Radio Shack MTX-103 User Manual

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Cat. No. 19-1004

OWNER’S MANUAL

Please read before using this equipment.

MTX-103

VHF Marine Transceiver

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FEATURES

Your Radio Shack MT X-103 VHF Ma­rine Transceiver lets you transmit and
receive on all United St ates and inter­national channels in the VHF marine
band, as assigned by the Internat ional
Telecommunication Union (ITU). It
also provides ten receive-only chan­nels for weather information.

Your transceiver has the following fea­tures:

USA/International Channel Switch

— lets you quickly switch from the USA
channel mode to the International
channel mode.

Emer

ency Channel 16 Switch

—
lets you immediately switch to Channel
16, the universal marine emergency
channel.

Weather Channel Switch

— lets you

select from 10 weather channels.

PLL (Phase-Locked Loop)-Con­trolled Ci rcu itr

— provides acc urate

and stable channel selection.

Ad

ustable Squelch

— helps elimi-

nate noise between transmissions.

Hi

h/Low Power Button

— lets you
save power by selecting a suitable
transmitting power for long or short dis­tances.

Batter

Low Indicator

— shows the

battery pack’s condition.

Transmit and Receive Indicators

—

light when you transmit or receive.

Removable, Rechar

— lets you use one battery pack

Pack

eable Batter

while you charge another (additional
packs available).

Supplied Batter

Charger

— conve­niently recharges your transceiver’s
battery pack.

Speaker and Microphone Jacks

—
let you use an earphone or external
speaker or microphon e t o help ensure
understandable communication in
noisy areas.

For your records, we recommend you
record your transceiver’s serial num­ber in the space provided. The seria l
number is on the back of the transceiv­er.

Serial Number __________________

© 1995 Tandy Corporation.

Radio Shack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.

All Rights Reserv ed .

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CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK.

DO NOT OPEN.

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF
ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE
COVER OR BACK. NO U SER-SE RVICE­ABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVIC­ING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.

!

Warning: To prevent fire or shock haz-

ard, do not expo se t his product to rain
or moisture.

This sym bol is in te nd ed to a le rt yo u
to the pr e s en ce of unins u la ted dan­gerous voltage within the product’s
enclos u re t h at m ig ht b e of s ufficie nt
magnitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock. Do not open the
product’s case.

This symbol is intended to inform
you that important operating and

!

maintenance instructions are in­cluded in th e l itera ture a ccomp an y­ing this product.

FCC LICENSE
REQUIRED

The Federal Communications Com­mission (FCC) requires you to have a
license before you operate this trans­ceiver. You must complete and submit
FCC Form 506 — a copy of Form 506
is enclosed. Furthermore, you are re­quired to understand Part 80 of

Rules and Regulations

.

FCC

The Marine Radiotelephone Service is
under the jurisdiction of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC).
Any adjustments or alterations which
would alter the performance of the
transceiver’s original FCC type accep­tance or would change th e frequency
determining method are strictly prohib­ited.

Replacement or substitution of crys­tals, transistors, ICs, regulator diodes
or any other part of a unique nature,
with parts other than those recom­mended by Radio Sha ck, may cause
violation of the technical regulation of

FCC Rules

the

or violation of type ac-

ceptance requirements of the rules.
Before operating the radiotelephone,

you must obtain your license. It is ille­gal to transmit without th e appropriate
license which can be obtained by s ub­mitting a completed FCC Form 506 (in­cluded) to the FCC. Furtherm ore, you
are required to understand Part 80 of

FCC Rules and Regulations

the

prior
to the operation of your radiotele­phone. It is the u ser’s respons ibility to
see that this unit is operating at all
times in accordance with the

Rules and Regulations

.

FCC

FCC Form 506-A, Temporary Operat­ing Authority, Ship Radio Station, is
also included with your transceiver.
Complete and post this temporary per­mit in accordance with the instructions.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preparation ........................................................................................................... 5

Charging the Battery Pack ............................................................................... 5

Connecting the Antenna .................................................................................. 6

Using an Earphone .......................................................................................... 7

Using an External Speaker/Microphone .......................................................... 7

Using the Wrist Strap ....................................................................................... 7

Using the Belt Clip ........................................................................................... 7

Operation .............................................................................................................. 8

Receiving ......................................................................................................... 8

Transmitting ................................................................................................... 10

Calling Another Boat ............................................................................... 10

Making a Ship-to-Shore Call ................................................................... 11

Making an Emergency Call ..................................................................... 12

Channel Assi

Installed Channels and Frequencies ............................................................. 14

USA VHF Marine Channels .................................................................... 14

International VHF Marine Channels .................................................... .... 15

Comprehensive VHF FM Marine Radiotelephone Channels .................. 16

Care and Maintenance ....................................................................................... 18

If You Have Problems .................................................................................... 19

FCC Notice .....................................................................................................19

Specifications ..................................................................................................... 20

nments ....................................................................................... 13

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PREPARATION

CHARGING THE
BATTERY PACK

The MTX-103 operates on a built-in re­chargeable battery pack (supplied).
You must charge the battery pack with
the supplied battery charger before
you use it the first time and when BAT
lights steadily.

