magnum deltaforce User Manual

OPERATING MANUAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Limited Warranty .................................................................................................. 2

Introduction........................................................................................................... 3

Installation ........................................................................................................3 - 4

Front Panel Controls and Functions..................................................................4 - 7

Other Features ..................................................................................................... 7

Specifications ...................................................................................................... 8

LIMITED WARRANTY

Magnum International warrants this product to be free of defects for a period of one (1) year from the
original date of purchase. This warranty is non-transferable. This limited warranty is subject to repair or
replacement of defective components only . This warranty is void if the radio has been tampered with or
misused.

IMPORT ANT : RET AIN YOUR SALES RECEIPT

The enclosed warranty registration must be filled out and mailed along with a photocopy of your sales
receipt within 15 days from the purchase date. If the warranty registration and copy of your sales
receipt are not received the radio is not covered under warranty . Please fill out the enclosed warranty
registration and send it along with a copy of your sales receipt to:

Magnum International

PO Box 445

Issaquah, WA 98027

Registering your DeltaForce with Magnum International provides several benefits:

1) Validates your warranty

2) Entitles you to free updates and information regarding your radio and new accessories for your
radio

3) Provides possible recovery of lost or stolen radios through our serial number tracking database

4) Receive your free “Magnum Power” baseball cap within 30 days after registering

Copyright 1999-2003 by Magnum International. All rights reserved.

- 2 -

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of a MAGNUM
DEL T AFORCE 10 meter FM/AM/SSB/PA transceiver . Y our
MAGNUM is designed to provide years of enjoyment and
trouble-free service. There are many features and functions
designed into this transceiver. To ensure that your invest­ment is enjoyed to it’s fullest extent please take a few mo­ments and thoroughly read this manual.

Your MAGNUM DELTAFORCE is a microprocessor con­trolled, user programmable radio combining both high RF
performance with a user-friendly environment. The
DELT AFORCE is built rugged to withstand years of use in
harsh mobile environments. Although engineered with mo­bile use in mind the DELTAFORCE, with the addition of a
high quality 10 amp regulated power supply , may be easily
adapted to fixed station operation.

Some of the features of the DEL TAFORCE are; an advanced
design liquid crystal display that provides the operator with
a full visual account of the transceivers operating status,
automatic frequency scanning from either the front panel or
microphone, memory storage of your favorite frequencies,
programmable frequency resolution of either 1 kHz, 10 kHz
or 100 kHz, and split (offset) frequency operation for repeater
use. These are just a few of the features that make the
DEL T AFORCE a pleasure to own and operate.

IMPORTANT: The MAGNUM DEL TAFORCE is designed
for entry level amateur use. If the transmitter is operated in
the United S tates or within it’s territories a licensed amateur
radio operator must be present at the station. The minimum
license class to operate 10 meter phone is Novice/Techni­cian. If you are studying for your license and want to famil­iarize yourself with the operation of the radio, the receiver
may be operated with or without a licensed operator present.
For more information regarding FCC licensing, contact your
nearest amateur radio dealer, or for complete details con­tact the American Radio Relay League.

American Radio Relay League (ARRL)

225 Main S treet

Newington, CT 061 11

T elephone 860-594-0200
Facsimile 860-594-0259

http://www.arrl.org

Quantity Description

1 DEL TAFORCE Transceiver
1 Scanning Microphone
1 Mounting Bracket and Hardware
1 Power Cord
1 Operating Manual with Schematic

2. Install the DEL TAFORCE

Choose a location where there is easy access to all
front panel controls and air circulation available to the
rear panel and aluminum heatsink. Do not install the
transceiver in any compartment that restricts airflow.
Attach the mounting bracket to the vehicle first then
mount the transceiver to the bracket. If the rear panel is
not easily accessible you may want to attach the power
cord and antenna feed line prior to mounting.

3. Make Electrical Connections

The transceiver is designed to work on any 13.8 VDC
power source with a negative ground. The condition of a
vehicle’s electrical system can affect operation. A low
battery , worn generator/alternator, or poor volt age regu­lator will seriously impair the performance of the trans­ceiver. Any of the above conditions could result in a high
level of receiver noise generation or a substantial loss of
the transmitter’s RF output. Make sure that all of these
components of your vehicle’s electrical system are in
good condition prior to installing the transceiver.

Before making any electrical connections make sure
the AF gain (volume) control on the transceiver is in the
“OFF” position. Connect the positive (+) red wire and
negative (-) black wire from the transceiver directly to
the battery. Connecting directly to the battery has sev­eral benefits, the first of which is to maximize RF out­put. Secondly , the battery is a very large capacitor and
will help eliminate certain types of ambient and vehicle
noise. Depending on your mounting location, additional
power cable may be required. On additional runs of 6
feet or less use 14-gauge stranded wire. Use 12-gauge
wire on longer runs.

