GME TX3550S User manual

Compact fully featured 5 watt UHF CB radio
with ergonomic speaker control mic
ScanSuite
faster, smarter scanning
™
INSTRUCTION MANUAL

PAGE 2 INSTRUCTION MANUAL TX3550S
CONTENTS
ACCESSORIES SUPPLIED................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 3
IMPORTANT INORMATION................................................ 3
Possible issues ........................................................ 3
Emergency channels .............................................. 4
Telemetry Channels................................................. 4
FEATURES ........................................................................ 4
GENERAL OPERATION...................................................... 6
Front panel............................................................. 6
Rear panel.............................................................. 6
Controller microphone ............................................ 7
Controller microphone LCD panel............................ 7
Keypad Functions.................................................... 8
On/Off.................................................................... 9
Volume................................................................... 9
Selecting Channels.................................................. 9
Squelch .................................................................. 9
Signal Meter........................................................... 9
Transmitting............................................................ 9
Time-out timer...................................................... 10
Backlighting ......................................................... 10
Bandwidth filter settings ....................................... 11
Dynamic volume control (dvc) ............................... 11
Voice scrambler .................................................... 12
Beep tone volume................................................. 12
Disabling the internal speaker ............................... 12
Microphone gain .................................................. 12
Silent Squelch TAIL................................................ 13
Repeaters and Duplex Mode ................................. 13
Priority Channel.................................................... 14
Scanning .............................................................. 14
Scan Groups ......................................................... 15
Open scan ............................................................ 15
Group Scan........................................................... 16
Network scan (Net-Scan) ...................................... 17
CTCSS and DCS .................................................... 19
Selective calling ................................................... 21
Using selcall ......................................................... 21
Responding to a selcall alert ................................. 23
Quiet mode .......................................................... 23
Group calling........................................................ 25
Receive-only channels........................................... 26
Configuration menu.............................................. 30
INSTALLATION ............................................................... 31
General ................................................................ 31
Installation ........................................................... 31
DC power connection............................................ 32
ANTENNA CONNECTION ............................................... 33
NOISE SUPPRESSION...................................................... 33
Wiring .................................................................. 33
CTCSS Tone frequency Chart ................................. 34
DSC Tone Chart .................................................... 35
UHF CB Operating Frequencies.............................. 36
SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................ 37
STANDARD COMMUNICATIONS CONTRACT WARRANTY
AGAINST DEFECTS ......................................................... 38

TX3550S INSTRUCTION MANUAL PAGE 3
INTRODUCTION
Your GME TX3550S 80 channel radio is Australian designed
and built and is the most advanced UHF Citizen Band
radio available. It combines the very latest in electronic
hardware with the most up-to-date computer aided design
and manufacturing techniques to produce an extremely
compact mobile radio with outstanding specifications and
performance.
Your radio is designed for unobtrusive mounting in modern
vehicles. With its built-in loud speaker and extremely small
size, it can be mounted in almost any convenient location.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
CONCERNING UHF CB RADIO
The use of the Citizen Band radio service is licensed in
Australia by the ACMA Radio communications (Citizens
Band Radio Station Class Licence and in New Zealand by
the Ministry of Economic Development New Zealand (MED).
A General User Radio Licence for Citizens Band radio
and operation is subject to conditions contained in those
licences.
The class licence for users and equipment operating in the
CB/PRS 477 MHz band has been amended. This radio meets
the new 80 channel standard.
In simple terms the same amount of spectrum is available;
however, radio transceivers can now operate in a narrower
bandwidth and hence use less spectrum. These radios are
generally referred to as narrowband or 12.5 kHz radios.
By using 12.5 kHz channel spacing instead of 25 kHz, the
40 channels originally allocated can now be expanded to 80
channels thereby doubling the channel capacity and relieving
congestion in the UHF CB/PRS band.
Original 40 channel wideband Radios will continue to
operate on the original 40 channels, however they will not be
able to converse on the newer channels 41 – 80. The newer
narrowband radios will be able to converse with all older 40
channel wideband radios on all channels 1 to 40 as well as
the newer channels allocated from 41 to 80.
The mixing of narrowband and wideband radios in the same
spectrum can cause some possible operating issues
of interference and varying levels of received volume.
POSSIBLE ISSUES
When a new narrowband radio receives a transmission
from an older wideband radio the speech may sound loud
and distorted – simply adjust your radio volume for best
performance.
When an older wideband radio receives a signal from a new
narrowband radio, the speech may sound quiet – simply
adjust your radio volume for best performance.
Depending on how close your receiving radio is to another
transmitting radio, there can be interference from the
transmitting radio if it is using a channel adjacent to the
channel you are listening to. Simply try going up or down a
few channels from the currently selected channel.
The above situations are not a fault of the radio but a symptom
of operating wideband and narrowband radios in the same
bandwidth. This possible interference will decrease over time
as the population of wideband radios ages and decreases.
Further information and updates are available from the
Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
at www.acma.gov.au and the Ministry of Economic
Development (MED), Radio Spectrum Management at:
www.rsm.govt.nz
ACCESSORIES SUPPLIED
TX3550S 5 watt UHF CB Radio
Mounting Cradle
Controller Microphone
Microphone Clip
DC Lead
Screw Pack
Instruction Manual

