Albrecht AE540 Receiver User Manual
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User Manual AE 540 2-m VHF Amateur Transceiver © Alan Electronics GmbH Daimlerstr. 1 k D-63303 Dreieich
2 Contents: Regulatory notes, Declaration of Conformity.....................................................................................3 Installation and Setup ........................................................................................................................ 4 General remarks for operating this radio........................................................................................... 4 Installation as mobile radio ................................................................................................................ 4 Connecting to DC power ................................................................................................................... 5 Rear side connections ....................................................................................................................... 5 Antenna selection .............................................................................................................................. 5 Mobile (car) antenna.......................................................................................................................... 5 AE 540 as Base Station..................................................................................................................... 6 Operation ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Front panel - and microphone knobs and - keys ............................................................................... 6 Direct entry key functions (basic functions) ....................................................................................... 7 On / Off, Volume and Squelch settings ............................................................................................. 7 The LC Display of AE 540 ................................................................................................................. 7 Push-to-talk button (PTT) .................................................................................................................. 8 TONE CALL 1750 Hz ........................................................................................................................ 8 Direct access to „Call“ channel.......................................................................................................... 8 Frequency search mode SCAN......................................................................................................... 8 Recalling memory-channels MR / MS ...............................................................................................8 Microphone lock ................................................................................................................................ 8 Second level of functions (two-touch-functions) ................................................................................9 MHz-key ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Activate repeater shift (offset) .......................................................................................................... 9 Activate Tone Squelch (CTCSS) ....................................................................................................... 9 Prioriy channel „Dual W atch“.......................................................................................................... 10 Monitor key ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Complete key locking .............................................................................................................. 10 Transmit power switching Hi / Low .................................................................................................. 10 The Setup Menu .............................................................................................................................. 11 Flow-chart for the Setup Menu ........................................................................................................ 11 More about the menu steps............................................................................................................. 11 Terminating the setup menu............................................................................................................ 13 Reset to factory default settings and erasing all memories ............................................................. 14 Technical informations .................................................................................................................... 14 Saving and backup of user settings ................................................................................................ 14 Connecting points for accessory items............................................................................................ 14 Mikrofonbuchse: .............................................................................................................................. 14 Ext. Speaker socket ........................................................................................................................ 14 Note to packet radio modem connection......................................................................................... 14 Programming different options (for service only after opening the cabinet) .................................... 15 Technical data AE 540 .................................................................................................................... 16 W here to find service hints and documentation .............................................................................. 17
3 Regulatory notes, Declaration of Conformity General informations, Manufacturer’s Declaration of Conformity This amateur radio transceiver corresponds to the essential requirements of the EU Directive(s) 89/336/EEC (EMC), Low-Voltage-Directive 73/23/EEC, R&TTE Direktive 1999/5/EC, fulfills the harmonised European technical standards for commercially available amateur radios EN 301 783-2, EN 301 489-1, EN 301 489-15 and EN 60 950 and is marked with CE and „Alert Sign“. The original issues of our conformity declarations in their latest versions, as well as all technical documentations, may be downloaded anytime from our service-homepage www.hobbyradio.de The radio may be used under following regulatory conditions and requirements: In most European and overseas countries only licenced amateur radio operators are allowed to use this radio (e.g. in Germany § 1 „Gesetz über den Amateurfunk“, BGBL, Part III, Nr. 9022-1). Even licenced radio operators are only allowed to use the radio on frequencies, which are allocated to the amateur radio service of their licence class. In some countries restrictions are in force, where the physically switchable frequency range must not exceed the allocated frequency range limits. In such countries operators must set the programming jumpers correctly before connecting and using the radio. Exposure of persons to radiated emissions is also limited in some countries. Please respect the power limits and safety distances, if requested by the local radio authority. This radio may be used only for amateur radio purposes. Use for commercial radio purposes is subject to special licences and approvals in certain countries. The radio must be operated together with all connected accessory items in accordance to the EMC dire ctive, so that the di re ctive requi re m ents a re full filled with the co m plete con figu ration. Additonal power amplifiers may need additional harmonics filters to maintain radiation limits of unwanted spurious emissions. The amateur radio operator is responsable for compliance of the complete configuration of his amateur radio station ALAN Electronics GmbH The German or other language’s manuals (if supplied) may be different in some parts according to national special settings and requirements. Technical modifications improving the state of the art of this radio may be subject without prior notice. Technical documents are provided in their latest issue for free download on our service homepage www.hobbyradio.de or www.alan-albrecht.info Please see chapters „Amateurfunk / Amateur Radio“ for more informations.
