Uniden UM355 User manual

UM355 VHF
Marine Radio
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Making a distress call
2
Speak slowly - clearly - calmly.
For future reference, write your boat’s name & call sign here:
1. Make sure your radio is on.
2. On the radio, press the 16/67-Tri button to switch to Channel 16 (156.8 MHz). (If
the corner of the display does not show 16, press the 16/67-Tri button again until
it does.)
3. Press the push to talk button and say: “MAYDAY -- MAYDAY -- MAYDAY.”
4. Say “THIS IS {name of your boat (three times) and call sign/boat registration
number (once)}.”
5. Say “MAYDAY {name or call sign of your boat}.”
6. Tell where you are: (what navigational aids or landmarks are near, or read the
latitude and longitude from your GPS).
7. State the nature of your distress, (e.g. are you sinking, medical emergency, man
overboard, on fire, adrift, etc.)
8. State the type of assistance you need (medical, towing, pumps, etc.).
9. Give number of persons aboard and conditions of any injured persons.
10.Estimate present seaworthiness of your ship (e.g. how immediate is the danger
due to flooding or fire or proximity to shore).
11.Briefly describe your ship, giving the ship name (e.g. “Blue Duck is 32 foot cabin
cruiser, white hull, blue deck house”).
12.Say: “I WILL BE LISTENING ON CHANNEL 16.”
13.End message by saying “THIS IS {name or call sign of your boat}, OVER.”
14.Release the push to talk button and listen.
If you do not get an answer after 30 seconds, repeat your call, beginning at step 3,
above.
Making a DISTRESS Call

3
Table of Contents (Cont'd)
Making a DISTRESS Call...........................................................................................................2
Table of Contents .................................................................................................3 (this page)
Introduction................................................................................................................................5
Features..................................................................................................................................5
Manual overview.....................................................................................................................5
Conventions.........................................................................................................................5
Getting Started...........................................................................................................................6
What's included......................................................................................................................... ......... 6
Parts of the radio....................................................................................................................... ......... 7
Turning on the radio .................................................................................................................. ....... 10
Setting the UIC channel mode (USA/CAN/INT)...................................................................... ....... 10
How It Works............................................................................................................................10
Normal mode operation ........................................................................................................11
Using the radio in normal mode.........................................................................................12
Normal mode with Triple and Dual Watch .........................................................................12
Scan mode............................................................................................................................13
Using the radio in scan mode ............................................................................................13
Scan mode with Triple and Dual Watch.............................................................................14
Weather mode ..................................................................................................................14
Using Your Radio.....................................................................................................................15
Setting the volume................................................................................................................15
Setting the squelch level.......................................................................................................15
Changing the channel...........................................................................................................15
Making a transmission..........................................................................................................16
Boosting the transmission power.......................................................................................16
Instant Channel .................................................................................................................16
Siren Out ...........................................................................................................................17
Changing display and sound options.................................................................................17
Dimmer ..............................................................................................................................17
Turning the key beep on and off ........................................................................................17
Installing the Hardware...........................................................................................................18
Mounting the radio................................................................................................................18
Installing flush mount bracket............................................................................................... 20
Connecting the radio.............................................................................................................21
Connecting accessories........................................................................................................23
Connecting to an external speaker.......................................................................................23
Maintenance and Troubleshooting ........................................................................................24
Common questions................................................................................................................... ....... 24
Engine Noise Suppression ....................................................................................................... ....... 25
Specifications ..........................................................................................................................26
Channel and frequencies............................................................................................................... ....... 29
Regulations and Safety Warnings............................................................................................. ....... 35
Antenna Selection and Installation .......................................................................................35
Two Year Limited Warranty.....................................................................................................36
Mounting Bracket Template....................................................................................................37
Table of Contents

