Eton S350 Am Fm Shortwave Radio Operation Manual
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S350 OPERATION MANUAL www.etoncorp.com AM/FM/SHORTWAVE RADIO
S350OPERATION MANUAL 3 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... MAJOR FEATURES OF THE MODEL S350 .............................. CONTROL LOCATIONS .............................................................. CONNECTING TO POWER ....................................................... PRELIMINARY CONTROL SETTINGS ........................................ TURNING THE RADIO ON AND OFF ....................................... SIGNAL STRENGTH INDICATOR ............................................... TUNING IN FM STATIONS ....................................................... TUNING IN AM STATIONS ....................................................... TUNING IN SHORTWAVE STATIONS ......................................... SETTING THE CLOCK ............................................................. USING THE SLEEP TIMER .....................................................ALARM CLOCK .......................................................................... USING THE BACKLIGHT ....................................................... USING THE RESET ................................................................. USING THE LINE OUT SOCKETS ........................................... USING THE EARPHONE JACK ................................................ USING SUPPLEMENTARY ANTENNAS .................................. INTRODUCTION TO SHORTWAVE ........................................ FINDING DESIRED STATIONS ............................................... WHAT ARE BANDS? .............................................................. SHORTWAVE BANDS ............................................................. DAY BANDS / NIGHT BANDS ................................................. DAYTIME LISTENING ...........................................................EVENING LISTENING .............................................................. SERVICE INFORMATION .............................................................. ONE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY ................................................1 23456789 1011121314151617181920212223242526274 5681011111212131515161717181819202021222324252626 TABLE OF CONTENTS page 2 • From the United States: (800) 8722228 • From Canada: (800) 6371648 • From Everywhere Else: (650) 9033866 • Email: [email protected] • Internet: www.etoncorp.comNEED HELP? HERE’S HOW TO CONTACT US:
S350OPERATION MANUAL 5 IMPORTANT NOTE: While using the owner’s manual, refer to the diagram titled CONTROL LOCATIONS to locate controls, switches, sockets, and parts that are referred to in the text. 2MAJOR FEATURES OF THE MODEL S350 • AM 5301710 KHz • FM 88108 MHz • SHORTWAVE – continuous coverage from 3 to 28 MHz. This includes 13 international broadcast bands. 11, 13, 15, 16, 19, 22, 25, 31, 41, 49, 60, 75 and 90 meters. • Highly sensitive and selective analog tuner circuitry • Digital frequency readout • Liquid Crystal Display, (LCD), for frequency and clock • Digital clock with selectable 12/24 hour format • Wakeup timer (use as radioplay alarm clock) • Power failure backup feature• Sleep timer• Main tuning knob and independent fine tuning control knob• Variable RF Gain Control • Rotary volume control • Variable, independent bass and treble controls • Lowpass filter for shortwave and AM reception • Left/Right line level outputs (stereo in FM)• Stereo/Mono switch • Earphone socket• Carrying handle/convertible shoulder strap• Builtin telescopic antenna for FM and shortwave • Builtin ferrite bar antenna for AM • Jacks for supplementary AM, FM and Shortwave antennas • Powered by 4 D cell batteries (not included), AC adaptor (included) or DC car or boat adaptor (not included) 4 1INTRODUCTION This owners manual is conveniently divided into two sections, BASIC OPERATION and INTRODUCTION TO SHORTWAVE. Both sections are important. If you are new to shortwave listening, the INTRODUCTION TO SHORTWAVE section willgive you all the information that you need to be successful enjoying broadcasts from around the world.