PAGE 4 INSTRUCTION MANUAL TX3550S
EMERGENCY CHANNELS
The ACMA has allocated channels 5/35 for emergency use
only. Channel 5 is the primary Simplex Emergency Channel.
Where a Channel 5 repeater is available, you should select
Duplex on CH 5.
NOTE: Channel 35 is the input channel for the Channel 5
repeater therefore Channel 35 should also not be used for
anything other than emergency transmissions.
TELEMETRY CHANNELS
ACMA regulations have allocated channels 22 and 23
for telemetry only applications and have prohibited the
transmission of speech on these channels. Consequently your
radio has a transmit inhibit applied to channels 22 and 23.
In the event additional telemetry/telecommand channels are
approved by the ACMA, these channels shall be added to
those currently listed where voice transmission is inhibited.
Currently transmissions on channels 61, 62 and 63 are also
inhibited and these channels are reserved for future allocation
FEATURES
TRANSMIT (TX)
Individually Programmable DUPLEX Function: User selectable for only those individual channels in your area
that have repeaters, leaving the others free for use as extra simplex channels.
RECEIVE (RX)
Silent Squelch Tail:Eliminates the Squelch noise burst normally audible when the Squelch closes
User Programmable Receive Channels: 95
Signal Receive Indicator: Confirms that an incoming signal is being received
SCANNING AND MEMORY FUNCTIONS
Microprocessor Controlled Frequency Synthesiser: Allows user programmable control of scanning, channel
memories and selected feature options.
Programmable Scan Function
:Scans the selected UHF CB channels with Group, Open and Network scan
functions available.
Priority Channel: A user programmable Priority channel feature allows your working channel to be instantly recalled
at the press of a key.
SIGNAL PROCESSING
Digital Signal Processing:
Measures, filters and compresses standard analogue audio signals and converts them into
digital format. Allows advanced RF and audio processing techniques to be applied to maximise the radio’s performance.
Advanced Signal Management: Identifies interference caused by strong local signals on adjacent channels and
prevents these from opening your Squelch. ASM also minimises distortion on reception by fine tuning the receiver
frequency to match that of the incoming signal.
Dynamic Volume Control: Automatically compensates for variations in received audio level to provide a constant
audio output level to the speaker.

TX3550S INSTRUCTION MANUAL PAGE 5
User Selectable Wide/Narrow Band Filter: To accommodate the blending of 80 channel narrow band radios with
older 40 channel wideband radios.
PRIVACY FUNCTIONS
Voice Inversion Scrambler: When activated, scrambles your voice so that communications are only intelligible to
others using the same scrambler technology.
Inbuilt CTCSS & DCS: User selectable Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System and Digital Coded Squelch system
provides silent operation on individual channels.
In-Built SelCall with Quiet Mode: Provides selective calling of individuals or groups with fully user-adjustable
5-tone transmitted SelCall Ident. Also allows alphanumeric naming of up to 10 Idents for easier caller identification.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Over Voltage Protection: Special overvoltage detection circuitry protects the radio and warns of excessive voltage
conditions by flashing the display.
Rugged Construction: With Die-cast Chassis
USER CONTROLS AND INTERFACE
Full Spectrum Backlighting: User adjustable, totally customisable backlight settings to match the vehicles
dashboard lighting or drivers preference.
High Contrast Liquid Crystal Display: Fully detailed LCD provides a visual indication of the selected channel and
all selected functions at a glance.
Front and Rear Microphone Inputs: Convenient front and rear microphone inputs to facilitate ease of installation
and operation across a range of vehicles.
Digital Signal Strength Meter: Provides a numeric signal strength indication in numbers from 0 to 9+
Full Function LCD Controller Microphone: with rear mounted speaker using ‘Sound Path’™ technology to
channel clear audio towards the user.
A more detailed description of these key functions is included overleaf. These instructions describe the radio functions using the
controller mic.