You can charge the battery pack while
it is detached from or while it is at­tached to the transceiver.

To attach the battery pack, slide it onto
the transceiver until the latch clicks.

Follow these steps to charge the bat­tery pack.

Caution:

while the charger is connected.

1. If the battery pack is attached to

2. Pull out the

Do not use the transceiver

the transceiver, make sure

UME

is turned fully counterclock-

wise so the tra nsceiver is off.

CHG PWR

the bottom of the battery pack.
Plug the charger’s barrel plug into

CHG PWR

the
the charger to a standard AC out­let.

jack, then connect

jack plug on

VOL-

To remove the battery pack, push the
battery pack latch in the direction of the
arrow, then slide the battery pack off
the transceiver.

Charging time is 14 to 16 hours.

Note:

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Cautions:

• To prevent permanent battery
power loss, never charge the bat­teries in an area where the tem­perature is above about 80 °F. The
charger does not operate at all at
temperatures below 32°F or
above 113°F.

• Never use any other charger to
recharge the transceiver ’s battery
pack. This could permanently
damage your transceiver or the
battery pack.

Important: This transceiver uses a re­chargeable nickel-cadmium battery
pack. At the end of the battery pack’s
useful life, it must be recycled or dis­posed of properly. Contact your local,
county, or state hazardous waste man­agement authorities for information on
recycling or disposal programs in your
area. Some options that might be
available are mu nicipal curb-side col­lection, drop-off boxes at retailers, re­cycling collection centers, and mail­back programs.

CONNECTING THE
ANTENNA

Caution: To prevent damage to your

transceiver, you must connec t an an­tenna before you operate it.

1. Position the BNC antenna con­nector over the antenna jack on
the top of the transceiver.

2. Place the slots in the antenna’s
connector over the tabs on the
antenna jack, squeeze the base of
the antenna, and push down and
turn the antenna’s base clock wise
until it locks into place.

Instead of the supplied antenna, you
can connect an optional antenna. The
BNC antenna jack on your transceiver
makes it easy to connec t a variety of
antennas, such as an external mobile
antenna or an outdoor base antenna,
available at your local Radio Shack
store.

Caution: Never connect an antenna
that is not specifically tuned for the
transceiver’s frequency range
(156.025–162.275 MHz).

Warning: Use extreme caution when
installing or removing a base station
antenna. If it starts to fall, let it go! It
could contact overhead power lines. If
the antenna touches the power line,
contact with the antenna, mast, cable,
or guy wires can cause electrocution
and death! Call the powe r c omp any t o
remove the antenna. Do not attempt to
do so yourself.

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USING AN EARPHONE

To listen privately or to hear better in a
noisy area, remove the plug f rom the

SPK

jack on the right of the t ransceiver
and plug a monaural earphone (such
as Cat. No. 33-175) into the jack. This
automatically disconnects t he internal
speaker.

USING AN EXTERNAL
SPEAKER/MICROPHONE

An external speaker/microphone (such
as Cat. No. 19-310) can make it easier
to use the transceiver when you clip it
to your belt. Remove the plugs from

MIC

the
speaker/microphone’s connector into
the jacks. This automatically discon­nects the internal speaker.

and

SPK

jacks. Then plug the

USING THE WRIST
STRAP

Clip the supplied wrist strap to the wrist
strap tab, as shown. Then simply slip
the strap over your hand.

USING THE BELT CLIP

You can use the suppli ed belt clip to
make the transceiver easier to use
when you are on the go. Use the t wo
supplied screws to atta ch the belt clip
to the transceiver. Slide the belt clip
over your belt or waistband.

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OPERATION

RECEIVING

1. Turn

2. Turn on the radio by turning

SQUELCH

fully counterclock-

wise.

UME

clockwise. Adjust

VOLUME

the desired listening level.

VOL-

to

5. Use the channel thumbwheels to
select the desired channel. The
left wheel selects the first digit of
the channel number; the right
wheel selects the second digit.

6. Set

1W/5W

to select the desired

output power.

3. Adjust

SQUELCH

to eliminate
background noise between trans­missions. Wait until there is no
signal on the channel, t hen slowly

SQUELCH

turn

clockwise until the

background noise stops.

4. Raise the protective cover.

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•Use

1W

for normal communica-

tion.

5W

•Use

for emergency or long

distance communication.

In a marina or harbor, try to

Note:

establish communications using
the 1-watt setting before switching
to the 5-watt setting.