TP9100 portables
User’s Guide
www.taitworld.com
Chassis engraving will void warranty
Caution: Engraving the chassis can significantly reduce its mechanical
strength and will void any warranty. If the chassis has been engraved,
it must be replaced.
Copyright and trademarks
All information contained in this manual is the property of Tait
Electronics Limited. All rights reserved. This manual may not, in whole
or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, stored, or
reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, without
prior written permission from Tait Electronics Limited.
The word TAIT and the TAIT logo are trademarks of Tait
Electronics Limited.
All trade names referenced are the service mark, trademark or
registered trademark of the respective manufacturers.
Disclaimer
There are no warranties extended or granted by this manual. Tait
Electronics Limited accepts no responsibility for damage arising from
use of the information contained in the manual or of the equipment
and software it describes. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure
that use of such information, equipment and software complies with
the laws, rules and regulations of the applicable jurisdictions.
Enquiries and comments
If you have any enquiries regarding this manual, or any comments,
suggestions and notifications of errors, please contact
Technical Support.
Updates of manual and equipment
In the interests of improving the performance, reliability or servicing of
the equipment, Tait Electronics Limited reserves the right to update
the equipment or this manual or both without prior notice.
3
Intellectual property rights
This product may be protected by one or more patents of Tait
Electronics Limited together with their international equivalents,
pending patent applications and registered trade marks: NZ508054,
NZ508340, NZ508806, NZ508807, NZ509242, NZ509640,
NZ509959, NZ510496, NZ511155, NZ511421, NZ516280/519742,
NZ519118, NZ519344, NZ520650/537902, NZ521450, NZ524509,
NZ524537, NZ524630, NZ530819, NZ534475, NZ534692,
NZ535471, NZ536945, NZ537434, NZ534369, NZ522236,
NZ524378, AU2003281447, AU2002235062, AU2004216984,
CA2439018, EU03784706.8, EU02701829.0, EU04714053.8,
GB23865476, GB2386010, GB2413249, GB0516092.4, US60/
613748, US60/539617, US10/520827, US10/468740,
US5,745,840, US10/520827.
This product may also be made under license under one or more of
the following U.S. Patents: 4,590,473 4,636,791 4,716,407
4,972,460 5,146,497 5,148,482 5,164,986 5,185,795 5,185,796
5,271,017 5,377,229 5,502,767.
The IMBE™ voice coding Technology embodied in this product is
protected by intellectual property rights including patent rights,
copyrights and trade secrets of Digital Voice Systems, Inc. This voice
coding Technology is licensed solely for use within this
Communications Equipment. The user of this Technology is explicitly
prohibited from attempting to decompile, reverse engineer, or
disassemble the Object Code, or in any other way convert the Object
Code into a human-readable form. Protected by U.S. Patents
5,870,405 5,826,222 5,754,974 5,701,390 5,715,365 5,649,050
5,630,011 5,581,656 5,517,511 5,491,772 5,247,579 5,226,084
and 5,195,166.
4
To our European customers
Tait Electronics Limited is an environmentally responsible company
which supports waste minimization and material recovery.
The European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Directive requires that this product be disposed of separately from the
general waste stream when its service life is over. Please be
environmentally responsible and dispose through the original supplier,
your local municipal waste “separate collection” service, or contact
Tait Electronics Limited.
For your safety
Before using your radio, please read the following
important safety and compliance information.
Radio frequency exposure information
For your own safety and to ensure you comply with the
Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) radio
frequency (RF) exposure guidelines, please read the
following information before using this radio.
Using this radio
You should use this radio only for work-related
purposes (it is not authorized for any other use) and if
you are fully aware of, and can exercise control over,
your exposure to RF energy. To prevent exceeding FCC
RF exposure limits, you must control the amount and
duration of RF that you and other people are
exposed to.
It is also important that you:
! Do not remove the RF Exposure label from
the radio.
! Ensure this RF exposure information accompanies
the radio when it is transferred to other users.
For your safety
! Do not use the radio if you do not adhere to the
guidelines on controlling your exposure to RF.
Controlling your exposure to RF energy
This radio emits radio frequency (RF) energy or radio
waves primarily when calls are made. RF is a form of
electromagnetic energy (as is sunlight), and there are
recommended levels of maximum RF exposure.
