Yaesu: Yaesu FT-70DR

[claborne]

I just purchased this radio and working on my license. Currently configuring the radio and have a couple of questions.

1. When I enter some frequencies, like a repeater 445.680, I can only get it to 445.687. Why is that?

2. How do you set the tone code for repeaters? Is it fully auto with no control?

Thanks mucho

 

[chief21]

1) Check your STEP setting; 25 kHz or 5 kHz would be best for UHF ham band.

2) Check your owners manual. You must select the correct tone for each repeater. Generally, look in the MENU for a TONE setting, then select desired frequency.

 

[claborne]

Thanks. You were right. The skip was set to Auto. The manual states that the radio will pick the appropriate skip for the band you are in. What is strange is that one would assume this only applies to using the knob to select a frequency. However, it was preventing me from entering a freq from the keypad! Nowhere could I find this behavior documented.

The radio defaults to "Off" for tone. If you need tone, like for a repeater, you have to first enable it (<F>5), then set the tone-freq (<F>6). This was NOT documented anywhere. Since I'm a newbe, I needed help from the cool dudes at Ham Radio Outlet (not too far from me). If I were designing the interface, I would put the "off" option on the <F>6 button and called it a day.

2
-- C --

 

[k6cpo]

Yaesu has started to cheap out on their manuals, putting just the most basic information in the supplied operating manuals. For the FT-70DR, there is a separate "Advanced" manual that doesn't come with the radio, but must be downloaded from the Yaesu website. The information on setting repeater tones is in that manual.

 

[hill]

It's step, rather the skip. It's the turning step size.