CAUTION!
VOL T AGE EXCEEDING 15 VDC WILL DAMAGE
THE RADIO. MEASURE VOLT AGE A T BA TTERY
TERMINALS, WITH VEHICLE RUNNING , PRIOR
TO INST ALLA TION!

INSTALLATION

1. Contents

Unpack and inspect your Magnum DELTAFORCE for
missing or damaged components. Y our DEL T AFORCE
includes the following items:

4. Connect the Antenna

The transceiver will operate using any standard 50-ohm
ground-plane, vertical, mobile whip, long wire or similar
antenna. The antenna should be rated at 50 watts PEP
minimum. A standard SO-239 type connector is pro­vided on the rear panel of the transceiver . Connection is
made using a PL-259 and high grade coaxial cable
(RG213, RG58A/U or Mini RG-8 is recommended).

- 3 -

A ground-plane antenna provides greater coverage and
is recommended for fixed station-to-mobile operation.
For point-to-point fixed station operation, a directional
beam antenna operates at greater distances even un­der adverse conditions. A non-directional antenna
should be used in a mobile installation; a vertical whip
is best suited for this purpose. The base loaded whip
antenna normally provides effective communications.
For greater range and more reliable operation, a full
quarter wave whip may be used. Either of these an­tennas use the metal vehicle body as a ground plane.

The Penetrator™ and Super Penetrator™ mobile an­tennas, available from RF Limited, are the perfect an­tennas for use with the Magnum DeltaForce. The
Penetrator™ and Super Penetrator™ feature power
ratings of up to 3,500 watts PEP and bandpass ratings
of 1.5 MHz, the widest bandpass of any mobile an­tenna of its kind.

5. VSWR

After you have determined that the installation is cor­rect and the radio is operational, it is important to de­termine the antenna system’s VSWR (voltage stand­ing wave ratio). Prior to taking any measurements make
sure the SWR bridge (meter) is in good working order
and is calibrated. To ensure your radio is performing
properly the VSWR should never exceed 1.5 to 1. This
is critical due to the high level of gain developed in the
RF deck. Never transmit on any antenna system where
the VSWR exceeds 1.8 to 1. This will stress the output
stage and could destroy the RF transistors; this type of
misuse and failure is not covered under warranty.

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS
AND FUNCTIONS

Reference Front Panel Diagram on Page 5.

tone. While speaking, rotate the mic gain control clock­wise until the modulation LCD display reads +30(see

22). Next, rotate the control counterclockwise until the
+30 segment of the display starts to flicker.

(4) RF GAIN CONTROL

Adjusts the receiver sensitivity to both signals and
background noise. This affects the distance at which
a signal can be detected. Turning the control counter­clockwise reduces the receiver sensitivity. This is par­ticularly useful in areas where large volumes of traffic
(signals) are present.

(5) ROGER BEEP CONTROL

RB position activates the end of transmission, or roger
beep, tone. When activated a 1 kHz tone will auto­matically transmit upon release of PTT switch (see 23).
This notifies contacts that your transmission has ended
and you are ready to receive their signal. To turn off
the roger beep, put the switch in the S/RF position.
NOTE: In the RB position, the meter (see 13) mea­sures S/RF.

SIGNAL STRENGTH / RF METER CONTROL

S/RF position activates the meter (see 13) to mea­sure receive signal strength and transmitter RF output
power.

CALIBRATE CONTROL

CAL position activates the meter to calibrate for SWR
measuring. To calibrate for SWR, set the switch to the
CAL position, press the PTT switch (see 23) and ro­tate the calibrate control (see 6) until the meter (see

13) needle lines up with the CAL mark on the far right
side of the meter. Once lined up, release the PTT.
The transceiver is now ready to measure SWR. NOTE:

When first attempting to calibrate make sure the trans­ceiver is in the AM mode (see 19). If it is not possible
to calibrate in AM, then switch to FM mode.

(1) POWER ON/OFF and VOLUME CONTROL

Turns the transceiver on and off, and adjusts the AF
gain, or volume.

(2) SQUELCH CONTROL

Used to eliminate background or “white” noise when
monitoring strong signals. Also used to activate SCAN
feature (see 14). To properly adjust squelch circuit,
slowly rotate the control clockwise until the received
audio disappears. Now turn the control slightly coun­terclockwise - this will keep the threshold right on the
edge so you will not miss any incoming signals.