To control your exposure to RF and comply with the
maximum exposure limits for occupational/controlled
environments, follow these guidelines:
! Do not talk (transmit) on the radio more than the
rated transmit duty cycle. This is important because
For your safety 5
For your safety
the radio radiates more energy when it is transmitting than when it is receiving.
! When listening and talking on the radio, hold it
upright in front of your face so that it is at least one
inch (2.5 cm) away from any part of your face.
Keeping the radio at the recommended distance is
important because exposure to RF decreases rapidly
the further away the antenna is from your body.
! Keep the antenna at least one inch (2.5 cm) from
your face at all times.
! If you wear your radio, you must always put it in a
carrying accessory that has been specifically
approved by Tait for this radio. Using non-approved
body-worn accessories may mean you expose yourself to higher levels of RF than recommended by the
FCC’s occupational/controlled environment RF
exposure limits.
! Ensure you only use Tait-approved antennas, batter-
ies, and accessories.
For more information on what RF energy is and how to
control your exposure to it, visit the FCC website at
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/rf-faqs.html.
Compliance with RF energy exposure standards
This two-way radio complies with these RF energy
exposure standards and guidelines:
6 For your safety
! United States Federal Communications Commis-
sion, Code of Federal Regulations; 47 CFR §§
1.1307, 1.1310, and 2.1093.
! American National Standards Institute (ANSI) / Insti-
tute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
(IEEE) C95.1-1992.
! Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
C95.1-1999 Edition.
This radio complies with the IEEE and ICNIRP exposure
limits for occupational/controlled RF exposure
environments at operating duty factors of up to 50%
transmitting (even though the approved batteries for
this radio are rated for a 5-5-90 duty factor (5% talk5% listen-90% standby)).
Radio frequency emissions limits in
the USA
Part 15 of the FCC Rules imposes RF emission limits
on receivers.
This radio complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Operation is subject to the condition that this device
does not cause harmful interference.
Unapproved modifications or changes
to radio
The radio is designed to satisfy the applicable
compliance regulations. Do not make modifications or
changes to the radio that are not expressly approved by
Tait Electronics Limited. Failure to do so could invalidate
compliance requirements and void the user’s authority
to operate the radio.
For your safety
USA public safety bands
(764 –776MHz and 794–806MHz)
Part 90R of the FCC Title 47 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) deals with the use of frequencies in
the 764 to 776MHz and 794 to 806MHz bands.
Low-power channels
This radio complies with §90.531 (b) (3) and
§90.531 (b) (4) of 47 CFR. These sections state that only
low-power transmission is permitted on the
following channels:
! Regional Planning channels, as defined in
§90.531 (b) (3).
For your safety 7
! Itinerant channels, as defined in §90.531 (b) (4).
Use of encryption
This radio complies with §90.553 (a) of 47 CFR. This
states that:
! Encryption is not permitted on the nationwide
Interoperability calling channels. These channels are
defined in §90.531 (b) (1) (ii).
! Radios using encryption must have a readily accessi-
ble switch or control to allow the radio user to
disable encryption.
Frequency band reserved for
distress beacons
Frequency band 406 to 406.1 MHz is reserved for use by
distress beacons. Transmissions should not be made
within this frequency band.
Safe radio operation
Warning: Switch off the radio:
For your safety
8 For your safety
! at petrol filling stations or near flammable liquids
or gases
! in the vicinity of explosive devices and
blasting zones.
! before boarding an aircraft. Using your radio
while in the air is not permitted.
Using a handheld microphone or a radio while driving a
vehicle may violate the laws and legislation that apply in
your country or state. Please check the vehicle
regulations in your area.
Interference with electronic devices
Some electronic devices may be prone to malfunction
due to the lack of protection from RF energy that is
present when your radio is transmitting.
Examples of electronic devices that may be affected by
RF energy are:
! vehicular electronic systems such as fuel injection,
anti-skid brakes, and cruise control
! medical devices such as hearing aids
and pacemakers
! medical equipment in hospitals or health
care facilities.
Consult the manufacturer (or its representative) of the
equipment to determine whether these electronic
circuits will perform normally when the radio
is transmitting.
