HOW IT WORKS
Your radio has three basic modes of operation:
Mode What It Does Use It When To Turn it on./off...
Normal Monitors a single marine radio channel
and lets you talk on that channel.
You want to talk to another station on a
specific channel. (default mode)
Scan 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 traffic.
Press and hold the CLR-SCAN button.
Weather Monitors the selected NOAA weather
channel.
You want to hear the current and
forecasted weather in your area. Press the WX-MEM button.
In addition to the three basic operation modes, your radio also provides three different “watch” modes which you can activate during
any of the three basic modes. In these watch modes, the radio briefly checks for activity on a specific channel then returns to its
previous mode.
Watch Mode What It Does Use It When To Turn it on./off...
Weather Alert
Checks for alerts on the last
weather channel you used every
seven seconds.
You want to be made aware of severe
weather conditions in your area. Select WX-ALERT Mode in Setup
submenu, and then choose ON or OFF.
Triple Checks for activity on channels
16 and 9 every two seconds.
You want to monitor a channel yet
maintain a watch on channels 16 and 9. Press and hold 16/9-TRI for two seconds.
Dual Checks for activity on channel
16 every two seconds.
You want to monitor a channel yet
maintain a watch on channel 16.
Change Triple Watch to Dual Watch in the
setup menu, then press and hold 16/9-
TRI for two seconds.
NOTE: You are required to monitor channel 16 whenever your boat is underway. You should have either Triple Watch or Dual
Watch on at all times.
Normal Mode Operation
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):
25
Marine Operator
25 Watts USA
Memory Alert
GPS Data OK
Transmit power
(1 W or 25 W)
Current channel
is stored in
memory
Status messages
(see the status
message table)
Current
channel
number
Current channel
is too long, the
name line scrolls)
Channel mode
(USA, CANadian,
or INTernational)
Weather Alert
Watch on
Status
Icons
Message Meaning
GPS Data OK The radio is receiving valid GPS data.
Check GPS The radio is not receiving valid GPS data: check the GPS status screen andthe GPS connection.
Input Position The radio has been unable to receive valid GPS data for at least four hours; it can no longer track your position. You
need to manually input your position (see Setting the GPS position manually on page 11).
Battery Low The battery voltage output is too low (below 10.5 VDC).
VHF490 RADIO 1-800-BOATING
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