BridgeComSystems BCH -270 User manual

BCH-270 Owner’s Manual
By BridgeCom Systems, Inc.

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Copyright  2016 BY
Bridge Embedded Systems, Inc
Version 1.0, Oct 2016
All rights reserved.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation
For Technical Support, please contact:
BridgeCom Systems, Inc.
102 NE State Route 92 Highway, Suite C
Smithville, MO 64089
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 5
WELCOME ........................................................................................................................... 5
SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2: UNPACKING AND PREPARATION................................................................... 6
PARTS LIST ......................................................................................................................... 6
CHARGING THE BATTERY.......................................................................................................... 7
BATTERY CHARGER INDICATOR .................................................................................................. 7
LCD ICONS ......................................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 3: FEATURES AND OPERATION.......................................................................... 9
KEYPAD OVERVIEW: ............................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 4: QUICK START – GET ME ON THE AIR! .......................................................... 10
SETTING 2M RX AND TX FREQUENCY FOR USE WITH A REPEATER. ....................................................... 10
SETTING 70CM RX AND TX FREQUENCY FOR USE WITH A REPEATER. .................................................... 11
CHAPTER 5: BASIC OPERATION ...................................................................................... 12
WORKING MODES ............................................................................................................... 12
1）FREQUENCY MODE (VFO) / MEMORY MODE ......................................................................... 12
2）MEMORY MODE .............................................................................................................. 12
3）FM MODE .................................................................................................................... 12
4）MENU MODE ................................................................................................................. 12
CHAPTER 6: HOW-TO FUNCTION GUIDE: ........................................................................ 13
● CHANGE BANDS FROM 2M (GROUP A) TO 70CM (GROUP B) OR 70CM TO 2M. ................................ 13
● MEMORY MODE CHANNEL RECALL / VFO FREQUENCY ENTRY .......................................................... 13
● STORING A CHANNEL TO MEMORY ......................................................................................... 13
● DELETING A CHANNEL FROM MEMORY ..................................................................................... 13
● SETTING SQUELCH (SQL) ................................................................................................ 14
● CHANGING POWER LEVEL HIGH/LOW POWER ............................................................................. 14
● CHANGING FREQUENCY STEP SIZE ......................................................................................... 14
● PROGRAMMING FREQUENCY OFFSET AND SHIFT FOR DUPLEX OPERATION ........................................ 14
● PROGRAMMING THE SIDE KEYS PF1 AND PF2 .......................................................................... 15
● START CHANNEL SCAN ....................................................................................................... 15
● RX AND TX CTCSS/DCS ................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 7: MENU ITEMS ............................................................................................... 16
00 – ANI (AUTOMATIC NUMBER IDENTIFICATION) ......................................................................... 16
01 – SQL (SQUELCH LEVEL) ................................................................................................ 16
02 – POWER (HIGH OR LOW) ............................................................................................. 16
03 – REV T*R (REVERSE FREQUENCY) ..................................................................................... 16
04 – VOX.SWI (VOX SWITCH) ........................................................................................... 16
05 – SQT.RX / SQT.TX ...................................................................................................... 17
06 – SCAN ...................................................................................................................... 17
07 – DTMF IN (ONE-TIME DTMF INPUT TO BE TX) .................................................................. 18
08 – FM RADIO ................................................................................................................ 18
09 – STEP ....................................................................................................................... 18
10 – LED ........................................................................................................................ 18
11 – BEEP ....................................................................................................................... 18
12 – TX. SEL (SELECT TX CHANNEL) ....................................................................................... 18
13 - D. WAIT (DUAL WAIT) ............................................................................................... 18

