switch selects one of
three IF filter bandwidths,
0.6 kHz, 1.8 kHz, or 2.7 kHz.
The 2.7 kHz position is best
used for SSB operation. The
1.8 kHz position will cut the
upper audio frequencies and be
useful in crowed band condi-
tions. The 0.6 kHz position
will give excellent results on
CWo
12 NOISE BLANKER (HB).switch
Pulse type noises, such as
ignition noise will be effect-
ively silenced. More continu-
ous type noise signals will
not be silenced or reduced as
much.
13 TUNING dial (VFO)
Tuning the transceiver is
accomplished by rotating one
of the two concentric tuning
knobs. The large aluminum
knob tunes at a rate six times
that of the smaller black knob
and can be used to move rapid-
ly within the selected band.
Use the smaller black knob for
final frequency setting.
14 AFL UP/DOWN switch
The Automatic Frequency Lock
(AFL) switch provides a means
to reset the AFL offset volt-
age. When the AFL UP/DOWN
switch is put into either the
UP or DOWN position, the AFL
voltage is shown on the S-
UNITS/OUTPUT meter. If the
AFL voltage reads either full
scale or zero scale, the AFL
UP/DOWN switch must be used to
reset the AFL voltage to the
indicated AFL ADJUST point
located below the meter scale.
If the AFL indication is above
the AFL ADJUST mark, press the
AFL switch DOWN until the
meter is at the AFL ADJUST
mark. If the AFL voltage is
below the mark press the
switch UP. After setting the
AFL voltage the AFL switch
must be returned to the center
position. With the switch in
the center position the meter
will return to the S-meter
function. The receiver fre-
3

quency will have to be slight-
ly adjusted with the tuning
knob after the AFL voltage has
been reset.
15 RF GAIN control
This control adjusts the gain
of the receiver high frequency
stages. Normally it should be
left in the full clockwise
position, but some receiving
conditions may be improved by
turning the RF gain control
down (counter-clockwise).
16 AF GAIN control/POWER OFF
switch
Adjust the AF gain control for
a comfortable audio level.
When rotated fully counter
clockwise, the transceiver
will be turned off.
17 PHONES (PH) jack
Output terminal for head-
phones, 3.5 mm Slze.
18 HIC jack
Connector for a microphone.
GNO(3)
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PTT(4) 0/;/. MIC(2)
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NC(5) NC(l)
FRONT PANEL VIEW
19 HIC GAIN control
Microphone gain can be ad-
justed during USB, LSB, and
AFSK modes. Gain is increased
with clockwise rotation.
4

2-1-2. Rear Panel
....
••
1 ANT (Antenna) connector
Sending and receiving antenna
connection. The antenna coax
cable should be 50 ohm coax
terminated with a PL-259
connector.
2 AUX. B (Auxiliary) connector
REAR PANEL VIEW
Pin No. Pin Name Application
1
INT. VFO 400X VFO signal
2 GND Ground
3 +10 VDC OUT Internal
10V reg.
4 OSC. IN. 400X VFO or extern.
o.cillator
5 VFO +lOV Power to 400X VPO
3 CW KEY connector
Using shielded line, connect a
1/4 inch phone plug to this
jack for CW operation. Open-
terminal voltage is approxi-
mately 13 VDC and a short
circuit current of about 40
rna.
DC POWER AUX. A
61
IS
41 1
3
NC r~ I LIN. AMP.
21 11
GND 31 4 - CWKEY
REAR PANEL VIEW REAR PANEL VIEW
4 DC power connector
Used to connect the DC power
supply and external speaker.
Pins 5 and 6 are parallel
positive high current connec-
tions. Pins 3 and 4 are
paralleled for negative and
chassis ground. The Atlas
Model 400-PS supplies positive
13 volts regulated to pin 1.
For battery operation, the
positive supply should be
applied to pins 1, 5 and 6 in
parallel. Supply voltage
should be 13.8 VDC for rated
output power. Supply voltage
should be kept between 12 VDC
and 16 VDC. Pin 2 is used for
an external speaker.
3 AUX. A (Auxiliary) connector
Provides external connections
for CW key and Linear Ampl.
5
/6

