Yaesu FT-450 User manual

YAESU
FT-450
FT-450AT
Users Manual
18 August 2013

Authors Message
When I started this project, I did so thinking that the Yaesu Manual was too confusing and hard to learn
from. Besides, writing a User’s Manual is a great way to learn any system.
Well, I have to say, I was wrong about the first item. It turns out the Yaesu Manual is very good. It is just
that the FT-450 is a very complex machine. I continued with the effort because my second reason is still
valid. And I wanted a shorter reference manual, structured closer to the way I think, to provide myself
with a slightly different perspective of this impressive machine.
You will find that this is structured to my machine. I do not have the enhanced microphone, a linear
amplifier to boost up the power, and as yet I do not have the software in my computer to drive RTTY ,
packet, or slow scan video.
Where Yaesu’s version of the manual gives explicit instructions on an entire task, I have tried to break it
down to functional procedures and presume that the reader will learn these basic procedures so that I do
not have to spell out the specifics of every keystroke over and over again.
The only area covered by this document that was not clear in the Yaesu manual is found in section 5.2
where I discuss the interaction between M-TUNE, VFO-A, and VFO-B.

YAESU HF/50 mHz Transceiver FT-450 User’s Manual
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Table of Contents
1General.....................................................................................................................................1
2Controls....................................................................................................................................1
2.1 Power ...............................................................................................................................3
3Receiver....................................................................................................................................4
3.1 Communications Mode......................................................................................................4
3.2 Band.................................................................................................................................4
3.3 VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator)..................................................................................5
3.3.1 Clarifier ........................................................................................................................6
3.3.2 Split Frequency Operation..............................................................................................6
3.4 Extracting the Signal from the Noise...................................................................................7
3.4.1 RF Attenuation and Intercept Point Optimization (IPO)....................................................7
3.4.2 Noise Blanking..............................................................................................................7
3.4.3 Digital Signal Processor.................................................................................................7
3.4.3.1 Contour............................................................................................................8
3.4.3.2 Notch...............................................................................................................8
3.4.3.3 Digital Noise Reduction (DNR).......................................................................8
3.4.3.4 Band Pass Width.............................................................................................8
3.4.3.5 Filter Shift........................................................................................................9
3.4.4 CW Reverse..................................................................................................................9
3.4.4.6 CW Spotting....................................................................................................9
3.4.5 Radio Frequency Gain....................................................................................................9
3.4.5.7 Automatic Gain Control...................................................................................9
3.4.5.8 Radio Frequency Volume Control.................................................................10
3.4.6 Audio Volume Control..........................................................................................10
3.4.7 Signal meter................................................................................................................10
4Transmitter..............................................................................................................................10
4.1 Transmission...................................................................................................................11
4.1.1 Microphone Button......................................................................................................11
4.1.2 Voice Activated Transmitter Switching (VOX)..............................................................11
4.1.3 CW Break-In...............................................................................................................11
4.1.4 Data............................................................................................................................11
4.2 Meter..............................................................................................................................11
4.3 Automatic Antenna Tuner ................................................................................................12
5Channel Memories...................................................................................................................12
5.1 Memory Content..............................................................................................................12
5.2 Tuning of the VFO Setup Memory....................................................................................13
5.3 Band VFO Setup Memory................................................................................................14
5.4 Home Memory ................................................................................................................14
5.5 Quick Memory ................................................................................................................14
5.6 Channels Memories .........................................................................................................15
5.6.1 Recall .........................................................................................................................15
5.6.2 Storage........................................................................................................................15
5.6.3 Removal .....................................................................................................................15
5.6.4 Labeling......................................................................................................................15
5.7 VFO Memory Scanning ...................................................................................................16

