INSTRUCTION MANUAL MULTI-BAND PORTABLE TRANSCEIVER TH-F6A TH-F7E DUAL-BAND PORTABLE TRANSCEIVER KENWOOD CORPORATION © B62-XXXX-XX (K) 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
THANK YOU THANK YOU SUPPLIED ACCESSORIES Thank you for choosing this KENWOOD TH-F6A/ THF7E transceiver. It has been developed by a team of engineers determined to continue the tradition of excellence and innovation in KENWOOD transceivers. After carefully unpacking the transceiver, identify the items listed in the table below. We recommend you keep the box and packing material in case you need to repack the transceiver in the future. First, don’t let the size fool you.
MODELS COVERED BY THIS MANUAL NOTICE TO THE USER The models listed below are covered by this manual. One or more of the following statements may be applicable for this equipment. TH-F6A: 144 MHz/ 220 MHz/ 440 MHz FM Multi-band Portable Transceiver TH-F7E: 144 MHz/ 430 MHz FM Dual-band Portable Transceiver MARKET CODES K-type: The Americas E-type: Europe/ Universal type T-type: United Kingdom The market code is shown on the carton box.
PREPARATION INSTALLING THE Li-ion BATTERY PACK 3 Align the two tabs on the battery case cover, then close the cover until the locking tabs click. Note: Because the battery pack is provided uncharged, you must charge the battery pack before using it with the transceiver. To charge the battery pack, refer to “CHARGING THE Li-ion BATTERY PACK” {page 2}. 1 Position the two grooves on the edge and two hooks at the bottom of the battery pack over the corresponding guides on the back of the transceiver.
1 PREPARATION CHARGING THE Li-ion BATTERY PACK The Li-ion battery pack can be charged after it has been installed onto the transceiver. The battery pack is provided uncharged for safety purposes. 1 Confirm that the transceiver power is OFF. • While charging the battery pack, leave the transceiver power OFF. 2 Insert the charger plug into the DC IN jack of the transceiver. DC IN jack 3 Plug the charger into an AC wall outlet. • Charging starts and “CHARGING” appears.
YOUR FIRST QSO FIRST QSO r Press [BAND] until you select the amateur radio band you wish to operate. Are you ready to give your TH-F6A/ TH-F7E a quick try? Reading this page should get your voice on the air right away. The instructions below are intended only for a quick guide. If you encounter problems or there is something you would like to know more, read the detailed explanations given later in this manual. t Turn the Tuning control to select the receive frequency.
GETTING ACQUAINTED KEYS AND CONTROLS Antenna Tuning Control VOL Control PTT switch Display SP/MIC jack LAMP Key Menu/Cursor Keys MONI Key Power Switch Speaker/ Mic.
4 GETTING ACQUAINTED DISPLAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 14 22 15 16 17 18 19 20 q EL !2 Appears when the transmit output power is set to Low (“L”) or Economic Low (“E L”) {pages 7, }. Appears when the Key lock function is activated {page xx}. wH !3 Appears when the transmit output power is set to High (“H”) {pages 7, }. Appears when the function key is pressed. e LSB Appears when lower side band (LSB) is selected for B-band {page 36}.
4 GETTING ACQUAINTED BASIC OPERATION SWITCHING POWER ON/ OFF 1 Press [ ] (POWER) briefly to switch the transceiver power ON. • Do not press the key for more than approximately 2 seconds; the transceiver will be switched OFF. • Upon power up, a high pitched double beep sounds, followed by the frequencies and other indicators. • The higher the level, the stronger the signals must be, to receive. • 6 different levels can be set (OPEN: unmuted ~ || || || || || || : maximum).
4 GETTING ACQUAINTED TRANSMITTING 1 To transmit, hold the transceiver approximately 5 cm (2 inches) from your mouth, then press and hold the PTT switch and speak into the microphone in your normal tone of voice. • The status LED on the top panel lights red and bar-graph meter appears. • If you press [PTT] while you are outside of the transmission coverage, a high pitched error beep sounds. 1 Press [MHz]. • A MHz digit blinks. 2 Turn the Tuning control or press [ ]/[ ] to select the desired MHz digit.