4
Table of Contents
Table 1 - Front panel button functions................................................................................ ....... 7
Table 2 - Rear panel connector functions .......................................................................... ....... 8
Table 3 - Microphone button functions ............................................................................... ....... 9
Table 4 - Radio specifications ............................................................................................ ..... 26
Table 5 - International Channel Frequencies and Channel Tag ......................................... ..... 29
Table 6 - USA Channel Frequencies and Channel Tag...................................................... ..... 31
Table 7 - Canadian Channel Frequencies and Channel Tag ............................................. ..... 33
List of Tables

5
Introduction
Features
• Splashproof
Meets the world standard JIS4 level. Being defined as no harmful influence by
receiving a splash of water from any direction.
• Large, LCD display
• Memory scan mode
Lets you save channels to memory and monitor them in quick succession.
• Transmitter Power Level Select
Lets you boost the transmitter power from 1 watt to 25 watts for added transmission
distance.
• Battery level display and tone
Sounds an alert tone if the battery voltage goes too high or too low.
• Triple Watch Operation
Checks the emergency channel 16 and channel 67 in the background.
• All marine VHF channels for the International, U.S. and Canadian waters
• Siren Out
• Instant Channel
• Weather Mode
• One Touch 16/67 channel
Manual overview
Conventions
This manual uses several different type styles to help you distinguish between
different parts of the radio:
• BOLD SMALL CAPITALS indicates an actual button or knob on the radio or
microphone.
Introduction
• Upper and Lower case bold indicates a connector or label on the radio.
• Italicsindicatetextonthedisplay,suchasmenuoptions,prompts,andconrmationmes-
sages.

Getting Started
6
What's included
UM355 Radio
DC Power Cable Accessory Cable
Mounting Bracket and
knobs Mounting Hardware
Microphone Hanger and
Mounting Hardware Flush Mount Bracket
Getting Started

7
Getting Started
Table 1 - Front panel button functions
Button Press to... Press and hold to...
CHANNEL UP
Move up one channel at a
time. Move quickly up the channels.
CHANNEL DOWN
Move down one channet at a
time. Move quickly down the channels.
16/67-TRI
1st press: Go to Channel 16.
2nd press: Go to Channel 67.
3rd press: Go back to the
original channel.
Go into Triple Watch
INST
Instant CH call Instant CH programming
WX-DUAL
Selecty WX Channel Select Dual Watch Function
SCAN-MEM
Select Scan function Memory or remove scan channel
SIREN
Siren tone one cycle output Siren tone output continually
1W/25W/UIC
Select transit power 1W or
25W
Select US, International or
Canadian mode.
INST
WX-DUAL
SCAN-MEM
16/67-TRI
1W/25W-UIC
SIREN SQUELCH
knob (turn
clockwise
to decrease
channel noise)
LCD Display
CHANNEL UP &
CHANNEL DOWN
button
VOLUME-PWR
(power) knob
(turn clockwise to
increase volume)
Parts of the radio

Getting Started
8
13.8V DC
ANTENNA
Table 2 - Rear panel connector functions
Connector Connects to For details, see
Antenna connector External VHF antenna with
a male PL259 (SO238)
connectorand50Ω
impedance.
Minimum 1.2m, 3dB rated
antenna for sailboats, 2.4m, 6
dB rated for power boats.
Connecting the radio,
page 21.
Power connector Nominal 13.8 VDC power
supply with negative ground
(10.8 VDC to 15.6 VDC)
(Red wire +, black wire -).
Connecting the radio,
page 21.
Accessory connector External speaker Connecting accessories,
page 23.
Antenna
Connector
(SO238) Heat sink
Accessory
connector
Power
Connector

9
Getting Started
Table 3 - Microphone button functions
Button Press to... Press and hold to...
PUSH TO TALK Cancel scanning and stay on a
channel.
Talk on a channel.
PUSH-TO-TALK
Button

