Yaesu FT-8800R User manual

Vermont Emergency
Management - RACES
Yaesu FT-8800R
Radio Quick Start Guide
Vermont Emergency Management
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, VT 05671-2101
800-347-0488 / 802-244-8721
http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vem
Rev “A” - May 2008

VEM FT-8800 Quick Start (Rev “A”) Page 2
Turning the Transceiver On and Off
•To turn the transceiver “ON”, press and hold the “Right” VOL knob for 2 seconds
•When you turn on the FT-8800R, the current DC Supply voltage is indicated for 2 seconds
•After the 2 second interval, the display will switch to its normal indication of the operating frequency
•To turn the transceiver “OFF”, press and hold the “Right” VOL knob for 2 seconds
Frequency Band Operation
In the factory default configuration, the FT−8800R operates in the Dual Receive mode.
The following illustration shows VHF- UHF mode of operation.
Selecting the Main Operating Band
During Dual Receive operation, the Main band frequency (on which transmission is possible) will be indicated by the icon.
You will observe the icon lighting up alternate sides of the display as you switch Main bands from the left side to the right side, and vice-
versa. (The following illustration shows the Main band on the left side and the Sub band on the right side.)
To establish the Main band, momentarily press one of the following:
•The left or right DIAL knob
•MH−48A6J microphone’s key

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The FT−8800R can also be configured to operate in the following modes. In addition to VHF – UHF shown above, other options are
UHF – VHF VHF-VHF UHF-UHF.
To switch the frequency band:
•When in VFO mode, press and hold in the left DIAL knob for ½ second to cycle the operating band on the left side to the
next-highest frequency band.
144 MHz →250 MHz →350 MHz →430 MHz →850 MHz
•When in VFO mode, press and hold in the right DIAL knob for ½ second to cycle the operating band on the right side to
the next-highest frequency band.
430 MHz →850 MHz →144 MHz →250 MHz →350 MHz
Change the Frequency
Navigation using the Tuning Dial
Rotating the DIAL knob allows tuning in the pre-programmed frequencies established for Left or Right banks. Clockwise rotation of the DIAL
knob causes the FT−8800R to be tuned toward a higher channel number, while counter-clockwise rotation will lower the channel number.
Direct Keypad Frequency Entry using the MH-48A6J Microphone
The keypad of the MH−48A6J DTMF Microphone may be used for direct entry of the Main band operating frequency.
To enter a frequency from the MH−48A6J keypad, just press the numbered digits in the proper sequence. There is no decimal point key on the
MH−48A6J keypad.
Examples:
•To enter 146.480 MHz, press 1 →4 →6 →4 →8 →0
•To enter 433.000 MHz, press 4 →3 →3 →0 →0 →0

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Scanning
From the VFO mode, press and hold the key for one second, then rotate the DIAL knob to select the bandwith for the VFO scanner. Now,
press the key momentarily to initiate scanning toward a higher frequency. The FT−8800R will stop when it receives a signal strong
enough to break through the squelch threshold. The FT−8800R will then hold on that frequency according to the setting of the Resume mode
(Menu #34 SCAN).
If you wish to reverse the direction of the scan (i.e. toward a lower frequency, instead of a higher frequency), just rotate the DIAL knob one click
in the counter-clockwise direction while the FT−8800R is scanning. The scanning direction will be reversed. To revert to scanning toward a
higher frequency once more, rotate the DIAL knob one click clockwise.
Press the key again to cancel scanning.
Front Panel Controls
(1) Left and Right DIAL knobs
These 20-position detented rotary switches are the tuning dials for the left and right bands.
•Press the adjoining knob momentarily to switch the Main band to the side where the knob is located.
•When in the Memory mode, press this knob to enable rapid tuning (in 10 channel steps) using this knob.
•When in the VFO mode, press this knob to enable rapid tuning (in 1 MHz steps) using this knob.
•When in the VFO mode, press and hold in this knob for ½ second to toggle the operating band as follows:
144 MHz →250 MHz →350 MHz →430 MHz →850 MHz
(2) Left and Right VOL Knobs (NOTE: The Right knob also controls the power)
The VOL (Volume) control adjusts the speaker audio level for the adjoining receiver.
•Press and hold this button in to turn the radio “ON” or “OFF” (RIGHT KNOB ONLY)
•Clockwise rotation increases the audio level.
•Press this knob momentarily to switch the Internet Connection feature on and off.

