Radio Shack DX-398 User Manual

OWNER’S MANUAL

Please read before using this equipment.

Cat. No. 20-228

DX-398

All-Band Shortwave Receiver

with Radio Data System

FEATURES

Your RadioShack DX-398 All-Band
Shortwave Receiver with Radio Data
System brings you the voices of the
world. In the 14 international short­wave (SW) bands, you can hear news
broadcasts and other programs from
sources around the world, such as the
British Broadcasting Corporation, Ra­dio Cairo, and Radio Beijing. You can
set your receiver so it displays Radio
Data System (RDS) call letters of
those stations that transmit an RDS
signal.

You can get emergency information
firsthand by listening to amateur radio
broadcasts, including single sideband
(SSB) voice transmissions.

In the longwave (LW) band, you can
hear ship-to-shore calls, other marine
and aeronautical services, and some­times even hurricane reports. You can
also tune to local broadcasts in the FM
and medium-wave (MW) bands. (In the
United States, we commonly call the
MW band the AM band.)

In addition, you can connect a cassette
recorder to the receiver’s record line
out and standby jacks so you can di­rectly record your favorite programs
live or at a preset time.

Your receiver’s features include:

Large, Fast-Response Display

—
shows the time, band and frequency,
signal strength, and other indicators.

212 Preprogrammed Shortwave
Stations —

let you rapidly tune to the
most popular U.S. and international
shortwave stations.

Three Timer Alarms

— let you set the
buzzer to sound or the radio to turn on
daily at up to three specified times.

Record Line Out and Standby Jacks

— let you connect a tape recorder so
you can record broadcasts live or at a
preset time.

Dual Time

— includes a primary and a
secondary clock, so you can set one to
your local time and the other to UTC
(Coordinated Universal Time — for­merly known as Greenwich Mean
Time) or to the local time of a city in an­other time zone.

World Time Zone

— provides the cor­rect time for 42 cities worldwide, once
you set your local time.

Search Tuning

— scans up or down

the band for the next station.

Memory Tuning

— stores up to 306
frequencies so you can quickly select
your favorite stations.

Digital Synthesized Radio

sures accurate, stable tuning.

© 1997, 1999 Tandy Corporation.

RadioShack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.

2

— en-

All Rights Reserved.

Priority Button

— lets you quickly

store and recall your favorite station.

Auto Tuning System (ATS)

ceiver finds the stations with strong
signals and stores them in memory in
order by signal strength.

— the re-

and select up to nine MW/FM frequ en­cies in two pages, nine LW frequencies
in one page, and 261 SW frequencies
in 29 pages.

Rotary Tuning Dial

ally tune desired frequencies. You can
select a higher tuning increment for
faster tuning or a lower one for fine tun­ing, or lock the dial to prevent acciden­tally changing the tuned frequency.

Memory Lock

frequency changes.

Control Lock

setting changes.

Sleep Timer

er so it turns itself off after a length of
time you set, so you can fall asleep as
you listen to it.

MW Step Setting

change the frequency step setting to
match the MW (AM) broadcast fre­quency step used by many other coun­tries.

RF Gain Control

receiver’s sensitivity when you listen to
SW/LW/MW broadcasts, to provide
the best possible reception.

— lets you set the receiv-

— lets you manu-

— prevents accidental

— prevents accidental

— lets you easily

— lets you adjust the

Edit

— lets you create and edit station
names for FM/MW/LW bands, page
names for SW bands, and home/world
city names for easy identification.

Tone Control

tone setting for different types of
broadcasts such as news, music, and
so on.

Battery Power/Signal Strength Indi­cator

— displays the battery’s power

and the strength of the received signal.

Memo Label

information such as the memory loca­tion numbers of your favorite stations.

Three Power Options

er the receiver from internal batteries,
standard AC power (with an optional
AC adapter), or your vehicle’s battery
(with an optional DC cigarette lighter
adapter).

— lets you adjust the

— lets you record helpful

— let you pow-

Narrow/Wide Control

duce interference from adjacent sta­tions when you listen to SW, MW (AM),
and LW broadcasts.