4 GETTING ACQUAINTED Example 2 To enter 439.000 MHz: Key in Display [ENT] ––– ––– [4], [3], [9] 4 3 9. – – – [ENT] 4 3 9. 0 0 0 Example 3 ( f > 1000 MHz) To enter 1250.500 MHz (B-band only): Key in Display [ENT] ––– ––– [1], [2], [5], [0] 12 5 0. – – – [5] 12 5 0. 5 – – [ENT] 12 5 0. 5 0 0 Example 4 (f < 100 MHz) To enter 10.500 MHz (B-band only): Key in Display [ENT] ––– ––– [1], [0] 10– ––– [MHz] 1 0. – – – [5] 1 0. 5 – – [ENT] 1 0.
MENU SETUP WHAT IS A MENU? SELECTING A MENU LANGUAGE Many functions on this transceiver are selected or configured via a software-controlled Menu, rather than through the physical controls of the transceiver. Once familiar with the Menu system, you will appreciate the versatility it offers. You can customize the various timings, settings, and programming functions on this transceiver to meet your needs without using many controls and switches.
6 MENU SETUP On the Display Menu No. Function Selections Default Ref.
6 MENU SETUP ALPHABETICAL FUNCTION LIST On the Display Menu No. Selections Default APO 18 OFF/ 30/ 60 minutes 30 min. AUTO OFFSET 5 OFF/ ON ON B AR A N T 26 ENABLE/ DISABLE ENABLE B AT S A V E R 17 OFF/ 0.2/ 0.4/0.6/ 0.8/ 1.0/ 2.0/ 3.0/ 4.0/ 5.0 seconds 1.0 sec.
OPERATING THROUGH REPEATERS Repeaters, which are often installed and maintained by radio clubs, are usually located on mountain tops or other elevated locations. Generally they operate at higher ERP (Effective Radiated Power) than a typical station. This combination of elevation and high ERP allows communications over much greater distances than communications without using repeaters. Most repeaters use a receive and transmit frequency pair with a standard or non-standard offset (odd-split).
5 OPERATING THROUGH REPEATERS ■ Activating Tone Function AUTOMATIC REPEATER OFFSET Press [TONE] to switch the Tone function ON (or OFF). • “T” appears when the Tone function is ON. This function automatically selects an offset direction, according to the frequency that you select on the 144 MHz and 220 MHz (TH-F6A only) bands. The transceiver is programmed for offset direction as shown below. To obtain an up-to-date band plan for repeater offset direction, contact your national Amateur Radio association.
5 OPERATING THROUGH REPEATERS TONE FREQ. ID SCAN The reverse function exchanges a separate receive and transmit frequency. So, while using a repeater, you can manually check the strength of a signal that you receive directly from the other station. If the station’s signal is strong, both stations should move to a simplex frequency and free up the repeater. This function scans through all tone frequencies to identify the incoming tone frequency on a received signal.
MEMORY CHANNELS In memory channels, you can store frequencies and related data that you often use. Then you need not reprogram those data every time. You can quickly recall a programmed channel through simple operation. A total of 400 memory channels are available for storing the frequencies, modes and other operating conditions of the A and B-bands. SIMPLEX & REPEATER OR ODD-SPLIT MEMORY CHANNEL? You can use each memory channel as a simplex & repeater channel or an odd-split channel.
8 MEMORY CHANNELS RECALLING A MEMORY CHANNEL There are 2 ways of recalling the desired memory channel. ■ Using the Tuning control or / keys 1 Press [MR] to enter Memory Recall mode. • The memory channel used last is recalled. 4 Press [MR] to erase the channel data. • The contents of the memory channel are erased. • To quit clearing the memory channel, press any key other than [MR]. Note: ◆ If you clear the information channel data, the data will be set to the factory default values.
