MIDLAND LXT490 User Manual

Lxt490 series, Owner's manual

LXT490 Series

OWNER'S MANUAL

www.midlandradio.com

GMRS/FRS Radio

Welcome to the world of Midland electronics

Congratulations on your purchase of a high quality MIDLAND

product. Your 2-way radio represents the state-of-the-art in high-tech

engineering. Designed for GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service)

operation, this compact package is big in performance. It is a quality

piece of electronic equipment, skillfully constructed with the finest

components. The circuitry is all solid-state and mounted on a rugged

printed circuit board. Your two-way radio is designed for reliable and

trouble-free performance for years to come.

Features

- 36 GMRS/FRS Channel

- 121 Privacy Codes (38 CTCSS / 83 DCS)

- VOX

- Selectable CALL Alert

- NOAA Weather Scan

- NOAA Weather Radio

- NOAA Weather Alert

- SCAN Function

- MONITOR Function

- Roger Beep Tone

- Silent Operation

- Key Pad Lock

- Power High / Low Settings

- Speaker / Microphone Jacks

- Battery Meter / Battery Low Indicator

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is

subject to the following two conditions : (1) this device does not cause

harmful interference, and (2) this radio must accept any interference

that may cause undesired operation.
To maintain compliance with FCC’s RF exposure guidelines, for

body-worn operation, this radio has been tested and meets the FCC RF

exposure guidelines when used with Midland Radio Corp. accessories

supplied or designated for this product. Use of other accessories may

not ensure compliance with FCC RF exposure guidelines.

IMPORTANT NOTICE, FCC LICENSE REQUIRED FOR GMRS OPERATION
(Only Applicable for GMRS Radio Use in the United States)
The LXT490 Series operates on GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service)

frequencies which require an FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

license. You must be licensed prior to operating on channels 1 - 7 or 15 - 22,

which comprise the GMRS channels of the LXT490 Series. Serious penalties

could result for unlicensed use of GMRS channels, in violation of FCC rules, as

stipulated in the Communications Act's Sections 501 and 502 (amended).
You will be issued a call sign by the FCC which should be used for station

identification when operating the radio on GMRS channels. You should also

cooperate by engaging in permissible transmissions only, avoiding channel

interference with other GMRS users, and being prudent with the length of their

transmission time.
To obtain a license or ask questions about the license application, contact the

FCC at 1-888-CALL FCC or go to the FCC's website:

http://www.fcc.gov

and request form 605.

Exposure To Radio Frequency Energy
Your Midland radio is designed to comply with the following national and

international standards and guidelines regarding exposure of human being to

radio frequency electromagnetic energy:

- United States Federal Communications Commission, Code of Federal

Regulations: 47 CFR part 2 sub-part J

- American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Institute of Electrical &

Electronic Engineers (IEEE) C95. 1-1992

- Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineer (IEEE) C95. 1-1999 Edition

- National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) of the

United States, Report 86, 1986

- International Commission on Non-lonizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)

1998

To control your exposure and ensure compliance with the general population or

uncontrolled environment exposure limits, transmit no more than 50% of the

time. The radio generates measurable RF energy exposure only when

transmitting.

IMPORTANT:

Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly

approved by MIDLAND RADIO CORP. could void your right to operate

this unit. Your radio is set up to transmit a regulated signal on an

assigned frequency. It is against the law to alter or adjust the settings

inside the COMMUNICATOR to exceed those limitations. Any adjustment

to your radio must be made by qualified technicians.

LCD DISPLAY

1. KEY LOCK ICON

– Indicates KEY

LOCK mode is on.

2. VOX ICON

– Indicates when VOX mode

is active.

3. NOAA WEATHER (WX) BAND ICON

–

Indicates when the radio is in Weather

Band mode.

4. CHANNEL NUMBER

– Changes from

1~36 on GMRS/FRS band (1~10 on WX

band).

5. PRIVACY CODE

– Indicates Privacy

Code selected by user (oF~38/oF~83). It

can only be set in Ch1~22.

6. BATTERY METER

– Indicates the battery

level.

7. RECEIVE (RX) ICON

– Indicates radio is

receiving a transmission.

8. TRANSMIT (TX) ICON

– Indicates radio

is transmitting a signal.

9. TRANSMIT POWER LEVEL ICON

–

Indicates TX Power setting (H/L)

10. PRIVACY CODE ICON

– Indicates

Privacy Code setting (CTCSS/DCS).