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5.8 Programmable Memory scanning ......................................................................................16
6System Controls.......................................................................................................................16
6.1 Display Brightness ...........................................................................................................16
6.2 Semi-automatic Keyer ......................................................................................................16
6.3 Custom Switch.................................................................................................................16
7Adaptation (Menu)...................................................................................................................18
7.1 Transceiver function operational parameters ......................................................................20
7.2 Tranceiver Controls..........................................................................................................21
7.3 Computer Aided Transceiver (CAT) Operation ..................................................................22
7.4 Adaptation of CW communication.....................................................................................22
7.5 Adaptation to exclude bands and modes.............................................................................24
7.6 Adaptation for microphone ...............................................................................................24
7.7 Adaptation of repeater communication...............................................................................24
7.8 Adaptation of Data communication....................................................................................25
7.9 Adaptation of RTTY communication.................................................................................25
7.10 Adaptation of VOX Operation...........................................................................................25
8Procedural Uses .......................................................................................................................25
8.1 CW Setup........................................................................................................................25
8.2 SSB Setup........................................................................................................................26
8.3 Antenna Testing...............................................................................................................27
8.4 CW Training....................................................................................................................27
9Acronym Glossary....................................................................................................................28
Table of Tables
Table 1 - Controls...............................................................................................................................3
Table 2 – Communication Modes........................................................................................................4
Table 3 – Transceiver Bands...............................................................................................................5
Table 5 – Base frequency step size for controls ....................................................................................5
Table 6 – Band Width Filter Settings...................................................................................................9
Table 7 – Memory Channel Number..................................................................................................12
Table 8 – Contents of Each Memory Channel.....................................................................................13
Table 9 – 20 Unique Assignable Button Functions..............................................................................17
Table 10 – 8 Assignable shortcuts of F followed by an existing buttons ...............................................17
Table 11 – 22 Duplicate Button Functions..........................................................................................18
Table 12 – Miscellaneous redundant or useless function......................................................................18
Table 13 – Adaptable Parameters ......................................................................................................20
Table 14 – CTCSS tone frequencies (Hz)...........................................................................................21

YAESU HF/50 mHz Transceiver FT-450 User’s Manual
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1 General
The Yaesu FT-450 HF/50 MHz Transceiver is designed for Amateur Radio use. It provides a
general-purpose receiver covering 30 KHz through 56 MHz. The Transceiver range is broken
into 10 Amateur Radio Bands and 1 general purpose band to cover the remaining high frequency
spectrum. The variable frequency oscillator (VFO) setup for each band is remembered
individually as you switch bands. The details of what makes up a VFO setup will be described
when we get into the section on memory. The transceiver allows communication in using side
band, continuous wave, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and (when computer
driven) a number of data modes.
2 Controls
The FT-450 front panel contains 24 push buttons, 3 analog rotary dials, 2 rotary digital dials, a lighted
display, and three jacks. The small rotary digital dial (“DSP/SEL”) has 24 steps per revolution and also
functions as a push button. The large rotary digital dial has 100 steps per revolution. A number of push
buttons behave differently if held down for one second (adaptable).
Since there are literally hundreds of settings possible on the FT-450, a button, knob, or dial may be used
to control more than one function. The less often changed values are set by a sequence of buttons and/or
dials. For example, if you press the “F■” button (2
nd
from right mid height button), the letter F will
illuminate on the display. The upper right six buttons have two names on each. If the F is illuminated, the
button performs the function of the upper name and the F is extinguished. Otherwise those buttons
perform the function of the lower name.
Definitions:
f-press = press a button preceded by the “F■” button
t-press = press a button and hold for 1 second (adaptable 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 seconds)

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CONTROL ACT STATE FUNCTION
ON/OFF T-PRESS - Toggle system ON/OFF
DSP PRESS - Step DSP contour, notch, digital noise reduc, width, OFF
PRESS - Step through combinations of ATT and IPO off and onATT/IPO T-PRESS CW Voice tone to compare with CW tone to spot the frequency
NB PRESS - Toggles noise blanker
PRESS - Step automatic gain control through auto, fast, slowAGC T-PRESS - Turn off automatic gain control
- Steps forward through enabled bandsBAND▼PRESS menu Steps forward through bands to enable/disable
- Steps backward through enabled bandsBAND▲PRESS menu Steps backward through bands to enable/disable
PRESS - Toggle enable/disable of automatic antenna tunerTUNE T-PRESS - Start tuning to antenna process
- Enter the “F■” (function) statePRESS menu
cwtrain Generates the next group of 5 practice CW characters
- Enter or leave the “menu” state (see section 6 adaptation)
F
T-PRESS power off Reset adaptation to factory default when turn power on
PRESS - Step through power, ALC, standing wave ratio meterMETER/DIM T-PRESS - Start brightness adjustment via DSP/SQL(end with press)
- Steps forward through enabled modesPRESS -menu Steps forward through modes to enable/disable
CW Toggles between USB and LSB reception
MODE▼
T-PRESS power off Display software version (194) when turn power on
PRESS - Steps forward through enabled modes
-menu Steps backward through modes to enable/disable
MODE▲
T-PRESS CW Toggles between USB and LSB reception
A=B PRESS - Copy the current VFO settings into the secondary VFO
A/B PRESS - Swap the current and secondary VFO settings
KEYER PRESS - Toggle CW keyer on/off (manual vs space assisted keying)
CLAR PRESS - Allow offset of receive frequency with “MAIN” dial
FAST PRESS - Toggle increase in frequency steps for both dials
LOCK PRESS - Lock frequency (see details) to avoid accidental change
SHIFT PRESS - Shift the intermediate frequency (IF) pass band
Small kHz steps in frequency (see Table 5)- 100 KHx steps in frequency (may be adapted to set CW
side tone, CW speed, 1 mHz steps, mic gain, or rf power)
single channel stepsMEMORY single groups steps
DSP Step values for selected filter (shown by “>”)
MENU Step through list of adaptable items
TURN
MENU
blink Step through allowed values fore individual items
- Toggle between small and large steps in frequency
MEMORY Toggle between groups and individual memory numbers
DSP Toggle type of filter on/off, sense, magnitude (see writeup)
DSP/SEL
PRESS
MENU select menu item (blink menu display) for setting
MAIN DIAL TURN - Fine setting of frequency (end memory mode)

