Midland Radio SP-420, SP-410, SP-400, SP-440, SP-430 User Manual

User’s Guide

SP-400 Series Portable

4/16 Channel VHF-FM Portable Transceiver

4/16 Channel UHF-FM Portable Transceiver

www.midlandradio.com

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

FCC RF EXPOSURE COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS

FOR OCCUPATIONAL USE ONLY

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), within its action in General Docket 93-62, November 7, 1997, has adopted a safety standard for human exposure to Radio Frequency (RF) electromagnetic energy emitted by FCC regulated equipment. Midland Radio Corporation subscribes to the same safety standard for the use of its products. Proper operation of this radio will result in user exposure far below the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and FCC limits.

 DO NOT transmit for more than 50% of total use

time (50% duty cycle). Transmitting more than 50% of the time can cause FCC RF exposure compliance requirements to be exceeded.

 This radio is NOT approved for use by the

general population in an uncontrolled environment. This radio is restricted to occupational use, work related operations only, where the radio operator must have the knowledge to control the user’s exposure conditions for satisfying the higher exposure limit allowed for occupational use.

 When transmitting, hold the radio in a vertical

position with its microphone 2 inches (5 cm) away from your mouth. The radio is transmitting when the red LED on the front of the radio is illuminated. You can cause the radio to transmit by pressing the PTT button on the radio. DO NOT transmit while the radio is attached to your belt.

 These are required operating conditions for

meeting FCC RF exposure compliance. Failure to observe these restrictions means violation.

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

Contents

Conventions and Symbols in this Book................................... 4

Disclaimer................................................................................ 5

Safety....................................................................................... 5

Introduction.............................................................................. 7

Radio models ....................................................................... 7

Radio features...................................................................... 7

Radio Controls......................................................................... 9

Top ....................................................................................... 9

Top ..................................................................................... 10

Front................................................................................... 10

Side (right)..........................................................................10

Side (left)............................................................................ 10

Setup...................................................................................... 12

Unpacking .......................................................................... 12

Attaching and removing the antenna ................................. 12

Installing and removing the battery pack............................ 13

Installing and removing the belt clip................................... 13

Charging the battery pack.................................................. 14

Basic Operation ..................................................................... 16

Turning the radio ON and OFF .......................................... 16

Adjusting the volume.......................................................... 16

Selecting the channel.........................................................16

Receiving transmissions from other radios........................ 16

Monitoring the channel.......................................................18

Transmitting to other radios ............................................... 19

Selecting transmission power ............................................ 20

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

Sending a 2-tone/selective call or emergency call.............20

Scanning channels............................................................. 21

Advanced Operations ............................................................ 24

Operating hands-free......................................................... 24

Using the scrambler ........................................................... 25

Editing your scan list .......................................................... 25

Care and Maintenance...........................................................26

Using rechargeable battery packs...................................... 26

Cleaning your radio............................................................ 30

Optional Accessories............................................................. 30

Recommended accessories............................................... 31

Quick Reference.................................................................... 32

Controls function table........................................................ 32

Status LED table ................................................................ 33

Specifications.........................................................................34

Warranty Statement............................................................... 35

Conventions and Symbols in this Book

 This symbol marks a “caution”. Cautions are special

notices which you should read and follow carefully to avoid possible damage to your equipment and to avoid potential danger to yourself or other people.

! This symbol marks an “important point”. Important points

are specific instructions which should be followed closely for proper operation.

 This symbol marks a “note”. Notes are hints or tips which

offer additional information to help you.

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

Disclaimer

Midland Radio Corporation is committed to continuous quality improvements, for this reason specifications may change without prior notice.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this document is complete, accurate, and up-to-date. Midland assumes no responsibility for the results of errors beyond its control. The manufacturer of this equipment also cannot guarantee that changes in the equipment made by unauthorized people will not affect the transceiver’s performance or functions.

Safety

Your SP-400 series portable transceiver has been carefully designed to give you years of safe, reliable performance. As with all electrical equipment, however, there are a few basic precautions you should take to avoid injury to yourself or damage to the radio:

 Read the instructions in this handbook carefully. Be

sure to save it for future reference.

 Read and follow all warning and instruction labels

on the radio itself.

 Do not carry the transceiver by the antenna. This

may damage the antenna or antenna terminal. Grasp it by its base (not the tip!) when you need to attach or remove the antenna.

 Do not hold the radio with the antenna very close to,

or touching the body, while transmitting. The radio

will perform best if the microphone is 2-4 inches away from the mouth and the radio is vertical.

 Be sure the PTT button is not pressed when you do

not need to transmit.

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

 Do not operate the radio near unshielded electrical

blasting caps or in an explosive atmosphere.

 Do not transmit without the antenna attached to the

radio. Though designed for protection against damage,

damage to the transmitter may occur.

 Respect the environmental conditions. The radio is

designed to operate in harsh environments, but avoiding extended or unnecessary exposure will prolong the service life.

