Midland ALAN 456 Owner Manual

INDEX

Introduction

Coverage

Batteries

Care of optional Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries

To enjoy your radio for a long time

Accessories

Controls and indicators

How to use your ALAN 456

Voice-controlled transmit mode (VOX)

Manual transmit mode (PTT)

Main features

Roger Beep: end-transmission note

Keypad /switching on beep

Use of ALAN 456 as Babyphone

INTERCOM function

SCAN function

CTCSS (Continuous Tone Coded Signalling System)

DCS (Digital Code Squelch)

DW function (Dual Watch)

Channels memorisation

Power Save

Battery level

Reset

Summary table

Technical specifications

Restrictions to the use

Index

13

14

15

15

16

16

10

10

11

11

12

12

4

8

9

10

3

3

2

2

2

2

16

17

18

20

1

INTRODUCTION

ALAN 456 is a new generation handheld transceiver PMR 446 type. It can be used without license in all countries where

PMR 446 frequencies are authorised.

Coverage

The operating band (446Mhz) allows clear communication, virtually free from atmospheric interferences and -despite the low power - will allow you to communicate up to a distance of 5 km (under optimum conditions).

The only limit to maximum possible range are environmental factors such as blockage caused by trees, buildings, hills, or other obstructions. If you find communication is not possible, many times this can be solved by moving a few meters to a new location. Range is also reduced while operating in a vehicle or metal building.

Batteries

The radio uses 3 AA type alkaline (dry) or 3 AA Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries.

• Do not leave batteries installed over a long period of time as leakage may occur and this can destroy the radio.

This operation, besides, preserves battery life.

• Never use different batteries from the ones suggested.

Attention: to obtain proper operation, batteries must be in good condition and fully charged.

Care of optional rechargeable Ni-Cd batteries

The following is meant as general information regarding Ni-

Cd batteries.

• Allow the batteries to fully discharge before recharging.

Full discharge will be indicated by display.

flashing on the

• Always allow the battery to fully charge before using to prevent the batteries from developing “memory”, which effectively reduces their capacity.

• It is better to store Ni-Cd batteries that are discharged rather than charged.

• Never use batteries which differ from the ones recommended. Do not mix old and new batteries or rechargeable batteries of different capacities.

2 Introduction

Accessories

ALAN 456 is equipped with jack for external speaker microphone, intercom system and charge jack for Ni-Cd batteries.

To enjoy your radio for a long time

• While ALAN 456 has been designed for many years of reliable, trouble-free performance, it is a precision piece of electronic equipment that should not be exposed to moisture, dust or extreme temperatures.

• Do not connect the unit to a power higher than the working one.

• To power the radio by the car, do not use a cigarette lighter adapter: use “AL25” charger only.

• Clean the unit with a damp cloth only; do not use harsh chemicals.

Introduction 3

CONTROLS AND INDICATORS

Top

Front

1

3

OFF/VOL

2

1.

ON/OFF/Volume Control. With this control you can switch on or off the ALAN 456 and adjust the volume to a comfortable level. Turn the knob clockwise to switch on the unit, counterclockwise to tur n it off.

2.

SPK MIC (Speaker Microphone Connector). Connect these jacks to an optional speaker/microphone or an earphone.

3.

Antenna

4 Controls and Indicators

6

3

4

7

8

5

3 4 5 6 7 2 8 9

1

16 15 14

4.

Display

1) Channel indicator

2) CTCSS / DCS indicators

3) CTCSS activated

4) DCS activated

5) VOX activated

6) Dual Watch activated

7) Keypad lock

8) TX-RX icon

9) Power Save on

10) Roger Beep

11) Channel memory

12) Memory

13) B.SCAN activated

14) SCAN function on

15) Keypad / switching on beep

16) Battery level icon

13

10

11

12

5.

Speaker and Microphone. This is the speaker and microphone location. During transmission, keep your mouth 4/10 cm from the unit and speak with normal voice level.

6.

