Operator’s Manual
VRC
Vehicular Repeater
e
NOTICE!
This ma nu al covers Er i cs so n and General Electric prod ucts
manufactured and sold by Ericsson Inc.
NOTE!
Repairs to this equipment should be made only by an authorized service technician or facility designated by the supp lier.
Any repairs, alterations or substitution of recommended parts
made by the user to this equipment not approved by the
NOTICE!
The software contained in this device is copyrighted by
Ericsson Inc. Unpublished rights are reserved under the
copyright laws of the United States.
This manual is published by
Improvements and changes to this manual necessitated by typographical
errors, inaccuracies of current information, or improvements to programs
and/or equipment, ma y be made by
notice. Such changes wil l be inc orporat ed into new editi ons of this manual.
No part of this manual may be reproduc ed or tr ansmitt ed in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
for any purpose, without the express written permission of
Copyright © January 1997, Ericsson Inc.
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Ericsson Inc.
Ericsson Inc.
, without any warranty.
, at any time and without
Ericsson Inc.
SAFETY INFORMATION
The operator of any mobile radio should be aware of certain
hazards common to the operation of vehicular radio transmissions.
A list of the possible hazards are:
1. Explosive Atmospheres
Just as it is dangerous to fuel a vehicle with the motor
running, be sure to turn the radio off while fueling the
vehicle. Do Not carry containers of fuel in the trunk of the
vehicle when the radio is mounted in the trunk.
2. Interference To Vehicular Electronic Systems
Electronic fuel injection systems, electronic anti-skid
breaking sys-tems, electronic cruise control systems, etc.,
are typical of the types of electronic devices that may
malfunction due to the lack of protec-tion from radio
frequency energy present when transmitting. If the vehicle
contains such equipm ent, consult the dealer fo r the make
of vehicle and enlist his aid in determining if such electronic circuits perform normally when the radio is transmitting.
3. Dynamite Blasting Caps
Dynamite blasting caps may be caused to explode by
operating a radio within 500 feet of the blasting caps.
Always obey the "Turn Off Two W ay Radio" signs posted
where dynamite is being used. When transporting blasting
caps in your vehicle :
a. Carry the blasting caps in a closed metal box with a soft
lining.
b. Leave the radio OFF whenever the blasting caps are
being put into or removed from the vehicle.
4. Radio Frequency Energy
To prevent burns or related physical injury from radio
frequency energy, do not operate the transmitter when
anyone outside of the vehicle is within two feet of the
antenna.
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OPERATING RULES AND REGULATIONS
Two way FM radio systems must be operated in accordance
with the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications
Commission (FC C). As an operator of two way radio equipment, the user must be thoroughly familiar with the rules that
apply to the intended type of radio operation. Following these
rules will help to eliminate confusion, assure the most effic ient
use of existing radio chan nels, and result in a smoo thly functioning radio networ k.
When using the radio, remember these rules:
1. It is a violation of FCC rules to interrupt any distress or
emergency mes-sage. In conventional mode the radio
operates in much the same way as a telephone "party line"
therefore always listen to make sure that the line is
clear--tha t no on e else is on the air--b efore sen ding any
messages. If someone is sending an emergency message-
-such as reporting a fire or asking for help in an accident-
-KEEP OFF THE AIR!
2. Use of profane or obscene language is prohibited by
Federal Law.
3. It is against the law to send false call letters or a false
distress or emergency message.
4. The FCC requires that conversations be brief and confined to business. To save time, use coded messages
whenever possible.
5. Using the radio to send personal messages (except in an
emergency) is a violation of FCC rules. Only those
messages essential for the business operation may be
sent.
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6. It is against the Federa l law to repe at or othe rwise make
known anything overheard on the radio. Conversations
between others sharing a commu-nications channel must
be regarded as confidential.
7. The FCC also requires that the caller be identified at
certain specific times by means of call letters. Refer to
the rules that apply to the particu-lar type of operation for
the prope r pr oc edure.
8. No changes or adjustment shall be made to the equipment
except by an authorized or certified electronic technician.
