Vertex Standard VXA-710 manual

Operating Manual AIR BAND TRANSCEIVER SPIRIT[...]

C ONTENTS Important Notice! ........................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................... 2 Control & Connectors ................................................... 3 T op Panel ........................................................................... 3 Front Pa[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 1 I MPORT ANT N OTICE ! FCC RF Exposure Compliance Requir ements for Occupational Use Only: This Radio has been tested and complies with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF exposure limits for Occupational Use/Controlled exposure environment. In addition, it complies with the following Standards and Gu[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 2 I NTRODUCTION The V ertex Standard VXA-710 Spirit is a compact, stylish, solid hand-held transceiver providing communication (trans- mit and receive) capability on the International Aircraft Communication Band (“COM” band: 118 ~ 136.975 MHz), and it additionally provides VOR and CDI navigation features on t[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 3 C ONTROLS & C ONNECTORS ( T OP P ANEL )  Antenna Jack This SMA jack accepts the supplied flexible antenna, or another antenna designed to provide 50 Ohm im- pedance on the Aircraft Communication Band and BRS Band.  MIC/SP Jack Y ou may connect the supplied CT -96 Headset Cable, or the optional MH-44 B[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 4 C ONTROLS & C ONNECTORS ( F RONT P ANEL )  LCD ( Liquid Crystal Display ) The display shows the current operating conditions, including frequency , etc.  PWR ( Power ) Switch Press and hold this switch for 3 seconds to toggle the transceiver ’ s power on and off.  Keypad Several keys have triple [...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 5 C ONTROLS & C ONNECTORS ( S IDE P ANEL )  PTT ( Push T o T alk ) Switch Press this button to transmit when you are operating in the COM band (1 18.000 - 136.975 MHz). Release this button to return to the “Receive” mode. See page 15.  MONITOR Switch This button may be pressed to “Open” the sque[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 6 C ONTROL & C ONNECTORS ( K EYP AD ) Secondary Function ( Press + ) Primary Function ( Press Key ) Third Function ( Press and hold key ) Secondary Function ( Press + ) Primary Function ( Press Key ) Third Function ( Press and hold key ) Secondary Function ( Press + ) Primary Function ( Press Key ) Third Func[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 7 C ONTROL & C ONNECTORS ( K EYP AD ) Secondary Function ( Press + ) Primary Function ( Press Key ) Third Function ( Press and hold key ) Secondary Function ( Press + ) Primary Function ( Press Key ) Third Function ( Press and hold key ) Secondary Function ( Press + ) Primary Function ( Press Key ) Third Func[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 8 B EFORE Y OU B EGIN Precautions  This apparatus is capable of two-way communication on channels used for critical aviation safety commu- nications. Therefore, it is important that this radio be kept away from children or other unauthorized users at all times.  When making DC connections via the (optional)[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 9 Installation of FNB-80LI Battery Pack The FNB-80LI is a high-performance Lithium-Ion bat- tery providing high capacity in a very compact package. Under normal use, the FNB-80LI may be used for ap- proximately 300 charge cycles, after which operating time may be expected to decrease. If you have an old battery p[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 10 Installation of FBA-23 Alkaline Battery Case ( Option ) The optional FBA-23 Battery Case allows receive moni- toring using two “AA” size Alkaline batteries. T o Install Alkaline Batteries into the FBA-23  Slide the batteries into the FBA-23 as shown in the illustration, with the Negative [ – ] side of[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 11 Low Battery Indication  As you battery discharges during use, the voltage will gradually become lower . When the “ ” begins blinking on the LCD dis- play , the battery pack must be recharged before further use.  A void recharging Li-Ion batteries before the “Low Bat- tery” indicator is observed, [...