8 MEMORY CHANNELS NAMING A MEMORY CHANNEL You can name memory channels using up to 8 alphanumeric characters. When you recall a named memory channel, its name appears on the display in place of the stored frequency. Names can be call signs, repeater names, cities, names of people, etc. 1 Press [MR] to recall your desired memory channel. 2 Press [F], [MN<->f] to enter memory name input mode. • The entry cursor appears. 3 Turn the Tuning control or press [ ]/ [ ] to select the first character.
8 MEMORY CHANNELS MEMORY CHANNEL GROUPS 400 memory channels have been divided into 8 groups of 50. Group 0 contains memory channel numbers 0 ~ 49, group 1 is 50 ~ 99, group 2 is 100 ~ 149, and so on. You can categorize each group to store similar data, same frequency bands or same modes for ease of use.
8 MEMORY CHANNELS Channel 00 ~ 399 a Channel 00 ~ 399 Receive frequency a Receive frequency Transmit frequency a Transmit frequency Tone frequency a Tone frequency Shift direction a Shift direction CTCSS frequency a CTCSS frequency DCS code Tone/ CTCSS/ DCS ON/ OFF status Offset direction a a DCS code Tone/ CTCSS/ DCS ON/ OFF status Offset direction Reverse ON a Reverse ON Frequency step size Memory channel name FINE tuning ON a Frequency step size Memory channel name FINE tuning
8 MEMORY CHANNELS ■ Reprogramming the Information Channel INFORMATION CHANNELS 10 Information channels are available for storing radio broadcasting service frequencies, such as weather radio stations and community FM broadcasting stations. For your conveniences, pressing [INFO] instantly recalls the Information channel to B-band. Unlike regular memory channels, you cannot store a transmit frequency in an Information channel. The following frequency data is stored by default.
8 MEMORY CHANNELS CHANNEL DISPLAY While in this mode, the transceiver displays only memory channel numbers (or memory names if stored) instead of frequencies. 1 Press [ • ] (POWER) + [A/B]. The transceiver displays the memory channel number in place of the operating frequencies. 2 Turn the Tuning control or press [ ]/ [ ] to select your desired memory channel number. To recover normal operation, press [ [A/B] again.
SCAN Scan is a useful function for hands-off monitoring of your favorite frequencies. By becoming comfortable with all types of Scan, you will increase your operating efficiency. This transceiver provides the following types of scans.
14 SCAN PROGRAM SCAN MHz SCAN You can limit the scanning frequency range. There are 10 memory channel pairs (L0/ U0 ~ L9/ U9) available for specifying the start and end frequencies. It monitors the range between the start and end frequencies that you have stored in memory channels L0/ U0 to L9/ U9. Before performing the Program Scan, store the Program Scan frequency range to one of the memory channels L0/ U0 ~ L9/ U9.
14 SCAN MEMORY SCAN Memory Scan monitors all memory channels in which you have stored frequencies (All-Channel Scan) or only a desired group of memory channels (Group Scan). ALL-CHANNEL SCAN The transceiver scans all of the memory channels in which you have stored frequencies. Note: ◆ If the Fine Tuning function is ON, you cannot perform the Group Scan. ◆ If you press [MONI], All-Channel Scan temporarily pauses. Release [MONI] to resume scanning.
14 SCAN CALL SCAN PRIORITY SCAN A Call channel can be stored for each amateur radio band, such as the 144 MHz, 430/ 440 MHz, and 220 MHz (TH-F6A only) bands {page 19}. You can monitor one of these Call channels and the current operating frequency alternatively. You may sometimes want to check your favorite frequency activities while monitoring the A and B-bands. In this case, use the Priority Scan function.
14 SCAN ■ Using Priority Scan VISUAL SCAN 1 Press [F], [BAL]. While you are receiving, Visual Scan allows you to monitor frequencies near the current operating frequency. Visual Scan graphically displays the busy status of all frequencies in the selected range. You will see a maximum of 7 segments, for each frequency (channel) point that represent relative Smeter levels. • “P” appears. • The transceiver checks for a signal on the Pr1 and Pr2 channels every 6 seconds, alternatively.