CONTROLS

11. PTT Button

– Press and hold to

transmit voice communication.

12. CALL/LOCK Button

– Press to send a

CALL Alert signal. Press and hold to

turn KEY LOCK on/off.

13. MIC

– Built-in microphone.

14. SPEAKER

– Built-in speaker.

15. ANTENNA.
16. EXTERNAL SPEAKER/MIC/CHG.

JACK

17. POWER / MENU Button

– Press and

hold for at least 3 seconds to turn the

radio on/off. Press momentarily to

access Menu mode.

18. MONITOR/SCAN Button

– Press to

enter SCAN mode. Press and hold to

enter MONITOR mode

19. UP/WX SCAN

and DOWN

Button

– Make adjustments in MENU

mode. Press and hold the UP button for

5 seconds to activate the NOAA

Weather Scan function.

8
9

BATTERY INSTALLATION

Your LXT490 Series radio operates with either 4 AAA alkaline

batteries or an optional NiMH battery pack. The belt clip should be

removed (see below) to ease installation or removal of the batteries.

To install the batteries:

1. With the back of the radio facing you, remove the belt clip (see

diagram below) for easy access, then remove the Battery Cover by

pressing down on the top center and sliding it down from the radio.

2. Insert 4 AAA batteries observing the polarity as shown. Installing

the batteries incorrectly will prevent the unit from operating or may

damage the unit.

3. Return the Battery Cover by sliding it up on the radio. Replace the

belt clip, making sure it locks into place.

BATTERY

COMPARTMENT

BATTERY

COMPARTMENT

COVER

Press here and
push down to open

BELT CLIP

LOCK TAB

BELT CLIP

LATCH

INSTALLING THE BELT CLIP

To install the BELT CLIP, slide the clip up into the slot on the back of

the radio until the BELT CLIP LATCH clicks. To remove the BELT

CLIP

, press the LOCK TAB up, then gently pull the belt clip down

toward the bottom of the radio.

MIDLAND RADIO CORPORATION

5900 Parretta Drive

Kansas City, MO 64120

Call 816.241.8500

visit us at http://www.midlandradio.com

Note: Features & Specifications are subject to change without

notice. MIDLAND is not responsible for unintentional errors or

omissions on its packaging.

Your LXT490 Series is equipped for using an optional rechargeable

NiMH battery pack which can be recharged by inserting the AC

adapter into the radio charge jack, or with optional desktop charger

(as described below). Initial charge time is 24 hours. Charge time is

about 12 hours thereafter. For maximum battery life, we recommend

charging the battery pack when the low battery icon comes on.

Remove the radios from the charger when the charge time expires.

To charge using a Desktop Charger:

1. Place the rechargeable battery packs in the radios.

2. Connect the AC adapter into an AC wall outlet.

3. Insert the AC adapter plug (or DC Cigarette Lighter adapter if

charging in vehicle) into the desktop charger jack.

4. Place the units into the desktop charger slot and note that the LED

indicator with RED color will light up, indicating charging function.

In order to ensure that the battery pack is fully charged, it is

recommended that the battery pack be charged for at least 12

hours with the radio turned OFF.

1. Only use our NiMH battery pack.

2. Do not attempt to charge alkaline batteries or any batteries

or battery packs other than the one indicated in the

manual. This may cause leakage and damage to the radio.

3. For long term storage of the radio, turn the radio OFF and

remove the batteries from the radio.

BATTERY LEVEL INDICATOR

Your LXT490 Series has a BATTERY LEVEL METER that

shows the battery power level. The greater the number of bars

visible, the stronger the battery level. When the battery level is low,

the Battery Shell

icon will flash in the display indicating

your batteries should be replaced or recharged if using a recharge-

able battery pack.

CHARGING THE OPTIONAL BATTERY PACK

POWER ON/OFF AND VOLUME

Press the POWER/MENU button for at least 3 seconds to turn the

radio on/off. During Power On, the radio will beep 2 times with

different tones, the LCD will display all icons for 1 second and the

LCD display will indicate the last channel selected.

To increase/decrease the volume level, press the

button during

or STANDBY mode.

TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING A CALL

To communicate, all radios in your group must be set to the same

channel and/or Privacy Code.

1. For maximum clarity, hold the radio 2 to 3 inches from your

mouth.