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 12 B ASIC O PERA TION Preliminary S teps  Install a charged battery pack onto the transceiver , as described previously .  Screw the supplied antenna onto the Antenna jack. Never operate this transceiver without an antenna con- nected.  If you have an optional Speaker/Microphone or head- set. we recommen[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 13 T o set 118.275 MHz, you do not need to press the final “ 5 ” in the frequency:     . Note : When the entered frequency is outside of the current operating band, the entry is ignored (i.e. VXA- 710 does not permit entry of an FM BC band fre- quency while operating in the AIR band).  Y ou may[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 14 B ASIC O PERA TION Accessing the 121.5 MHz Emergency Frequency The VXA-710 can quickly access the 121.500 MHz Emer - gency Frequency . This function can be activated even when the keypad lock function is in use.  T o access the Emer- gency Frequency , press the key momen- tarily .  T o exit the Emergency[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 15 B ASIC O PERA TION  BOOK ( Pre-Programmed ) Memories The Book memories are pre-programmed, either at the factory or by your Dealer (depending on your country’ s requirements), typically including the major AIR band station frequencies used in your area. The Book memories can be changed by the user . See p[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 16 Reception of W eather Channel Br oadcasts ( USA version only ) The VXA-710 can receive VHF W eather Channel broad- casts, which may assist your flight planning. The VXA- 710 includes a ten-channel auto-search feature, which sim- plifies access to W eather Channels when you are in an unfamiliar location.  T [...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 17 B ASIC O PERA TION Monitor Key When listening to a very weak signal from an aircraft or ground station, you may observe the signal disappearing periodically as the incoming signal strength becomes too weak to override the squelch threshold setting. T o disable the squelch tem- porarily , press and hold the MON[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 18 LOCK Function The lock function prevents accidental changes to the fre- quency setting and the keypad controls.  T o activate the lock fea- ture, press the key followed by the key .  In the LOCK mode, the “ ” icon will appear on the display .  T o turn the lock feature off, press press the key fol[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 19 Receive Battery Saver Setup An important feature of the VXA-710 is its Receive Bat- tery Saver , which “puts the radio to sleep” for a time inter- val, periodically “waking it up” to check for activity . If somebody is talking on the channel, the VXA-710 will remain in the “active” mode, then resum[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 20 M EMOR Y O PERA TION The VXA-710 provides 70 user-programmable Main memories, labeled “ MR1 ” through “ MR68 ”, “ MRLch ,” and “ MRUch ,” up to 90 pre-programmed memories, des- ignated “Book” Memories, labeled “ BMR1 ” through “ BMR90 ,” and one Home channel, allowing storage and qu[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 21 M EMOR Y O PERA TION Recalling the Memories  Press the key , repeatedly if necessary , until “ MR ” (Memory Recall) appears on the display . In the MR mode, you will see the previously-selected channel number appearing at the bottom of the “ MR ” icon on the LCD.  Rotate the DIAL selector knob to[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 22 M EMOR Y O PERA TION Deleting Memories  W ith the VXA-710 in the Memory mode, rotate the DIAL selector knob to select the memory channel you wish to delete.  Press the key , then press and hold the key for 2 seconds. The previously-selected memory will be deleted. Note: Once deleted, channel data cannot [...