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14 – TOT (TIMER-TIME OUT) ................................................................................................ 18
15 – APO (AUTO POWER OFF) ............................................................................................ 19
16 – AUTO LK (LOCK KEYPAD) ........................................................................................... 19
17 – PON.MSG (POWER ON MESSAGE) ............................................................................... 19
18 – W/N (WIDE OR NARROW BAND) ....................................................................................... 19
19 - SFT-D (SHIFT DIRECTION) ............................................................................................. 19
20 – OFFSET ................................................................................................................... 19
21 - DIS.NM (DISPLAY NAME)............................................................................................ 19
22 - MEM CH? (STORE CHANNEL TO MEMORY)............................................................................ 20
23 - DEL CH? (DELETE CHANNEL FROM MEMORY) ........................................................................ 20
24 – VOX (VOX LEVEL)..................................................................................................... 20
25 – ROGER .................................................................................................................... 20
26 - SCAN AD (SCAN LIST ADD)......................................................................................... 20
27 - DC VOLT .................................................................................................................. 20
28 – DW (DUAL WATCH) ................................................................................................... 20
29 - MDF-A (DISPLAY METHOD GROUP A) ................................................................................. 21
30 - MDF-B (DISPLAY METHOD GROUP B) ................................................................................. 21
31 - CA TONE (CALLING TONE) ............................................................................................. 21
32 – VOICE PROMPTS (VOICE LANGUAGE SELECTION) ......................................................... 21
33 - VOX DLY (VOX DELAY) ............................................................................................... 21
34 - PTT.ID ..................................................................................................................... 21
35 - DT DIAL (DTMF DIAL LIST SELECTION).............................................................................. 22
36 - DT.MR (DTMF MEMORY) ............................................................................................... 22
37 - SP MUTE (SPEAKER UN-MUTE) ........................................................................................ 22
38 - SIG.OPT (PTT ID SIGNALING OPTION) ............................................................................ 22
39 - PF1.S_K (PF1 KEY ASSIGNMENT – SHORT PRESS) ................................................................. 23
40 - PF1.L_K (PF1 KEY ASSIGNMENT – LONG PRESS) ................................................................... 23
41 - PF2.S_K (PF2 KEY ASSIGNMENT – SHORT PRESS) ................................................................. 23
42 - PF2.L_K (PF2 KEY ASSIGNMENT – LONG PRESS) ................................................................... 23
43 - FIR.TMR ................................................................................................................... 23
44 - FIR.CHA ................................................................................................................... 23
45 - FIR.CHB ................................................................................................................... 23
46 - SOS SOR (EMERGENCY ALARM TYPE) ........................................................................... 24
47 - SOS SEL (EMERGENCY CHANNEL SELECT) .................................................................... 24
48 - SOS ACH (EMERGENCY A GROUP CHANNEL) ................................................................. 24
49 - SOS BCH (EMERGENCY B GROUP CHANNEL) ................................................................. 24
50 – MORSE .................................................................................................................... 24
51 – RESET ..................................................................................................................... 24
APPENDIX A: CTCSS AND DCS TABLES ........................................................................... 25
AVAILABLE STANDARD /NON-STANDARD CTCSS TONES ................................................................... 25
WARRANTY AND SERVICE .............................................................................................. 26
FCC STATEMENTS ........................................................................................................... 27

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Welcome
Thank you for purchasing the BCH-270 dual-band hand-held two way radio. The goal of the BCH-
270 is to provide a cost-effective, feature rich hand held radio for users of the 2m and 70cm bands
of the amateur radio spectrum. This Owner’s Manual will acquaint you with the features and
operation of the BCH-270. Every effort has been made in the preparation of this manual to ensure
the accuracy of its contents. Carefully read this manual in order to properly operate the radio
before use.
SPECIFICATIONS
General BCH-270
Number of Channels: 128 x 2
Working Voltage: 7.4 V DC
Channel Spacing: 25kHz/12.5kHz
Weight w/Battery & Ant ~260g
Frequency Range: 2m(VHF): RX 134-174 MHz / TX 144-147.995
70cm(UHF): RX: 400-520 MHz / TX 430-449.995
Dimensions (W x H x D): 61 mm x 124 mm x 36 mm
Frequency Stability: +/- 1.5 ppm
Operating Temperature: -4 F to +122 F (-20 C to +50 C)
Battery Type: Li-Ion
Antenna Connector: SMA Male
Antenna Impedance: 50
TRANSMITTER
RF Output High Power: 5 Watts / Low Power: 2 Watts
Maximum Deviation:
+/
-
5kHz (25 kHz) +/
-
2.5
kHz (12.5 kHz)
Antenna Connector: SMA Male
Antenna Impedance: 50
In our on-going commitment to quality, specifications are subject to change without notice.

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CHAPTER 2: Unpacking and Preparation
We recommend that you identify the items listed in the following packing list. If you find that all
the items are not present, please contact us.
Parts List
Item
Quantity
Rubber Antenna
1
Li
-
ion Battery Pack
1
Desktop Charger
1
Power Adapter
1
Belt Clip
1
This user’s Manual
1
Hand Strap
1

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Charging the Battery
The battery is not completely charged at the factory, therefore the battery will need to be charged before
using the radio. After two to three charge / discharge cycles, the operating capacity will
increase to its normal capacity. To charge the battery:
1. Fasten the battery pack to the back of the radio. Note: Before charging, it is advised the radio
is powered OFF.
2. Using the supplied power adaptor, plug the output terminal of the power adapter in the DC jack
behind the charger base. The charger LED will indicate ORANGE for about 2 seconds then go out.
3. Place the radio into the charger cradle. When charging, the LED indicator will light RED. Once the
battery is fully charged the charger LED will turn GREEN. It normally takes about 5 hours to
completely charge an empty battery.
Battery Charger Indicator
Operation
Indicator
Power Connected
Orange LED on 2 seconds then
goes
out
No battery
NONE
Charging
RED
solid
Full
y
charged
GREEN solid
Fault Condition (Over temp,
short circuit, or over discharge)
R
ed LED flash
es