4 Installation and Setup General remarks for operating this radio Our 2m FM transceiver AE 540 is one of the smallest available compact 12 V transceivers. It can be used everywhere provided that a suitable 12 V power supply and an external 2 m antenna is available, e.g. as base station, portable (Fieldday) station, on boats , caravans, in motor homes and – with restrictions- in road vehicles. The radio is designed for intermitting duty cycle operation- like in a typical amateur radio station setup working via repeaters (10 % transmission, 90 % receive time periods). This radio is not intended to be used for continuous transmission without allowing cooling-down periods. Longer transmission periods are acceptable with reduced (10 W att) power setting. Please do not exhibit your radio to extreme climatic or environmental conditions, like excessive humidity, dust, high temperatures or direct sunlight. Do not open the radio unless you are able to repair SMD electronics - there are no user serviceable parts inside. For alignment and repair appropriate test instruments are necessary. The radio comes with a preprogrammed frequency range depending on the amateur radio regulations in country of sales. The tuning range may exceed the 144-146 MHz European amateur band limits where allowed. Some countries do not tolerate amateur equipment exceeding the band limits on transmitter / receiver side. Setting to various limits is internally possible by hardware jumpers. Even if the radio may be able to operate outside of the band limits 144-146 MHz, we cannot give any guarantee for keeping the specifications on out of band frequencies. Installation as mobile radio The AE 540 is designed as allround 2 m transceiver for various installations. You can either operate it at home as a base station or on boats, motor homes, caravans and cars. For installation as a mobile station in the car, a mobile mount device is enclosed. Mount the set in such a way that it is not exposed to direct sunlight if possible, as this will lead to an increase in temperature and can decrease the (set’s) working life. The set should also not be installed near a heater. Mount the set in such a way that it is exposed to as little vibration as possible. The mobile fixing device should be attached to the dashboard, the tunnel slot or to any other suitable place using the enclosed tapping screws. Do not install the set in a place where it could cause injuries in case of an accident (be particularly careful to ensure free leg movement). Take care not to damage any underlying wires during installation! Insert the radio into the fixing device. Secure the set with the large knurled screws (using the enclosed plastic washers) firmly at the required angle. Also mount the microphone fixing device using the enclosed screws in an easily-accessible place. In order to prevent interference to the vehicle electronics from transmission in the vehicle, please make sure to follow any mounting instructions by the vehicle manufacturer for radios and antennas. Important note: the end of the transition period of the new European „automotive directive“ imposes restrictions on installing and operating electronic devices in motor driven vehicles. The interpretation of the requirements of this directive for amateur radios is not quite cleared. Some authorities request that even radios, not primarily intended to be used exclusively in cars should have an additional e-approval mark, while other authorities respect a special treatment of two way radios under the R&TTE directive and EMC directive with their normal CE and alert sign marking. Some authorities request that such radios shall not be operated while the car is in motion and the engine is running. Generally, the car manufacturers have the right to issue restrictions for using two way radios in new cars (which have been put into service since 1.10.2002). Please consult the car manufacturer and ask for their installation hints, especially for EMC compatible antenna locations and DC connecting points.
5 Connecting to DC power Connect the power cable of the radio to 12 V DC power supply of your car, motor home or boat. In caravans or at home we recommend to use a suitable AC/ DC power supply, capable to deliver 6-8 A at stabilized supply voltage between 10.8 and 15.6 V. If possible, do not increase cable length and connect the power cord as close as possible directly to the battery terminals. The cable has a looped-in glass fuse for 10 A protection. If this fuse should blow, try to find out the reason, and replace the fuse only with its original value and never with wires, silver paper or aluminum foils! Connect the red wire with the positive + terminal, the black wire with the negative (-) terminal of the battery. The negative wire terminal is grounded (standard in most cars). However, do not use the car body as negative terminal and try to connect the (–) terminal of the battery instead, wherever possible! Please note that grounding of the housing may cause electrolytic and galvanic corrosion effects in steel or aluminum boats. Insulating of the radio housing and antenna may be necessary in such cases. Rear side connections Antenna selection Mobile (car) antenna Simple reduced size magnetic base antennas or car antennas with window mount or glass mount are not the best choice for 25 W -30 W powerfull radios! Please install a powerfull VHF mobile antenna with grounded antenna foot. Keep maximum possible distance to passengers and place the antenna accorcing to the car manufacturer’s instructions as far away as possible from sensitive electronic circuits of the car wiring. Check the good ground connection to the car body of the antenna foot. Please remember that you and the passengers are in the immediate vicinity of a transmitting aerial, particularly when used as a mobile. In case you are wearing a pacemaker, and the doctor or the manufacturer of the pacemaker has recommended keeping a certain safe distance from the aerial, then please follow their instructions! Any antenna must be checked and aligned for best possible SW R (standing wave ratio). The final power amp transistor of your AE 540 is able to tolerate an SW R up to 1:2. Use a PL 259 type plug for antenna connection. A good, VHF usable quality has teflon insulation! Do not transmit without connecting the aerial and never touch the aerial during transmission! Antenna socket for PL-259 (UHF) Power cable assembly 12 V (13.8 V) DC External Speaker terminal (3.5 mm mono, 4-8 Ohms)
6 AE 540 as Base Station Please respect possible restrictions in some countries (e.g. Germany), where safety distances from antennas to other persons have to be declared when certain output power levels are exceeded. For safety reasons, please do not operate this radio in high power position (25-30 W atts RF) with any kind of indoor antennas. Indoor antenna radiation may interfere with other electronic devices in the neighbourhood of your radio. Operation The operating elements, knobs and buttons are located on the microphone and front panel of your radio. Front panel - and microphone knobs and - keys • All knobs and keys are located in a way so that you can key-in directly the most important basic functions via one-touch keys. • A second level of feature settings is available as two-touch-functions. Initially, you will press the FUNC key on the microphone for less than 0.5 seconds, followed by the other function key • You can reach the Setup Menu, used for programming memory locations, DTMF and CTCSS tones incl. Decoder / encoder options, repeater shift settings, beep tones and other rarely used features like TOT (time- out-timer), by touching the FUNC key longer than 0.5 seconds!