Page Memory Location

store and select frequencies in storage
locations called

pages

— lets you re-

— lets you

. You can store

3

Your receiver is preset to cover the
following bands:

THE FCC WANTS YOU
TO KNOW

Band (Meters) Frequency Range

(MHz)

120 ................................ 2.300–2.495

90 .................................. 3.200–3.400

75 .................................. 3.900–4.000

60 .................................. 4.750–5.060

49 .................................. 5.900–6.200

41 .................................. 7.100–7.350

31 .................................. 9.400–9.990

25 .............................. 11.600–12.100

21 .............................. 13.500–13.870

19 .............................. 15.100–15.800

16 .............................. 17.480–17.900

15 .............................. 18.900–19.020

13 .............................. 21.450–21.750

11 .............................. 25.600–26.100

This equipment complies with Part 15
of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject
to the following two conditions: (1)
This device may not cause harmful in­terference, and (2) this device must
accept any interference received, in­cluding interference that may cause
undesired operation.

Your receiver might cause TV or radio
interference even when it is op erating
properly. To determine whether your
receiver is causing the interference,
turn it off. If the interference goes
away, your receiver is causing it.

Try to eliminate the interference by:

• moving your receiver away from
the TV or radio

• connecting your receiver to an
outlet that is on a different electri­cal circuit from the TV or radio

• contacting your local RadioShack
store for help

If you cannot eliminate the interfer­ence, the FCC requires that you stop
using your receiver. Changes or modi­fications not expressly approved by
RadioShack could void the user’s
FCC authorization to operate this
equipment.

4

CONTENTS

Preparation .............................. .......... .......... ......... .......... .......... ......... .......... ......... 7

Connecting to Power ....................................................................................... 7

Installing Internal Batteries ....................................................................... 7

Using Standard AC Po wer ........................................................................ 7

Using Vehicle Battery Power ..................................................................... 8

Adjusting the Telescoping Antenna ................................................................. 9

Connecting an External Antenna .................................................................... 9

Connecting Headphones ....................................... ....................................... 10

Listening Safely .. ... ... ... ... ....................................... ... .... ... ....................... 10

Traffic Safety ................................ .... ... ....................................... ... ... ....... 10

Connecting a Tape Rec or der ....................................... ... .... ... ... .................... 10

Using the Stand ........... ... ....................................... ... ... ................................. 11

Using the Memo Label .................................................................................. 12

Setting the MW (AM) Tuning Increment ........................................................ 12

Understanding Your Receiver .......................................................................... 13

Basic Operation ................................... ... .... ...................................... .... ... .......... 15

Turning the Receiver On and Off ................................................................... 15

Lighting the Display ....................................................................................... 15

Locking the Controls ..................................................................................... 15

Setting and Viewing the Local Time .............................................................. 16

Viewing a World Time ................................................................................... 17

Changing a World City Name ........................................................................ 17

Tuning Stations .............................................................................................. 18

Selecting a Band .................................................................................... 18

Manual Tuning ........................................................................................ 18

Direct Access Tuning .............................................................................. 19

Scan Tuning ................................. .... ... ... ....................................... ... ... .... 19

Tuning Preprogrammed Shortwave Stations ................................................. 20

DX-398 Shortwave Pages Chart ................................................................... 21

Adjusting the Tone ......................................................................................... 24

Special Tuning Controls ............................................ .................................... 24

STEREO/MONO-FM .............................................................................. 24

WIDE/NARR.-AM ................................................................................... 24

AM RF GAIN ........................................................................................... 24

Tuning SSB Stations ..................................................................................... 25

Using RDS .................................................................................................... 25

5

Memory Functions ......................................................................... .................... 27

Storing FM, MW, or LW Frequencies in Memory ........................................... 27

Automatic Storage ................................................................................... 27

Manual Storage ....................................................................................... 27

Storing SW Frequencies in Memory ...... ... .... ... ... ... .... .................................... 28

Assigning a Name to an FM/MW/LW Station or SW Page ............................ 29

Deleting a Station You Stored ........................................................................ 30

Locking/Unlocking a Stored Station ............................................................... 30

Moving a Frequency to Another Memory Location ........................................ 30

Using Priority ................................................................................................. 31

