Radio Shack BTX-128 User manual

Owner’s Manual Please read before using this equipment.
BTX-128
2-Channel 1-Watt
UHF Business Band
Transceiver
with CTCSS
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2Contents
ˆ
Contents
FCC Regulations ................................ 5
FCC License Required ..................... 5
FCC Part 90 Rules ........................... 7
A Quick Look at
Your Transceiver .............................. 13
Preparation ....................................... 14
Installing the Battery Pack ............. 14
Charging the Battery Pack ............. 15
Connecting the Antenna ................ 17
Using the Belt Clip ......................... 19
Connecting an Earphone/
External Speaker ........................... 19
Using an External Speaker/
Microphone .................................... 22
Setting Frequency Options ............ 22
©2000 RadioShack Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack and RadioShack.com are trademarks
used by RadioShack Corporation.
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3
Features
Setting a UHF Business Band
Frequency ..................................... 23
About Quiet Tone ........................... 28
Operation .......................................... 33
Care ................................................... 35
Specifications .................................. 36
ˆ
Features
Your RadioShack 2-Channel 1-Watt UHF
Business Band Transceiver is a portable,
two-way business radio service trans-
ceiver that you can carry almost any-
where. The transceiver is compact and
light, making it an ideal choice for your
business needs.
Programmable Frequencies — an au-
thorized service facility can program the
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4Features
transceiver to any UHF business band
frequency you have a license to use – no
crystals to buy!
Note: Your local RadioShack store must
send the transceiver to an authorized ser-
vice facility to program the transceiver
with a frequency. You must show your li-
cense to store personnel.
38 Quiet Tone CTCSS (Continuous
Tone Control Squelch System) —
helps reduce interference from other
transceivers which are operating on the
same frequency, in the same area.
PLL-Controlled Circuitry — provides
accurate and stable channel selection.
TX/BATT Indicator — flashes green
while the transceiver is turned on, lights
green while transmitting, and turns red
when battery is low.
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5
FCC Regulations
ˆ
FCC Regulations
FCC LICENSE REQUIRED
This transceiver is intended for use in the
operation of commercial activities, educa-
tional, philanthropic, or ecclesiastical in-
stitutions, and hospitals, clinics, or
medical associations.
The
Federal Communications Commis-
sion
(FCC) requires you to have a license
before you operate this transceiver. Un-
less you are already licensed to operate
on one of the preset frequencies, you
must apply for a frequency through the
PCIA (Personal Communication Industry
Association), a non-profit organization
that assigns frequencies nationwide to
help prevent conflicts between different
businesses using transceivers in the
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6FCC Regulations
same area. For more information about
getting a license, contact the PCIA at
800-759-0300, extension 3068 (in Virgin-
ia 703-739-0300, extension 3068).
For other questions concerning the li-
cense application, contact the FCC at
717-337-1212, or write:
FCC
P.O. Box 1040
Gettysburg, PA 17325
For the latest FCC application form and
instructions, call the FCC's fax-on-
demand service at 1-202-418-0177 from
a fax machine and request one or more
of the following documents:
To receive: Enter:
All forms and instructions 000600
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7
FCC Regulations
If you do not have a fax machine, you can
call the Government Forms Distribution
Center at 1-800-418-FORM and request
that the form and instructions be mailed
to you.
FCC PART 90 RULES
You must be familiar with Part 90 of
FCC
Rules
before you operate your transceiv-
er. The operation instructions in this man-
ual conform to Part 90, but do not cover
all items in Part 90.
Form 600 instructions only 006001
Main Form 600 only 006002
Form 600 schedules only 006003
To receive: Enter:
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8FCC Regulations
Overall, Part 90 states that:
• You must have a valid license before
you use the transceiver.
• As licensee, you are responsible for
proper operation of all transceivers
operating under your license author-
ity.
• You can let unlicensed persons oper-
ate this transmitter, as long as you
take precautions to prevent unautho-
rized transmissions.
• You must use this transceiver only
for the commercial use of your busi-
ness, and only when other commer-
cial channels (such as the
telephone) are either not available or
not practical.
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9
FCC Regulations
•Y
ou must always yield the operating
frequency to communications that
involve the safety of life or property.
• You must take reasonable precau-
tions to prevent harmful interference
to other services operating on the
same frequency.
• You must not transmit program
material of any kind used in connec-
tion with commercial broadcasting.
• You must not provide a service that
is normally handled by telephone or
telegraph unless such broadcasts
involve the safety of life or property
or in emergencies such as an earth-
quake, hurricane, flood or a similar
disaster where normal communica-
tion channels are disrupted.
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10 FCC Regulations
• During each transmission or
exchange of transmissions, you
must identify your station with the
call sign issued to you by the FCC,
or once each 15 minutes during peri-
ods of continuous operation.
• You must keep a written record of
any maintenance or modification
made to the transceiver, and you
must make this record available for
inspection upon demand by the
FCC.
Violating any of the provisions of Part 90
can result in fines and/or confiscation of
equipment.
Your equipment might cause TV or radio
interference even when it is operating
properly. To eliminate interference, you
can try one or more of the following cor-
rective measures:
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11
FCC Regulations
• reorient or relocate the receiving
antenna
• increase the distance between the
equipment and the radio or TV
• use outlets on different electrical cir-
cuits for the equipment and the radio
or TV
Consult your local RadioShack store if
the problem still exists.
