West Marine VHF 150 User manual

2West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
Table of Contents
A Quick Start Guide for the VHF150...................................5
Storing a Channel in Memory.............................................6
Normal Scanning................................................................7
DualWatch Scanning ..........................................................8
TripleWatch Scanning.........................................................8
Weather Channel, Stored Channels,
and Dual/TripleWatch Scanning ........................................9
Maritime Radio Services Operation..................................10
FCC/Industry Canada Information....................................10
FCC RF Exposure Information .........................................11
Lithium Ion Battery Pack Warning ....................................12
What’s Included ................................................................13
Introduction.......................................................................14
Features ...........................................................................14
VHF150 Controls..............................................................16
Radio Charger Cradle......................................................18
LCD Display......................................................................19
Owner Manual Conventions .............................................20
Indicator Sounds...............................................................20
Batteries ...........................................................................21
Installing the Lithium Ion Battery Pack ....................21
Using the Alkaline Battery Pack ..............................21
Power AutoSave and Battery Life Indication ...........23

3West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
Alkaline Batteries and Radio Performance..............23
Mounting the Charging Cradle..........................................24
To Mount the Cradle on a Countertop .....................24
Mounting on a Wall..................................................24
Attaching the Belt Clip ......................................................25
Getting Started .................................................................26
Selecting a Channel .........................................................26
Transmitting Power Level .................................................27
Transmitting......................................................................27
Using the Radio Menu Options.........................................28
USA/CAN/INT (U.I.C.) — Settings....................................29
Lamp (Backlight) Adjust....................................................29
Adjusting Display Contrast ...............................................30
Setting Dual or TriWatch...................................................30
Setting the Key Beep........................................................31
Setting the Key Lock.........................................................31
Manually Selecting Coast Guard/Distress
/Hailing Channels ..........................................................32
Storing a Channel in Memory...........................................32
Using the Weather Channels............................................33

4West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
Adding FIPS Codes..........................................................34
Changing Channel Names ...............................................35
Restoring Default Names .................................................36
Using the TripleWatch or DualWatch Mode......................36
Using Scan with Triple Watch,
Dual Watch, or Weather Alert...........................................37
Triple Watch and Dual Watch Only ...............................37
Both Watches and Weather Channel...........................38
Using the External Speaker/Mic Jack...............................39
Resetting the VHF150 ......................................................39
Troubleshooting................................................................40
Specifications ...................................................................42
Care and Maintenance .....................................................43
USA Channel Frequencies ...............................................44
Canadian Channel Frequencies.......................................46
International Channel Frequencies...................................48
NOAA WeatherChannels and Frequencies......................50
NOAA WeatherSAME Event Codes .................................50
Three Year Limited Warranty Statement ..........................55

5West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
A Quick Start Guide for the VHF150
Follow these steps to get going!
Rotate VOLUME until the display lights. The Power
On tone sounds. The default display shows channel
16 in the US marine band, a 5 watt level and the
purpose of the channel such as DISTRESS at the
bottom edge.
Press ▲or ▼to change channels. The marine
channels begin at 01 and continue, in a closed loop,
through 88A.
1.
2.
#
#865

%QO
#%)1PN
[
#865

%QO
5CHGV
[
#%QOOGTE
/CT1
R
T
/CT1
R
T/GOQT
[
#
#865

%QO
#%)1PN
[
#865

%QO
5CHGV
[
#%QOOGTE
/CT1
R
T
/CT1
R
T/GOQT
[

6West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
To listen to your local NOAA weather channel, press
WX/ALERT. One channel of the 10 available will be
best. Press WX/ALERT to return to marine channels
1Ato 88A(1 to 88 in Canada).
To transmit, repeated press 1/2.5/5W to select a pow-
er level. Then, press ▲or ▼to select a channel.
Press PTT. The display confirms transmitting at the
bottom of the screen and your power level as well
Storing a Channel in Memory
The VHF150 radio can scan channels you have stored in
memory. You can store marine channels for later scanning.
To store a channel in memory, follow these steps:
Use ▲or ▼until you reach a channel you want to
store.
Press and hold SCAN/MEM to store the channel in
memory. A double beep sounds to confirm your ac-
tion.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.