S350OPERATION MANUAL 76 3CONTROL LOCATION Power & Sleep Button Alarm Set Button Time Set ButtonHour Set ButtonMinute Set ButtonAlarm On/Off ButtonBacklight Button Battery Power IndicatorSignal/Strength Indicator Digital Frequency ReadoutLCD Display Turning Knob (fast) Turning Knob (slow)Reset ButtonMW/SW RF Gain Knob Treble Knob Volume KnobBass KnobMW/SW1/SW2/SW3 Band SelectBandwidth/FM Band Select Telescopic Antenna for FM/SWCarrying HandleShoulder Strap DC JackBattery Compartment MW/SW Antenna Jack FM Antenna Jack1 23456789 101112131415161718192021222324252627
S350OPERATION MANUAL 9 NEVER USE AN ADAPTOR THAT DOES NOT MEET THESE SPECIFICATIONS, AS IT MAY CAUSE DAM AGE NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY. POWERING FROM A CAR OR BOAT 12 VOLT DC BATTERYSOURCE This requires a DC converter that converts the 12 volt DC source to the 6 volts required by the radio. The output of such an adaptor is 6 volts, DC, negative polarity. The plugtip must have anouter diameter of 5.5 millimeter and an inner diameter of 2.1 millimeter. The plugtip is plugged into the radio’s DC jack. It must be capable of handling at least 200 mil liamperes of current. Contact Etón for the nameand location of a retailer that sells the proper converter. 8 4CONNECTING TO POWER USING BATTERIES Open the battery compartment and insert 4 size D batteries (also called UM1) according to the polarity diagram imprinted on the battery com partment floor. Please note the following regarding battery oper ation: • The S350 has a battery power indicator in the LCD. Fresh batteries will show a full power level of six bars. If the indicator shows lessthan two bars or the sound becomes week and distorted, replace the batteries. • The radio will turn off automatically if the batteries become too weak. • Check the batteries periodically for leakage. As a precaution, remove the batteries toprevent possible leakage if it is to be stored for long periods without use. • Turn off the radio while replacing the batteries. USING AC POWER The S350 is supplied with an AC adaptor that converts AC voltage to the DC voltage used by the radio. Only use the adaptor that is supplied with the S350 or one that meets the generic spec ifications required by this product: output of 6 volts, DC, negative polarity; plugtip outer diame ter of 5.5 millimeter, inner diameter of 2.1 mil limeter; capable of 300 milliamperes or greater.Contact Etón for the name and location of a retailer that sells the proper adaptor.
S350OPERATION MANUAL 11 it off automatically (to minimize excess bat tery drain). To change this automatic turnoff time from 90 minutes to a shorter time, see the section titled USING THE SLEEP TIMER. 2.WITHOUT TIMER:A long press of approxi mately 3 seconds of the ‘POWER & SLEEP’button turns the radio on without engaging the automatic 90minute timer feature, causing the radio to play indefinitely when using the AC adaptor, and turning off only when the batteries drain or the radio is turned off. There are two ways to turn the radio on, with the 90minute timer feature or without the 90minute timer. To turn it off at any time, press the ‘POWER& SLEEP’ button. NOTE:When SLEEP Times is off, the clock always shows in the display. 1.WITH TIMER:A quick, short press of the ‘POWER & SLEEP’ button turns the radio on. ‘90’ shows in the display for about three sec onds, then the radio’s normal frequency dis play shows. Turning it on this way causes it play for 90 minutes, after which its timer turns 6TURNING THE RADIO ON AND OFF 7SIGNAL STRENGTH INDICATOR When you are listening to stations, the signal strength meter, in the upper right area of the dis play, will show the strength level of reception. 10 5SETTING THE PRELIMINARY CONTROL SETTINGS Use these controls as initial guidelines. As you get to know the radio, you will develop your own ‘favorite’ settings. • Turn the VOLUME control down to no greater than 3 so that the radio does not playloudly when first turned on. • Turn the AM/SW RF GAIN control to the 10 position.• Turn the BASSTONETREBLE controls into the 5 position. • Turn the SW LPF switch to the OFF position (right side of the radio). • Turn the STEREO MONO switch to the MONO position.
S350OPERATION MANUAL 13 • If a station is so strong that audio distortion occurs, reduce the gain level with the AM/SW RF GAIN control knob by turning it counter clockwise. • The telescopic antenna does not have to be extended for AM reception. The radio has an internal, directional, ferritebar antenna forAM reception. • To optimize AM reception, swivel the radio until maximum signal strength is achieved.TUNING IN AM STATIONS (MW) Turn on the radio and turn the AM/SW BAND switch to the AM position. MW appears in the display. Use the outer ‘fast’ tuning knob to find stations, fine tuning with the inner ‘slow’ knobwhen needed. • If there is interference from adjacent stations, place the BAND WIDTH control in the NARROW position. If there is no interference, leave it in the WIDE position. • If there is excess background noise, turn on the SW LPF switch, which may minimize the noise. 9TUNING IN AM STATIONS 12 8TUNING IN FM STATIONS Fully extend the telescopic antenna and turn on the radio. Switch the BAND WIDTH FM AFC selec tor to the FM AFC ON position. FM appears in the display, as well as FM frequency numbers in the range of about 87108 megahertz, abbreviated MHz. Use the outer ‘fast’ tuning knob to find sta tions, fine tuning with the inner ‘slow’ knob when needed. When Automatic Frequency Control (AFC) is ON, strong signals will automatically be cap tured and given precedence over weaker ones. With AFC turned OFF, the weak stations inbe tween stronger ones will be tuned in easier. AFCON is generally the preferred position. • Placing the STEREO MONO switch in the STEREO position enables FM reception in stereo.NOTE:The stereo is not heard from ear phones or headphones; it is only heard fromthe stereo linelevel outputs when feeding their output to amplified speakers or a stereosystem. • Placing the STEREO MONO switch in the MONO position will improve the quality of a poorly received station, but it will not beheard in stereophonic sound from the line level outputs. • When listening through the builtin speaker, stereophonic sound is not heard. Only monau ral sound is heard from the builtin speaker. • If a station is not being received clearly, swiveling the telescopic antenna may result inimproved reception.