2-2. RECEIVE
2-2-1. Initial setting
1. Preset the controls as
follows:
AF GAIN control fully counter-
clockwise to the OFF position.
RF GAIN control fully clock-
wise.
CW/SSB switch to SSB.
PTT/TX switch to PTT.
OPERATE/TUNE switch to
OPERATE.
RIT switch to OFF.
SB select switch to NORM.
BANDWIDTH switch to 2.7 kHz.
AFL UP/DOWN switch to center
position.
2. Turn on the power by
rotating the AF GAIN control
clockwise and set it for the
desired volume.
3. The S-meter will illumi-
nate and a frequency will
appear on the FREQUENCY DIS-
PLAY.
4. Rotate the BAND switch to
the desired band.
5. Using the TUNING KNOB,
select the desired receive
frequency. The large aluminum
tuning knob is used for rapid
frequency changes, the smaller
black tuning knob is used for
fine tuning.
6. The NORMal position of the
SIDEBAND SELECT (SB) switch
will result in lower sideband
(LSB) for frequencies below
the 14 MHz band and upper
sideband (USB) for frequencies
in the 14 MHz band and above.
If the opposite sideband is
desired, place the SIDEBAND
SELECT switch in the OPPosite
position. If OPPosite side-
band is selected the BANDWIDTH
switch should be kept in the
2.7 kHz position.
2-2-2. CW reception
1. Place the CW/SSB switch in
the CW position.
2. Place the SIDEBAND SELECT
(SB) switch in the NORMal
position.
Note: Operation in OPPosite
sideband in not recommended
for the CW mode.
3. Select the 1.8 kHz IF
bandwidth with the BANDWIDTH
switch which will allow faster
signal location.
4. Slowly rotate the TUNING
KNOB until the desired CW
signal is heard and adjust the
audio tone to about 800 Hz.
5. Select the 0.6 kHz IF
bandwidth with the BANDWIDTH
switch.
6. Peak up the signal on the
S-meter with the TUNING KNOB.
With the signal peaked in the
0.6 kHz IF filter the audio
tone should be close to 800
Hz. With this setting the
frequency indicated on the
FREQUENCY DISPLAY should be
800 Hz above that of the
transmitting station for
6
/1

frequencies below the 14 MHz
band and 800 Hz below for
frequencies in the 14 MHz band
and above.
2-2-3. Using RIT
Normal operation should take
place with the RIT switch in
the OFF position. This keeps
both the receiver and
transmitter on the same fre-
quency. However if the sta-
tion you are talking to drifts
off frequency, or you are in a
round table, you can move the
receiver frequency for optimum
reception while the transmit-
ter remains at a fixed fre-
quency. To do this, move the
RIT switch to the ON position.
You can now use the RIT con-
trol to offset the receiver
from the transmit frequency by
plus or minus 10 kHz.
2-3. TRANSMIT
2-3-1. SINGLE SIDEBAND (SSB)
mode
1. Initially set the transmit
power to minimum by rotating
the TX POWER control fully
counter-clockwise.
2. Place the mode switch in
the SSB position.
3. For conventional sideband
operation, place the SIDEBAND
SELECT (SB) switch to the
NORMal position. This will
result in lower sideband (LSB)
operation for frequencies
below the 14 MHz band and
upper sideband (USB) operation
for frequencies in the 14 MHz
band and above.
4. Using the BAND switch and
the TUNING KNOB, select the
desired operating frequency.
5. If an external antenna
tuner is to be used and the
frequency is clear to trans-
mit, place the OPERATE/TUNE
switch in the TUNE position.
This will transmit a steady
carrier. It is normal for the
displayed frequency to change
slightly in TUNE mode. Adjust
the TX POWER control if neces-
sary and adjust the antenna
tuner.
6. After antenna tuning is
complete, return the OPERATE/-
TUNE switch to the OPERATE
position.
7. Rotate the TX POWER con-
trol to the full clockwise
position.
8. Press the microphone PTT
switch or place the PTT/TX
switch in the TX position.
9. Speak into the microphone
and adjust the NIC. GAIN until
the readlng on the S-UNITS/TX
OUTPUT meter averages 50% of
full scale. Do not exceed 75%
meter reading on voice peaks
or distortion of the transmit-
ted signal can occur.
10. Once the MIC. GAIN has
been set, the TX POWER control
can be rotated counter-clock-
wise to reduce transmitted
output power as conditions
permit.
2-3-2. cw mode
1. Initially set the transmit
power to minimum by rotating
the TX POWER control fully
counter-clockwise.
7
I~

