West Marine VHF85 User manual

Two-Way Marine Radio
Owner’s Manual
Radio marino en dos vías
Manual del usuario
Model 11954328
Modelo 11954328

West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual v
Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................E-1
Getting Started......................................................E-2
What’s Included................................................................... E-2
Parts of the VHF85.............................................................. E-3
Front view ....................................................................... E-3
Vue arrière...................................................................... E-3
Clip-on DC charger......................................................... E-4
Reading the Display ............................................................ E-5
How It Works.........................................................E-7
Normal Mode Operation ...................................................... E-8
Normal mode with Weather Alert Watch......................... E-8
Normal Mode with Weather Alert and Triple/Dual
Watch (Quad Watch).................................................... E-9
Scan Mode Operation........................................................ E-10
Using the radio in scan mode ...................................... E-10
Scan mode with Weather Alert and Triple/Dual Watch...... E-12
Weather Mode................................................................... E-13
Using the radio in weather mode.................................. E-13
Attaching the Antenna ....................................................... E-14
Installing the Battery.......................................................... E-14
Charging the Battery.......................................................... E-15
Connecting the clip-on DC Charger.............................. E-15
Disconnecting the charger ........................................... E-16
Using the AC Power Adapter............................................. E-16
Attaching the Belt Clip ....................................................... E-17
To attach the belt clip:................................................... E-17
To remove the clip: ....................................................... E-18
Using Your Radio................................................E-19
Changing the Volume ....................................................... E-19

West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
vi
Setting the Squelch Level.................................................. E-19
Changing the Channel....................................................... E-20
Making a Transmission...................................................... E-20
Troubleshooting. ................................................E-22
Common Questions........................................................... E-22
Specications .....................................................E-23
Regulatory Information......................................E-24
Maritime Radio Services Operation................................... E-25
Basic Radio Guidelines ..................................................... E-25
FCC/Industry Canada Information..................................... E-25
FCC RF Exposure Information .......................................... E-26
Body-Worn Operation........................................................ E-26
Lithium ion battery warning................................................ E-27
Three Year Limited Warranty Statement...........E-27
Channels and Frequencies................................................ E-29
Regulations and Safety Warnings ....................E-35
Maritime Radio Services Operation................................... E-35
Basic Radio Guidelines ..................................................... E-36
FCC/Industry Canada Information..................................... E-36
FCC RF Exposure Information .......................................... E-37
Body-Worn Operation........................................................ E-37
Lithium ion battery warning................................................ E-38
Three Year Limited Warranty Statement...........E-39

West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual E-1
Introduction
Features
The VHF85 provides the following key features:
• Submersible design
Complies with JIS8/IPX8 water-resistant standards,
which means the radio can be submerged in 1.5
meters of water for 30 minutes without damage.
• 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
2.5 or 5 watts for added transmission distance..
• Battery level display and low battery alert.
• Dual, Triple and Quad Watch operation
These different watch modes let you monitor up
to two Coast Guard Distress/Hailing channels and
one weather channel along with one regular marine
channel.
• All marine VHF channels for the U.S., Canada, and
international waters.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) weather channel watch
Sounds a warning tone when a hazard alert is
issued.

West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
E-2
Getting Started
What’s Included
Antenna
SKU 7830433
VHF85 radio Lithium-Ion battery
SKU 12012506
Clip-on DC charger
SKU 12012514
AC adapter
SKU 12012522
Belt clip
SKU 7830458
Wrist strap
SKU 12012548
If any pieces are missing or damaged, contact West Marine
(see back cover for contact information).

West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual E-3
Parts of the VHF85
Front view
Rear view
Belt clipBattery
Charging
contacts
Battery
latch
Antenna
LCD display
1/2.5/5W
CHANNEL UP
Volume-power
Turn clockwise
to increase
volume.
Microphone
16/9-TRI
(16/9 triple
watch)
WX-ALERT
(weather
alert)
SCAN-DUAL
(scan-dual
wtch)
Squelch
Turn clockwise to
decrease channel
noise.
PUSH TO TALK
Speaker
Wrist strap
anchor
CHANNEL DOWN
UIC-LOCK
MEM
(memory)

West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
E-4
Button Press to... Press & hold to...
PUSH TO
TALK
stop scanning channels transmit on a channel
16/9-TRI
go to channel 16. Press
again to go to channel 9;
press a third time to return
to the starting channel.
turn Triple Watch on
and off.
MEM
save a channel into memory
or delete a channel from
memory.
NA
UIC-LOCK
switch from US to canadian or
international channels.
lock the keys; press &
hold again to unlock.
CHANNEL
UP
move up one channel at a
time.
move quickly up the
channels
CHANNEL
DOWN
mode down one channel at
a time.
move quickly down the
channels.
WX-ALERT
listen to the weather
channels.
turn Weather Alert Watch
on and off.
SCAN-
DUAL
strt scanning the channels
saved in memory.
turn Dual. watch on and
off.
1/5W-2.5W
switch the transmitter power
between 1 Watt and 5 watts.
change the transmit
power to 2.5 Watts.
Knob Turn clockwise to... Turn counter-clockwise
to...
Volume-
Power
turn on the radio or increase
the volume.
decrease the volume or turn
off the radio.
Squelch
raise the squelch level to
reduce channel noise.
lower the swuelch level to
hear weaker signals.