How It Works
10
Turning on the radio
Turn the
VOLUME-PWR
knob clockwise to turn on the radio.
When it powers on, the radio selects the last channel used.
How It Works
The UM355 has three basic modes of operation:
Operation mode What it does: Use it when: To turn it on/off:
Normal mode Monitors a single
marine radio
channel and lets
you talk on that
channel.
You want to talk to
another station on a
specicchannel.
(default mode)
Scan mode Monitors all the
channels you save
into memory.
You have a small
group of channels
you use most often
and want to check
themfortrafc.
Press SCAN-MEM.
Weather mode Monitors the select-
ed weather channel
You want to hear
the current or fore-
casted weather.
Press WX/DUAL
Setting the UIC Channel Mode (USA/CAN/INT)
Press and hold
1W/25W/UIC
to toggle between the modes, US, INT and CAN.
Note :If the UIC mode is changed, MRN CH is set to select previous CH in each
mode. And Each of Scan mode, Triple/Dual Watch, EMG 16CH or 67CH mode and
WX mode are canceled at this time.

11
How It Works
NOTE: You are required to monitor channel 16 whenever your boat is underway.
You should have Triple Watch on at all times.
In addition to the two main operation modes, the UM355 also provides two different
“watch” modes which you can activate during any of the two basic modes. In the
watch modes, the radio briefly checks for activity on a specific channel, then returns
to its previous mode.
Normal mode monitors whatever channel you select, and you can transmit on that
channel also. While using normal mode, the display lets you see the following
information (not all indicators will display at the same time):
Watch mode What it does: Use it when: To turn it on/o:
Triple Watch Checks for activity
on channels 16
and 67 every two
seconds.
You want to monitor
a channel yet
maintain a watch on
channels 16 and 67.
Press and hold the
16/67-TRI button for
two seconds.
Dual Watch Checks for activity
on Instant Channel
every two seconds.
You want to monitor
a channel yet
maintain a watch on
Instant Channel.
Press and hold the
button for
seconds.
WX/DUAL
two
Normal mode operation
Icon Detail
(TX) This indicator is indicated only when the PTT key is pressed and
the radio is sending a transmission.
LO / HI This indicator is indicated whether the transmitting power is LO
or HI. This is not indicated at WX mode and on the receiving only
channels of MRN.
MEM This indicator is indicated if the displayed channel is programmed
into the memory for scanning.
INST This indicator is indicated while current channel is instant channel.
SCAN This indicator is indicated while in Scan mode.
TRI This indicator is indicated while Triple Watch is enabled.
DUAL This indicator is indicated while Dual Watch is enabled.
US / INT / CAN This indicator is indicated the country mode that the channel is in.
WX This indicator is indicated it is in the WX mode.
(CH Indicators)
These indicators are indicated the present channel number.

How It Works
12
Using the radio in normal mode
• To transmit, press and hold
PUSH TO TALK
on the microphone. Release the button
when you are finished talking.
• For the best sound quality, hold the microphone about two inches from your mouth
while you’re talking.
• Press CHANNEL UP on the radio to move up one channel at a time. Press and hold
either button to scroll quickly up the channels.
• Press CHANNEL DOWN on the radio to move down one channel at a time. Press and
hold either button to scroll quickly down the channels.
• To change the transmit power, press 1W/25W/UIC. The transmit power switches
between 1 watt and 25 watts each time you press 1W/25W/UIC
.
67 16 67 16 67 16
Every 2 seconds, the radio
checks channels 67 & 16.
with Triple Watch on
Monitoring Channel 25
Press and hold the WX-DUAL or 16/67-TRI button (on the radio) for two seconds to turn
Triple/Dual Watch on or off.
Normal mode with Triple and Dual Watch
If you activate Triple Watch while operating in normal mode, the radio checks
channels 16 and 67 every two seconds; with Dual Watch turned on, the radio only
checks Instant Channel. The radio will not check channels 16 or 67 while you are
actively transmitting; it waits until your transmission is finished and then checks the
channels.