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INTRODUCTION
The Vehicular Repeater Conventional (VRC) is designed
to provide extended portable communication coverage by repeating conve ntional transmissions in both directions through
an existing high power mobile radio.
VRC FRONT PANEL
The VRC has 8 LEDs to indicate the current status of the
repeater:
CPU Flashes at approximately 1 Hz rate to indicate proper
operation of the on-board microprocessor.
Pri Indicates the VRC is at priority status and will repeat
all transmissions, portable-to-base and base-to-portable. In multi-vehicle applications, only one VRC/mobile combination should be at priority status.
Repeater
Cor Indicates the VRC is receiv ing carrier from a portable
(Tone LED should also be on) or anoth er VRC (Cor
LED only).
Tone Indicates the VRC is decoding the sub-audible tone
from the portable. This LED should only be on when
the repeater Cor LED is also on. If the VRC is the
priority unit, the Mobile Tx LED should also be on.
TX Indicates when the VRC is transmitting to the portable.
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Mobile
Cor Indicates that a transmission is being received by the
mobile. If the Pr i LED is on, the Rptr Tx LED should
also be on. If the VRC is not at priority status, the Rptr
Cor LED should be on indicating that another repeater
is handling the transmission.
Tx Indicates when the mobile is being keyed by the VRC.
Opt The option LED is used to indicate program mode (on
steady) when the programming cable is inserted, or to
indicate a problem with the radio portion of the repeater
(rapid flashing). If the Opt LED flashes at approximately 10 Hz rate, contact your service center.
FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
Generally , vehicular repeaters are used as mobile extenders
in cross-band operation; i.e., the link is UHF and th e mobile
is low band or VHF. In-band operation is possible, but care
must be taken to prevent interference between the mobile’s
higher power transmitter and the repeater receiver. Proper
frequency selection and antenna placement are important e ven
in cross-band operation, but especially for in-band use. The use
of low power pre-selector cavities may be placed in line with
the repeater antenna cable since it is simplex and low power.
The VRC operates on UHF simplex frequencies. The portables must transmit with a CTCSS tone, but should be carrier
squelch receive, or use a decode tone different from the transmit tone. Part of the multi-vehicle format dictates that all of
the VRCs must be able to monitor all link traff ic on site and be
able to determine if a portable is transmitting, or if other
repeaters are tra nsmitting.
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When the user leaves the vehicle, the VRC must be activated via the mobile radio front panel or a separate switch.
When the mobile radio is receiving ca rrier and proper CTCSS
tone, the VRC will begin transmitting on the portable’ s receive
frequency. The user is able to hear and respond to all radio
messages, including other po rtables at the site. The VRC can
be programmed to give the portables priority in a con versa tion
by periodically sampling for portable activity (carrier and
proper CTCSS tone) during base-to-portable transmissions.
During sampling, if the VRC d etects a portable transmission,
it will cease transmission, key the mobile radio and repeat
portable-to-base. This allows the portable to respond during
repeater hang time or during full duplex interconnect calls.
Priority sampling can be enabled/disabled through PC programming and interval can be programmed between 0.25
seconds and 2.5 secon ds in 0. 25 se cond incremen t s.
The VRC has a fixe d 3-min ute time out timer for base-toportable transmissions. If the mobile carrier operated relay
(COR) is active for more than 3 minutes (and the VRC is the
priority unit), the VRC will send a double blip and cease
transmission until the mobile COR is inactive. The 3 minute
time-out is in effect regardless of whether the VRC is programme d fo r priority sa m pli n g or not.
MULTI-VEHI C L E OPERATION
When the VRC is first activated, it will transmit a short
“lock tone” that alerts the user that the system is functioning.
It will then assume the priority status and be ready to repeat
any base-to-portable or portable-to -base transmissio ns. I f another unit arrives on scene and is acti v ated, it too will transmit
a “lock tone”. When the first VRC detec ts the “lock tone” from
the second unit, it will increment a “priority counter” and will
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no longer repeat any transmissions. The recently arrived unit
will be the priority repeater , a nd the first unit will be one count
away from priority. This p rocess will continue for each unit
that arrives at the scene, creating a priority hierarchy for up to
256 vehicles, each with a unique count and only one unit at
priority status. The VRC will not transmit it’s “lock tone’ if the
radio channel is busy when first enabled. It will wait in nonpriority status until all transmissions cease, then send it’ s “lock
tone” and become the priority unit.
