Yaesu: FT3D limit scan

[Madduck00]

Noob here, but i'm slowly catching on.
I want to scan the Air band but start at 118.00 not 108.00.
I am using the RT software for programming. Under the Limit Memories tab I've put in my Lower and Upper limits in L1 and U1.
This is where things grind to a halt.

I thought that if I then went to the Air band and started to Scan the radio would only scan from the LL to UL but i'm getting a scan starting at 108.0 still.
When I select: FWM -> MR, then use the dial to scroll through the channels in Memory, my Lower and Upper limit/freq's are in there, but i dont know what i need to do to scan between them.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.
cheers, MD

 

[ko6jw_2]

I think you are confusing band scan vs programable memory scan (PMS). The band scan is hard wired and will always start at 108.000. The PMS scan will use the lower and upper limits you have set. Read the section of the manual on PMS and it will tell you how to scan between the limits you have already programmed. I have an FT2DR not an FT3 and that's why I can't give you the exact steps. When you program upper and lower limits be sure to select the correct step. In this case 25KHz. Otherwise you will slow down the scan quite a bit. At some point aircraft will go to 8.33KHz steps, but I think that is mainly being used in Europe now.

 

[Madduck00]

ok, you are correct. i was of the understanding that the limits would apply when i went to that band for scanning.
i have read the manual but obviously misunderstood what it was telling me. now that know i interpreted the instructions wrong i'll go back and give 'er another try.

as a noob when i read some of these instructions i'm still clueless on how to apply some of the terms. but that's ok, getting older we gotta keep not just our body but our mind active. before i decided to jump into this activity i was, and still mostly am, clueless how radios, radio wave, antenna, etc., worked. i am amazed what these radios can do. as a jeeper i love the application of using what i'm learning.

thanks for the direction.

 

[Madduck00]

ok, i've got to be doing something wrong.
i went back over the PMS scan section. i've tried selecting both the upper and lower limits then pressing scan...nada.
i'm traveling today so i'll have some free time to go back over this section, but i dont know what i'm doing wrong.
i've got to think it's something in either the 'selection' process of selecting the freq's, or i've got it loaded wrong.

for selelcting the freq's, i know that if i have a freq from memory selected, i can hit the PTT and it'll activate it. perhaps this is where my prob is coming in. when i select L1 i have 118.00 on the screen. i cant use the PTT to 'activate' that freq, that's not a legal freq to transmit on, i get an error message. which is correct. do i need to do something else to 'activate*' that freq in order to start the scan in that part of the memory?

* i dont know if activate is the correct term to use to tell the radio this is where i want to be. this is context i'm using it in. if there is a better or more correct term i'm open to hear it.

thanks folks

 

[KE5MC]

Using RT System and a FT2D, but likely some results for your FT3D. Originally 1U was programmed as 137.000. I selected 1L then 'scan' and radio just beeped at me. :-( So I decided to try something in a band the radio could transmit on because of the way the PMS channels are programmed. 2L & 2U worked just fine. So... looking at how I programmed 2L & 2U I thought maybe a frequency span limit. I move 1U down to 130.000 and found it to worked just fine. Thinking a little more... (painful), how about a frequency band limit. I tried 136.750 and that worked just fine. So it looks like there is a hidden(?) band limit that can get in the way of PMS scaning.

Just my opinion... Air band I find to be very channelized and functionally defined for a geographic area. I live just north of the DFW airport and find the RR database has much to program into the radio by frequency and functional name. Frequency scanning might catch a balloon/ultralight pilot using something outside of expected frequencies, yet not interfering with the heavy traffic ones. On the other hand frequency scanning is slow compared to memory channel scanning.

Good Luck, report back when you get a chance.
Mike

 

[Madduck00]

Hey Mike, greetings from a former fellow Texan.

Per your idea, I put in a couple test freq's like you did to see if i had, in fact, loaded the radio correct. scanning 440.0-440.9 the scan worked properly. i dialed up 2L, pressed scan and off she went.

So, if there is a work around to get the scan to launch from 118.0 i'm still way to ignorant to figure out what it is.

I dont disagree that scanning air freq's can be completely hit and miss but i thought i'd try that scan on road trips. I also have all the local air freq's loaded for my now home, PHX. when i come visit my dad in carrollton i load up the local freq's for the DFW area.

Thanks again for your time and help.
Cheers, j-

 

[KE5MC]

Greetings!
Good to see the 2L & 2U worked. What is the 1U frequency you are using for Air Band top end? 137.000 does not work for me. When I changed it to 136.750 it worked. I cropped my original attachment as it might be to wide to see how I programmed the PMS frequencies.

 

[Madduck00]

ah, i was using 137.000.
i went in and tried 136.750...and it worked!

thanks for the pic, that's helps me to make sure that i'm populating the fields properly. this is the first time i've messed with Limit Scans.
i never would have thought about changing the freq like you did but now i've got that bit of data for future reference.

thanks Sir.
Cheers, j-

 

[KE5MC]

Excellent! When I saw your original post I thought it was an interesting 'problem' which I did not know the answer. I put the thread on my watch list to get to it easily later and in the mean time played with my FT2D to see how PMS worked. I'm not a good front panel programer so it was trial and error using the cable to push changes. It was a bit tedious and we can agree the manual is not much help. End result was I learned something new and I was able to help you. Win, Win for all.
Have a great day!
Mike

 

[chief21]

Per the manual, the PMS upper and lower frequencies must be within the same band. I believe that the VHF air band is generally thought to be 108-136 MHz... not 137 MHz. Glad you got it working.

 

[KE5MC]

I think the consequences of the manuals information (108-137) could use a tip note explaining that 137 is usable minus the step size (136.975) for PMS operations. Which bring into question does 108 have to be padded with the step size to use as well as the other bands. That will be an exercise for another day.

wikipedia:
"On 1 January 1990 the frequencies between 136.000 and 136.975 MHz were added, resulting in 760 channels."

 

[325xia]

Another thing on a similar with the FT3DR, is with the limited Band Scope scan. On lower frequencies say 29.000-35.000Mhz, the band scope will not let you see a live view of adjacent activity. It gives you a “1Time” look. What’s the point of this?
————————————————
Page 49 of the Operations Manual:
• The band scope channel interval is the same as the VFO frequency step.
• In the frequency range of 108 MHz to 580 MHz, “FULL” is displayed and scanning continues
continuously. The received audio can be heard during the scan.
• •In frequency ranges other than 108 MHz to 580 MHz, “1Time” is displayed, and scanning is
stopped after one scan. Received audio is not heard during scanning. If [SEARCH] is touched or the DIAL knob is turned to change the frequency, one scan will be performed automatically.

 

[Madduck00]

more good intel.
thx foks!