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Uniden MHS550 Owner's Manual

Marine 2-way vhf radio
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  • Page 2: Maritime Radio Services Operation

    Unauthorized changes or modifications to this equipment may void compliance with the FCC Rules. Any change or modification must be approved in writing by Uniden. Changes or modifications not approved by Uniden could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Maritime Radio Services Operation ..........2 FCC/Industry Canada Information .......... A Quick Start Guide for the MHS550 ...........6 Marine Band ................6 FRS Band ..................7 Weather Band ................8 AM Band ...................8 FM Band ..................9 Aircraft Band ................9 Scanning Introduction ............... 10 Normal ..................
  • Page 4 Setting the Key Beep ..............38 Adding FIPS Codes ..............38 Changing Channel Names ............40 Restoring Default Names ............40 Setting CTCSS Codes ............41 Setting Frequency Steps ............43 AM Band................43 FM Band ................43 Setting FM Muting ..............44 Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 5 USA Channel Frequencies ..........60 Canadian Channel Frequencies ..........6 International Channel Frequencies ........64 NOAA Channels and Frequencies ........66 FRS Channels and Frequencies ..........66 CTCSS Channels and Frequencies ........66 DCS Codes ................66 Three Year Limited Warranty ............67 Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 6: A Quick Start Guide For The Mhs550

    A Quick Start Guide for the MHS550 Follow these steps to get going! Marine Band Rotate VOLUME until the display lights. The Power On tone sounds. The default display starts with the VHF Marine Band and displays USA Channel 16, at a 5 watt power level, and DISTRESS is displayed in the LCD message line area.

  • Page 7: Frs Band

    FRS channel. Without enabling the CTCSS code feature, you and others in your group might also hear everyone else in the area on that same channel. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 8: Weather Band

    1/2.5/5W to change to the AM Broadcast band. The default LCD screen shows the frequency, the USA frequency step setting and the power level icon. Press either ▲ or ▼ to change frequency by 10KHz Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 9: Fm Band

    Aircraft (commercial) band. The default LCD screen shows the frequency, and the power level icon. Press either ▲ or ▼ to change frequency by 25KHz (108.00, 108.05, 108.050 MHz etc) until you reach the desired frequency. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 10: Scanning Introduction

    Channel Scan of 8 Channels Stored in Memory Channel Scan of 8 Channels Stored in Memory When you scan those channels, each channel is checked in order and the scan sequence repeats until you interrupt it. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 11: Triplewatch

    Scanning Channels as well as Memorized Station Preset operations for the other bands, in addition to using the special features of either Triple or DualWatch, consult the Table of Contents which immediately precedes these Quick Start pages. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 12: Fcc Rf Exposure Information

    The use of accessories that do not satisfy these requirements may not comply with FCC RF exposure requirements and should be avoided. For more information about RF exposure, please visit the FCC website at www.fcc.gov Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 13: Lithium Ion Battery Pack Warning

    (+60°C). Exposing the chemical contained within the battery pack to temperatures above +140°F (+60°C) may cause the battery to rupture, fail, or reduce performance. In case of exposure to the cell contents, wash the affected area thoroughly, and seek medical attention. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 14: What's Included

    Wrist Strap Wrist Strap Other Printed Materials Other Printed Materials should that be neccessary. should that be neccessary. If any of these items are missing from the box, contact Uniden or call 1-800-554-3988. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 15: Introduction

    Introduction Your Uniden MHS550 represents the latest in marine radio technology in a conveniently sized and rugged package. It has features you’ll come to count on for day in and day out use. The product combines size, value, and fully featured performance that makes it a good choice for an all around marine communications radio.
  • Page 16 Battery Power Level Display and Tone — clearly indicates five levels of battery power. Sounds an alert tone when battery power reaches a level before shutting down. Battery Save — during specific transmit operations, the radio powers down to extend battery life. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 17: Mhs550 Controls

    MHS550 Controls MHS550 Controls 15 16 15 16 MHS550 MHS550 Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 18 12. ▲ and ▼ — Press to select channels above or below your currently selected channel. Press and hold to change channels rapidly. Press to scroll through a band’s menu selections. 13. Belt Clip —Squeeze and attach to your belt for convenient carrying. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 19 Battery being sure to position the pack as shown in the section Batteries. To recharge the installed Lithium Ion battery, place the MHS550 into the Charger Cradle. The contacts at the bottom edge of the radio receive the required voltage and current from the cradle to completely recharge the battery in about 4 hours.

