Rugged Radios has gone to great lengths to license a variety of frequencies for its customers. Channels 16-22, however, have been previously licensed by other businesses, organizations, or government entities. Rugged Radios has provided these as Listen-Only channels for recreational use. This eliminates the possibility of our customers transmitting on those frequencies and causing radio traffic problems for those entities when they need communication the most.
Rotate the VOX and VOLUME all the way clockwise, putting the mic in an open state. Listen for the ambient sound picked up. Slowly rotate the VOX counter-clockwise one click at a time until the ambient noise is silenced. Now set VOLUME at about 50%, position the mic AGAINST THE LIPS, and begin speaking. You should hear your own voice (Side-Tone). Adjust volume for comfort. If your voice does not open the mic, increase VOX slightly. If the mic opens too easily, decrease VOX slightly. Remember: clockwise increases VOX sensitivity.
If you’re not on a Listen-Only channel (see above), there are three likely causes of this: Improper mic placement/orientation, swapped PTTs, and hand mic incompatibility. If you are ‘keying’ your radio (indicated by the illumination of the TX light) without transmitting audio, check these:
The volume is controlled by the streaming device. If it’s set to max, VOX is likely opening your mic and attenuating the music. Please see the instructions above to set your VOX.
The short answer is that VHF will perform better for longer distances with less obstructions, while UHF is better for passing between obstructions at shorter range. Remember: line of sight is a requirement for both of these bands.
This antennas are tuned from the factory for the middle of the range of our radios. It's important to note that tuning is far less critical for the relatively short wavelength of VHF/UHF than it is for CB or HF frequencies. Therefore, we recommend keeping our antenna length as-is.
When we do need to tune antennas, we use an SWR meter and a generic online wavelength calculator to get a general idea to start from. This isn't a 'measure twice, cut once' sort of operation, rather a 'get close and narrow it down in small increments' kind of thing.