 Never attempt to disassemble or service the radio

yourself (aside from the routine maintenance described

in this handbook). It will immediately void the warranty and you may cause damage requiring extensive repair work. Always contact your local dealer or communications coordinator for assistance.

 Use only recommended accessories. Use of incorrect

accessories could seriously damage your handheld transceiver.

 Do not use your radio near water, or spill liquid of

any kind into it. If the transceiver gets wet immediately

dry it with a soft, clean cloth.

 Switch the radio off before you clean it. Follow the

instructions in the “Care and maintenance” section.

 Handle the battery properly. Follow the instructions in

the “Care and maintenance” section.

 Make sure that your AC power source matches the

rating of the supplied battery charger AC adapter.

 The above warning list is not intended to include all

hazards that may be encountered when using this radio.

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

Introduction

Congratulations! By choosing the Midland SP-400 series, you have selected a professional grade portable radio. Its rugged design will provide years of reliable service and its sophisticated software allows many customizable options.

Radio models

There are four models in the SP-400 series portable radio line. The models differ only by band of operation and channel capacity.

SP-410 – 4 channel VHF, 148-174 MHz. SP-420 – 4 channel UHF, 440-470 MHz. SP-430 – 16 channel VHF, 148-174 MHz. SP-440 – 16 channel UHF, 440-470 MHz.

Radio features

The SP-400 series is a programmable, synthesized radio with the following features:

5 Easy to use – only five controls access all the

transceiver’s functions.

5 Up to sixteen channel capacity – simple and reliable

knob selection.

5 Programmable transmit power – select the transmit

power to maximize range or battery life. 1 or 5 watts (4 watts UHF) programmable per channel.

5 Channel scanning – flexible scan programming allows

the radio to search for signals on programmed channels. Priority scan, priority transmit and priority lookback are all programmable selections. Scan talkback and nuisance delete functions are available.

5 CTCSS/DCS encode and decode– blocks

conversations sharing the same frequency that are not intended for you. Allows access to your radio repeaters.

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

47 CTCSS tones and 104 DCS codes programmable per channel.

5 2-tone decode – your radio may be programmed to

respond only when paged with a two-tone sequence. Two sequences selectable per channel and up to 15 different sequences programmable per radio.

5 VOX (voice operated transmit) – allows hands-free

operation using an optional headset/microphone.

5 Voice inversion scrambler – for secure

communications. Radio communications are encoded and decoded, when activated, to make the conversation unintelligible to third parties listening on your frequency.

5 2-tone or sequential tone selective call – for more

advanced radio network management. Allows individual or group calls to users in a radio network.

5 Emergency selective call – can be sent to alert other

users of an emergency situation with an activation protected against accidental switching.

5 Busy channel lockout – prevents transmission when

the channel is busy. Programmable override function will allow transmission during repeater hangtime.

5 Transmit time-out timer – ensures continuous

transmissions are limited to the programmed time. A penalty timer is also programmable.

5 Battery save mode – may be programmed to extend

battery life.

5 Wide range of optional accessories – provide

additional flexibility of use.

These transceivers are compliant with ETS 300 086, IEC529 level IP54 and MIL STD 810E.

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

Radio Controls

Please read this section to familiarize yourself with the transceiver’s controls.

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

Top

[1] Channel selector knob. Rotate this knob to select the operating channel. [2] Power ON/OFF knob. Rotate this knob clockwise to turn the transceiver on (counterclockwise to turn off).

[3] Status LED. Tri-color LED lights and flashes at different rates to indicate operating conditions.

Front

[4] Speaker. Receive audio will be heard from the built in speaker located in this area. [5] Microphone. The internal microphone is located here.

Side (right)

[6] Accessory connector. Use for connection of speaker/microphones, headsets and other accessories. It should be protected with the supplied cap when not in use. For additional information, please see the “Accessory Connections” section.

Side (left)

[7] Upper function (monitor) button. The upper function button performs two functions. The primary function is activated by a brief button press (press and release) and the secondary function is activated by pressing the button for more than two seconds (press and hold):

 If you press the upper function button for less than two

seconds the monitor mode will be activated while pressed and deactivated when released. For details, please see the “Monitoring the channel” section.

 If you press the upper function button for more than two

seconds the monitor mode will latch on. To turn the monitor mode off, press and release the upper function button. For details, please see the “Monitoring the channel” section.

SP-400 Series User’s Guide

[8] PTT (Push to talk) button. The PTT button must be pressed while you speak into the microphone. Release the PTT button to receive transmissions from other radios.

[9] Lower function (scan) button. The lower function button performs two functions. The primary function is activated by a brief button press (press and release) and the secondary function is activated by pressing the button for more than two seconds (press and hold):

 If you press and release the lower function button, the radio

will begin scanning the channels in the scan list. Press and release the lower function button again to stop scan. For details, please see the “Scanning channels” section.

 If you press and hold (>2 seconds) the lower function button,

the channel currently selected by the channel knob will be added or removed from the scan list. A high pitched beep will indicate the channel was added to the scan list, a low pitched beep indicates the channel was already in the scan list and was removed. For details, please see the “Editing your scan list” section.

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