For your safety 9
For your safety
For your safety
10 For your safety
These menu functions are
restricted to radios programmed
for dispatcher operation
*
Zeroize key
Zeroize all
Low power tx
Monitor
Set scan key
Functions
Key settings
Version info
Battery info
Radio info
Squelch
Radio ID
Zones
Talkgroups
Channels
Menu map
Note: The menus shown below may not be available for your radio.
Status request*
Status update Radio monitor* Radio inhibit* Radio uninhibit*Radio check*Send call alert
Messages
Individual call
Services
Priority call
Recent Calls
Preset keys
Change all Advanced
Encryption
Security
Backlighting
Contrast adjust
Talk Party ID
Display settings
Alert settings
Extra features
RSSI
Indicator level
Keypress tones
Quiet operation
Silent operation
Loneworker
Radio Settings
Menu map 11
Menu map
Radio controls
For more information about the radio controls, see
“About your radio” on page 23.
3-way selector
control
function key 1
(top key)
channel selector
power / volume
control
status LED
function keys 2 & 3
(side keys)
PTT key
(press-to-talk)
left selection key
Channel 12
Zone 11
Radio controls
speaker /
microphone
display
right selection key
scroll keys
alphanumeric
keys
12 Radio controls
Contents
For your safety ............................................................... 5
Menu map ................................................................... 11
Radio controls .............................................................. 12
1 About this guide ........................................ 17
Safety warnings used in this guide ............................... 17
Related documentation ................................................ 17
2 Before first use of your radio.................... 18
Charging the battery before first use ........................... 19
Attaching a battery ...................................................... 20
Attaching the antenna ................................................. 20
Attaching a belt clip ..................................................... 20
Fitting a speaker microphone ....................................... 21
Removing the protective cover ................................. 21
Attaching the accessory connector ........................... 21
Attaching the antenna to the RF speaker microphone.. 22
3 About your radio ....................................... 23
About your digital radio ............................................... 24
Lack of static noise ................................................... 24
Coverage ................................................................. 24
Basic operation ............................................................ 25
Turning your radio on and off .................................. 26
Adjusting the volume ............................................... 26
About the channel selector....................................... 26
Using function keys to access frequently used features. 26
Three-way selector control ....................................... 27
Emergency key ......................................................... 27
Understanding the radio display ................................... 28
Using the menus to access settings and features .......... 29
Selection keys........................................................... 29
Scroll keys ................................................................ 29
Accessing the Main menu ........................................ 30
Accessing frequently used menus ............................. 30
Understanding the radio indicators .............................. 32
Audible tones........................................................... 32
Status indicators....................................................... 34
Contents 13
Contents
Contents
4 Making and receiving calls ....................... 35
Making calls ................................................................ 36
Selecting a zone....................................................... 37
Selecting a channel .................................................. 38
Understanding talkgroups ........................................ 39
Making an emergency call........................................ 40
Making an individual call.......................................... 40
Receiving calls ............................................................. 41
Identifying a caller (talking party ID) ......................... 41
Communicating directly with other radios ................... 42
Checking your recent calls ........................................... 43
Checking that the channel is clear (monitor) ................ 44
Turning monitor on and off...................................... 44
Call alert paging .......................................................... 45
Checking whether a radio is available .......................... 46
5 Listening to channel traffic....................... 47
Selecting a voting or scan group .................................. 48
Using your radio in different repeater areas ................. 50
Suspending a channel from a voting group .............. 50
Scanning a group of channels ...................................... 51
Understanding the different types of scanning ......... 51
Making a call while scanning.................................... 51
Suspending a channel from a scan group ................. 52
Editing a background scan group ............................. 52
Hearing faint and noisy signals .................................... 55
Turning squelch override on and off......................... 55
6 Sending and receiving messages ............. 56
7 Safeguarding you and your radio ............ 61
14 Contents
About messages .......................................................... 57
Sending a message .................................................. 57
Informing other radio users of your status ................... 59
Requesting a status update .......................................... 60
Locking and unlocking the keypad ............................... 62
Making a radio inoperable ........................................... 63
Sending a Radio Inhibit request ................................ 63