7 Direct entry key functions (basic functions) To get to know your station we recommend that you duplicate the described steps. In this chapter you will learn the basic functions which you should know about to take part in amateur radio. It is taken for granted that you as a licensed radio amateur are familiar with basic knowledge of high frequency engineering and amateur radio regulations. This is why basic technical matters, questions of wave propagation and regulatory issues have not been considered in this manual. You can achieve all basic functions directly with the help of buttons or knobs. All directly eligible functions are marked white. On / Off, Volume and Squelch settings Before first use do not forget to connect microphone and antenna. Being as small as it is all operating elements of the AE 540 have been distributed on the front panel and the microphone according to the frequency of using them. Reception is - but without any special functions – possible without microphone. • The unit can be switched on or off by turning the combined VOL /OFF knob. W hen switching on for the first time choose a medium volume and turn the SQL knob to the left until you hear the background noise. • Squelch SQL has to be adjusted so that the noise just starts to disappear. In this position squelch will even be opened by weak signals, it is the most sensitive position. In case you turn squelch further to the right (clockwise) signals have to grow stronger to be switched through. The LC Display of AE 540 W hen switching on for the first time a frequency is shown on the LCD display in the middle of the band (145.50 MHz). This is the VFO-mode. • You can select the operating frequencies by the rotary channel selector at the front panel or the UP- / DN (down) keys on the upper side of the microphone in programmable steps (channel spacing). You may also use the direct keyboard entry on the microphone. Please follow this system: Examples: 145.7750 MHz: Enter 4 5 7 7 5 in sequence. Omit the first leading digit „1“, which is the same at all possible frequencies. Do not enter the last digit „0“, because the result is already clear after entering the „5“. So entering the last digit is not necessary. 144.8175 MHz: Enter 4 4 8 1 7 in sequence. The radio will add the last „5“ of the 12.5 kHz spacing system automatically. W hen switching on for the first time the programming designated for Europe is being done already in steps of 12.5 kHz. If you prefer a different frequency frame, i. e. in areas where there are not yet frequencies in the 12.5 kHz frame, adjust your radio via the set-up menu to the desired channel spacing system.
8 Push-to-talk button (PTT) You will find the PTT-button at the side of the microphone. For transmission you push this button for as long as you want to talk. W hen you finish talking release the PTT and your radio is automatically ready for reception again. The correct distance to your microphone is between 4 and 8 cm. Speak with the same loudness as if you were on the phone. Most of the radio beginners talk too loud into the microphone! W ait a moment after having pushed the PTT before you start talking: Your transmitter has to switch from the reception frequency to the transmitting frequency, at your partner`s side the squelch needs time to open! The delay can be between about 140 mseconds at open squelch and a max. of 300-500 msec when CTCSS coding & decoding is applied. Thus a syllable talked too early or quickly can be lost! TONE CALL 1750 Hz For repeater access most European repeaters request a tone burst 1750 Hz , appr. 1 s long. Transmit this tone by using the T-CALL key at the radio front panel. T-Call is being transmitted as long as the button is being pushed. Please do not mix up this button with the CALL/T-SQ button at your microphone! This button operates the CALL-channel described in the next paragraph. Direct access to „Call“ channel W ith the button CALL/ T-SQ you switch from your operating channel to a previously determined call channel and back. The manufacturer preprograms it to 145.500 MHz, the international FM-call frequency of the IARU Region I. In case you want to store a different frequency for the direct call channel please use the Set-up menu. Frequency search mode SCAN By pushing the SCAN button the radio automatically searches for frequencies which are being used by other transmitters. Before starting this process please adjust squelch correctly, otherwise searching neither can be started or stopped. Preferably SCAN is being started in VFO-mode, it will then search the complete band. As soon as SCAN finds an already occupied channel it stops there. You will then hear the radio traffic on this channel for max. 6 sec. During this time you have the opportunity to either stop scanning by touching the PTT button or by again pushing the SCAN button. If no action is taken searching will be continued after the waiting period. Searching can be done on VFO frequencies or between memory channels depending on the mode the radio is in when searching starts. Recalling memory-channels MR / MS The button MR/MS ( Memory Recall / Memory Save) switches directly to the stored channels (Memory Mode). In case you already have stored frequencies you can select these with the rotary switch. The small digit will show the memory location number 1-0 or C (flashing on free, unused memory locations and continuously on when you select a stored memory location. Microphone lock To prevent operation by mistake there is a small switch at the microphone that locks all the microphone buttons except the transmission key. This lock will be activated by turning the sunken slide switch on the microphone to the right position MIC LOCK ON. Tone call, VFO and memory buttons of the radio can still be operated.
