Operating Manual

VX410/420 Series
Operating Manual
7/9
Vertex Standard Co., Ltd.
ARTS (Auto Range Transpond System)
This system is designed to inform you when you and another ARTS-equipped station are
within communication range.
During ARTS operation, your radio automatically transmits for about 1 second every 55
seconds in an attempt to shake hands with the other station.
If you have out of range for more than two minutes, your radio senses that no signal has
been receives, a ringing beeper will sound, and “IN RANGE” will appear on the LCD. If you
subsequently move back into range, as soon as the other station transmits, your beeper will
sound and “OUT RANGE” will appear on the LCD.
Understanding Radio Waves
Radio waves travel from one point to another by several different means. The general term
for these methods of wave travel is “propagation”. You may know that “short-wave” signals
can be propagated over distances of several thousand miles by reflection off of the upper
regions of the atmosphere.
Your hand-held transceiver, on the other hand, operates on the so-called UHF (Ultra-High-
Frequency) band. On this band, radio waves usually do not reflect off of the atmosphere.
Instead, the radio waves behave almost as light; they travel in a straight line, and when meet
a building or obstruction, they go no further in that direction.
Therefore, it is important that you be as high and free from obstructions as possible to cover
the greatest distance when using your radio. If you operate from inside a car or building, any
metal around you can absorb much of the signal, both transmitted and received. Coverage
may therefore be very poor under those conditions. However, if you must operate from
indoors, moving next to a window will improve communications.
In view of the factors just discussed, you can easily see the potential benefit of holding the
radio up high near your mouth while transmitting. In this way the antenna is high and clear,
and coverage is best.
On final note regarding propagation is useful in improving coverage. Because radio waves
at UHF is similar to light waves, they do reflect, to varying degrees, off of hills, buildings, and
the like. In a crowded urban area, with many close buildings close together, many reflections
may occur, and interfere with one another, causing variations in signal strength at different
locations.
Therefore, if a signal is weak and you walk a few feet in any direction, reception may
suddenly become clear, because a particular reflection path may become dominant.
Reflections are frequency useful, as they can allow for communications between two
stations over a highly obstructed path.
FCC ID: K6610504420/IC ID: 511B-10504420