Timer Functions ...................................................................... ... .... ... ... ... .... ....... 32

Using the Timer Alarms ................................ ... ... ... .... .................................... 32

Setting an Alarm .......... ... ... ... ....................................... ... .... ... ... .............. 32

Silencing the Alarm ......................................................... .... ... ... ... ........... 32

Using the Snooze Feature ...................................................................... 32

Turning a Timer Alarm On or Off ............................................................. 33

Timer Recording ....... ... ....................................... ... ... ... ... ........................ 33

Using the Sleep Timer ................................................................................... 33

Listening Hints .............................. ... .... ...................................... .... ... ... .............. 34

Reference Sources ................ ... ... .... ... ....................................... ... ... .............. 34

Frequency Conversion ................................................................................... 34

Band Allocation .............................................................................................. 34

Amateur Radio Frequencies ........................ ....................................... ... . 34

International Frequencies ............. ... ... .... ...................................... .... ... .... 35

Aircraft Frequencies ........................................ .... ... ... ... ........................... 36

Ships and Coastal Station Frequencies ....................... ... .... ... ................. 36

Time Standard Frequencies ......................... ... ....................................... . 36

Longwave Band ....................................................................................... 36

Listening Guide ................ .... ... ... ... ... ....................................... ... .... ... ... ... .... ....... 37

Birdies .............................. ......... .......... .......... ......... .......... .......... ......... .......... . 41

Amateur Shortwave Bands in the US ............................................................ 41

Amateur Shor twave Bands (in MHz) ...................... ... .............................. 42

Troubleshooting ................................................................................................. 43

Care and Maintenance ....................................................................................... 44

Resetting the Display ................ ....................................... ... ... .... ... ................. 45

Specifications .......................... .......................... ...................... ....................... .... 46

6

PREPARATION

!

CONNECTING TO
POWER

You can power the receiver from inter­nal batteries, standard AC power, or
your vehicle’s battery.

Installing Internal Batteries

You can use four AA batteries (not
supplied) to power the receiver. For
the best performance and longest life,
we recommend alkaline batteries,
available at your local RadioShack
store.

Cautions

• Always use fresh batteries of the

• Do not mix old and new batteries

:

required size and type.

or different types of batteries
(standard or alkaline).

2. Slide four AA batteries into the
compartment on top of the lift-out
ribbon, according to the polarity
symbols (+ and –) marked next to
the compar tm e nt.

3. Replace the cover.

Cautions

• If you will not be using the receiver

• Dispose of old batteries promptly

:

with battery power for several
months, remove the batteries.

and properly.

Using Standard AC Power

To power the receiver from standard
AC power, you need an optional AC
adapter, such as Cat. No. 273-1662.

Note

: Connecting an AC adapter dis-

connects internal batteries.

Follow these steps to install the batter­ies.

1. Remove the battery compart­ment’s cover by sliding the cover
in the direction of the arrow on the
cover’s tab.

Caution:

Class 2 power source that

supplies 6 volts DC and deliv­ers at least 300 mA. Its center tip mu st
be set to negative and its plug must fit
the receiver's
ommended adapter meets these
specifications. Using an adapter that
does not meet these specifications
could damage the receiver or the
adapter.

You must use a

DC IN 6V

jack. The rec-

7

• When you finish using the AC

!

adapter , unplu g it f rom t he AC out­let first, then disconnect it f rom the
receiver.

Follow these steps to use AC power.

Caution:

cigarette lighter adapter that

supplies 6 volts DC and deliv­ers at least 300 mA. Its center tip mu st
be set to negative and its plug must fit
the receiver's
ommended DC cigarette lighter adapt­er meets these specifications. Using
an adapter that does not meet these
specifications could damage the re­ceiver or the adapter.

You must use a DC

DC IN 6V

jack. The rec-

1. Set the adapter’s voltage switch to
6V.

2. Line up the 5.5 mm outer diam­eter/2.1 mm inner diameter
barrel plug with the adapter’s
socket so it reads
the plug into the socket.

3. Insert the barrel plug into the
receiver’s

4. Plug the adapter into a standard
AC o utle t.

DC IN 6V

–TIP

, and insert

jack.

