Optimizing your VX-150

[clint]

For those of you who bought the Yaseu/Vertex VX-150 here are a few items you can set to optimize your radio.


Menu item 9 RX SAVE: This puts the reveiver to sleep and sets how often it will check for a received signal. Default is 0.2 SEC I would change it to 0.5 SEC

Menu item 10 TX SAV: This sets the radio to measure the incomming signal strength, and decrease your transmit power level automatically if you don't need high power. I would change TSV OFF to TSV ON.

Menu item 11 APO: This is automatic power off, if you forget to turn off  the radio. I set mine at eight hours because I monitor at work all day. If I forget to shut off the radio, I won't deep discharge the batteries.

Menu Item 12 TRX LED: Yopu may have already noticed that a little LED on the top of radio turns green when receiving and red when transmitting. I know when I push the PTT, and I hear when I'm receiving. The LED is just  a power drain so I recommend changing it to OFF.

Menu item 17 EDGE BP:  This beep defaults on. When you are tuning the VFO it will beep when you tune past the 2 meter band edge. I use my radio as a scanner also, since it will receive out of band. So I turn this off.

Menu item 21 LAMP MOD: Deffinately change this to TOGGLE. Otherwise everytime you push a button to program it turns on the keypad and display backlight. A BIG power drain. In toggle mode the lower round button below the PTT toggles the backlight on and off when you want it.

Menu item 22 TOT: Time out timer. It is common for people to sit on radios, put radios in purses next to bumply things, and clamp radios under seat belts. All of these can cause the radio to transmit when it should'nt. TOT will only allow the radio to transmit continuously for the set time. I set mine to 2.5 minutes.

Item 32 LK MODE: As defaulted from the factory, engagaing the lock function, locks the keyboard only. I suggest resetting this option to K + D. This will lock the keypad and dial so you won't change your channel inadvertantly by brushing the dial.

Finally, there are two user function buttons on the keypad. 7 is P1 and 8 is P2. I like to set P1 as a battery level button so I can check it quickly. Press F, set, rotate the dial to mode 37 [BATT], press and hold the F key for one second, then press 7 (P1), then the PTT. Now by pressing F then 7 you can see your battery voltage. A fully charged Ni-Cd pack is 7.2 volts, a new set of Alkalines is 9 volts.

[RennMan]

Optimized mine last night.  I do have some further questions, but I hope to have them answered when we have our post-licence HT seminar.

Are there similar settings for the Alinco 220 HT?

And, can you give some recommendations for what accessories to buy for both?  I'm thinking more along the lines of the quarter-wave antennas, and connectors that go from antenna to HT unit.

AES is gonna get some more of my money, if I can figure out what is needed.

THANKS SO MUCH!!!

[clint]

I don't know about a guy who walks into the Wrightwood Inn while yelling hello and does'nt even come over to invite his fellow hams, four of them, in for a drink. And then wants advice! The nerve of some people!


Of course Matt, I'm happy to counsel on other goodies. Do you want to send money to AES tomorrow, or after our radio workshop? And no, the Alinco does not have the cool options the VX-150 does, but then most radios don't. That's just a very special radio.

[RennMan]

HUH?  I haven't been in the Inn in several weeks...  Must have been some other long-haired hippie wierdo freak that resembles me!

I got to thinking (always a dangerous thing, and usually expensive!) that I should probably acquire the quarter wave antenna, and the adapter that converts from one style to the other (BNC to ?).  Also thinking about ordering the Alinco radio to have a chance to play with it, prior to our seminar.  Should I order the quarter wave antenna/adapter for that one as well?

The VX-150 seems to work pretty well, going from WW to EAFB, except when the buttes around Lake LA get in the way.  I gotta remember to take my short list of other repeaters, to see what else is out there besides 145.280 MHz.

[clint]

Sorry Matt, I could have sworn that was you.

The 3/8 wave antenna for the VX-150 and adapter from BNC to SMA is deffinately a yes if you want to use the 2 meter in the mountains on hikes and have it for emergencies. Of course a 5/8 wave base loaded Larsen roof mount will do more around town I have a stubby duck and a 1/4 rubber duck for my 220. And the thing is it doesn't work that much better on the 1/4 wave. Because 220 is a shorter band anyway, it works fine on the included antenna. But a base loaded lLarsen roof mount will do more

Gee, do I sense a theme here?

[RennMan]

Well, I ordered another antenna, 5/8 wave (that also works as a 1/4 wave), the adapter, a speaker/mic, and another battery back, to be filled with alkalines when necessary.

And the Alinco 220, with a similar setup to that above.  I hope to have it by the middle of next week.

[clint]

I have to look at life now that class is done, fire plan is done, WAD is done, trips to Vegas are done, I must have missed something...

and see when we can do a radio use workshop. Would like for Jim to have his first.

Clint

[Wrightwood]

We got tired of all the static trying to monitor Table Mountain and Clint mentioned that he thought the repeater had PL tone on the output.

The JPL ARC website says... The repeater also uses a 131.8 Hz PL tone on the output to allow you to use "tone" squelch on your radio to keep out other repeaters on the same frequency.

I changed the settings for Table Mountain to CTCSSEnc/Dec and it took care of the static.