/ keys. With these keys you can select one of the 8 following channels:

Channel

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

Frequency

(MHz)

446.00625

446.01875

446.03125

446.04375

446.05625

446.06875

446.08125

446.09375

7. (Enter/Lighting) key. By pressing this key, the display will be lighting up for 6 secs. Keeping it pressed during the switching on, you can enter in programming mode

( f u n c t i o n s w i l l b e s u b s e q u e n t l y d e s c r i b e d ) .

8. (Function) button. By pressing this button you can activate the SCAN, B.SCAN,CTCSS, DCS, DW and

MEMORY functions. They will be better described in their relative paragraphes.

Controls and Indicators 5

14. PTT/VOX Switch. To select PTT or VOX mode. The VOX function permits the hands-free use of the radio: ALAN

456 transmission can start when you speak close to the unit. The VOX sensitivity is programmable, as the delay of the return in transmission mode.

Back

15. Battery pack. To open the battery compartment, unhook the battery holder in the lower part of the radio and slide the cover towards the bottom of the radio. The ALAN

456 has an automatic current economy circuit. If the radio receives no signal for longer than 6 seconds the “power save function” will be activated. The battery live will rise up to 50 %.

16. Belt clip. To hook up the unit to your belt.

17. Wrist belt hole. Hook up the wrist belt.

17

16

15

Controls and Indicators 7

Bottom

18. Load contacts. ALAN 456 is equipped, at the lower surface, with load contacts which enable a load course over a desk top charger.

18

HOW TO USE YOUR ALAN 456

1.

Insert 3 AA type alkaline or optional Ni-Cd batteries into the battery compartment, noting polarity.

2.

To turn on the radio, slightly rotate the ON/OFF/Volume control clockwise until the radio clicks on and adjust the volume control to the desired listening level. To adjust the volume, press the ”MON“ button and rotate the knob.

Four successive tones (excludible) are signalling that the transceiver is turned on. The display makes a “self-test” for 1 sec., then it switches on the channel 1 and 00

CTCSS. Now the transceiver is ready to receive /transmit on the last channel used; All permanent settings are maintained.

3. To transmit ( ), keep pressing PTT button and speak with a normal voice level 4/10 cm far from the unit.

4. To receive ( ), simply release PTT button.

8 How to use your ALAN 456

Voice-controlled transmit mode (VOX)

Your ALAN 456 is equipped with PTT (manual transmit mode) and VOX (automatic voice control). The VOX can be adjusted in 6 positions: from 01 (higher sensitivity) to 06 (lower

sensitivity). 01 position is recommended in quiet sites; 06 position is ideal for the operation with microphone/loudspeaker or for room monitoring with large background noise.

VOX activation and setting

VOX activation

Set the “VOX/PTT” switch, on the right side of ALAN 456, in

“VOX” position.

Sensitivity setting and RX return time

1) Set the ON/OFF volume control on “OFF” position.

2) Turn on the unit keeping pressed the key (when released, the display shows “BEEP on”): oN

LE

-03

Select the desired VOX level by means of the / buttons. The VOX sensitivity is now adjusted.

4) Press again the button: the display shows:

With these steps you can select the desired level, so that the radio switches in RX in the desired delay. 01 level is the shortest time, 06 level is the longest one.

5) To confirm the operations, press the key or turn off the radio.

To transmit, speak into the microphone – the voice automatic control switches ALAN 456 into transmit mode.

Note: In sites with very loud background noise, to set the switch in position “06” ( select “LE vox 06”) is recommended.

3) Press button until the display shows:

How to use your ALAN 456 9

Manual Transmit Mode (PTT)

1) Set the “PTT /VOX” switch, on the right side of ALAN

456, in PTT position.

2) To transmit, press now the PTT button on the left side of the radio.

3) Speak to the microphone keeping a distance of 4/10 cm approximately.

ALAN 456 will be on transmission until you release the PTTbutton again.