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CONTROL ACT STATE FUNCTION
not squelch Analog setting of radio frequency gainSQL/RF GAIN TURN squelch Analog setting of squelch level
AF GAIN TURN - Analog setting of audio frequency gain
F Announce the frequency and mode in voice to operator,VOICE/C.S PRESS - Customer adapted function ( see Tables 9, 10, 11, 12)
F Memory write VFO setup to selected channel (1 out of 508)PRESS - Copy memorized VFO setup into current VFO MW/V/M
T-PRESS power off Clear memory channels when power turned on
F Copy preferred (quick) VFO setup into current VFO
- Copy quick VFO setup into current VFO
F MW Copy current VFO setup into home channel
PRESS
menu -
blink In most cases, the menu item restored to factory default
HOME/RCL
T-PRESS power on Reset adapt, clear memory channels when turn power on
F Activate or deactivate voice activated transmissionVOX/STO PRESS - Copy current VFO setup into (preferred (quick) memory
F Toggle setting frequency step with DSP/SEL knobPRESS - Toggle operation using secondary VFO settings to transmit STEP/SPLIT
T-PRESS - Activate quick SPLIT operation
F Toggle program memory scan between two frequenciesPMS/SCAN PRESS - Toggle upward scanning of frequencies or memory channel
Table 1 - Controls
This document was derived from the information in the Yaesu HF/50 MHz Transceiver FT-450 Operation
Manual.
2.1 Power
To toggle the FT-450 transceiver ON or OFF, t-press the ON/OFF button. Some portion of
the display will show when the unit is on. Needless to say, the 12 volts must already be
supplied to the unit.
The power switch is also used to reset memory and/or adaptation in the FT-450. Warning: Do not perform
any of the first three following steps unless you are prepared to lose information:
1) Turning the power on while holding the “F■” button will restore adaptation
to the factory default settings.
2) Turning the power on while holding the “VM/V/M” button will clear all memory
channels except QMB.
3) Turning the power on while holding the “HOME/RCL” button will both
restore adaptation to the factory default settings and clear all memory channels
except QMB.

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4) Turning the power on while holding the “MODE▼” button will display the current software
version. You must then turn the power off and then on to resume normal operation.
3 Receiver
The transceiver provides both a multi-band sensitive receiver and transmitter. Most of the
controls have to do with the operation of the receiver section. However, Mode, Band, and VFO
apply to the transmitter section as well.
3.1 Communications Mode
The FT-450 transceiver is designed to communicate using Lower Side Band
(LSB), Upper Side Band (USB), Continuous Wave (CW, i.e. Morse code),
Data (DATA), Amplitude Modulation (AM), or Frequency Modulation (FM).
Pressing either the “MODE▼” or “MODE▲” will step through the available
modes in the forward or reverse direction respectively. These buttons are found to the right of the
“DSP/SEL” knob. Any unwanted modes may be turned off in adaptation using the MENU functions
described later.
Most user’s will not need all of the communication modes shown in Table 2. When you get to the section
on adaptation, you will find that you can configure the system to skip any modes that are not needed.
MODE DESCRIPTION
USB Upper side band
LSB Lower side band
CW Continuous Wave
AM Amplitude Modulation
FM Frequency Modulation
DATA Radio teletype, Packet
Table 2 – Communication Modes
3.2 Band
Step through the bands using ”BAND▲” and “BAND▼” buttons on either
side of the “MAIN” dial. Only those bands enabled (via the menu
command) will be selected. The available bands are shown in Table 1
above. Any unwanted bands may be turned off in adaptation using the
MENU functions described later.
BAND RANGE AMATEUR RADIO BAND
GEN 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz none (stores non-ham fqys )
1.8 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 1.8 MHz ~ 2.0 MHz
3.5 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 3.5 MHz ~ 4.0 MHz
7.0 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 7.0 MHz ~ 7.3 MHz
10 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 10.1 MHz ~ 10.15 MHz
14 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 14 MHz ~ 14.35 MHz