2. Press and hold the PTT button and speak in a normal voice

into the microphone. The TX icon will appear continuously

on the LCD Display while transmitting.

3. To receive a call, release the PTT button. The RX icon will

appear on the display when your radio is receiving a transmis-

sion.

ABOUT RANGE

Your LXT Series radios are designed to give you maximum range

under optimum conditions.

Optimum Conditions are:
l

Over water

Open rural areas without obstructions

Flat areas where you can see the other person

To ensure you get maximum range:
l

Be sure to use fresh or fully charged batteries - low batteries will

cause low power conditions

Be sure you are on a GMRS channel - FRS channels are

restricted by the FCC to low power

Be sure to set your radio to use Hi power.

OPERATING YOUR RADIO

LXT490 SERIES QUICK REFERENCE CHART

MONITOR

Pressing and holding the MONITOR button for 3 seconds will let

you hear noise so you can adjust the volume level of the radio when

not receiving a signal. This could also be used to check any activity

on your current channel before transmitting.

Press and hold the MONITOR button for 3 seconds again to get out

of MONITOR mode.

SCAN

Your LXT490 Series can scan all 36 channels for activity. To enter,

quickly press the SCAN button. Repeat the same procedure to exit.

Your radio will rapidly scan each of the 36 channels and stop on any

active channel for 4 seconds before resuming scan.

When you press the PTT button to transmit on an active channel, the

scanning function will stop and remain on the active channel. To

resume scanning, quickly press the SCAN button.

CALL ALERT

Your LXT490 Series can transmit a call alert for a fixed length of time.

To send a call alert, press the CALL button. The TX icon will appear

while transmitting a call alert and a tone can be heard on the

speaker for confirmation.

KEYPAD LOCK

To avoid accidentally changing the radio setting, press the LOCK

button for 4 seconds. The KEY LOCK icon will appear on the display.

PTT

and CALL will still be active. Repeat the same procedure to

unlock the keypad.

CHANNEL SELECTION (GMRS/FRS BAND)

Press the MENU button once, and then the

buttons to select

one of the 36 GMRS/FRS channels. To confirm the selection, press

the PTT button or press the MENU button again to move to the next

feature setting.

Channel

VOX

1~36

Privacy

Roger Beep

On/Off

Power

H/L

Call Alert

1~5

WX Channel

1~10

Silent Operation

On/Off

oF/1/2/3

CTCSS

DCS

oF~38

oF~83

WX Alert

On/Off

WX Scan

1~10

Press and hold UP/WX
button for 5 seconds

SETTING PRIVACY CODES

Your LXT490 Series has 121 Privacy Codes available to use in

channels 1~22. The selected Privacy Code may be different for each

channel. To select a Privacy Code for the current channel press the

MENU

button twice, and then the

buttons to select one of the

38 CTCSS Privacy Code. Press again the MENU button and the

button to select one of the 83 DCS Privacy Code. The

Privacy Code

icon on the display will indicate whether you set your

Privacy Code in CTCSS or DCS mode. To confirm the selection,

press the PTT button or press MENU button again to move to the

next feature setting.

Note

: If you select any CTCSS Privacy Code, any pre-selected

DCS

Privacy Code will be cancelled and vice-versa.

Selecting a Privacy Code of "oF" will disable the Privacy feature.

To communicate between two LXT490 Series radios, all radios in

your group must be set to the same channel and/or Privacy Code

selections. The Privacy Code can only be set in channels

1~22

TRANSMIT (TX) POWER LEVEL SELECTION

Your LXT490 has 2 power level settings. To select the power level on

channels 1~7 and 15~36, press the MENU button until a “Pr” icon will

appear blinking on the display. Then press the

buttons to select

TRANSMIT POWER LEVEL

icon (H: Hi/L: Lo). To confirm, press the

PTT

button or press MENU button again to move to the next feature

setting. When the PTT button is pressed during Low Battery

Level condition, the TX Power will automatically switch from

Hi(H) to Lo(L) level.

Note : You cannot adjust the power setting on the FRS

channels (8~14). They are set to Low power per FCC

regulations.

VOX

Your LXT490 Series has 3 VOX level settings: (oF/1/2/3).

To set VOX

, press the MENU button until the display shows “VOX”

blinking while on the right of the CHANNEL NUMBER display, an

“oF” icon appears. Select “1”,“2” or “3” by pressing the

buttons

and push the PTT key, or press MENU button again to move to the

next feature setting.