(3) MICROPHONE GAIN CONTROL

Increases or decreases the energy developed in the
microphone amplifier circuit. The gain increases as the
control is rotated clockwise. For optimum setting, press
the push-to-talk switch on the microphone (see 23) and
speak in a constant tone into the microphone. A good
test tone is to say the word “four” in a long, drawn out

STANDING WAVE RATIO CONTROL

SWR position activates the meter to measure the
standing wave ratio of the transceiver and antenna
system. After the meter is calibrated, set the switch to
the SWR position and press the PTT switch (see 23).
The meter (see 13) will measure the SWR. For opti­mum performance the SWR should be below 1.5 - the
first green segment on the SWR portion of the meter
indicates an acceptable standing wave ratio.

PUBLIC ADDRESS

PA position activates the public address amplifier. To
operate PA, select the PA position and insert a public
address speaker or horn into the PA jack on the rear
panel of the transceiver.

(6) CALIBRATE CONTROL

Rotate to calibrate the meter (see 13) for SWR mea­surements. See instruction 5 for more information.

- 4 -

23

13

15141716181920

22

21

24

(7) RF OUTPUT POWER CONTROL

Continuously variable control for adjusting the RF out­put power of the transmitter in all modes for QRP op­eration. To reduce the RF output power rotate the con­trol counterclockwise. To increase rotate the control
clockwise. The power output is a linear control, there­fore the peak to average output power ratios remain
constant regardless of power level.

(8) ECHO DELAY CONTROL

Varies the amount of delay, or duration of the echo
repetition. Rotate clockwise to increase the amount of
delay and counterclockwise to decrease.

(9) ECHO ON/OFF and VOLUME CONTROL

Turns on and off the echo feature, and varies the vol­ume or number of echo repetitions. To turn on the echo
feature and increase the echo volume, rotate the con­trol clockwise. To turn off the echo feature rotate the
control completely counterclockwise to the OFF posi­tion.

(10)ALL MODE TALK BACK CONTROL

All Mode Talk Back, a Magnum exclusive, is an inde­pendent talk back monitor. The AMT functions in all
modes and allows the operator to monitor the trans­mitted audio of the DELTAFORCE. To increase the
volume of the talk back rotate the control clockwise.
To decrease rotate counterclockwise. To turn off the
talk back rotate the control completely counterclock­wise.

(11)CLARIFIER

Allows variation of the receiver operating frequency
above and below the indicated frequency in all modes.
The receive clarifier is primarily used in tuning to an
SSB signal. The receive clarifier has a range of +/-1
kHz above and below the indicated frequency.

25

2

1

4

3

6

5 7

(12)FREQUENCY

Rotate clockwise to increase the operating frequency
and counterclockwise to decrease the operating fre­quency.

(13)METER

The meter indicates receive signal strength, RF out­put power, SWR calibrate and SWR. The top horizon­tal bar graph indicates calibration and measuring of
the standing wave ratio. The center bar graph indi­cates RF output power. The bottom bar graph indi­cates receive signal strength.

IMPORTANT!

Operating some of the features in 14 through 21
require the use of the function control. To activate
the function control, momentarily push the FUNC
(15) control, the FUNC prompt will be displayed in
upper left-hand corner of LCD. Push the control
again to deactivate the function control.

(14)SCAN

Scans frequencies in increments of 10 kHz. There are
two ways to scan using front panel entry.

(1) Receive Audio On Scanning: Press the SCAN but­ton. Scan rate is one step every 5 seconds. To stop
scanning press the SCAN button again, or momen­tarily press the PTT button on the microphone (scan­ning will stop without transmitting).

(2) Receive Audio Mute Scanning: Carefully rotate
squelch control to the threshold (see 2). The receiver
scan rate will now be five steps per second. When a
signal is detected the squelch is automatically disen­gaged and the scanning is paused. The squelch cir­cuit will automatically reengage and the receiver will
continue to scan the moment the received signal is no

8

10

9

11

12

- 5 -

longer detected. To stop scanning, press the SCAN
button, or momentarily press the PTT button on the
microphone (scanning will stop without transmitting).

SHIFT

Used for programming offsets to operate repeater net­works. The DELTAFORCE can transmit and receive
on different frequencies.

To program the offset, press the FUNC button and
hold down the SHIFT button for 3 or more seconds.
Three digits will appear on the LCD. This is the offset
frequency in kHz. Rotate the FREQUENCY control until
the desired offset frequency is displayed. To return to
the main display press the FUNC button and hold down
the SHIFT button for 3 or more seconds, or momen­tarily press the PTT button on the microphone (the
transmitter will not be engaged).