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BAND RANGE AMATEUR RADIO BAND
18 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 18.068 MHz ~ 18.168 MHz
21 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 21 MHz ~21.45 MHz
24 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 24.89 MHz ~ 24.99 MHz
28 MHz 30 KHz ~ 33 MHz 28 MHz ~ 29.7 MHz
50 MHz 33 MHz ~ 56 MHz 50 MHz ~ 54 MHz
Table 3 – Transceiver Bands
3.3 VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator)
The display shows the current frequency in 10 Hz increments (left field is MHz, mid
field is KHz). The desired frequency is selected by rotating the “DSP/SEL” knob (24
steps per revolution). Tabke 5 shows the incremental step size. Factory defaults are
highlighted.
Press the “DSP/SEL” knob to blink the left 3 digits of
the frequency display and the “DSP/SEL” knob now
moves in 100 kHz increments changing only those
digits. Pressing the “DSP/SEL” knob again (or pressing
any button or moving the “MAIN” dial) stops the
blinking and the “DSP/SEL” knob action returns to the
smaller increment size.
The “MAIN” (large unlabeled) dial (100 steps per
revolution) allows fine-tuning of the frequency. The
“MAIN” dial is, by default, disabled in AM or FM
modes, but may be enabled by adaptation.
MODE(S) “DSP/SEL” KNOB “MAIN” DIAL
CW, LSB, USB, DATA 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 kHz 1, 10, 20 Hz
AM 2.5, 5.0, 9.0, 10, 12.5, 25 kHz 100, 200 Hz *
FM 5.0, 6.25,10, 12,.5, 15, 20, 25, 50 kHz 100, 200 Hz *
Table 5 – Base frequency step size for controls
*Note: By default, “MAIN” dial is inoperative for AM and FM modes unless enabled by adaptation.
To change the frequency step size of the “DSP/SEL” knob, f-press the “STEP/SPLIT” (just above “F■”).
The current step size will show on the bottom right of the display. Change the step size value by rotating
the “DSP/SEL” knob. When the correct value is displayed, press the “STEP/SPLIT” button to exit that
state.
Press the “FAST” button (to the left bottom of “MAIN” dial) to increase the speed of frequency selection.
The word FAST will be highlighted on the display, the “DSP/SEL” increments will be doubled and the
“MAIN” dial increments will be increased by a factor of 10. Pressing “FAST” again to extinguish the
FAST highlight and returns both knobs to their set increments.
The current frequency may be locked to avoid inadvertently changing it. To toggle the lock function,
press the “LOCK” button to the right of the “MAIN” dial. When locked, the word LOCK will appear

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above the right end of the frequency display. The frequency lock may be released by pressing “LOCK”
again.
In addition to the display, the FT-450 is able to announce the current frequency through
the speaker or headset. To hear the frequency, f-press the “VOICE” button (2
nd
upper
button from the right).
Note: Small changes in the receive frequency (under 10 kHz) my also be achieved by use
of the clarifier. See section 4.1.1 of transmission for details.
3.3.1 Clarifier
The receive frequency can be set up to +/-9.99 kHz different
from the transmit frequency. This is toggled on and off by
pressing the “CLAR” button located near the bottom middle
of the front panel. When activated, the word CLAR shows
on the right side of the display with the offset shown below
it (replacing the M-TUNE, VFO-A, or VFO-B on the
display). The offset value may be changed with the “MAIN”
dial. Note that the offset control may be re-assigned to the
“DSP/SEL” knob in adaptation using the MENU functions as described later.
The system will remember the offset value, even when CLAR is turned off. To zero the offset, t-press the
“CLAR” button while the clarifier is turned on. The offset will also be set to zero if the “MAIN” dial is
inadvertently turned when the CLAR is turned off.
3.3.2 Split Frequency Operation
The FT-450 Transceiver is capable of operating on two frequencies; one
for transmission and another for reception. Moreover, there is no restriction
that the two VFOs operate on the same band or even in the same mode.
To toggle split frequency operation, press the “STEP/SPLIT” button. The
work SPLIT is highlighted in the display. The current receive VFO setup
appears on the display. If you want to keep it, press either the “A = B” or “A
/ B” button to either put that setup in the transmit VFO or swap setups with
the current transmit VFO. Then enter the transmit frequency and any other parameters
associated with it and press the “A / B“ button to swap it with the receive VFO setup.
You are now ready to communicate. Whenever the Transceiver is transmitting, the frequency
display will show the transmit frequency. Otherwise it will show the receive frequency.
There is also a quick split feature in the system. If you t-press the “STEP/SPLIT” button, the
system will automatically copy the receive VFO into the transmit VFO and add 5 kHz to the
transmit frequency. You may now communicate as before.
Note: see section 5 for a better understanding of the contents of a VFO setup and section 5.5 a
more complete description of the “A = B” or “A / B” button action.