Sending a Radio Uninhibit request............................ 64
Radio monitor ............................................................. 65
Sending a Radio monitor request ............................. 65
About encryption ......................................................... 66
Encrypting your calls................................................. 66
Making an encrypted call ......................................... 67
Receiving an encrypted call....................................... 68
Changing your radio’s encryption key....................... 69
Removing encryption keys from your radio ............... 70
About emergency calls ................................................. 71
Making a priority call................................................ 71
Understanding emergency mode .............................. 72
About the Lone Worker feature ................................... 75
About the Man Down feature ...................................... 76
8 Charging and caring for batteries ............ 77
Removing the battery .................................................. 78
About your charger ..................................................... 79
About battery charging ................................................ 80
Low battery warning ................................................ 80
Optimal charging temperature ................................. 80
Charging the battery ................................................ 81
Receiving and making calls while charging ............... 82
Maintaining battery life and performance .................... 83
Battery safety vent.................................................... 83
Storing batteries .......................................................... 84
Using nickel-based batteries after storage................. 84
Disposing of batteries .................................................. 84
Contents
9 Customizing your radio ............................. 85
About display and keypad backlighting ........................ 86
Turning backlighting on or off .................................. 86
Turning backlighting on momentarily ....................... 87
Adjusting the display contrast................................... 87
Extending battery life on a shift ................................... 88
Turning low power transmit on or off....................... 88
Customizing the audible alert settings ......................... 89
Changing the volume of all audible tones................. 89
Changing the keypress volume................................. 90
Turning off radio controls and keypress tones........... 90
Hearing only channel traffic...................................... 91
Contents 15
Contents
10 Troubleshooting ........................................ 92
Troubleshooting .......................................................... 93
Error messages......................................................... 93
When your radio won’t turn on................................ 94
Identifying the radio’s audible tones......................... 94
Removing a belt clip................................................. 95
Checking the version of your radio ........................... 95
Troubleshooting your charger .................................. 96
General care ................................................................ 97
Cleaning the radio ................................................... 97
11 Glossary...................................................... 98
Licence agreement................................... 100
Index.......................................................... 102
16 Contents
1 About this guide
This user’s guide provides information about the
TP9155 and TP9160 portable radios.
Safety warnings used in this guide
Within this user’s guide, the following warnings are
used to alert you to important safety information:
Warning: There is a potential risk of death or serious
injury.
Caution: There is the risk of minor or moderate injury
to people.
Caution: There is a risk of equipment damage
or malfunction.
Related documentation
The following documentation is also available for your
Tait radio, which you can access from the Tait Technical
Support website (http://support.taitworld.com/):
! TP9100 Battery Care and Charging Guide—supplied
with each battery and charger. (The same information is in the section “Charging and caring for bat-
teries” on page 77.)
About this guide
! TP9100 Safety and Compliance Information—sup-
plied with each radio. (The same information is
included in this user guide.)
About this guide 17
2 Before first use of your
radio
Once you have unpacked your radio, there are a few
tasks you must do before you can use it. The most
important of these is to charge your battery for the first
time—allow 14 hours for this.
This section covers:
! Charging the battery before first use
! Attaching a battery
! Attaching the antenna
! Attaching a belt clip
! Fitting a speaker microphone
Before first use of your radio
18 Before first use of your radio
Charging the battery before
first use
Before using your battery for the first time, you must
charge it for 14 hours (subsequent charges should be
complete in two hours or less). This first charge is
important because it prepares (‘primes’) the battery for
use. The battery may take two or three shifts (charge/
discharge cycles) to reach maximum capacity.
Note: Before charging begins, the battery temperature
must be close to the room temperature in which the
battery is to be charged. Charging is best performed at
temperatures between 50 °F (10 °C) and 77 °F (25 °C)
and will start only when the temperature of the battery
is between 41°F (5°C) and 95 °F (35°C).
1 Ensure that the charger is connected to the correct
Tait power adaptor (desktop charger) or powered on
(multi-charger).
2 Put the battery in the charger.
Note: For optimal charging
results, the radio should be
turned off while in the charger.
The red ‘Charging’ LED glows to
indicate that the battery is being charged.
Note: If the amber ‘Fault’ LED lights up, refer to
“General care” on page 97.)