13
How It Works
Scan mode
You can save channels into memory and then use scan mode to monitor those
channels. When the radio detects a signal on a channel, it pauses on that channel
as long as the signal is received; when the transmission stops, the radio will continue
scanning.
11
1008 1312 17
15 20
14
The radio scans about
5 channels in 1 second.
When it detects a signal, the radio stays on the
channel until you press the
CHANNEL UP button or the
signal stops.
Resume scan
Using the radio in scan mode
• You cannot transmit while in scan mode.
• You must have two or more channels in memory to start a scan.
• To save a channel into memory, select the channel, then press and hold
SCAN-MEM
for two seconds. "MEM" icon will show on the display.
• To remove a channel from memory, set the radio to that channel, then press and
hold
SCAN-MEM
for two seconds. "MEM" icon will no longer show on the display.
• To activate scan mode, press
SCAN-MEM
. Press
SCAN-MEM
again to return to the
previous mode.
• When the radio automatically stops on a channel, press
CHANNEL UP
to leave that
channel and resume scanning.
• To end the scan, press the microphone’s
PUSH TO TALK
button. The radio remains on
the last scanned channel.

How It Works
14
Scan mode with Triple and Dual Watch
If you activate Triple Watch while
operating in scan mode, the radio
checks channels 16 and 67 every two
seconds, then goes on to scan the
next channel; with Dual Watch turned
on, the radio only checks Instant
Channel
Press and hold WX-DUAL or
16/67-TRI
(on the
radio) for two seconds to turn Triple/Dual
Watch on or off. Press
SCAN-MEM
key to turn
Scan on or off.
67 16
Every 2 seconds,
the radio checks
channels 67 & 16
then goes on to
the next channel.
with Triple Watch on
Memory Channel Scan
08 252417151413121110 20
Reversed 16 & 67
UJ-SW 20061215 #17
Weather Mode (WX)
Press WX-DUAL. The channel display will show 67CH as the initial (factory) default.
The user can use the CHANNEL UP or
CHANNEL DOWN
to move through the 5 WX
channels to find the active channel in their local area.
Note: The last selected WX channel is displayed when the radio is turned back to WX
mode.

15
Using Your Radio
Using Your Radio
Turn the volume knob clockwise to increase the speaker volume; turn it counter-
clockwise to decrease the volume.
Setting the Volume
Setting the Squelch Level
The squelch feature reduces the level of static on the speaker by filtering out the
background channel noise. At the lowest squelch level, the speaker plays all radio
signals, including any noise on the channel. Setting the squelch level higher filters
out channel noise and lets only actual radio transmissions through.
Weak signals
No
Squelch
Medium
Squelch
High
Squelch
Strong signals
Noise
While listening to a channel, adjust the SQUELCH knob until the noise is filtered out
and you can only hear the transmission. If you switch to a channel with a lot of noise
or with a weak transmission, you may need to adjust the squelch level again.
NOTE: Setting the squelch level too high may prevent you from hearing weaker
transmissions. If you are having difficulty hearing a transmission, try setting the
squelch level lower.
Changing the channel
Press the CHANNEL UP or CHANNEL DOWN buttons briefly to scroll through the channels
one channel at a time. Press and hold the channel up or down button to quickly scroll
through the channels.

Using Your Radio
16
Making a transmission
To make a transmission, press and hold the microphone PUSH TO TALK button.
Release the PUSH TO TALK button when you're finished talking to let the other party
respond.
• To prevent stuck microphone problems or situations where the PUSH TO TALK
button is pushed accidentally, the radio limits your talk time to 5 minutes in a single
transmission.
• For the best sound quality, hold the microphone about two inches away from your
mouth.
• You cannot transmit while the radio is in scan mode.
• See the channel list on page 29 for a list of receive-only channels.
Boosting the transmission power
In most situations, the 1 Watt transmission power is all you need. If you find yourself
far away from other stations and have trouble getting a response, you may need to
boost the transmission power from 1 Watt to 25 Watts:
1. Select the channel you want to transmit on.
2. Press
1W/25W/UIC
. The display shows "HI" in the upper left hand corner.
3. The transmit power remains at 25 Watts until you change the setting back. Press
1W/25W/UIC
. The display shows "LO".
NOTE: Don’t forget to change the transmission setting back to 1 Watt when you
move closer to other stations.
NOTE: By default, when you change to channel 16, the radio automatically
boosts the power to 25 Watts. Be sure to change the power back to 1 Watt if you
are not making an emergency transmission.
Some channels limit the power of transmission to 1 Watt so that there is less
interference between boaters attempting to use the channel at the same time. If you
switch to one of these channels, the radio changes back to 1 Watt automatically. See
the channel list on page 29 for a list of power-restricted channels.
Instant Channel
Only one channel can be set up as Instant CH in idle mode. Press and hold INST, the
current channel will be programmed to Instant CH, this “INST” icon will display. The
previous entry of Instant CH is deleted and current CH is set up as Instant CH.