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3.4 Extracting the Signal from the Noise
Every stage of the FT-450 Transceiver contributes to the effort to improve the signal to noise
ratio. In order to deal with the wide dynamic range of input signals, the operator may optionally
insert 20 db of attenuation or disable the radio frequency (RF) amplifier in what is called
intercept point optimization (IPO). The RF amplifier gain is controlled by the automatic gain
control (AGC) circuitry.
The signal is then mixed with the first local oscillator to produce an intermediate frequency of
67.899 mHz, passed through a 10 kHz wide roofing filter and then passed through the first
intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier. The gain of the IF amplifier is also controlled by the AGC
circuitry.
The amplified IF signal is mixed to produce a 24 kHz second IF. The second IF signal is then
converted through an analog to digital converter (ADC). Further filtering is then performed by
the digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP then detects (DET) the signal and provides the AGC
control. The detected signal then passes through a digital to analog converter (DAC) to drive the
speaker circuitry
The operator has direct control of ATT, IPO, noise blanker (NB), several DSP filter properties,
AGC speed, IF gain (or squelch), and audio frequency (AF) gain.
3.4.1 RF Attenuation and Intercept Point Optimization (IPO)
Filtering is done first by the “ATT/IPO” button. To reduce
strong signals, apply these filters. Each time the
“ATT/IPO” button is pressed it advances through the
sequence:
ATT off, IPO off no attenuation, input preprocessor active
ATT on, IPO off 20 db attenuation, input preprocessor active
ATT off, IPO on no attenuation, input processor off
ATT on, IPO on 20 db attenuation, input processor off
3.4.2 Noise Blanking
Interference rejection within the bass band follows the IF filtering. This is used to filter noise from
automobiles or any other electrical sparks. It is toggled on and off by the “NB” button and the display will
show the status of the NB on the second figure top right on the display.
3.4.3 Digital Signal Processor
Pressing the “DSP” button will cause a “>” sign to
appear in front of the CONTOUR signal processing

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graph on the left side of the display. Repeated press of the “DSP” button will move the “>” sign down to
the NOTCH graph, then to the DNR graph, then to the WIDTH, and finally to remove the “>” sign. While
the “>” sign is displayed and if M-TUNE, VFO-A, or VFO-B shows on the bottom right of the screen, the
“DSP/SEL” knob is used to adjust the digital signal processor parameters.
3.4.3.1 Contour
The shape of the band pass may be rounded up or down
over a small or medium width of the band pass. That
bulge may be moved over the width of the band pass.
The first press of the “DSP” button causes the “>” sign
to be positioned next to the CONTOUR graph. Pressing
the “DSP/SEL” knob steps the filter from none to
narrow to medium with bulge. T-press the “DSP/SEL”
knob to flip between and upward or downward bulge.
Turn the “DSP/SEL” knob to position the bulge over the
different parts of the band pass.
3.4.3.2 Notch
Introducing a sharp notch in the band pass is achieved by the second
press of the “DSP” button that causes the “>” sign to be positioned
next to the NOTCH graph. Press the “DSP/SEL” knob to toggles the
filter off or on. Turn the “DSP/SEL” knob to position the bulge over
the different parts of the band pass. Note that the knob must be moved
several steps before the notch will move noticeably.
3.4.3.3 Digital Noise Reduction (DNR)
Application of one of 11 different digital Noise Reduction (DNR) filters in the band pass is achieved by
the third press of the “DSP” button that causes the “>” sign to be positioned next to the DNR indicator.
Press the “DSP/SEL” knob to toggle the DNR off or on. Rotate the “DSP/SEL” to select one of the filters
which are indicated in the number of segments lighted by listening to which sounds best.
3.4.3.4 Band Pass Width
Without any other filtering, the band pass is relatively
flat for its band pass value with relatively steep drop-
off above and below that band. The fourth push of the
“DSP” button causes the “>” sign to be positioned
next to the WIDTH graph on the display. Turning the
“DSP/SEL” knob steps the filter from narrow (left),
nominal (mid), to wide (right). The actual band width

