Telonics TR-8 User manual

1 of 3 2020.03.01
Telonics TR-8 Quick Start Guide
Power On/Off
Press and hold the power button for a full second to turn the TR-8
on or off. If the TR-8 won’t turn on, and if the red LED comes on
instead, charge the battery.
Backlight
The TR-8 automatically turns on a backlight in the display whenever
you press any button or turn any knob. The backlight automatically
turns off after several seconds.
If you want to turn on the backlight without impacting the current
operation of the TR-8, momentarily press the power button. Be
careful not to hold it down too long or the TR-8 will turn off.
If you want the backlight to remain on permanently, press the power
button twice. A light-bulb icon appears in the display to indicate the
setting. To restore normal backlight operation, press the power
button twice. The light-bulb icon disappears, and the backlight
automatically turns off after several seconds.
Over-gain condition
If you set the RF gain too high compared to the signals on the air, the
red LED blinks, the display indicates an over-gain condition, and the
audio output may clip. Turn down the gain so the audio levels can
change with the RF signal strength and facilitate direction finding.
However, if the TR-8 identifies an over-gain condition for what sounds like weak transmitter
pulses, those pulses are probably interference from a nearby transmitter on the adjacent
frequency (“opposite sideband”). You can use the red LED to distinguish those pulses from the
signal you are searching for.
Gain Knob: RF Gain and Audio Volume
The TR-8 has separate settings for RF gain and audio volume, but both are controlled by the
gain knob. Normally, the gain knob controls RF gain. However, if you click the gain knob, its
function toggles between RF gain control and volume control, as indicated on the display. Note
that volume control is a temporary function, and the gain knob automatically reverts to RF gain
control a few seconds after you finish adjusting the volume.
Gain/Vol Tune

2 of 3 2020.03.01
Battery Charging
When connected to any type of USB power (computer, power pack, wall charger, etc), the TR-8
attempts to charge the battery automatically, whether the TR-8 is on or off. When the TR-8 is
off, the LED turns from red to blue when the battery reaches full charge. When the TR-8 is on,
the charging icon (a lightning bolt) disappears when the battery is full.
Lists
The TR-8 stores 25 frequency lists, and each list holds up to 99 frequencies. Frequencies within
each list are always sorted in order by frequency. Every frequency can have its own meaningful
label to help you identify the corresponding transmitter, and each list also has its own label.
The TR-8 allows you to select which lists are “active” at any given time, and multiple lists can be
active at the same time. When a list is active, you can easily tune the receiver to any of the
list’s frequencies.
Manual Scan
When at least one frequency list is active, you can use the “Next” and “Prev” buttons to step
through the frequencies on the list(s). These buttons can optionally skip frequencies marked
for skipping. Press and hold either button to change the function of both buttons to skip, or not
to skip, those marked frequencies.
Auto Scan
During auto-scanning, the TR-8 uses a timer to advance automatically to the next frequency in
the active list(s). This method of scanning always skips frequencies marked for skipping.
Scrolling through List(s)
Normally, the tune knob allows small adjustments to the current frequency. However, if you
click the tune knob, its function toggles between fine tuning and scrolling through the active
frequency list(s), as shown on the display. Note that scrolling is a temporary function, and the
tune knob automatically reverts to the fine-tune function a few seconds after you settle on a
frequency. Scrolling never skips frequencies, even those marked for skipping.
Skip (Mark/Unmark)
To mark (or unmark) a frequency on a list for skipping, press the “Skip” (zero) button. An icon
appears to indicate the marking. Press and hold the “Skip” button for a chance to unmark all of
the frequencies on the active list(s). The “Skip” button also works in the List Maintenance
menu, any time the TR-8 is displaying the contents of a list.
System Reset
If the TR-8 becomes unresponsive, you may need to reset it. Press and hold the tune knob for
10 seconds. If the TR-8 still won’t respond, connect to USB power and try again.

3 of 3 2020.03.01
Configuration by Windows PC
The “TR-8 Editor” software is the easiest way to set up frequency lists. It can import TPFs for
Telonics transmitters, and it can even interpret lists you’ve made in Excel. Find it at
https://www.telonics.com/products/vhfReceivers/tr-8.php. Use any USB-C cable to connect
the TR-8 to your Windows PC, and be sure to turn on the TR-8 so it will communicate with the
PC.