To activate the programmed offset frequency, press
the FUNC button, and then press the SHIFT button
once. +SHIFT is displayed on the LCD. The
DELTAFORCE will now transmit on the frequency that
is XXX kHz greater than the displayed, or receive, fre­quency (XXX represents the programmed offset fre­quency in kHz).

To transmit on the frequency that is XXX kHz lower
than the displayed, or receive, frequency press FUNC,
then the SHIFT button. Repeat this until -SHIFT is dis­played on the LCD.

To disengage the programmed offset frequency, press
the FUNC button and then press the SHIFT button.
Repeat this until the SHIFT indicator is no longer dis­played on the LCD.

MEMORY CHANNEL 3

After programming this button is memory channel 3.
See M.LOAD \ M.SAVE control for programming in­structions.

(15)FUNCTION

This control is used to operate the functions that are
printed below the control buttons. Press and release,
FUNC will be displayed on the LCD indicating that the
function command is activated. After you have pressed
one of the buttons the FUNC will disappear from the
screen.

(16)LAST CHANNEL RECALL

Press the LCR button to return to the last frequency
that was transmitted on for more than 3 seconds.

and then press the RPT button. RPT will appear on the
LCD indicating that the tone burst will now automati­cally be transmitted whenever the PTT is pressed. To
deactivate, repeat the same process.

MEMORY CHANNEL 4

After programming, this button is memory channel 4.
See M.LOAD \ M.SAVE control for programming in­structions.

(17)STEP

The STEP button selects frequency resolution in ei­ther 1 kHz, 10 kHz or 100 kHz steps. Press the STEP
button, one of the digits will flash on and off. Press the
STEP button again to change stepping resolution.

To tune frequencies in either 10 kHz or 100 kHz incre­ments, press the STEP button until the desired digit is
flashing. Rotate the FREQUENCY control in either di­rection. The entire frequency range of the Magnum
DELTAFORCE can be stepped through in 10 or 100
kHz increments.

To tune in 1 kHz increments, press the STEP button
until the 1 kHz digit flashes on and off. Rotate the FRE­QUENCY control. NOTE: When stepping in 1 kHz in­crements, you are limited to tuning within a 10 kHz
frequency range.

NOISE BLANKER and
AUTOMATIC NOISE LIMITER

Noise blanker on and off control. This circuit eliminates
pulse type interference usually associated with auto­motive ignition systems. To activate the noise blanker,
press the FUNC control and then press the NB button.
NB will appear on the LCD indicating the noise blanker
is turned on. To turn off the noise blanker, repeat the
same process.

MEMORY CHANNEL 1

After programming, this button is memory channel 1.
See M.LOAD \ M.SAVE control for programming in­structions.

(18)CALL

The USA national call frequency for SSB is 28.400 MHz.
The radio’s operating frequency is automatically reset
to this frequency when the CALL button is pressed.

MEMORY CHANNEL 2

After programming this button is memory channel 2.
See M.LOAD \ M.SAVE control for programming in­structions.

REPEATER

Repeater access tone on and off control. Most repeat­ers require an 88.5 Hz tone burst to access. To acti­vate the 88.5 Hz tone burst, press the FUNC control

(19)MODE

Each time the button is pressed the operating mode is
changed. The operating mode is indicated on the liq­uid crystal display: AM, FM, USB, or LSB.

- 6 -

TONE LOW

To activate the tone low feature, press the FUNC but­ton, and then press the T. Low button to turn on the
receive audio tone control. LOW will appear on the LCD
when the low tone is activated. This feature will roll-off
high frequency noise (i.e. “white” noise). Under many
operating conditions this will improve the clarity and
understanding of received signals.

MEMORY CHANNEL 5

After programming this button is memory channel 5.
See M.LOAD \ M.SAVE control for programming in­structions.

(20)DIMMER

Press the DIM, or dimmer control to decrease the
amount of back-lighting on the front panel and LCD
screen.

(21)MEMORY SAVE

To save in memory a specific frequency and operating
mode, select the desired mode and rotate the FRE­QUENCY control to the desired frequency. Press the
FUNC button, and then press the M.SAVE button. S
will appear on the LCD next to the frequency. While S
is displayed, immediately press any of the memory
channel buttons (1 - 5). The mode and frequency is
now saved into memory. If the S indicator disappears
before you press the memory channel button, the in­formation will not be saved and the process must be
repeated.

MEMORY LOAD

To load, or recall, any of the saved memory channels
press the M.LOAD button. L will appear on the LCD for
several seconds. While the letter is displayed press
the desired memory channel button (1 - 5). The pro­grammed mode and frequency will be displayed.

(22)LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY

The LCD screen is the status display for the majority
of the transceiver’s functions.