9 Second level of functions (two-touch-functions) The following described functions all can be reached by pressing the FUNC key. Most of these second-level functions you can recognize by the orange inscription of the keys. • The function key FUNC first has to be pressed short ( less than ½ a second). The display will read FUNC. • After this the desired second-level-key will be pressed. The FUNC display will automatically disappear after a few seconds or after again pressing FUNC. MHz-key For tuning over larger frequency spans it is not convenient to use the rotary switch, it may take too many steps and too long time. Press function key FUNC. As long as y see FUNC in the display, every step of the roatary knob becomes as large as 1 MHz – so tuning from one end to the other is now very fast. Activate repeater shift (offset) Most amateur radio associations operate club-owned automatic repeater stations located on higher buildings or mountains. For transmitting via such repeaters, you will need a frequency offset between your receiving and transmitting frequency. W hen you press your PTT knob, the frequency of your transmitter will be shifted a certain amount versus the previous receiving frequency. Such a frequency shift is necessary to allow parallel operation of a sensitive receiver and a powerful transmitter in the repeater base station at the same time without degradation. In amateur radio systems an international standard shift of + or – 600 kHz has been established world- wide. W hile European repeaters always use the lower frequency for input, american repeaters often use the upper shift direction, too. In Europe you will reach all 2 m amateur vrepeaters with – 600 kHz shift. Your AE 540 allows different repeater settings in VFO mode and memory mode. • Select desired (receiving) frequency. Press: FUNC, followed by SHIFT .You will see the + icon in the display, when this function is used for the first time. • Repeat this procedure FUNC, followed by SHIFT and see the – icon • Repeating the procedure for a third time returns to initial simplex setting (without shift). Activate Tone Squelch (CTCSS) • Press FUNC , followed by T-SQ (at microphone). You will see the T icon. Now Your radio transmits a CTCSS tone parallel to Your normal modulation. You may select 38 different CTCSS tones via setup menu (next main clause). CTCSS function is only available with installed CTCSS module (will be sold as option only). • Repeat procedure FUNC followed by pressing T-SQ : display shows now T-SQ. Now not only the radio will transmit CTCSS tones, but also the receiver will decode CTCSS tones. The speaker remains silent as long as the partner station does not transmit exactly the same CTCSS code. Only when receiving a correctly coded signal, the speaker will switch on and lets You hear the conversation. • Pressing FUNC and T-SQ once more will switch back to initial setting without CTCSS.
10 Priority channel „Dual Watch“ Your radio allows monitoring two often used channels automatically in sequence. You can always check the present working frequency together with another channel of Your memory (or the Call channel). • Select your working frequency (VFO), e.g. 145.575 MHz • Select a second channel from Memory 1-0 or Call channel • Press FUNC, then PRI. Now the radio will monitor what happens on your working frequency (in the example 145.575 MHz) alternating with the later selected Memory 1-0 or Call channel. If a memory channel should have been selected as second channel, this channel may be changed even during scanning. • Stop priority scanning via short use of the PTT button or by FUNC + PRI Monitor key This key disables the squelch setting and opens the squelch as long as the key will be kept pressed. The feature is useful if a received signal becomes weak, or when the receiver is muted by CTCSS in the T-SQ setting or by DTMF decoder and you would like to hear what happens on the channel. • Press FUNC, followed by MONI and hold the key pressed. The squelch will open after a second and will remain open as long as you press the key. Complete key locking The complete key locking will lock all keys except the PTT and Moni keys. So it locks more functions compared to the lock switch on microphone. • Press FUNC and then LOCK You will see the icon in the display. • Unlock again with Func + Lock Transmit power switching Hi / Low • Press FUNC and after this for a short moment the PTT key. The display shows LOW as indication for reduced output power (about 10 watts). W hen transmitting, you will see less bars of the digital meter reading. • Switch back to Hi power by same sequence FUNC and PTT. The icon LOW will disappear again.