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depends on the communications mode as shown in Table 6.
MODE NARROW NOMINAL WIDE
CW, DATA 500 Hz 1.8 kHz 2.4 kHz
USB, LSB 1.8 kHz 2.4 kHz 3.0 kHz
AM 3.0 kHz 6.0 kHz 9.0 kHz
FM 2.5 kHz 5.0 kHz ---------
Table 6 – Band Width Filter Settings
3.4.3.5 Filter Shift
The digital signal processor center frequency can
always be shifted with the “SHIFT” knob. The
position of that center frequency is shown on the
lower left of the display.
Note: The shift value is not saved as part of the
VFO setup.
3.4.4 CW Reverse
The default CW reception injects the beat frequency in
the upper sideband of the CW carrier. In some cases, a
near signal may be filtered out by switching to the lower
sideband of the CW carrier. The sideband for CW
reception can be toggled by a t-press of either” MODE▼”
or “MODE▲”.
3.4.4.6 CW Spotting
When fine tuning a CW signal, it is sometimes helpful to zero beat with your own signal. T-press
the “ATT/IPO” button to sound your signal on top of the received signal.
3.4.5 Radio Frequency Gain
3.4.5.7 Automatic Gain Control

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The FT-450 attempts to maintain a constant audio level (assuming the signal is strong enough). In
general, we want the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to respond quickly during CW or DATA
transmissions. However, when speech is involved we want the system to react more slowly so that voice
inflections can be heard. Status of the AGC control is shown on the upper right of the display.
Pressing the “AGC” button (to the left of the “BAND▼” button) will step
from AUTO to FAST or from FAST to SLOW or from SLOW to AUTO. If
you t-press the “AGC” button, the system will disable (or enable) the AGC.
For most uses, simply leave the AGC set to AUTO and the FT-450 will set
the AGC speed according to the current receive MODE (see next section).
3.4.5.8 Radio Frequency Volume Control
In most cases, the gain (or squelch) is turned full on by rotating the “SQL/RF
GAIN” knob fully to the right. The signal strength meter readings are only
accurate in the full on position. The “SQL/RF GAIN” knob may also be adapted to act as a squelch,
muting the sound when the signal is below a set level and/or pausing a scan operation when sufficient
signal is present.
3.4.6 Audio Volume Control
No surprises here. Adjusting the audio for the most comfortable sound by
rotation of the “AF GAIN” knob sets the volume. Turning to the right makes
most sound louder.
The system beep volume, BEEPVOL, alerting the user of system warnings as
well as CW side tone volume, CWSTONE, is set in adaptation. Either, may
be set to a fixed volume or linked to the “AF GAIN” with a user selected
offset in volume.
3.4.7 Signal meter
When not transmitting, the meter in
the upper left corner of the display
shows the signal strength of the
received signal. Note that the value is
only accurate when the “SQL/RF
GAIN” knob is turned full on (all the
way to the right).
4 Transmitter
The transmitter makes use of the mode, band, and frequency settings shown in 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3.
The current mode of transmission, LSB, USB, CW,
AM, FM, or DATA is lighted in the display. In

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addition, if CW mode, the display also shows whether the injected beat frequency is LSB or
USB.
When the automatic antenna tuner is engaged, the TUNER indicator is lighted. As long as the
system is receiving (or squelch is open) the BUSY indicator is lighted.
4.1 Transmission
When the system is transmitting, the TX is lighted and the BUSY is not lighted. If an attempt is
made to transmit outside of the amateur radio bands, the status area of the display (lower right
hand corner will show TX ERR and the TX indicator will not be lighted.
4.1.1 Microphone Button
The system will transmit whenever the side button on the microphone is pressed.
4.1.2 Voice Activated Transmitter Switching (VOX)
F-press the “VOX/STO” button to toggle the VOX (voice-actuated transmitter switching) system on or
off when in USB, LSB, AM, or FM modes. When the VOX is active, the VOX indicator will
show on the display. When VOX is active, speaking into the microphone will cause the
Transceiver to transmit. (Note: MH-67 microphone not operative when button released)
4.1.3 CW Break-In
F-press the “VOX/STO” button to toggle the break-in (key-actuated transmitter switching)
system on or off when in CW mode. When the break-in is active, theBK-IN indicator will
show on the display. Break-in should be on for CW transmission. Turning off break-in is
useful for code practice.
4.1.4 Data
An external computer or device may command the transceiver to transmit rtty, packet, or other data.
4.2 Meter
During transmission, one of the three
parameters is monitored (only one of
PO, ALC, or SWR titles will show on
the display). The parameters may be
stepped through by pressing the
“METER/DIM III” button just above the “AF GAIN” knob. They are PO (Power Out),
ALC (Automatic Level Control), and SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) respectively.