1 2 43 65 8

7

(3) +SHIFT \ -SHIFT

Indicates that the split or offset frequency function is
activated.

(4) RPT

Indicates that the repeater access tone burst function
is active.

(5) NB and ANL

Indicates that both the noise blanker and the automatic
noise limiter are active.

(6) TONE

Indicates that the receive audio tone low feature is ac­tive.

(7) 5 DIGIT FREQUENCY DISPLAY

Indicates transmit and receive operating frequencies.

(8) TX

Indicates that the transmitter is on.

(9) USB \ LSB \ FM \ AM

Indicates the selected operating mode.

(10) PEAK READING RF POWER METER

Indicates relative peak RF output power.

(23)PUSH-TO-TALK (PTT) CONTROL

Activates the transmitter and/or receiver. Push and hold
the PTT control to transmit. Release the PTT control
to receive.

(24)UP and DOWN FREQUENCY CONTROLS

Allows remote control of frequency control. Press the
up arrow to increase in frequency and press the down
arrow to decrease in frequency.

(25)MICROPHONE INPUT JACK (not shown)

6-pin, lock ring type, microphone connector located on
side chassis of transceiver. Mic wiring is as follows:
Pin 1 : Microphone Audio
Pin 2 : Receive
Pin 3 : Transmit
Pin 4 : Down (Up w/ 22K Ohm Resistor)
Pin 5 : Ground
Pin 6 : +13.8 VDC

(26)EXTERNAL SPEAKER JACK (not shown)

External speaker jack, marked EXP SP, is located on
the rear panel of transceiver. For use with 8 ohm ex­ternal speaker.

9

(1) FUNCTION

Indicates the function button has been activated and
that the function dependent controls may be accessed.

(2) SCAN

Indicates that the transceiver is in scan mode.

10

(27)PA HORN JACK (not shown)

Located on the rear panel. For inserting a PA speaker
or horn.

OTHER FEATURES

PROGRAMMING TONE

This tone sounds each time the CPU is being pro­grammed. It is helpful, in the beginning so you can be
sure the command has been entered. You may elimi­nate the tone by simply pressing the PTT switch while
turning on the ON/OFF POWER switch.

- 7 -

SPECIFICATIONS

TRANSMITTER

Frequency Range:

28.000 - 29.699 MHz

Tuning Steps:

1 kHz, 10 kHz, 100 kHz

Emission Types:

LSB, USB (J3E), AM (A3E), FM (F3E)

Carrier Suppression:

Better than 40 dB below peak output

Unwanted Sideband Suppression:

Better than 50 dB below peak output (1 kHz tone)

Spurious Radiation:

Better than 50 dB below peak output

Frequency Accuracy:

Better than +10 ppm from 0 - 40
15 minute warm up

Modulation Type:

J3E: Balanced Modulator
A3E: Voltage Modulator
F3E: Frequency Modulator

Maximum FM Deviation:

+/-2 kHz

Output Impedance:

50 ohms (nominal), unbalanced

Microphone Impedance:

Dynamic, 600 ohms

Power Consumption:

6 amps maximum

Power Output:

FM: 30 Watts (Max.)
AM: 8 Watts Average (Max.)

30 Watts Peak (Max.)

SSB: 30 Watts Peak (Max.)

o

C after

RECEIVER

Frequency Range:

28.000 - 29.699 MHz

Circuit Type:

Superheterodyne, Dual Conversion

Clarifier Range:

+/-1.0 kHz

Sensitivity:

SSB and AM 0.25uV
(SSB and AM figures measured for 10 dB S+N/N)
FM better than 0.3uV for 12 dB SINAD
Minimum discernable signal -135 dBm

Intermediate Frequencies:

1st IF: 10.695 MHz
2nd IF: 455 kHz
SSB IF: 10.695 MHz

Image Rejection:

Better than 70 dB

IF Rejection:

Better than 80 dB for all frequencies

Selectivity:

-6 dB -60 dB
SSB: 4.2 kHz 8.5 kHz
AM, FM: 6.0 kHz 18 kHz

Noise Blanker:

All mode, seven stage high gain type

Dynamic Range:

Better than 100 dB

Audio Output Power:

2 watts minimum (into 8 ohms, with less than 7%
THD)

Audio Output Impedance:

8 - 16 ohms

Power Consumption:

500 milliamps

- 8 -

Dimensions:

7.75(L) x 10.75(W) x 2.5(H) Inches

MAGNUM INTERNATIONAL

A Division of RF Limited

PO Box 445 • Issaquah WA 98027 • USA

TEL [phone] • FAX [phone]

www.magnum-radio.com • [e-mail]