14 SCAN ■ Using Visual Scan (Memory Channel) 1 Press [MR] to enter Memory Recall mode. 2 Turn the Tuning control or press [ ]/ [ ] to select your desired center memory channel. 3 Press [F], [INFO] to start the Visual Scan. 4 The transceiver start scanning the 5 upper memory channels and 5 lower memory channels, by centering the selected memory channel. • The current scanning memory channel number and frequency are displayed on the current operating band.
SELECTIVE CALL CTCSS and DCS You may sometimes want to hear calls from only specific persons or groups. In this case, use the selective call function. This transceiver is equipped with CTCSS (Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System) and DCS (Digital Coded Squelch). These selective calls allow you to ignore (not hear) unwanted calls from other persons who are using the same frequency. The transceiver unmutes only when it receives the signal having the same CTCSS tone or DCS code.
7 SELECTIVE CALL CTCSS FREQ. ID SCAN DCS (Digital Coded Squelch) This function scans through all CTCSS frequencies to identify the incoming CTCSS frequency on the received signal. You may find this useful when you cannot recall the CTCSS frequency that the other persons in your group are using. DCS is similar to CTCSS. However, instead of using an analog signal, it uses a continuous sub-audible digital wave form that represents a 3-digit octal number.
7 SELECTIVE CALL DCS CODE ID SCAN This function scans through all DCS codes to identify the incoming DCS code on the received signal. You may find this useful when you cannot recall the DCS code that the other persons in your group are using. 1 While in DCS mode, press [TONE] (1 s) to start the DCS Code ID Scan function. • • • To reverse the scan direction, turn the Tuning control or press [ ]/ [ ]. t]. To quit the function, press [t When a DCS code is identified, the identified code appears and blinks.
DTMF FUNCTIONS The keys on the keypad also function as DTMF keys; the 12 keys found on a push-button telephone plus 4 additional keys (A, B, C, D). This transceiver also provides 10 dedicated DTMF memory channels. You can store a DTMF number (16 digits max.) with a memory name (8 digits max.) in each of the channels to recall later for a speed dialingl. Many repeaters in the U.S.A. and Canada offer a service called Autopatch.
8 DTMF FUNCTIONS • Each press of [t t] causes the cursor to move backward. ■ Adjusting the DTMF tone tranmission speed This transceiver allows you to configure the DTMF number transmission speed between Fast (default) and Slow. If a repeater cannot respond to the fast speed, adjust this parameter. 1 Press [MNU] to enter Menu mode. 8 Press the keys in sequence on the keypad to enter a DTMF number with up to 16 digits.
UTILIZING B-BAND ABOUT B-BAND Usually you can communicate with other amateur radio stations using A-band frequencies for receiving and transmitting. This transceiver also features another receiver in addition to A-band transceiver. The frequency for the B-band appears the bottom part of the display. Although A-band transceiver covers only 144 MHz/ 220 MHz (TH-F6A only)/ 430/ 440 MHz amateur radio bands in FM mode, B-band receiver can receive from 100 kHz to 470 MHz in SSB, CW, FM, or AM mode.
8 ENHANCED COMMUNICATIONS SELECTING A MODE FOR B-BAND When using B-band, the following receiving mode is available. BAR ANTENNA Although the supplied wide-band helical antenna is used for receiving B-band frequencies, due to the size and length limitation, it may not suitable for the low HF band (below 7 MHz) receiption. The transceiver features a built-in bar antenna for the receiption frequency below 7 MHz.