MAIN FEATURES

ROGER BEEP: end transmission tone

Roger Beep function is part of the original ALAN 456 design.

When you finish to transmit (PTT released), a beep confirming the end transmission is heard from the other user.

To deactivate it , proceed as follows:

1.

Switch off ALAN 456.

2.

Keep the key pressed and restart the unit.

3.

Press the button until the display shows on the right side: oN

4.

Select “FF” with / buttons.

5.

Press key or turn off and on the radio.

6.

Roger Beep is now deactivated.

10 Main Features

Keypad/switching on beep

When switching on the radio, and pressing every key, (except for CALL,MON,PTT) the radio sends out a beep. To deactivate it, follow these instructions:

1.

Turn on the unit keeping pressed the key.

2.

Select “BEEP” and “FF” with / buttons.

FF

3.

Press the key or turn off the radio to confirm the operations.

Use of the ALAN 456 as Babyphone

This system is particularly helpful to take care of the baby while doing housework at the same time.

To use this unit as Babyphone you need firtst of all two PMRs;

ALAN 456 can be used also with other PMRs models, too: the most important fact hereby is that both devices are indicated with the same frequency setting. If using another

ALAN 456 for listening, the PTT/VOX switch must be in “PTT” position.

Setting up

1.

Set the PTT-VOX switch of the transmitter in PTT position.

2.

Turn on the unit keeping pressed the key.

3.

Press the button until the display shows:

4.

Select the desired sensitivity level by the

(min.01; max 06)

/ keys

5.

Press key: the display shows “bA-by”. “bA-by” will be flashing after 1 minute (it indicates the function has been activated), and the RTX will switch in Stand-by mode. The display stops flashing and the radio switches in transmission mode when a signal/voice is heard. The

PMR sends out a note -similar to the CALL note- for 2 seconds. This note is heard from the other PMR in RX mode: the radio switches in TX mode for 10 secs. When the transmission is ended, the PMR switches in reception for 10 secs. This operation will be repeated for 3 times.

BABYSITTER function deactivates all other keys except the

PTT and the lighting of the display.

The level sensitivity must be set as to the distance between the child and the radio and the background noise level.

Main Features 11

INTERCOM FUNCTION

Thanks to the INTERCOM-function, this transceiver is especially suitable for the use on motorbikes. The DUPLEX function allows simultaneously communications between driver and partner, as a phone conversation.

Connect the first headset to the Speaker/Microphone-jack at the top of the transceiver and an optional accessory (throat activated microphones, etc.) to the INT-jack of ALAN 456. To use this function, set the PTT/VOX switch in PTT position.

ALAN 456 is now functioning as an Intercom system. To get in contact with other motorbike drivers (using the same frequency), the transmit mode can be done manually (PTTswitch) or by voice controlled system (VOX). In this case, the

“PTT-/VOX” switch must be in “VOX” position. It is also necessary the use of an appropriate accessory.

SCAN function

The Scan function is used to check the traffic radio on the 8 channels before transmitting.

There are 2 kinds: SCAN and B. SCAN

SCAN

To make Scan function operative, it is necessary: a) turn on the radio by rotate clockwise the ON/OFF volume.

b) Press the button: “SCAN” will be blinking on the display.

c) Press / buttons.

d) To stop Scan function, press “PTT” or key.

B.SCAN

It monitors the first free channel (without carrier) for 5 secs amongst the 8 available.

To activate/deactivate it, follow the instructions above described.

12 Main Features

CTCSS: Continuous Tone Coded Signalling System

ALAN 456 can receive in two modalities: a) open traffic: in this case you will hear any communication transmitted on the selected channel.

b) group modality CTCSS/DCS: CTCSS and DCS tones are “access keys” that allow you to receive only messages coming from parties using same channel and code.

Speaker will remain muted until the correct CTCSS or

DCS tone is received (further details will be explained in the successive paragraphes).

To activate 38 different CTCSS tones in RX and TX follow these steps:

1.

Turn on the radio.