You must use shielded interface cables
with this equipment.
Additional FCC Regulations
The Business Radio Service is under the
jurisdiction of the Federal Communica-
tions Commission (FCC). Any adjust-
ments or alterations that would alter the
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12 FCC Regulations
performance of the transceiver so it no
longer meets the original FCC type ac-
ceptance or would change the frequency-
determining method are strictly prohibit-
ed.
Replacement or substitution of crystals,
transistors, integrated circuits, regulator
diodes, or any other component that is of
a unique nature with components other
than those recommended can violate the
technical regulations of the
FCC Rules
or
violate type acceptance requirement of
the rules.
Before you operate the transceiver, you
must obtain your license. It is illegal to
transmit without the appropriate license,
which you can get by submitting a com-
pleted FCC Form 600 to the FCC (or
through the PCIA). Furthermore, you are
required to understand Part 90 of the
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13
A Quick Look at Your Transceiver
FCC Rules
prior to operating your trans-
ceiver. It is the user's responsibility to see
that this unit is operating at all times in
accordance with the
FCC Rules
.
ˆ
A Quick Look at
Your Transceiver
CHANNEL A/B
VOLUME/OFF
TX/BATT
EAR/MIC
MON
PTT
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14 Preparation
ˆ
Preparation
INSTALLING THE BATTERY
PACK
The supplied Ni-MH battery pack, when
fully charged, provides power to your
transceiver for up to 10 hours. You must
install the battery pack into your trans-
ceiver, then charge it.
Caution: Do not remove the plastic wrap
from the battery pack. Doing so can per-
manently damage the battery.
1. Slide LOCK on the
battery compartment
cover to the right to
unlock it, then slide
the battery compart-
LOCK
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15
Preparation
ment cover in the direction of the
arrows and lift it off.
2. Plug the battery pack’s connector
into the connector inside the battery
compartment. Then place the battery
pack in the compartment.
Note: The connector fits only one
way. Do not force it.
3. Replace the battery compartment
cover, then slide LOCK to the left to
lock the cover.
CHARGING THE BATTERY
PACK
Before you use the battery pack for the
first time, you must use the supplied bat-
tery charger to charge it for about 14
hours. You cannot use the transceiver
while you charge the battery pack.
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16 Preparation
To ensure maximum range, operate the
transceiver with the battery pack fully
charged. As the voltage decreases, the
range decreases.
Caution: The supplied 12V DC, 200 mA
battery charger was designed specifically
for your transceiver. Use only the sup-
plied battery charger.
1. Turn VOLUME/OFF fully counter-
clockwise until it clicks to turn off the
transceiver.
2. Pull out the rubber cover on the DC
12V jack on the lower side of the
transceiver and insert the charger’s
barrel plug into the jack. Then plug
the other end of the charger into a
standard AC outlet.
If TX/BATT lights red and flashes
green when the transceiver is on, the
transceiver has about 60 minutes of
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17
Preparation
battery power remaining. Recharge
the battery pack.
3. Unplug the AC adapter from the AC
outlet after the battery is fully
charged.
Caution: Although the battery pack is de-
signed to be charged using the supplied
battery charger for up to a year, do not
charge the battery pack longer than 24
hours at a time.
CONNECTING THE
ANTENNA
1. Align the slots around the antenna’s
connector with the tabs on the
antenna jack on the top of the trans-
ceiver.
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18 Preparation
2. Press the antenna down over the
jack and turn the antenna’s base
clockwise until it locks into place.
3. To detach the antenna, turn the
antenna’s base counterclockwise.
Then lift off the antenna.
Connecting an Optional
Antenna
Although the supplied rubber duck anten-
na provides excellent local reception, you
can connect an optional external mobile
antenna or outdoor base station antenna
to your transceiver for better reception of
weak signals. The antenna jack on the
top of the transceiver makes it easy to
use the transceiver with a variety of an-
tennas. Your local RadioShack store
sells a variety of antennas.
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19
Preparation
USING THE BELT CLIP
The supplied belt clip lets you easily at-
tach the transceiver to your belt.
Slide the belt clip onto the tab at the back
of the transceiver until it clicks. To re-
move the clip, pull up on its middle tab
and slide it down.
CONNECTING AN
EARPHONE/EXTERNAL
SPEAKER
To listen privately or to hear better in a
large area such as a warehouse, you can
pull up the rubber cover on the EAR and
MIC jacks, then plug a monaural ear-
phone or an external speaker with a 3.5
mm (1/8inch) plug (not supplied) into the
EAR jack on the side of the transceiver.
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20 Preparation
This automatically disconnects the built-
in speaker.
Listening Safely
To protect your hearing, follow these
guidelines when you use an earphone.
• Set the volume to the lowest setting
before you begin listening. After you
begin listening, adjust the volume to
a comfortable level.
• Do not listen at extremely high vol-
ume levels. Extended high-volume
listening can lead to permanent
hearing loss.
• Once you set the volume, do not
increase it. Over time, your ears
adapt to the volume level, so a vol-
ume level that does not cause dis-
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