West Marine VHF85 Owner's Manual
Two-Way Marine Radio
Owner’s Manual
Radio marino en dos vías
Manual del usuario
Model 11954328
Modelo 11954328
Table of Contents
Introduction. ..........................................................E-1
Getting Started. .....................................................E-2
What’s Included ................................................................... E-2
Parts of the VHF85 .............................................................. E-3
Front view ....................................................................... E-3
Vue arrière ......................................................................E-3
Clip-on DC charger .........................................................E-4
Reading the Display ............................................................ E-5
How It Works. ........................................................E-7
Normal Mode Operation ...................................................... E-8
Normal mode with Weather Alert Watch ......................... E-8
Normal Mode with Weather Alert and Triple/Dual
Watch (Quad Watch) .................................................... E-9
Scan Mode Operation ........................................................ E-10
Using the radio in scan mode ...................................... E-10
Scan mode with Weather Alert and Triple/Dual Watch ...... E-12
Weather Mode ................................................................... E-13
Using the radio in weather mode ..................................E-13
Attaching the Antenna ....................................................... E-14
Installing the Battery .......................................................... E-14
Charging the Battery .......................................................... E-15
Connecting the clip-on DC Charger .............................. E-15
Disconnecting the charger ........................................... E-16
Using the AC Power Adapter ............................................. E-16
Attaching the Belt Clip ....................................................... E-17
To attach the belt clip: ................................................... E-17
To remove the clip: ....................................................... E-18
Using Your Radio. ...............................................E-19
Changing the Volume ....................................................... E-19
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
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Setting the Squelch Level .................................................. E-19
Changing the Channel ....................................................... E-20
Making a Transmission ...................................................... E-20
Troubleshooting. ................................................E-22
Common Questions ........................................................... E-22
Specications .....................................................E-23
Regulatory Information ......................................E-24
Maritime Radio Services Operation ................................... E-25
Basic Radio Guidelines ..................................................... E-25
FCC/Industry Canada Information ..................................... E-25
FCC RF Exposure Information .......................................... E-26
Body-Worn Operation ........................................................ E-26
Lithium ion battery warning ................................................ E-27
Three Year Limited Warranty Statement...........E-27
Channels and Frequencies ................................................ E-29
Regulations and Safety Warnings ....................E-35
Maritime Radio Services Operation ................................... E-35
Basic Radio Guidelines ..................................................... E-36
FCC/Industry Canada Information ..................................... E-36
FCC RF Exposure Information .......................................... E-37
Body-Worn Operation ........................................................ E-37
Lithium ion battery warning ................................................ E-38
Three Year Limited Warranty Statement...........E-39
vi
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
Introduction
Features
The VHF85 provides the following key features:
• Submersible design
Complies with JIS8/IPX8 water-resistant standards,
which means the radio can be submerged in 1.5
meters of water for 30 minutes without damage.
Memory scan mode
•
Lets you save channels to memory and monitor
them in quick succession.
Transmitter power level select
•
Lets you boost the transmitter power from 1 Watt to
2.5 or 5 watts for added transmission distance..
Battery level display and low battery alert.
•
• Dual, Triple and Quad Watch operation
These different watch modes let you monitor up
to two Coast Guard Distress/Hailing channels and
one weather channel along with one regular marine
channel.
All marine VHF channels for the U.S., Canada, and
•
international waters.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) weather channel watch
Sounds a warning tone when a hazard alert is
issued.
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
E-1
Getting Started
What’s Included
VHF85 radio Lithium-Ion battery
Antenna
SKU 7830433
SKU 12012506
Clip-on DC charger
SKU 12012514
Belt clip
SKU 7830458
If any pieces are missing or damaged, contact West Marine
(see back cover for contact information).
E-2
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
AC adapter
SKU 12012522
Wrist strap
SKU 12012548
Parts of the VHF85
Front view
Antenna
LCD display
WX-ALERT
(weather
alert)
PUSH TO TALK
16/9-TRI
(16/9 triple
watch)
Squelch
Turn clockwise to
decrease channel
noise.
Volume-power
Turn clockwise
to increase
volume.
Wrist strap
anchor
UIC-LOCK
CHANNEL UP
SCAN-DUAL
(scan-dual
wtch)
(memory)
MEM
Rear view
Battery
latch
Charging
contacts
Belt clipBattery
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
1/2.5/5W
CHANNEL DOWN
Microphone
Speaker
E-3
Button Press to... Press & hold to...
PUSH TO
TALK
stop scanning channels transmit on a channel
go to channel 16. Press
16/9-TRI
again to go to channel 9;
press a third time to return
turn Triple Watch on
and off.
to the starting channel.
MEM
UIC-LOCK
CHANNEL
UP
CHANNEL
DOWN
WX-ALERT
SCAN-
DUAL
1/5W-2.5W
save a channel into memory
or delete a channel from
memory.
switch from US to canadian or
international channels.
move up one channel at a
time.
mode down one channel at
a time.
listen to the weather
channels.
strt scanning the channels
saved in memory.
switch the transmitter power
between 1 Watt and 5 watts.