2.

Press button until “CTCSS” blinks on the display.

3.

Select the desired tone (01/38) by the / keys.

4.

Press to confirm the operations.

Now the radio transmits and receives using the programmed

CTCSS tone.

If you don’t want CTCSS tones, select “00”.

CTCSS TONE CHART

08

09

10

11

12

13

04

05

06

07

No Freq.(Hz)

01 67.0

02

03

71.9

74.4

77.0

79.7

82.5

85.4

88.5

91.5

94.8

97.4

100.0

103.5

21

22

23

24

25

26

17

18

19

20

No Freq.(Hz)

14 107.2

15

16

110.9

114.8

118.8

123.0

127.3

131.8

136.5

141.3

146.2

151.4

156.7

162.2

34

35

36

37

38

30

31

32

33

No Freq.(Hz)

27 167.9

28

29

173.8

179.9

186.2

192.8

203.5

210.7

218.1

225.7

233.6

241.8

250.3

Main Features 13

DCS: Digital Code Squelch

To activate the selective squelch, follow the same instructions of “CTCSS” paragraph, but “DCS” instead of “CTCSS” must be selected on the display.

Note: A channel can be programmed either with CTCSS or

DCS tones, but not both. DCS tones are 83. Here is the table:

24

25

26

27

28

29

18

19

20

21

22

23

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

No DCS code

01

02

03

04

05

06

023

025

026

031

032

043

047

051

054

065

071

072

073

074

114

115

116

155

156

162

165

172

174

125

131

132

134

143

152

53

54

55

56

57

58

47

48

49

50

51

52

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

No DCS code

30

31

32

33

34

35

205

223

226

243

244

245

251

261

263

265

271

306

311

315

331

343

346

413

423

431

432

445

464

351

364

365

371

411

412

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

No DCS code

59

60

61

62

63

64

465

466

503

506

516

532

546

565

606

612

624

627

631

632

654

662

664

703

712

723

731

732

734

743

754

14 Main Features

DW: Dual Watch

This function allows to monitor 2 channels at your choice:

1.

Turn on the radio.

2.

Select the first channel you want to monitor.

3.

Press repeatedly the button until ”DW” blinks on the display.

4.

Select the second channel you want to monitor by means of / keys.

Now the dual watch between the 2 prefixed channels starts and stops when a carrier is heard on one of the two. Dual watch restarts when the carrier disappears.

To stop Dual Watch function, press the key or switch on/off the radio.

Channel storage

With ALAN 456 you can store 9 combinations of channels with relative CTCSS –DCS tones.

Storing a channel

1.

Turn on the unit

2.

Press button until “M” with number 1 blinks in the bottom right side of the display:

3.

Select the desired memory (from 1 to 9) using

keys

/

4.

Press key: now the first number blinks on the left side of the display

5.

Select the desired channel to be stored ( from 1 to 8) using / keys

6.

Press button: you’ll see the flashing on the right of the channel just stored. CTCSS also blinks in the upper left side

7.

Select the desired CTCSS tone using / keys

Main Features 15

If you desire no tone, press key when “CTCSS 00” appears on display.

To insert a DCS tone:

1.

Press button (“DCS” will blink on the display)

2.

Select the desired DCS tone using / keys.

If you desire no tone, press key when “DCS 00” appears on display.

Channel Recall

To recall the stored channel follow these instructions:

1.

Press button until a number (from 1 to 9) blinks in the bottom right side of the display

2.

Use the / keys to run the stored channels

3.

If a memory is empty, the memory channel blinks; if a channel has been stored, the number remain fixed.

4.

Press key to end the operations.

When turning on /off the radio, the stored channels remain memorised in your ALAN 456.

Power save

This function allows an automatically save of the power. If you receive no signals for 5 secs. max the “Power save“ function is activated reducing at minimum the consumption extending the battery life.

Battery level

The battery level indicator is visualised on the display. The number of segments indicates the battery level.