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LCD Icons
Icon
Description
Key Lock
ANI
Minus/Plus Offset Frequency
Direction
Remote Emergency
IVOX
VOX
Battery Save
APO(Automatically Power OFF)
Battery Gauge Indicator
FM Radio
Dual
Watch
SOS
Narrow Band
MORSE Code
Priority Scan
Reverse Frequency
Scan
Group A/B
DTMF
DCS
CTCSS
Last Digits At Frequency
High Power
Low Power
2 Tone
Channel Number
TX/RX Signal
I
ndicator

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CHAPTER 3: FEATURES AND OPERATION
FEATURE OVERVIEW:
● HIGH and LOW power (5W and 2W)
● Dual watch Frequency operation
● 2 x 128 Memory channels (GROUP A and B)
● LCD Dot Matrix display
● CTCSS and DCS encode / decode – Standard and non-standard
● DTMF Encode/Decode
● VOX
● Very long battery life
● Windows based PC Programmer
Switching Power On/Off and adjusting the audio volume level
1. With a fully charged battery, connect the antenna to the top of the radio’s antenna jack.
2. Rotate the POWER/VOL knob clockwise to turn on the radio. A power up alert will be heard
and the current DC supply voltage will be indicated. After about 2 seconds, the display will
resume normal operation and display the current operating frequency.
3. To increase/decrease the audio volume level, rotate the POWER/VOL knob.
4. To power down the radio, rotate the POWER/VOL knob fully counter clockwise until clicked
and the display goes dark.
After powering up, for its first use, the radio defaults to VFO operating mode and the default
receive (RX) frequency is displayed for both 2m and 70cm. Once the radio has been used, it will
power up to the mode it was in prior to being turned off.
Keypad Overview:
The BCH-270 has a 16 button keypad for operating the radio. From the keypad, you will be able to
program the radio for how you want it to operate.

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CHAPTER 4: QUICK START – GET ME ON THE AIR!
When the radio is powered on for the first time, it will display the measured battery voltage and
emit a power on alert. The powered on alert will be followed by the voice message: “Power On.”
On the top line of the radio display will be the 2m RX frequency (GROUP A) and the bottom line will
display the 70cm RX frequency (GROUP B).
In this example, we instruct you on how to program the BCH-270 to work with a 2 meter repeater
and a 70cm repeater.
Our example 2m repeater transmits on 147.38 MHz and receives with a +600 KHz offset on 147.98
MHz. The 2m repeater encodes/decodes a CTCSS tone of 100.0 Hz. Our 70cm repeater example
transmits on 443.750 and receives with a +5 MHz offset on 448.750. The repeater will have a
110.9 CTCSS tone for encode/decode.
Setting 2m RX and TX Frequency for use with a repeater.
By default, the radio will power up to receive on the 2m frequency (GROUP A). This is
noted by observing the right arrow icon with an ‘A’ in the center to the left of the 2m
frequency.
Change the frequency step size to 10 kHz. This is done by pressing the F button and
then 9. Press the F button again to access the step size. Press the UP / DOWN button
to arrive at 10.0 kHz. Press the F button to store the setting. Press the *A/B button to
exit the function menu.
To enter the desired RX frequency, simply key the frequency into the radio using the
keypad. To enter 147.380 MHz:
Key in 1 4 7 3 8 0 and the radio will confirm programming with a ‘good’ long beep after
keying in the ‘0’.
Programming the 600 kHz TX Offset:
Press-and-release the F key. Quickly Key in 2 0 to bring up the OFFSET menu item.
Press-and-release the F key. This will bring the arrow to the 2nd line of the display to
where you can enter the offset. Key in 0 0 0 6 0 0 - This will be followed be a confirm
beep and 0.600 will be displayed. Press-and-release the *A/B button to exit the OFFSET
menu item.
Setting the Positive Duplex Shift (+)
Now, we need to cause the radio to have a + 600 kHz shift when the radio is keyed.
Once again, press-and-release the F key. Key in 1 9 to bring up the SFT-D menu item.
SFT-D will be displayed on the top line and the SHIFT setting will be displayed on the
bottom line. Press-and-release the F key to bring the arrow to 2nd line of the display
indicating focus. Press-and-release the Up or Down keys to cycle through +, OFF, -.
You will keep the setting on ‘+’. Press the F button to store the setting. Exit the SHIFT
menu item by pressing the *A/B button. You’ll note the + icon being illuminated on the
top most line of the display.