Using Vehicle Battery Power

To power the receiver from your vehi­cle’s battery, you need an optional DC
cigarette lighter adapter, such as Cat.
No. 273-1802.

Caution:

rette lighter adapter into the receiver
before you plug it into your vehicle's
cigarette-lighter socket. Always un­plug the adapter from the vehicle's
cigarette-lighter socket before you un­plug it from the receiver.

Follow these steps to power the re­ceiver from your vehicle’s battery.

1. Set the DC cigarette lighter

Always plug the DC ciga-

adapter’s voltage switch to 6V.

8

2. Insert the adapter’s barrel plug
into the receiver’s

3. Push the adapter’s plug into the
vehicle’ s cigarette-lighter socket.

DC IN 6V

jack.

ADJUSTING THE
TELESCOPING
ANTENNA

SW

— Pull up the antenna base then
fully extend the antenna and point it
straight up.

For the best reception, adjus t the te le­scoping antenna for the desired band.

FM

— Pull up the antenna base about
halfway then fully extend the antenna
and rotate it for the best reception.

LW and MW (AM)

ceiver. The receiver uses a built-in an­tenna for these bands.

— Rotate the re-

CONNECTING AN
EXTERNAL ANTENNA

To improve SW/MW/LW reception,
you can connect an optional external
antenna (such as Cat. No. 20-181) di­rectly to the
left side of the receiver. This automati­cally disconnects the receiver’s built-in
antenna.

Follow the antenna’s supplied instruc­tions to connect it to the receiver.

AM EXT ANT

jack on the

9

CONNECTING
HEADPHONES

For private listening and for stereo
sound during FM stereo broadcasts,
you can plug optional stereo head­phones with a
(available at your local RadioShack
store) into the jack on the left side of
the receiver. This automatically dis­connects the internal speaker.

When you connect stereo headphones
and tune to a stereo broadcast,
appears on the display.

1

/8-inch (3.5 mm) plug

ST

• Once you set the volume, do not
increase it. Over time, your ears
adapt to the volume le vel, so a vol­ume level that does not cause dis­comfort might still damage your
hearing.

Traffic Safety

Do not use headphones with your re­ceiver when operating a motor vehicle
or riding a bicycle in or near traffic.
Doing so can create a traffic hazard
and could be illegal in some areas.

If you use headphones with your re­ceiver, be very careful. Do not listen to
a continuous broadcast. Even though
some headphones let you hear some
outside sounds when listening at nor­mal volume levels, they still can
present a traffic hazard.

Listening Safely

To protect your hearing, follow these
guidelines when you use headphones.

• Do not listen at extremely high
volume levels. Extended high-vol­ume listening can lead to perma­nent hearing loss.

• Set the volume to the lowest set­ting before you begin listening.
After you begin listening, adjust
the volume to a comfortable level.

10

CONNECTING A TAPE
RECORDER

You can connect an optional tape re­corder to your receiver’s

jack to record transmissions.

OUT

The recorder must have a line level in­put jack.

Note:

If you use a recorder’s MIC IN
jack to connect to the receiver, the
sound will be distorted.

REC LINE

To connect a tape recorder, you need
a mono patch cord (not supplied) with

1

a

/8-inch (3.5 mm) plug on both ends.
Your local RadioShack store ca rries a
wide selection of mono patch cords.

Insert the cord’s plug into the

LINE OUT

jack on the left side of the

REC

receiver, then connect the other end
of the cord to your tape recorder’s
LINE IN jack.

Follow the instructions provided with
your tape recorder to record transmis­sions from the receiver.

Note

: When you connect a tape re­corder, the receiver’s built-in speaker
continues to work.

Connect one end of the cord to the

REC STANDBY

jack, then connect the
other end to your recorder’s STAND­BY IN or REMOTE IN jack. Then see
“Timer Recording” on Page 33 for
more information about using the re­ceiver’s timers to record.

USING THE STAND

You can position the receiver more se­curely and possibly improve the sound
by resting the receiver on its stand.

Lift the latch on the back of the receiver
to open the stand.