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 23 S CANNING O PERA TION Basic Scan The VXA-710 allows you to scan automatically in the VFO* 1 , Main Memory , “Book” Memory , W eather Chan- nel* 2 or BRS Memory modes. It pauses on signals encoun- tered, so you can talk to the station(s) on that frequency , if you like. * 1: In the VFO mode, the automatic s[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 24 Channel-Skip Scanning Continuous-carrier stations like A TIS (Automatic T ermi- nal Information Service) or W eather Broadcast stations inhibit scanner operation. Since these stations are always active, the scanner will be halted repeatedly on their chan- nels. Such channels can be set to be “Skipped” duri[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 25 D UAL W A TCH O PERA TION The Dual W atch feature automatically checks for activity on a “Priority” channel* while you are operating on an- other channel. During Dual W atch operation, the current channel and the Priority channel will each be polled for a 500 ms interval, as the VXA-710 looks for activity [...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 26 P RIORITY D UAL W A TCH O PERA TION Similar to Dual W atch operation (described on previous page), Priority Dual W atch is an enhanced version which includes the following additional features:  The receiving time interval (ratio) between the cur- rent channel and the Priority channel may be custom- ized via[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 27 S PECTRUM S COPE M ONITOR If you assign the Spectrum Scope Monitor feature to the key (see page 40), you may view operating activity on channels above and below the current operating chan- nel while operating in the VFO, Memory T une, and PMS modes. The display indicates the relative signal strength on chan- n[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 28 VOR N A VIGA TION ( A IR B AND ) OBS FROM 0 3 0 0 3 3 0 6 0 3 0 180 2 4 0 2 1 0 1 2 0 1 5 0 “TO ”-“FROM” F l ag I ndica tor TWO-Degree Dev iation Marks COURSE Indicator COURSE Deviation Nee dle General VOR Equipment           NA V BAND ( 108.0000 - 1 17.9750 MHz ) VOR MODE[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 29 T o Select the V OR Mode  When entering the NA V band (108.000 - 1 17.975 MHz), the VXA-710 selects the VOR mode automati- cally . The “Course Indicator” will appear on the dis- play , and the “TO” or “FROM” indicator will appear at the right of the “Course Indicator” on the display . Note :[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 30 Flying to a V OR S tation The VXA-710 can indicate the deviation from the direct course to a VOR station.  Select a VOR station on your aeronautical chart and turn the DIAL selector knob (or enter the frequency directly with the keypad) to the frequency of the VO R station.  T o indicate the deviation be[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 31 VOR N A VIGA TION ( A IR B AND ) 1 0 ° 0 ° 2 0 ° 3 0 ° 4 0 ° 5 0 ° 6 0 ° 7 0 ° 8 0 ° 9 0 ° 1 0 0 ° 1 1 0 ° 1 2 0 ° 1 3 0 ° 1 4 0 ° 1 5 0 ° 1 6 0 ° 1 7 0 ° 1 8 0 ° 1 9 0 ° 2 0 0 ° 2 1 0 ° 2 2 0 ° 2 3 0 ° 2 4 0 ° 2 5 0 ° 2 6 0 ° 2 7 0 ° 2 8 0 ° 2 9 0 ° 3 1 0 ° 3 2 0 ° 3 3 0 ° 3 4[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 32 Entering a Desired Course The VXA-710 can also be configured to indicate the de- viation from the desired course, not only the deviation from the path to the VOR station.  Set the frequency to the desired VOR station.  Change the “ TO ” or “ FROM ” indication to “ TO ,” if it is not in that m[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 33 VOR N A VIGA TION ( A IR B AND ) Position Cross-checking  Select two VOR stations on your aeronautical chart.  Set the frequency of one of the VOR stations in the VOR mode. The course indicator will show the course deviation from the VOR radial. Note the radial you currently are on.  Now set the frequ[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 34 VOR N A VIGA TION ( A IR B AND ) Split Operation The split operation feature allows you to transmit a call to a Flight Service Station using the COM band frequencies, while receiving a VOR station (in the NA V band). VOR stations equipped with this capability typically are shown, on navigation charts, with the[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 35 BRS ( B USINESS R ADIO S ERVICE ) C HANNEL O PERA TION Recalling the BRS Channels  Press the key , re- peatedly if necessary , until “ BRS ” (Business Radio Service) appears on the display . In the BRS mode, you will see the previously-selected channel number appear- ing at the bottom of the “ BRS ”[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 36 BRS ( B USINESS R ADIO S ERVICE ) C HANNEL O PERA TION while operating in congested areas. Note : Y ou may notice an additional “ DCS ” icon ap- pearing while you rotate the DIAL selector knob in this step. W e’ll discuss the Digital Code Squelch sys- tem shortly .  