S350OPERATION MANUAL 1514 10TUNING IN SHORTWAVE STATIONS IF YOU ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH SHORTWAVE: Fully extend the telescopic antenna and turn on the radio. Turn the AM/SW BAND switch to the SW1, SW2 or SW3 position. SHORTWAVE 1, 2 or 3 appears in the display. Use the outer ‘fast’tuning knob to quickly go to a desired frequencythat you already know or to the band that you want to tune around in, then fine tune stations with the inner ‘slow’ knob when needed. If a sta tion is so strong that audio distortion occurs, reduce the gain level with the AM/SW RF GAIN control knob by turning it counterclock wise. IF YOU ARE NEW TO SHORT WAVE OR NEED A REFRESHER (also see the section titled INTRODUCTION TO SHORTWAVE, later in this manual) Fully extend the telescopic antenna and turn on the radio. Get close to a window and fully extend the tele scopic antenna. Follow the instructions below,depending on day or night listening. If it is daytime,turn the AM/SW BAND switch to the SW2 position. Use the fast tuning knob and tune to 15100 KHz. This is the beginning of the shortwave 19 meter band, one of the three best daytime bands, extending from 1510015600KHz. Using the slow tuning knob, tune through this band, carefully listening for stations.Also try the 13 meter band (2145021850 KHz) and 16 meter band (1748017900 KHz), both inSW3. If it is night,turn the AM/SW BAND switch to the SW1 position. Use the fast tuning knob and tune to 5800 KHz. This is the beginning of the shortwave 49 meter band, one of the four best night bands, extending from 58006200 KHz. Using the slow tuning knob, tune through this band, carefully listening for stations. Also try the 25 meter band in SW2 (1160012200 KHz), 31meters in SW2 (94009900 KHz) and 41 meters inSW1 (71507600 KHz). NOTE:If there is interference from adjacent sta tions, place the BAND WIDTH control in the NAR ROW position. If there is no interference, leave it in the WIDE position. If there is excess back ground noise, turn on the SW LPF switch, which may minimize the noise. If a station is so strong that audio distortion occurs, reduce the gain level with the AM/SW RF GAIN control knob by turning it counterclockwise. 11SETTING THE CLOCK The S350s clock is a selectable 12hour AM/PM mode or 24hour mode time system. Pressing theHOUR button for more than five seconds toggles it from one mode to the other. When AM or PM appears in the display, it is set in the 12hour AM/PM mode. If they are not in the display, it is in the 24hour mode. The radio must be turned off to set the clock. With the radio turned off, hold down the TIME button for three seconds, then release it. The time display will flash. While it is flashing press theHOUR and MINUTE buttons to set the correct time. After setting the correct time, immediately press the TIME button to finalize the entry. If the TIME button is not pressed, the display will auto matically finalize the entry after about five seconds. While setting the time, the HOUR and MINUTE buttons can be held down to advance the time faster. NOTE:When the radio is turned off, the display panel shows the time. When it is turned on, it shows a radio frequency. While on, pressing theTIME button causes the display to change from frequency to time for about three seconds, afterwhich it shows frequency again. POWER FAILURE BACKUP FEATURE If batteries are in the S350 and it is powered via its AC adaptor, it will automatically switch to bat tery use if there is an AC power failure. 12USING THE SLEEP TIMER The S350 includes a sleep timer, which lets you set the radio to turn off after an amount of time of your choice. On the S350, the sleep timer is automatically activated for 90 minutes whenever the radio is turned on. After pressing the POWER&SLEEP button to turn on the radio, notice that ‘90’ appears in the display. This means that the radio’s sleep timer is engaged, allowing the radio to automatically turn off after 90 minutes.To change the amount of minutes that the radio plays before automatically shutting off, press the POWER&SLEEP button to switch on the radio. After 90 appears, immediately do quick, short,repeated presses on the POWER & SLEEP button until the desired time is reached. Note that thesleep timer changes from 90 to 75 to 60 to 45 to30 to15 to10 to 01 minutes and finally to off, with each successive press.