PAGE 6 INSTRUCTION MANUAL TX3550S
GENERAL OPERATION
FRONT PANEL
DC Power Socket Speaker Socket Antenna Socket Rear Microphone Socket
REAR PANEL

TX3550S INSTRUCTION MANUAL PAGE 7
REAR PANEL CONTROLLER MICROPHONE
Skip/Call
CONTROLLER LCD PANEL
Quiet Tag
Channel Display
Transmit
Busy
SelCall RX
Scan
SelCall/Alpha Display/Signal Meter/Battery Quiet CTCSS/DCS
SelCall TX
Repeater (Duplex)
LEVEL
Channel Up
Push-To-Talk (PTT) Skip/Call
Channel Down
Menu/
F Key
Power Key/
Monitor
Quiet/
Duplex
Squelch/
ALPHA
SCAN/
OS/GS
Squelch level/
Priority channel
Microphone
Volume Up
Volume Down
LCD Display

PAGE 8 INSTRUCTION MANUAL TX3550S
KEYPAD FUNCTIONS
Many of the keys on the TX3540S controller microphone have
multiple functions. The primary functions are labelled in black,
while the secondary functions are labelled in red. To access a
primary function simply press the required key.
To access a secondary function, briefly press the F key
followed immediately by the required key.
The table below shows the control functions for all models.
TX3550S FUNCTION
Press and hold MENU to access the configuration menu. Press F
followed by the required key to access the secondary key-functions labelled in red .
Press SCAN to toggle scanning on or off. Press F followed by OS/GS to select Open Scan,
Group Scan or Network Scan.
Press and hold QUIET to tag the selected channel for use with SelCall. Press QUIET briefly
to toggle the quiet mode on all channels that have been tagged. Press F followed by DUP to
toggle duplex mode on or off on the selected channel.
Press SQL briefly to toggle the Squelch on or off. Press and hold SQL to toggle CTCSS/DCS
silent mode on or off on the selected channel. Press F followed by ALPHA to toggle Alpha or
Numeric display modes.
Press or to change channels.
+
–
Press the + or - keys to adjust the volume.
LEVEL
Press the the LEVEL key briefly to adjust the preset Squelch level. Press F followed by the PRI
key to recall the Priority channel.
Press
F then press and hold the PRI key to store the current channel as the Priority channel.
Press the key to switch the radio on or off.