REC ST ANDBY

The

jack on the left side
of the receiver lets you record a broad­cast at a preset time.

To connect a tape recorder to the re­ceiver’s

REC STANDBY

jack, you need

a mono patch cord (not supplied) with

3

a

/32-inch (2.3 mm) plug. And, your
tape recorder must have a STANDBY
IN or REMOTE IN jack rated at no
more than 20V, 150mA.

11

USING THE MEMO
LABEL

You can use the memo label under the
receiver’s stand to record helpful infor­mation, such as the memory location
numbers of your favorite stations.

SETTING THE MW (AM)
TUNING INCREMENT

In the United States, the Federal Com­munications Commission (FCC) as­signs frequencies for stations in the
MW band in 10-kHz increments. (In the
United States, we commonly call the
MW band the AM band.) In Europe and
some other parts of the world, MW fre­quencies are assigned in 9-kHz incre­ments.

If you are in a country where the AM
frequency increments are 9 kHz, set

MW-STEP

to 9k.

MW-STEP

ceiver is preset to
United States, Canada, and many
South American countries. Depending
on the country you are in, you might
have to change the frequency step.

12

on the right side of the re-

for use in the

10k

UNDERSTANDING YOUR RECEIVER

Once you understand a few simple terms we use in this manual and familiarize
yourself with your receiver’s features, you can start using your receiver to listen to
the world!

POWER

— turns the receiver on and off.

— turns on the display light for about 12 seconds (if y ou installe d batteries) or

until you press again.

— displays the time in your area using Daylight Saving Time.

— lets you set the time.

SET

— sets the tuning range for manual tuning (see “Direct Access Tuning” on

STEP

Page 19).

ATS/FM

— selects the FM band and lets you select FM stations using your receiv-

er’s automatic tuning system (ATS).

ATS/LW

— selects the LW (longwave) band and lets you select LW stations using

your receiver’s automatic tuning system.

13

ATS/MW

— selects the MW (medium wave) band and lets you select MW stations

using your receiver’s automatic tuning system.

METER/SW

— selects the SW (shortwave) band, and lets you scan for a shortwave

frequency in one of the receiver’s 14 meter bands.
Number Keys — each key has a single-digit label and a band range. The single

digits are used to enter a channel, frequency, or ID number. The band range
(120m, for example) indicates the shortwave band you can tune by pressing that
key.

— enters a decimal point or clears an incorrect entry.

•

C

(cancel) — cancels an entry.

F/FREQ

M/MEM

ENTER

TIMER 1, TIMER 2, TIMER 3

WORLD/HOME

(frequency) — lets you tune a frequency directly.

— stores frequencies into memory.

— enters a frequency.

— let you select any of the receiver’s three timers.

— lets you select the time you want to display (world time or your

home time).

AM MODE

— lets you set up the alarm timer.

M

EDIT

—

lets you lock out selected frequencies.

— lets you assign a name for each FM, MW, or LW station or for each page

where you stored an SW station.

PAGE

— lets you select either of the receiver’s memory pages (see “Memory Func-

tions” on Page 27).

PRIORITY

TUNING /

— tunes to the priority station you set.

— tunes up or down the band you selected.

14

BASIC OPERATION

T URNING THE RECEIVER
ON AND OFF

Press

POWER

then adjust
listening level.

The display shows the band, frequen­cy, time, and signal strength (with 10
as the strongest signal).

to turn on the receiver,

VOL UM E

to a comfortable

Fresh batteries show a power level of

10. If the indicator shows a power lev­el of 3 or below or
replace all of the batteries.

Press

POWER

ceiver.

BATT LOW

again to turn off the re -

flashes,

LIGHTING THE DISPLAY

Press to light the display in low­light situations.

Notes

:

• If you use battery power, the light
automatically turns off after 12
seconds to save battery power.

When you press
receiver, the battery power indicator
appears on the display for several
seconds.

POWER

to turn off the

• If you use AC or DC power, the
light stays on while the receiver is
on. You must turn off the receiver
to turn off the light.

LOCKING THE
CONTROLS

The lock feature prevents you from ac­cidentally turning the receiver on or off,
changing the band or frequency, or us­ing the front panel buttons.

15