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4.3 Automatic Antenna Tuner
The built in automatic antenna tuner will match the output through a 50 ohm line if
the SWR of the antenna without the tuner is 3:1 or less. The antenna tuner is
toggled on or off by pressing the “TUNE○” button located just below the right
edge of the display. When the tuner is on, the word TUNER is displayed just above
the start of the frequency display.
To operate the automatic antenna tuner, t-press the “TUNE○” button for one
second. The TX will light up during the operation and you might hear the tuner operation
for a couple of second. If the operation fails (usually because of excessive SWR), the
antenna symbol at the start of the diagram on the display will flash until the tuner is
either turned off or run successfully.
5 Channel Memories
The FT-450 contains 508 memory channels as well as M-TUNE, VFO-A, VFO-B, QUICK, and HOME.
The memory channels may be addressed one of two ways per Table 7 according to the setting in
adaptation.
Group Memory “OFF” Group Memory “ON”
MEM-001 ~ MEM-050 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-051 ~ MEM-100 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-101 ~ MEM-150 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-151 ~ MEM-200 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-201 ~ MEM-250 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-251 ~ MEM-300 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-301 ~ MEM-350 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-351 ~ MEM-400 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-401 ~ MEM-450 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-451 ~ MEM-500 M-01-01 ~ M-01-50
MEM-P1L ~ MEM-P2U M-11-1L ~ M-11-2U
MEM-EMG M-12-EM
US5-001 ~ US5-005 M-13-01 ~ M-13-05
Table 7 – Memory Channel Number
5.1 Memory Content
All of the configuration data specific to a single channel is known as the VFO setup data. Absent from
this data are the current functional status such as transmit or the transceiver state such as menu. The
contents are described in Table 8.
The state of the clarifier (CLAR) is also maintained between working and band memories, but not in the
channel meories. A VFO setup does not include the position of any knobs. In addition it does not include
the state of TUNER, BUSY, TX, KEYER, VOX, BK-IN, P.BACK, FAST, LOCK, MENU, SPLIT, and
F.

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Operating Mode
Operating Frequency
Attenuation Status
IPO (preamplifier) Status
CONTOUR setting
DSP Notch filter (NOTCH) setting
DSP Noise Reduction (DNR) setting
DNR Reduction algorithm setting
Bandwidth setting
Repeater Shift setting
CTCSS Tone Frequency
Table 8 – Contents of Each Memory Channel
5.2 Tuning of the VFO Setup Memory
The FT-450 Transceiver maintains three active VFO setups; M-TUNE, VFO-A and VFO-B. One
of these three setups, known as the primary VFO, is indicated on the bottom right hand corner of
the display. The operator has the ability to directly change parameters in the primary VFO setup.
If a memory channel is selected to control the primary VFO, its name shows on the bottom right
hand corner of the display. Should the operator decide to change one of the parameters (see
Table 8 above), the entire VFO setup of that channel is copied into the M-TUNE memory and
the change applied to the M-TUNE memory. M-TUNE is now the primary channel. Neither the
memory channel nor VFO-A nor VFO-B have been changed at this point.
If either VFO-A or VFO-B is selected to
control the primary VFO, any changes
in the parameters of Table 8 above are
made directly to VFO-A or VFO-B
respectively. When either of these VFOs
is associated with the primary channel,
the other acts as the secondary channel.
The primary channel provides all the
settings for reception as well as those
for direct transmission. The secondary
channel provides parameters for
transmission during SPLIT
transmission.
There are two buttons available to
change the contents of the secondary channel in the FT-450.
1) If you press the “A = B” button, the contents of the primary VFO are copied to the
secondary VFO.

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2) If the primary VFO is M-TUNE and you press the “A / B” button, the contents of the
primary VFO are swapped with the contents of the secondary VFO.
3) If the primary VFO is one of the memory
channels, then the contents of the secondary
VFO are copied into M-TUNE, the contents of the
memory channel is copied into the secondary
VFO, and M-TUNE becomes the primary VFO.
4) If the primary VFO is either VFO-A or VFO-B
and you press the “A / B” button, the roles of
VFO-A and VFO-B are swapped so the primary
VFO becomes the secondary VFO and the
secondary VFO becomes the primary VFO..
One final note on this subject: If you wish to make VFO-A or VFO-B your primary channel,
press “MW/V/M” twice. If you get the wrong one as the primary channel, apply item 4) bove
and press the “A / B” button to swap VFO roles.
5.3 Band VFO Setup Memory
Each band also maintains a VFO setup channel. When you change bands, the system identifies
the band to which the receiver data now belongs to (based on the receiver frequency) and updates
the current data in that memory. If the receiver frequency is outside of any amateur band, then
the GEN band memory will be updated. As you step through the different bands, the VFO setup
in the tuning VFO will be updated to reflect the data that last controlled that band.
5.4 Home Memory
There is a preferred VFO setup for the bands in the range from 300 kHz
through 33 mHz and another for the bands in the range of 33 mHz through 54
mHz. To store VFO-A into one of these home positions, f-press the
“MW/V/M” button and then press the “HOME/RCL” button within 10 seconds.
To select the home storage VFO setup in the current band range (either HF or 6
meter) to act as VFO-A, f-press the “HOME/RCL” button.
5.5 Quick Memory
There is one channel set aside for quick storage and retrieval. To save the current
primary VFO data in quick storage, press the “VOX/STO” button.
To select the quick storage VFO setup to act as VFO-A, press the “HOME/RCL”
button