3 Leave the battery in the charger for 14 hours. When
the green ‘Ready’ LED on the charger glows, the
battery is ready for use.
You can safely leave the battery in the charger when
charging is complete—the charger will not overcharge
the battery.
For further information on batteries, see “Charging and
caring for batteries” on page 77.
Charging the battery before first use 19
Before first use of your radio
Attaching a battery
To attach a battery to your radio:
1 Insert the bottom edge of the battery into the two
slots at the back of the radio.
2 Press down on the top of the battery to snap it
into place.
Attaching the antenna
Before using the radio, screw the antenna clockwise
into the antenna connector. The antenna should be
screwed sufficiently tight so that it doesn’t unscrew
easily. This is important as it creates a seal.
Attaching a belt clip
To attach a belt clip to your radio:
1 Slide the belt clip into the two grooves at the top of
the battery.
Before first use of your radio
20 Attaching a battery
belt clip
battery
2 Push down on the belt clip until it snaps into place.
See also “Removing a belt clip” on page 95.
Fitting a speaker microphone
Speaker microphones are attached to the radio via an
accessory connector. The standard speaker
microphones do not have an antenna connector,
whereas the RF speaker microphone has a connector for
the radio antenna.
Removing the protective cover
Before fitting the speaker microphone, you may need to
remove the radio’s protective cover. This cover is located
above the battery on the rear of the radio.
1 Insert a coin, or other suitably shaped object, into
the slot of the protective cover. Twist the coin
clockwise from the locked to unlocked position.
2 Remove the cover and store in a safe place.
Attaching the accessory connector
Once you have removed the protective cover, you can fit
the speaker microphone accessory connector to the
back of the radio.
1 Push and hold the metal clip to release the lever.
lever
metal clip
2 Rotate the lever clockwise to an upright position.
3 Insert the white locking clip into the matching hole
at the rear of the radio.
insert the white locking
clip into this hole
4 Rotate the lever counterclockwise until you hear
it click.
5 Check that the accessory connector is firmly locked
into place.
Fitting a speaker microphone 21
Before first use of your radio
Attaching the antenna to the RF speaker microphone
Once you have attached the accessory connector to the
radio, you can attach the speaker-microphone coax to
the radio’s antenna connector and then screw the
radio’s antenna onto the speaker microphone.
1 Remove the antenna from the radio.
2 Place the brass RF coaxial connector onto the radio’s
antenna connector.
coaxial connector
3 Tighten the connector with the 5/16 inch spanner,
until it sits deep into the radio housing.
4 On the speaker microphone, screw the antenna
Before first use of your radio
22 Fitting a speaker microphone
clockwise into the antenna connector.
antenna connector
3 About your radio
This section describes all the various buttons and keys
on your radio.
This section covers:
! About your digital radio
! Basic operation
! Using function keys to access frequently used
features
! Understanding the radio display
! Using the menus to access settings and features
! Understanding the radio indicators
About your radio 23
About your radio
About your radio
About your digital radio
Your digital radio may have some channels
programmed as either analog or dual mode. Dual
mode channels are able to receive both digital and
analog calls.
You may notice differences between your radio’s
analog and digital channels in terms of:
! static noise in low signal areas, and
! radio coverage in marginal reception areas.
Lack of static noise
On digital channels there is no static noise, even in low
signal areas. This lack of static is because your digital
radio removes the ‘noise’ from the call, so that you hear
only clear voice.
Coverage
With analog channels, the background noise in a call
gets progressively worse when you are in fringe areas or
even slightly outside normal coverage areas. With digital
channels, a call remains clear and then drops off quickly
at the border of a coverage area. The reason for this is
that a digital call is either received or it isn't.
24 About your digital radio
Basic operation
The radio controls are the PTT key, power/volume
control, channel selector, 3-way selector control, scroll
keys, selection keys, and function keys. Some keys have
functions assigned to both short and long key presses:
! a short key press is less than one second, and
! a long key press is more than one second.
The radio controls and their functions are described in
the following sections.