VEM FT-8800 Quick Start (Rev “A”) Page
(3) Left and Right SQL Knobs
The SQL (Squelch) control is used to silence background noise on the adjoining receiver.
•Clockwise rotation decreases the squelch level.
•It should be advanced clockwise just to the point where the noise is silenced (and the indicator on the display turns
off), so as to provide the best sensitivity to weak signals.
(4) Hyper Memory Buttons …
•Press and hold in one of these buttons for 2 seconds to store the current total configuration of the radio into a special Hyper
memory bank.
•Press the appropriate button momentarily to recall the desired Hyper memory.
(5) Left and Right Side Key
Left Side Keys Right Side Keys
The left side keys function as LOW, V/M, HM, and SCN The right side keys may be set to function as LOW, V/M, HM,
and SCN (default) or as MHz, REV, TONE, and SUB
( )
Left Side Keys (always) and Right Side Keys when in Key Mode 1
Key
•Press this key repeatedly to toggle the transmitter power output level of the adjoining band:
LOW →MID2 →MID1 →HIGH
•When the adjoining band is set to the Memory mode or Home Channel, press and hold in this key for ½ second to switch
the memory channel display between the Frequency format and the Alpha-numeric Tag format.
Key
•Press this key momentarily to switch the frequency control for the adjoining band between the VFO and Memory Systems.
•When the adjoining band is set to the VFO mode, press and hold in this for ½ second to activate the Smart Search Feature.
•When the adjoining band is set to the Memory mode, press and hold in this key for ½ second to activate the Memory Bank
feature.
Key
•Press this key momentarily to recall a favorite Home Channel on the adjoining band.
•Press and hold in this for ½ second to activate Priority Channel Scanning on the adjoining band.

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Key
•Press this key momentarily to activate the Scanner on the adjoining band.
•When the adjoining band is set to the Memory mode, press and hold in this key for ½ second to shift to the Memory
Tuning feature on the adjoining band.
Right Side Keys when in Key Mode 2 ( )
To set the right side keys to Key Mode 2:
•
••
•Press the SET key momentarily to enter the Set mode.
•
••
•Rotate the DIAL knob to select Menu #20 KEY.MOD.
•
••
•Press the DIAL knob momentarily, and then rotate the DIAL knob to change the setting to KEY 2.
•
••
•Press and hold in the DIAL knob for ½ second to save the new setting and exit to normal operation.
When set to Key Mode 2, the indicator is displayed and the keys function as follows:
MHz Key: while in Key Mode 2
•Press this key momentarily to allow tuning in 1-MHz steps on the Main band VFO.
•Press and hold in this key for ½ second to allow tuning in 10-MHz steps on the Main band VFO.
REV Key: while in Key Mode 2
•Press this key momentarily to reverse the transmit and receive frequencies on the Main band during split-frequency (i.e.
Repeater) operation.
•Press and hold in this key for ½ second to change the frequency shift direction:
RPT – (minus shift) →RPT + (plus shift) →RPT OFF (simplex)
TONE Key: while in Key Mode 2
•Press this key momentarily to change the Tone Squelch mode:
ENC (CTCSS Encoder) →ENC.DEC (CTCSS Tone Squelch) →DCS (DCS operation)
SUB Key: while in Key Mode 2
•Press this key momentarily to activate the Sub band function (the icon will blink on the Sub band). When the Sub
band function is activated, any keys you press act on the Sub band.
•When the Sub band function is activated (the icon is blinking on the Sub band), press this key momentarily to
deactivate the Sub band function.

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(6) SET Key
•Press this key momentarily to enter the Set (Menu) mode.
•Press and hold in this key for ½ second to transfer the contents of the Main band VFO into a Memory register.
LCD Display Screen
Icons
: Preferential Memory Channel
: Skip Memory Channel
: Minus Shift
: Plus Shift
: Odd Split
: Tone Encoder
: Tone Decoder
: Transmission in Progress
: Main Band
: Busy Channel (or Squelch Off)
: Memory Tune Mode
: Audio Mute Active
: Digital Code Squelch (DCS)
: 9600 bps Packet Mode
: Low TX Power Selected
: Middle TX Power Selected (No Icon indicates High TX Power)
: Automatic Power-Off Active
: Keypad/DIAL Lock Active
: Menu (Set) Mode
: Key Function Mode is set to KEY-2
Further information about the radio and its operations can be found in the Yaesu manual located within
your RACES form tote or Pelican case.