When icon blinks, replace the alkaline batteries or recharge Ni-Cd batteries.

Reset

If ALAN 456 presents some malfunctionings or you want to cancel all the setting, you can make a reset by pressing button for 3 secs during the switching on of the radio.

16 Main Features

SUMMARY TABLE

PROGRAMMABLE FUNCTIONS: SWITCHING ON AND PRESSURE OF BUTTON

Pressure Num. key Display message Description Variation with

Display message

0 Keypad beep activation oN

FF

/ keys

Description

Keypad beep deactivation

1 oN

Roger Beep active

FF

Roger Beep

Deactivation

2

LE

-03

VOX Level Activation

LE

-01

(from 01 to 06

Increase/decrease

VOX level

3

4

Return in RX mode at the end of VOX transmission

Babysitter function

(from 01 to 06

Increase/decrease of RX return

Increase/decrease of VOX sensitivity

(from 01 to 06

5 Return to condition “0” oN

Summary Table 17

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

General

Channels

Channel spacing

Frequencies

Battery

Operating temperature

Frequency control

Frequency stability

Weight

Dimensions

Receiver

Sensitivity

Squelch

Audio output

Frequency response

Intermediate frequency

18 Technical Specifications

8

12,5 KHz

CH1:446.00625 MHz

CH2:446.01875 Mhz

CH3:446.03125 Mhz

CH4:446.04375 Mhz

CH5:446.05625 Mhz

CH6:446.06875 Mhz

CH7:446.08125 Mhz

CH8:446.09375 Mhz

3 x AA 1.5 V alkaline or 1.2 V Ni-Cd

- 20

°

C to + 55

°

C

PLL synthesiser

±

2.5 PPM

100 gr. (without batteries)

50 x 95 x 25 mm better than 0.35

µ

V for 12dB SINAD automatic

0.3 Watts (max)

300 Hz - 3000 Hz

1st IF: 21.4 MHz - 2nd IF: 0.455 MHz

Spurious rejection

Image rejection

Intermodulation

Transmitter

Frequency range

Output power

Type of modulation

Modulation capability

Spurious emission

Frequency tolerance

Current drain

Stereo jack for ext. Microphone

Stereo jack for ext. Speaker

Stereo jack for ext. Intercom

Modifications are subject to change without notice.

within legal terms within legal terms within legal terms

CH1:446.00625 MHz

CH2:446.01875 Mhz

CH3:446.03125 Mhz

CH4:446.04375 Mhz

CH5:446.05625 Mhz

CH6:446.06875 Mhz

CH7:446.08125 Mhz

CH8:446.09375 Mhz

500 mW ERP

F M

±

2.5 Khz (max) within legal terms

±

2.5 PPM (-20

°

C /+ 55

°

C)

< 350 mA @ 4.5V (dry batteries)

2,5 mm

3,5 mm

3,5 mm

Technical Specifications 19

Restrictions to the use

Chart derived from ERC/DEC (98) 25-26-27

COUNTRY

AUSTRIA

BELGIUM

DENMARK

FINLAND

FRANCE

GERMANY

GREECE

ICELAND

IRELAND

ITALY

LUXEMBOURG

NETHERLANDS

NORWAY

PORTUGAL

SPAIN

SWEDEN

SWITZERLAND

TURKEY

UNITED KINGDOM

PMR446 introduced

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Deviations from ERC Decisions and other comments

Hobby use excluded

Individual licence is required

Free Use

Free Use

Not allowed use ch 1 (446.00625 MHz) and ch2 (446.01875 MHz)

Free Use

Not allowed

Free Use

CTCSS or DCS Tone Control mandatory! Free circulation

Not Allowed

Not allowed

Free Use

Not allowed

Free Use

Free Use

Not Allowed

Individual licence restricted to business use. Visitors have free circulation in the sense of ERC/DEC/(98)27.

Individual licence required (but licence exemption is being considered). Test Reports recognised.

Free Use

20 Restrictions to the use