Basic Settings

Summary: Volume, squelch, backlight, contrast, the charging timer, keypad lock, beep tone, and resetting the scanner to factory defaults.

Volume and Squelch

Press the scroll control to adjust volume, or Func then the scroll control for squelch – turn either up to 15 and press in to confirm. Raise squelch if the scanner keeps stopping on weak or partial signals; lower it to pick up a distant or weak station that isn’t quite opening squelch on its own.

Backlight

Turn the backlight on and off directly with its key, or set its behaviour permanently via Func + that key: Always Off, Always On, On with Squelch (lit while a signal’s open), On with Keypress (lit for 10 seconds after any key press), or both squelch and keypress together.

Contrast

Also under the Display/Charge menu (Func + the backlight key), with 15 steps – you’ll see the screen change as you scroll through them, so it’s easy to pick what suits the light you’re in.

Charging Timer

If you’re powering the scanner from the supplied Ni-MH batteries, this sets how many hours the built-in charger runs for when you plug in the USB cable – it resets to this value every time you reconnect. The default is 14 hours, but lower-capacity cells need less: roughly 9 hours for 1500mAh cells, rising to 14 hours for the full 2300mAh cells supplied with the scanner. Leave it too short and you’ll undercharge; the scanner also takes longer to charge while it’s switched on and in use.

Keypad Lock

Func + the lock-out key toggles the keypad lock, which is separate from locking out individual channels. With the keypad locked, only Func, Hold, the backlight key, power, the lock-out key itself, and the scroll control’s volume function still work – everything else is frozen until you unlock it.

Beep Tone

Func + 7 toggles the confirmation beep that plays when you press a key correctly, or when you make a mistake. It’s on by default.

Resetting the Scanner

Holding 2, 9, and Hold together while switching the scanner on wipes every channel, bank, and setting you’ve programmed and returns it to factory defaults (your band plan choice is the only thing kept). This can’t be undone – there’s no way to recover programmed data once it’s cleared, so treat it as a last resort.