S350OPERATION MANUAL 17 14USING THE BACKLIGHT The S350 has a backlight to light the display in low light situations. It can be activated with the following two methods. 1.To temporarily light the display, perform a quick, short press on the BACKLIGHT button. The backlight automatically turns off after eight seconds. 2.To permanently light the display, press and hold BACKLIGHT button for more than one second. The backlight will be turned on until the BACKLIGHT button is pressed again. CAUTION:leaving the backlight permanently on will drain the batteries more rapidly. 15USING THE RESET S350 incorporates with a computer microchip (the component that controls how the radio operates). If the radio has been subjected to abnormal envi ronmental conditions, the computer microchipmay malfunction and the following symptoms may appear. • The display shows nothing and the radio cannot be turned on by pressing POWER &SLEEP button. • The display shows random characters or does not work properly although the radio can receive stations normally.In these cases, you might need to reset the radio. To reset the S350, unplug the external adaptor (ifone is being used) and remove the batteries from the battery compartment. Insert a pointed object, such as straightened paper clip, into the RESET hole on the right, front side of the radio and gen tly press and release the button inside the hole. Then plug in the AC adaptor or reinstall the batteries. 16 13ALARM CLOCK SETTING, ACTIVATING AND DEACTIVATING (ALARMCLOCK) The S350 includes a programmable turnon timer, which allows it to turn on at preset times, like an alarm clock. With the radio powered off, hold down the ALARM button for about three seconds or until the time digits start flashing, then release it. While they are still flashing press the HOUR and MINUTE buttons to set the turnon time, then immediately press the AL ARM button. If the ALARM button is not pressed, the turnon timewill automatically be set at the time you selected after 5 seconds. To activate/deactivate the turnon timer feature, with the radio turned off, press the AL ON/OFF button, causing the symbol of a speaker to appear in the upper right corner of the display. When the speaker symbol is in the display, theturnon timer feature is activated. When it is not in the display, it is deactivated. To see the turnon time at any time, with the radio on or off, press the ALARM button. The turnon time will then appear in the display for about four seconds. IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE TURNON TIMER FEATURE • The radio must be turned off for the turnon timer feature to function. • The radio will automatically turn off after playing for 30 minutes. • To turn off the radio before it turns off automatically, press the AL ON/OFF orPOWER&SLEEP button.
S350OPERATION MANUAL 19 18USING SUPPLEMENTARY ANTENNAS SHORTWAVE ANTENNAS.This radio can be used with basic, long wire antennas and other high impedance shortwave antennas (optimally 500 ohm). The length of a longwire antennashould be anywhere from about 30100 feet (10 30 meters). Best performance is from copper wire. The antenna should be above ground, preferably running in a straight line. Nonconductiveinsulators should be used on both ends of the wire to prevent signal loss. The wire is plugged into the red colored spring socket, AM,SW ANT., on the back of the radio. Connecting a ground wire to the black spring socket, GND, often helps reception, but is not mandatory. The ground wire should be connected to a cold water pipe or a ground rod. If no water pipe or ground rod is available, connect a wire about the samelength as the antenna wire and lay it on the ground. NEVER CONNECT THE GROUND WIRE TOA GAS PIPE.AM ANTENNAS:Any high impedance (opti mally 500 ohm) AM antenna can be used, includ ing longwires and tuned loops. A ground wire, as discussed under SHORTWAVE ANTENNAS, is even more helpful during AM reception and often improves reception considerably, even when no supplementary AM antenna is used. FM ANTENNAS:Connect FM antennas to the FM ANT. CABLE FM socket on the back of the radio. These antennas should have an impedance of 75 ohms. Most antennas fed with coaxial cable are 75 ohm antennas. If your coaxial cable has a ‘F’ plug, like that used on North American TV’s and VCR’s, use a F to PAL converter plug to fit the European style PAL socket on the radio. (RadioShack part number 278265). 18 16USING THE LINE OUT SOCKETS The line out sockets (RCA sockets), labeled L, R, provide industry standard left and right stereoline level outputs that can be used to feed audio to a tape recorder, stereo system, or any device 17USING THE EARPHONE JACK The earphone jack can be used with stereo or mono earphones or headphones using a 1/8 inch (3.5 millimeter) plug. Sound is monaural.with audio line level inputs. The output is stereo when the radio is tuned to an FM station broad casting in stereo.