8 ENHANCED COMMUNICATIONS ■ Selecting Fine Tuning Frequency step You can select the Fine Tuning frequency step from 50 Hz, 100 Hz (default), or 1000 Hz. To select the Fine Tuning frequency step size: 1 Select a frequency on the B-band. 2 Press [F], [FINE]. • Current frequency step size appears. 3 Turn the Tuning control or press [ ]/ [ ] to select a desired frequency step from 50 Hz, 100 Hz (default), or 1000 Hz. 4 Press [s s] or [MNU] to store the new setting.
OPERATOR CONVENIENCES APO (Auto Power OFF) BATTERY SAVER The TH-F6A/ TH-F7E switches OFF automatically if no keys or controls are pressed or adjusted for 30 minutes (default). 1 minute before the transceiver switches OFF, warning beeps are output for a few seconds and “APO” appears on the display. You can select the APO time from OFF (disable), 30 (default), and 60 minutes. Battery Saver extends the operating time of the transceiver.
15 OPERATOR CONVENIENCES The transceiver generates the following warning beeps even if the beep function is turned OFF. • • Band DC voltage error {page 2}. PLL circuit malfunctions. A-band Note: A beep output level is linked the VOL control position. BEAT SHIFT Since the transceiver uses a microprocessor to control various functions of the transceiver, the CPU clock oscillator’s harmonics or image may appear on some spots of the receiving frequencies. In this case, turn the Beat Shift function ON.
15 OPERATOR CONVENIENCES MICROPHONE PF KEYS (OPTIONAL) NARROW BAND FM OPERATION If you have an optional SMC-33 or SMC-34 speaker microphone, you can access many transceiver settings without using transceiver keys or controls. The 1, 2, and 3 keys located on the top of the microphone are programmable with the transceiver key (or key combination) function. The default assignment functions are as follows.
15 OPERATOR CONVENIENCES [0] to select space or 0. Refer to page 17 for the available characters and control keys. PROGRAMMABLE VFO If you want to limit the operating frequencies within a certain range, program the upper and lower frequency limits to the program VFO pamameters. For example, if you select 448 MHz for the lower limit and 449 MHz for the upper limit, the tunable range will be limited from 448.000 MHz to 449.995 MHz. 1 Press [A/B] to select A-band. 2 Press [VFO].
15 OPERATOR CONVENIENCES the transceiver. VOLUME BALANCE 1 Press [MNU]. 2 Turn the Tuning control or press [ ]/ [ ] to select Menu No. 8 (TX INHIBIT). s] or [MNU]. 3 Press [s 4 Turn the Tuning control or press [ ]/ [ ] to select “ON”. While you are receiving A and B-bands at the same time, you may sometimes feel that audio output on either band is too loud. You can adjust the volume balance level of the bands. 1 Press [BAL]. • The balance scale and blinking cursor appear.
15 OPERATOR CONVENIENCES normal tone of voice, adjust the setting (default is 4) using the Tuning control or press [ ]/ [ ] until the transceiver reliably switches to transmit mode each time you speak. • The selectable gain range is from 0 (least sensitive) to 9 (most sensitive). • The setting should not allow background noise to switch the transceiver to transmit mode. Note: The VOX gain level can be adjusted even if VOX is switched OFF or while you are transmitting.
WIRELESS REMOTE CONTROL (TH-F6A ONLY) If you also have a KENWOOD multi-band mobile transceiver, you can control one of its bands by sending DTMF tones from this handy transceiver. You will find this function useful when you want to control your mobile transceiver from a location outside your vehicle. Note: ◆ You can remotely control only the mobile transceivers that have both the DTSS and Remote Control functions. ◆ The FCC rules permit you to send control codes only on the 440 MHz band.
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES BT-13 EMC-3 HMC-3 HMC-5 Drycell Battery Case Clip Microphone Headset with VOX/ PTT Headset HS-9 PB-42L PG-2W PG-3J Earphone Li-ion Battery Pack DC Cable Filtered Cigarette Lighter Cable SMC-32 SMC-33 SMC-34 VC-H1 Speaker Microphone Remote Control Speaker Microphone Remote Control Speaker Microphone (with VOL control) Interactive Visual Communicator 52