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5.6 Channels Memories
See Table 7 for channel designation.
5.6.1 Recall
Simply press the “MW/V/M” button and then select the desired active channel with the “DSP/SEL” knob.
If memory groups is adapted ON, pressing the “DSP/SEL” knob highlights the group
number and the DSP/SEL knob now steps one active group at a time. Pressing the
“DSP/SEL” knob again returns the function of the knob to select from the active
channels within the current group.
Note that if the “MAIN” dial is turned in memory mode, the system immediately
copies the data into the working VFO setup and modifies that copy as VFO-A. The channel memory has
not been changed and you can return to that channel by simply pressing the “MW/V/M” button again.
5.6.2 Storage
Set up the frequency, mode, filters, etc that you desire for that channel. Then f-press the
“MW/V/M” button. Turn the “DSP/SEL” knob to select the desired memory channel. Note
that even if channels are in groups, all 50 memory channel of each group are accessed
followed by the next group, and so on. Pressing the “DSP/SEL” knob has no effect. When
you reach the desired channel, press the V/M button to store the information in that channel.
Warning: The process will be aborted if no action is taken for a 10 seconds period. A beep
will sound to confirm that the process was accepted.
5.6.3 Removal
To remove a channel, press the “MW/V/M” button (if the system is not
already in memory mode). Select the memory channel that you wish to remove as done in
memory channel restore above and f-press the “MW/V/M” button. Press “CLAR” to
remove the data. Confirm with the “MW/V/M” button. The channel selection will revert to
the first of that group (or first channel if memory groups turned off).
Note: If you make a mistake, after the channel has been turned off, the information is still
there. To restore the channel, f-press “MW/V/M” button, select the channel with the
“DSP/SEL” knob, press “CLAR”, and press the “MW/V/M” button to confirm.
5.6.4 Labeling
Channels may have been adapted with an alphanumeric label (up to 7 characters long) to remind the
operator what the channel was for. If the channel label has been enabled in adaptation, when the channel
is selected, you see the original channel number for 2 seconds before it is replaced with the label. See
section 7.1 in adaptation for MEM_TAG input.

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5.7 VFO Memory Scanning
SCAN Initiates upward scanning of VFO frequencies or mem0ry chan
5.8 Programmable Memory scanning
6 System Controls
6.1 Display Brightness
The display brightness may be set to one of 5 levels, 0 through 4. F-press the
“METER/DIM III” button to step through these levels. The current level shows
on the lower right of the display (unless it is 0, in which case the display is
blank). Rotating the “DSP/SEL” knob will then change the level. Press the
“METER/DIM III” button to save the new value and resume operation.
Warning: It is recommended that the display remain at full (4) brightness. People have reported a hum on
the transmitted audio when the value is set lower.
6.2 Semi-automatic Keyer
The FT-450 contains a semi-automatic keyer for CW transmission. It has the advantage (and to some,
disadvantage) of making the code stream more uniform. The relative size of dots, dashes and spaces a
standard size for a given code speed. Press the “KEYER” button to toggle the keyer on or off. Input to the
keyer can be adapted for either a straight key or paddles. See adaptation for parameters associated with
CW.
6.3 Custom Switch
The manual says that the C.S button will act as a shortcut to one of 52 functions. However, there are only
20 unique functions that are not duplicates of either press, f-press, or t-press of existing buttons or knobs.
The unique functions are shown in Table 9.
NAME FUNCTION
MONI Pipe audio signal through speaker or headset
P/B Activates the Monitor function
PLAY1 Send CW beacon text 1
PLAY2 Send CW beacon text 2
PLAY3 Send CW beacon text 3
QSPL Activate quick SPLIT operation
SPOT Generate a CW spot tone (only in CW mode)
SQLOFF Opens the squelch
SWR Transmits a 10 W CW carrier to check the standing wave ratio
TXW Monitor the transmit (rather than receive) frequency when in SPLIT mode
VCC Display the power supply voltage
VOICE2 Same as VOICE except adds S meter reading
VM1MONI Play back message in voice memory 1