TX3550S INSTRUCTION MANUAL PAGE 9
NOTE: When using the Fkey to access other functions, Fis
displayed to indicate that ‘Function’ mode is activated. If the
required function is not selected within 6 seconds the Fkey
selection will time out with a low beep and Fwill disappear
from the display.
ON/OFF
Press the
key to turn the radio on. Press and hold the
key to turn the radio off.
VOLUME
Press the +or –key to adjust the volume. Press +to increase
the volume, –to decrease the volume.
If no sound is heard, briefly press the SQL key to temporarily
un-mute the radio then adjust the Volume while listening to
the background noise. When finished, briefly press the SQL
key again to re-mute the radio.
NOTE: At the minimum volume setting there is still sufficient
volume to be heard in a quiet cabin environment.
SELECTING CHANNELS
To select the required channel, press the or key. Press
to select a higher channel. Press to select a lower
channel. The selected channel is displayed on the LCD.
SQUELCH
The Squelch is used to eliminate any annoying background
noise when there are no signals present. The Squelch can
be opened or closed using the SQL key. When the Squelch
is open the receiver’s background noise can be heard and
the symbol is displayed. When the Squelch is closed the
receiver remains quiet while there are no signals present but
any incoming signals will override the Squelch and be heard
in the speaker.
Adjusting the Squelch level
The Squelch sensitivity level has been factory set to provide
optimum performance under most operating conditions. If
required, the sensitivity level can be adjusted to suit
changing conditions.
To adjust the Squelch sensitivity, briefly press the LEVEL
key. The display will show the current Squelch level setting
in values from SQL-1 to SQL-9. Press the or key to
change the Squelch setting. A Squelch setting of SQL-1
allows the Squelch to open on very weak signals whereas a
setting of SQL-9 requires much stronger signals to overcome
the Squelch. After adjusting the Squelch sensitivity, briefly
press the LEVEL key to return to normal operation.
NOTE: The Squelch level can be actively adjusted while the
radio is scanning. This allows you to tighten the Squelch in
cases where an undesired weak or noisy signal is interrupting
the scan.
SIGNAL METER
The signal meter indicates the relative strength of the
incoming signal in numerical format. Signal strengths are
displayed on the lower left of the Channel Display in values
from 0 to 9. Signals above strength 9 are displayed as 9+.
NOTE: Refer to the Configuration Menu for other options
that can be displayed in this location.
TRANSMITTING
Prior to transmitting, always check the channel is not being
used. This can be done by listening to the channel or by
visually checking that the icon is not visible or the signal
meter is not indicating a signal.
To transmit, press the PTT on the microphone. The icon
will appear. Hold the microphone about 3-5 cm from your

PAGE 10 I NSTRUCTION MANUAL TX3550S
face and speak at a normal voice level. The microphone is
quite sensitive so it is not necessary to raise your voice or
shout. Release the PTT when you have finished talking. The
icon will disappear.
IMPORTANT: Always listen to ensure the channel is free
before transmitting.
TIME-OUT TIMER
The radio has a built-in time-out timer that automatically
limits transmissions to a maximum of 3 minutes of
continuous operation. This feature is required by the ACMA to
prevent accidental blocking of the frequency should your PTT
become jammed or be otherwise pressed accidentally. The
time-out period can be changed by your dealer.
When the time-out timer activates, the radio will beep for 5
seconds then the symbol will flash continuously. Normal
operation will be restored once the PTT is released.
BACKLIGHTING
The Liquid Crystal Display and keys are backlit for easier
viewing at night. The backlight remains on whenever the
radio is switched on.
Adjusting the Backlighting
The backlight brightness and colour can be adjusted for
personal preference. There are three backlight settings
available.
BKLGT (Brightness setting): Provides a continuously
variable brightness adjustment from very dim to full
brightness.
COLOR (Colour setting): Provides a continuously variable
adjustment through the full colour spectrum.
White (Whiteness setting): Controls the colour
saturation of the selected colour from deep colour to white
(no colour).
To adjust the backlighting;
1. Hold the LEVEL key to select the Backlight mode. ‘BKLGT’
is displayed.
2. Press or key to adjust the brightness.
3. Briefly press the LEVEL key to select the Colour setting
mode. ‘COLOR’ is displayed.
4. Press or key to adjust the colour.
5. Briefly press the LEVEL key to select the Whiteness setting
mode. ‘WHITE’ is displayed.
6. Press the or key to adjust the colour saturation. For
the deepest colour range, reduce the WHITE setting.
To exit, press and hold the LEVEL key.
Auto-colour Mode
The radio has an automatic colour-change option that, when
activated, will cause the display colour to automatically cycle
through the available colour spectrum. The colour-change
option can be enabled temporarily as an aid to choosing
a display colour or can be set to cycle continuously as the
preferred display colour setting.
To enable the auto-colour option,
7. Hold the LEVEL key to select the Backlight mode. ‘BKLGT’
is displayed.
8. Briefly press the LEVEL key to select the Colour setting
mode. ‘COLOR’ is displayed.
9. While in the colour setting mode, briefly press the MENU
key to enable or disable the auto-colour option. When
enabled, the display lighting will continuously cycle
through the available colour spectrum. When disabled the
display will hold the last selected colour.
To exit, press and hold the LEVEL key. If auto-colour is still
enabled, the display lighting will continue to cycle through
the colour spectrum until disabled using the steps above.
NOTE: The back-light setting function will automatically
time out after 6 seconds if no further adjustments have
been made.