17
Using Your Radio
Changing display and sound options
Dimmer
Your radio has a dimmer function and the setting can be changed between Off, Low,
Mid and High. Turn on the radio while pressing the INST key, the dimmer function will
be switched High to Off, Off to Low, Low to Mid, Mid to High.
Turning the key beep on and off
Key beep is the tone that sounds when you press a key or a button.
Turn on the radio while pressing the CHANNEL UP or
CHANNEL DOWN, the Key Beep
function will be switched On or Off.
Press INST on a certain CH to toggle between the Instant CH and the previously
selected channel.
This key functions similar to the Emergency Channel 16CH and 67CH.
Note:
Pressing INST key in Tripe / Dual Watch, or Scan Mode, these mode are canceled
and Instant CH is called in normal RX mode.
Siren Out
Pressing
SIREN
will activate the Siren Out function. This function will generate Siren 3
times.
Press and hold
SIREN
to generate continuous Siren. To stop press any key.

Installing the Hardware
18
Mounting the radio
The UM355 can sit at any angle in the mounting bracket so it can easily
accommodate the best location. First, determine the best place to mount the radio.
For optimum performance, find a location that can:
• Properly support the weight of the radio, approximately 2.2 pounds or 1.1
kilograms. You may need to use some type of anchor with the mounting screws to
hold the radio, depending on the surface.
• Keep the battery leads as short as possible.
• Keep the antenna lead-in wire as short as possible.
• Allow free air flow around the heat sink on the rear of the radio.
• Avoid interference with the ship’s compass.
Installing the Hardware
1. Install the radio into the mounting bracket, and connect the power cable and
accessory cable.
Step 1:
Slide the radio
into the mounting
bracket.
Step 2:
Tighten the mounting
knobs to secure the
radio in place.

19
Installing the Hardware
Hex bolt
Washer
Spring washer
Hex nut
Mounting
bracket
Mounting
surface
6. Install the radio back into the mounting bracket.
2. Position the radio into the desired location. Mark the edges of the bracket on the
mounting surface.
3. Remove the mounting bracket drill template from the back of the manual, and use
the template to mark the drill holes on the mounting surface.
4. Drill the holes for the mounting bracket; be sure to follow any special
requirements of the mounting surface.
5. Remove the bracket from the radio, and use the mounting hardware to secure the
bracket to the mounting surface.

Installing the Hardware
20
Installing the Flush Mount Bracket
1. Carefully cut a hole into the instrument panel
(or wherever you plan to mount the transceiver.).
Refer to page 28 for recommended dimensions.
2. Slide the transceiver through the hole as
shown in the image on the right.
A FLUSH MOUNT is available for mounting
the transceiver to a flat surface such as an
instrument panel.
CAUTION: KEEP the transceiver and microphone
at least 1 meter away from your vessel’s
magnetic navigation compass.
3. Attach the clamps on either side of the transceiver with 2 supplied bolts (5x8 mm).
Make sure that the clamps align parallel to the transceiver body.
5 Tighten the locking nuts (rotate clockwise) so that the transceiver is securely
mounted in position as below.
6. Connect the antenna and power cable, then return the instrument control panel to
its original place.
4. Tighten the end bolts
on the clamps (rotate
clockwise) so that the
clamps press firmly
against the inside of the
instrument control panel.