When you have made your selection o[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 37 BRS ( B USINESS R ADIO S ERVICE ) C HANNEL O PERA TION DCS Operation Another form of tone access control is Digital Code Squelch, or DCS. It is a newer , more advanced tone sys- tem which generally provides more immunity from false paging than does CTCSS Decoder . The DCS Decoder is built into your VXA-710 , a[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 38 BRS ( B USINESS R ADIO S ERVICE ) C HANNEL O PERA TION CTCSS/DCS Bell Operation During CTCSS Decoder or DCS Decoder operation, you may set the VXA-710 up such that a ringing “bell” sound alerts you to the fact that a call is coming in. Here is the procedure for activating the CTCSS/DCS Bell:  Set the tr[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 39 M ISCELLANEOUS S ETTINGS Automatic Power -Off ( APO ) Feature The APO feature helps conserve battery life by automati- cally turning the radio off after a user -defined period of time within which there has been no dial or key activity . The available selections for the time before power-of f are 0.5/1/8 hours[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 40 Menu Item.  Rotate the DIAL selector knob to set the T ime-Out T imer to the desired “Maximum TX” time (1 minute, 3 minutes or 5 minutes).  When you have made your selection, press the key to save the new setting, then press the PTT key repetitively until the radio exit to normal operation. Note : Be[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 41  When you have made your selection, press the key to save the new setting, then press the PTT key repetitively until the radio exits to normal operation. Display Customization Display Contrast The LCD’ s contrast may be adjusted using the Menu.  Press the key , then press the key to activate the Menu ([...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 42 TX/BUSY Indicator Customization Default TX/BUSY illumination colors have been assigned at the factory . These may be changed by the user , if you wish to utilize another custom-designed color hue. The Red, Green, and Blue elements of each color ’ s composi- tion may be adjusted individually!  Press the ke[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 43 Changing the Channel S teps The VXA-710 allows you to choose channel steps in the FM broadcast band: 5/10/12.5/15/20/25/50/100 kHz per step. The VXA-710 is set up at the factory to 100 kHz which probably is satisfactory for most operation. How- ever , if you need to change the channel step increments, the proc[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 44 F IELD P ROGRAMMING M ODE The VXA-710 ’ s “Book” Memories also allow the user to store, label, and recall channel frequencies which you may want to use frequently by placing the VXA-710 into the “ Field Programming mode .” Memory S torage  Press and hold in both the PTT switch and key , while turn[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 45 Deleting Memories  Press and hold in both the PTT switch and key , while turning the radio on, to activate the Field Pro- gramming Mode. “ FD ” will appear at the upper left corner on the display .  Press and hold in the key for 2 seconds. The dis- play will indicate a “Book” memory channel numbe[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 46 T IMER M ODE The VXA-710 provides both “ STOP W A TCH ” and “ COUNT DOWN ” timers. These may be used for a vari- ety of time-keeping purposes. 1. Press and hold in the key while tuning the radio on, to activate the T imer Mode. 2. Press the MONITOR key to toggle the T imer between “ STOP WATCH ” ti[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 47 M ENU ( “S ET ” ) M ODE MENU Listing A listing of the Menu items available via the SET mode may be found below . A vailable Values ( Default: Bold Itaric ) On / Off Key / Off / On Off / On 00 - 15 ( 06 ) L V 1 – LV 4 ( LV 3 ) Four patterns Off / T emp / Volt R: 000 - 255, G: 000 - 255, B: 000 - 255 ( R: [...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 48 M ENU ( “S ET ” ) M ODE 5. Dimmer Function : Setting of the display brightness level. A vailable V alues : L V 1 - L V 4 Default Setting : L V 3 6. Meter Symbol Function : Selects the S- & TX PO meter symbol. A vailable V alues : Four patterns , , , Default Setting : 7. Display Mode Function : Selects [...