7West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
CHANNEL STORED appears at the bottom of the dis-
play.
If you take no further action, the screen returns to the
standard marine screen in 3-seconds.
Now that you have several channels stored in memory, you
can choose to scan them in three separate methods, Normal
Scanning, Dual Watch Scanning, and Triple Watch Scanning.
Normal Scanning
Normal Scanning lets you
scan all the channels you store
in memory using the steps in
the section preceeding this
one.
To activate Normal Scan
mode, momentarily press
SCAN/MEM. The radio scans all the channels stored in
memory from lowest to highest. The display shows CHAN-
NEL SCAN at the bottom.
When you scan those channels, each channel is checked in
order and the scan sequence repeats until you interupt it.
3.
4.
%*#00'.5%#0
75#/GOQT
[
9CVVU
/CTKPG$CPF
#
#NGTV
%*#00'.5%#0
75#/GOQT
[
9CVVU
/CTKPG$CPF
#
#NGTV
MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM
Channel Scan of 8 Channels Stored in Memory
MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM
Channel Scan of 8 Channels Stored in Memory

8West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
DualWatch Scanning
Marine channel 9 is reserved as a backup hailing, calling
channel for areas of high marine traffic. Channel 16 is the re-
served Coast Guard Distress, hailing channel.
Press and hold 16/9/TRI. If you have set DualWatch as your
default mode using the RADIO MENU options (see page 28),
the radio begins to include a check of Channel 16 along with
any other stored channels.
TripleWatch Scanning
Using the option in the RADIO MENU choices (see page 28),
you can choose to have the radio not only scan the channels
you stored and Channel 16, but also Channel 9, the backup
hailing, calling channel.
When you press and hold 16/9/TRI, the radio scans accord-
ing to the sequence shown below. In this case, the radio is
set to marine channel 25 and TripleWatch has been selected
from the RADIO MENU.
MEM
16
MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM
2 seconds
MEM
16
MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM
2 seconds
16
25 09
TripleWatch Scan of Marine Ch. 25,
Hailing Ch. 9, and Distress Ch. 16
16
25 09
TripleWatch Scan of Marine Ch. 25,
Hailing Ch. 9, and Distress Ch. 16

9West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
Weather Channel, Stored Channels, and
Dual/TripleWatch Scanning
You can store your NOAA weather channel in memory in the
same manner as any other marine channel using the steps
on page 5.
For this example, you have stored 8 marine channels. You
have pressed WX to display one weather channel. You have
selected the TripleWatch option using the RADIO MENU
setup. Now you press SCAN/MEM. Scanning takes place in
the order shown below. Every 2 seconds, during the scan-
ning of the 8 marine channels, the radio checks channels 9
and 16. Then, approximately every 7 seconds, the radio
checks the selected weather channel and then channels 9
and 16.
To learn about other sections which contain details dealing
with General Setup, Battery Operation and Charging, Menu
Options, Storing Channels, Scanning Channels, and using
the special features of either Triple or DualWatch, consult the
Table of Contents which immediately preceeds these Quick
Start pages.
MEM
1609 WX1609
MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM
2 seconds
~7 seconds
=Channel Check Scan Sequence of Stored Channels,
TripleWatch, and TripleWatch with WX
MEM
1609 WX1609
MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM
2 seconds
~7 seconds
=Channel Check Scan Sequence of Stored Channels,
TripleWatch, and TripleWatch with WX

10 West Marine VHF150 Radio Owner’s Manual
Maritime Radio Services Operation
Warning! This transmitter will operate on channels/frequen-
cies that have restricted use in the United States. The chan-
nel assignments include frequencies assigned for exclusive
use of the U.S. Coast Guard, use in Canada, and use in in-
ternational waters. Operation on these frequencies without
proper authorization is strictly forbidden. For frequencies/
channels that are currently for use in the U.S. without an in-
dividual license, please contact the FCC Call Center at 1-
888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322).
For individuals requiring a license, such as commercial us-
ers, you should obtain a license application from your near-
est FCC field office (for US users) or Industry Canada (for
Canadian users).
FCC/Industry Canada Information
Certification FCC Part 80 or RSS-182/188
Output Power 5W
Emission 16K0F3E, 16K0F2D
Transmitter Frequency Range 156.025 to 157.425 MHz
FCC Identifier AMWUT601
IC Certification Number 513C-UT601D
This device complies with the GMDSS provisions with Part
80 of the FCC Rules, as well as Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Operation is subject to the condition that this device does not
cause harmful interference.
Unauthorized changes or modifications to this equipment
may void compliance with the FCC Rules. Any change or
modification must be approved in writing by West Marine.
Changes or modifications not approved by West Marine
could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.