NA
lock the keys; press &
hold again to unlock.
move quickly up the
channels
move quickly down the
channels.
turn Weather Alert Watch
on and off.
turn Dual. watch on and
off.
change the transmit
power to 2.5 Watts.
Knob Turn clockwise to...
Volume-
Power
Squelch
E-4
turn on the radio or increase
the volume.
raise the squelch level to
reduce channel noise.
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
Turn counter-clockwise
to...
decrease the volume or turn
off the radio.
lower the swuelch level to
hear weaker signals.
Clip-on DC charger
Battery charging
contacts
Release tabs
12 Volt
DC plug
Power LED
Reading the Display
The display shows different information depending on
what you’re doing. This sample screen shows some
of the information you might see. The shaded areas
indicate where different icons appear; the table below
shows all possible icons and what they mean.
The radio is
transmitting
Battery
status
Transmit
power level
Key lock
is on
Channel
mode
Triple/Dual
watch status
Scan
mode is on
Current
channel
number
This channel
is stored in
memory
Weather
channel
status
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
E-5
Display icons and what they mean
Icon What it means
You are currently transmitting.
The keys are locked.
The battery is fully charged, mostly charged,
half charged, nearly empty, or empty.
The current channel is stored in memory
Transmit power level:
The transmit power is set to 1 Watt.
The transmit power is set to 2.5 Watts.
The transmit power is set to 5 Watts.
Channel mode :
The radio is using US channels.
The radio is using Canadian channels.
The radio is using International channels.
Triple/Dual watch status:
Triple Watch is turned on.
Dual Watch is turned on.
Weather channel status: :
The radio is in Scan mode.
The radio is in Weather mode.
Weather Alert Watch is turned on.
E-6
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
How It Works
The VHF85 has three main operation modes: normal mode,
scan mode, and weather mode
.
Mode
What it does To turn it on/off:
Monitors and allows
Normal
transmission on a single marine
channel so you can talk to
(default mode)
another radio.
Scan
Monitors all the channels you
save into memory so you
can check a small group of
regularly-used channels for
trafc.
SCAN-DUAL
press
(If you press
TO TALK
PUSH
, the radio
stops scanning.)
.
Monitors a single NOAA
Weather
channel so you can hear
press
WX-ALERT
.
current or forecasted weather.
In addition to the three operation modes, the VHF85 provides
four different watch modes which you can activate during any
operationmode.Inthewatchmodes,theradiobrieychecks
foractivityonaspecicchannel,thenreturnstoitsprevious
operation..
Mode
Weather Alert
Watch
Dual Watch
Triple Watch
What it does To turn it on/off
Checks the last-used weather
channel for hazard alerts every
7 seconds.
Checks channel 16 every 2
seconds.
Checks channels 16 and 9
every 2 seconds.
Press & hold
ALERT
Press & hold
DUAL
Press & hold
for 2 seconds.
WX-
for 2 seconds.
SCAN-
for 2 seconds.
16/9-TRI
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
E-7
Mode
Quad Watch
What it does To turn it on/off
Checks channel 16 and 9
every 2 seconds and the lastused weather channel every 7
seconds.
Turn on Triple Watch,
then turn on Weather
Alert Watch.
NOTE: Private boats must monitor channel 16 whenever
they are underway. Water-going vessels should have
either Triple Watch or Dual Watch on at all times.
Normal Mode Operation
To transmit, press & hold
buttonwhenyouarenishedtalking.
For the best sound quality, hold the microphone
about 2 inches from your mouth while you’re talking.
Press
CHANNEL UP
to move up one channel at a time;
press and hold the button to scroll quickly up the
channels.
Press
CHANNEL DOWN
to move down one channel at
a time; press and hold the button to scroll quickly
down the channels.
To change the transmit power, press
transmit power switches between 1 Watt and 5
Watts each time you press the button.
To change the power to 2.5 Watts, press & hold
1/5W-2.5W
. Press & hold the button again to return to
the previous transmit power (1 Watt or 5 Watts).
PUSH-TO-TALK
. Release the
1/5W-2.5
. The
Normal mode with Weather Alert Watch
If you activate Weather Alert Watch while operating in
normal mode, the radio checks the most recently used
E-8
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
weather channel every seven seconds. if it detects a
09 16
Every 2 seconds, the radio
checks channels 9 and 16.
09 16 09 16
Triple Watch
Current Marine Channel
weather or other hazard alert, it will switch to that
weather channel. If you are actively transmitting, the
radiowaitsuntilyounishyourtransmissionbefore
checking the weather channel.)
Current Marine Channel
Weather Alert Watch
Every 7 seconds, the radio
checks the last used weather
channel.
WX
Normal mode with Triple Watch or Dual Watch
If you activate Triple Watch while operating in normal
mode, the radio checks channels 16 and 9 every two
seconds; with Dual watch turned on, the radio only
checks channel 16. (If you are actively transmitting, the
radiowaitsuntilyounishyourtransmissionbefore
checking the channels.)
Normal Mode with Weather Alert and Triple/Dual Watch
(Quad Watch)
You can activate Weather Alert Watch and Triple
Watch at the same time to monitor four channels at
once (Quad Watch). The radio performs the Triple
West Marine VHF85 Radio Owner’s Manual
E-9
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