2. Insert the CW sending key
plug into the CW KEY jack on
the rear of the transceiver or
in the front of the 400PS
console if in use.
3. Place the mode switch in
the CW position.
4. Place the SIDEBAND SELECT
(SB) switch in the NORMal
position.
5._ Using the BAND switch and
the TUNING KNOB, select the
desired operating frequency.
6. If an external antenna
tuner is to be used and the
frequency is clear to trans-
mit, place the OPERATE/TUNE
switch in the TUNE position.
This will transmit a steady
carrier. It is normal for the
displayed frequency to change
slightly in TUNE mode. Adjust
the TX POWER control if neces-
sary and adjust the antenna
tuner.
7. After antenna tuning is
complete, return the OPERATE/-
TUNE switch to the OPERATE
position.
8. Send a series of dots
while at the same time slowly
increase the TX POWER control
until a level of 50% full
scale is indicated on the S-
UNITS/TX OUTPUT meter.
Automatic transmit/receive
change-over are built into the
Atlas 400X for semi break-in
operation. The first dot or
dash sent by the CW key will
cause the T/R switch to switch
to the transmit state and
transmission will begin.
After a period of about two
seconds following the last
keyed transmission the T/R
relay will change back to the
receive state.
NOTE: The Atlas 400X
provides a sidetone
oscillator which produces an
800 Hz tone in the speaker
when the transmitter is
keyed in the CW mode.
2-4. RTTY OPERATION
2-4-1. Reception
RTTY requires Audio Frequency
Shift Keying (AFSK) while in
the SSB mode. This means the
Atlas 400X must be supplied
audio tones of approximately
2125 and 2295 Hz. By conven-
tion these modes use lower
sideband (LSB) on all bands.
However, the Atlas 400X will
allow either LSB or USB modes
in transmit and receive.
1. Place the CW\SSB switch to
SSB.
2. For frequencies below the
14 MHz band use the NORMal
sideband for LSB reception.
For the 14 MHz and above, LSB
operation requires placing the
SB select switch to OPPosite.
The 0.6 kHz filter will not
be properly aligned for RTTY
tones in either NORMal or
OPPosite sideband modes and
should not be used.
3. For proper reception of
RTTY signals, use only the 2.7
kHz bandwidth for frequencies
below the 14 MHz band. For
frequencies in the 14 MHz band
and above, either the 1.8 or
2.7 kHz bandwidths can be
selected.
8
13

4. Tune to an RTTY station
and fine tune using the indi-
cator on the RTTY terminal
device. The audio tones
should be centered around 2210
Hz.
2-4-2. Transmission
RTTY transmissions are contin-
uous and will require a reduc-
tion of power to keep the
output transistors from over-
heating. Monitor the heat
sink with your fingers. If
you can stand to keep your
fingers on the heat sink you
are not going to damage the
unit.
1. Initially set the transmit
power to minimum by rotating
the TX POWER control fully
counter-clockwise.
2. The CW/SSB switch should
~e in the SSB position and the
RIT switch should be in the
OFF position.
3. Set the SIDEBAND SELECT
(SB) switch to NORMal on
frequencies below the 14 MHz
band or to OPPosite for fre-
quencies in the 14 MHz band
and above.
4. If an external antenna
tuner is to be used and the
frequency is clear to trans-
mit, place the OPERATE/TUNE
switch in the TUNE position.
This will transmit a steady
carrier. It is normal for the
displayed frequency to change
slightly in TUNE mode. Adjust
the TX POWER control if neces-
sary and adjust the antenna
tuner.
5. After antenna tuning is
complete, return the OPERATE/-
TUNE switch to the OPERATE
position.
6. Rotate the TX POWER con-
trol to the full clockwise
position.
7. Begin transmitting on RTTY
and rotate the MIC. GAIN until
the reading on the OUTPUT
meter reads between 30-40% of
full scale.
9
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