3-way selector
control
function key 1
(top key)
channel selector
power / volume
control
status LED
function keys 2 & 3
(side keys)
PTT key
(press-to-talk)
left selection key
Channel 12
Zone 11
speaker /
microphone
display
right selection key
scroll keys
alphanumeric
keys
Basic operation 25
About your radio
Turning your radio on and off
Rotate the power/volume control switch clockwise to
turn the radio on. Rotate the switch counterclockwise to
turn the radio off.
Note: Your radio may not turn on if your battery is very
low. (See “Low battery warning” on page 80.)
Adjusting the volume
With the radio turned on, rotate the power/volume
control clockwise to increase the speaker volume and
counterclockwise to decrease the volume.
Note: The volume control also changes the volume
level of the radio’s audible indicators.
About the channel selector
The channel selector allows you to select and change
channels. When first turned on, the radio will go to the
channel that was last selected.
See also “Selecting a channel” on page 38.
About your radio
26 Basic operation
Using function keys to access frequently used features
The function keys provide quick access to some of the
features you will use most often. These features are
assigned to the function keys when the radio is
programmed. Some keys may have a feature associated
with both a short key press and a long key press.
function key 1
function key 2
function key 3
Viewing your function key settings
To check which functions are assigned to the function
keys:
1 Press Menu and select Radio settings > Radio info
> Key settings.
2 In the menu list, scroll to a function key and press
Select to view the associated function.
The example shown is for
a function key
programmed to turn
backlighting on and off.
3 Press a selection key or to return to
the menu.
Three-way selector control
You can use the 3-way selector control to access to
some of the features you use most often, such as
changing zones, locking the radio keypad and activating
such features as encryption and repeater talkaround.
3-way selector
control
Emergency key
You can activate emergency mode by pressing the
function key 1, if your radio is programmed in this way.
Backlighting
Toggle
Back OK
About your radio
See also “About emergency calls” on page 71.
Basic operation 27
About your radio
Understanding the radio display
The messages and symbols you see on your radio display
depend on the mode in which your radio is operating
and the way it is programmed.
These are the various symbols you may see on your
radio display:
Symbol Meaning
Signal strength indicator: the more bars, the
stronger the signal being received by your radio
Transmit: your radio is transmitting
Low-power transmit: indicates that low power
mode is turned on
Repeater talkaround: your radio is operating in
repeater talkaround mode
Zone: this letter represents the zone in which your
radio is operating, where
26 (in the example shown,
Scanning: your radio is monitoring a group of
channels for activity
Monitor or squelch override: monitor or squelch
override is active
A is zone 1 and Z is zone
K represents zone 11)
Silent operation: your radio’s audible tones have
been turned off
Encryption: your radio’s transmissions are encrypted
Scrolling: you can use the scroll keys or to
move through a list
Battery indicator: shows how much charge is
available in the battery
Battery in charger: appears when you place a radio
(with a TP9100 battery attached) in the charger
28 Understanding the radio display
Using the menus to access settings and features
You can access settings and features for your radio
using the menu.
The selection and scroll keys enable you to make
selections and move around the menus.
Selection keys
Zone 11
selection
There are two selection keys beneath the display screen.
How these keys work depend on the word that appears
above them on the screen.
Scroll keys
scroll keys
The up and down scroll keys allow you to:
! access the Quick Access menu
! scroll up and down through a list
! display the previous or next part of a message that
is too long to be displayed on the screen.
left
key
Zone 11
right
selection
key
About your radio
Using the menus to access settings and features 29
About your radio
Accessing the Main menu
1 To access the Main menu, press the right selection
key whenever Menu appears above it.
Channel 12
Zone 11
Menu
2 Use the scroll keys to move through the menu list.
Main menu
Zones
Talkgroups
Back Select
3 When the menu you want is highlighted, press
Select to enter the menu you have chosen.
Tip: To quickly exit the menu system, press and hold the
left selection key when the word Cancel or Back
appears above it.
Accessing frequently used menus
Depending on how your radio is programmed, you may
have two different ‘quick access’ menus. One quick
access menu is displayed when you press a scroll key,
and the other when you press the left selection key.
These give you easy access to the menus you use
most often.
Using the scroll key Quick Access menu
There are two ways to use this Quick Access menu:
! Press a scroll key or , to begin scrolling
through a list of zones or channels.
! Press a scroll key or , and the Quick Access
menu appears.
30 Using the menus to access settings and features
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