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 49 8. RX LED Function : Edits the BUSY indicator color . A vailable V alues : Individual adjustments of the Red, Green, and Blue color hue may be performed, on a nu- merical scale of “000” to “255.” See page 42 for details. Default Setting : Green (R000, G065, B000) 9. TX LED Function : Edits the TX indic[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 50 3. Power On Beep Function : Selects the Power-on beep. A vailable V alues : Off/Mode 1/Mode 2/Mode 3 Default Settin g: Mode 1 3. R ECEIVE 1. SQL Function : Sets the Squelch threshold level for the AM and FM Narrow modes. A vailable V alues : 0 - 8 Default Setting : 6 2. FM Radio SQL Function : Sets the Squelch[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 51 M ENU ( “S ET ” ) M ODE 7. PRI Time Function : Selects the Priority Checking T ime. A vailable V alues : 500ms/1s/1.5s/2s/2.5s/3s Default Setting : 2s This Menu Item allows you to define how often the Prior- ity Channel will be checked for activity . Note : The Dual W atch Polling time is 500ms (fixed). 8.[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 52 M ENU ( “S ET ” ) M ODE 4. T RANSMIT 1. T .O.T Function : Setting of the T ime-Out T imer Countdown T ime. A vailable V alues : Off/1min/3min/5min Default Setting : Off The T ime-Out T imer shuts off the transceiver after con- tinuous transmission exceeds the programmed time. 5. K EY S ET 1. Lock Mode Func[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 53 M ENU ( “S ET ” ) M ODE 2. Emergency Function : Selects the Emergency feature. A vailable V alues : 121.5/LED+121.5/LED Default Setting : LED+121.5 121.5: Pressing the key momentarily accesses the 121.5 MHz Emergency Frequency . LED+121.5: Pressing the key momentarily accesses the 121.5 MHz Emergency Frequ[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 54 M ENU ( “S ET ” ) M ODE 7. Bandwid th Function : Selects the receiving bandwidth of the BRS Memory Channel. A vailable V alues : W ide (±25 kHz)/Narrow (±12.5 kHz) Default Setting : W ide (±25 kHz) 7. O PTION 1. Internal MIC Function : Internal Microphone On/Off A vailable V alues : Off/On Default Setti[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 55 N OTE[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 56 S PECIFICA TIONS General Frequency Range : TX 1 18.000 - 136.975 MHz (COM Band) RX 88.000 - 108.000MHz (FM BC Band), 108.000 - 1 17.975 MHz (NA V Band), 1 18.000 - 136.975 MHz (COM Band), 151.5125 - 158.400MHz (BRS Memory Channels), W eather Channel (WX-01 - WX-10) Channel Spacing : 25 kHz (AIR Band), 5/10/12.[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 57 S PECIFICA TIONS Receiver Circuit T ype : Double-conversion Superheterodyne IFs : 35.4 MHz & 450 kHz ( AM / NFM ), 45.65 MHz & 10.7MHz ( WFM ) Sensitivity : 88-108 MHz: better than 2 µV (for 12 dB SINAD with 1 kHz tone @ 22.5 kHz deviation) 108 MHz-137 MHz: better than 1 µV (for 6 dB S/N with 1 kHz t[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 58 A CCESSORIES & O PTIONS Supplied Accessories LI-ion Battery Pack (7.2V , 1300 mAh) FNB-80LI ....... 1 Battery Charger NC-72 ................................................. 1 Helical Antenna A TV -14 ............................................... 1 Headset Cable CT -96 ...................................[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 59 CN-3 Antenna Adapter (Option) CT -96 Headset Cable PTT Switch (not supplied) An external PTT switch is required for use with an avia- tion headset. Headset (not supplied) E-DC-5B External Power Cable (Option)  External Antenna A CCESSORIES & O PTIONS[...]

VXA-710 S PIRIT O PERA TING M ANUAL 60 N OTE[...]

Part 15.21: Changes or modifications to this device not expressly approved by V ertex S tandard could void the user’s authorization to operate this device.[...]

Copyright 2005 VER TEX ST ANDARD CO., L TD. All rights reserved. No portion of this manual may be reproduced without the permission of VER TEX ST ANDARD CO., L TD. Printed in Japan VERTEX STANDARD CO., LTD. 4-8-8 Nakameguro, Meguro-Ku, Tokyo 153-8644, Japan VERTEX STANDARD US Headquarters 10900 Walker Street, Cypress, CA 90630, U.S.A. YAESU EUROPE [...]