Even though the other VRCs are not a priority status, they
will continue to monitor the channel for activity. If the priority
unit leaves the sc ene or becomes disabled, the other units will
detect the condition to repeat and determine that there is no
priority unit repeating the transmission. They will then begin
decrementing their priority counters until one of them reaches
the priority status and begins repeating the transmission. Since
the VRCs are all at different counts, only one will reach priority
status and begin transmitting. The other units will sense the
new prio rity repeater and ce ase counting down, preserving the
priority hierarchy.
If an other unit were to arrive from a d ifferent sce n e and it
is still the active priority, there will be two activ e r epeater s on
the air when a condition to repeat exists. When one of the VRCs
unkeys to check for portable activity , it will detect the presence
of the other active VRC and increment it’ s priority counter a nd
cease transmission. This is the self-clearing mode to prevent
radio interference.
If the portable user is out of the vehicle and the mobile radio
is keyed by the local microphone inside the vehicle, the VRC
will detect the local PTT and repeat the transmission to the
other portables so that both sides of the conversation will be
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heard by everyone on the link. The local microphone repeat
functi on can be enabled / dis abled via PC programming.
The VRC als o has a lo cal r eceive au dio s pea ker ja ck t hat
enables a person inside the vehicle to monitor portable-to-base
transmissions that are being repeated through the mobile.
If portable user s wish to communicate portable-to-portable
without accessing the mobile VRC repeater , the ma y transmit
on the same frequency without CTCSS tone (or a different
CTCSS tone); the VRC only responds to carrier and proper
CTCSS tone from the portables.
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LIMITED WARRANTY AND REPAIR INFORMATION
An explanation of the Limit e d Warranty’ s benefits and exclusions follows.
What does your warranty cover?
• Any defect in material or workmanship.
For how long after the original purchase of the equipment?
• One (1) year.
What will we do?
• Repair your Equipment or provide you with a new or, at our opt ion, a recondi tioned unit in the
event repairs cannot be made.
• The exchange unit (repaired or replacement) is warranted for the remainder of your product’s
original one (1) year warranty period.
How do you make a war r anty claim?
• Contact Pyramid Communications [(714) 901-5462] for return aut horization pri or to returni ng
any defective merchandise.
• Properly pack your unit. Include any cables and other parts and accessories which were
originally provided with the product. We recommend using the original carton and packing
materia ls.
• Include in the package your name and address, a description of the defect and a copy of the s ales
receipt or other evidence of date of original purchase.
• Ship the unit standard UPS or equiv alent to:
Pyramid Communications
5142 Bolsa Avenue #103
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
• Pay any charges billed to you for service not covered by the warranty. Returned units that are
out of warranty shall be deemed as authorization for repair and sender shall be responsible for
all reasonable repair costs.
• The repaired (or new or reconditioned) unit will be shipped to you prepaid freight.
What does your w arranty not cover?
• Customer instruction. Y our Operator’ s Manual provides information r egarding operating instruc-
tions and user controls. For additional informat ion, ask your dealer.
• Any labor charges incurred in removal/installation of defective or repaired units.
• Installation and set-up service adjustments.
• Damage from misuse or neglect.
• Products which have been modified or incorporated into other products.
• Products purchased or serviced outside the USA.
• Changes that provide improvem ents or enhance performance.
• Any unit which is not new when sold to the firs t end user or unit whose serial number has been
altered or removed.
• Damage or loss occurring during s hipment ( claims must be pr esented to the carrier) or shippi ng
charges to return defective units for repair.
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Ericsson Inc.
Private Radio Systems
Mountai n View Road
L ynchburg, V irginia 24502 AE/LZT 123 3245 /1 R1A
1-800-59 2- 7 711 (Outside USA, 80 4-5 92-7711) Printe d in U.S.A.
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