  • Page 20: Radio Charger Cradle

    10/40V AC outlet. The DC adapter connects to a vessel’s 12V socket and this jack. 22. Charging Latch — Holds the radio in place when you in- sert it into the cradle. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 21: Lcd Displays

    Some screens are condition specific such as a Low Battery situation. VHF Marine Band Memory Memory Alert Alert Family Radio Service (FRS) Band Locked Locked Memory Memory Dual Watch Dual Watch Scan Scan AM Band Locked Locked Memory Memory Scan Scan Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 22: Aircraft Band

    Not displayed when receiving weather frequencies. Not displayed for those channels on which transmitting is prohibited. The initial setting is 5W. USA or INT or CAN (UIC) — indicates the frequency band in use for marine operation. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 23: Owner's Manual Conventions

    If you choose not to alter it, the default is the setting used by the radio. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 24: Indicator Sounds

    PTT key, you must recharge/replace the currently installed battery(s) Batteries Your Uniden MHS550 comes equipped with a Lithium Ion battery which snaps into the back of the radio and secures with a latch. The battery has a minimal charge when shipped.

  • Page 25: Installing The Lithium Ion Battery Pack

    .5 watts. To install the four AAA batteries in the alkaline battery pack, refer to the following steps and illustrations. Hold the lower part of the pack and with the other Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 26: Battery Life And Indication

    ‘battery low’ tone sounds repeatedly each second, and BATTERY LOW appears on the message line. To cancel this warning, press any key. The flashing icon continues until you turn off the radio. The message and tone, however, disappear. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 27: Alkaline Batteries And Radio Performance

    Mounting the Charging Cradle Your MHS550 Li-Ion battery may not be fully charged when you first turn on the radio. To facilitate convenient charging we suggest mounting the charger cradle to either a counter top or wall.

  • Page 28: Attaching The Belt Clip

    Move the clip in the direction of the arrow and lift it off the post. Step One Step One Step Two Step Two Attach Attach Step One Step One Step Two Step Two Remove Remove Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 29: Basic Operation, Controls, And Settup Options

    Settup Options Each band has settings that are specific to that band and certain controls as well. To start using your MHS550, find the desired band and follow the steps in the section. Operation - Marine and Weather Bands...

  • Page 30: Selecting A Channel

    1/2.5/5W, the power level changes from 1 to 5W with the Li-Ion battery or 1 to 2.5W with alkaline batteries installed. You cannot override the 1W power level setting for Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 31: Transmitting

    Press PTT to activate transmitting. Continuous transmitting is limited to 5 minutes by regulations. After this time, an error tone sounds and RELEASE PTT KEY displays. After you release PTT, pressing PTT again restarts the 5-minute time interval. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 32: Operation - Family Radio Service Band

    Accessing the Menus on Page Press ▲ or ▼ to step to the desired AM station. Press and hold ▲ or ▼. The stations are selected rapidly and the radio stops on the next strong station. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 33: Operation - Fm Band

    ▲ or ▼ key. • After holding ▲ for more than a second, if you release it, the radio will scan all frequencies until it finds a signal, and will stay on that frequency. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 34: Using The Radio Menu Options

    Using the Radio Menu Options The MHS550 lets you select options that personalize your use of the radio and makes using it more convenient. Each band has menu options specific to that band.

  • Page 35: Accessing The Menus

    USA channel frequencies. To USA Mode USA Mode change to either Canadian [CAN] or International [INT] channels follow Canadian Mode Canadian Mode these steps. Intl Mode Intl Mode Press either ▲ or ▼ until you Exit Exit Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 36: Lamp (Backlight) Adjust

    Timer then highlight either 5 seconds (default), 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 5 minutes then press ENTER. A double beep sounds to confirm your selection. Scroll to EXIT and press ENTER to return to the menu screen. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 37: Adjusting Display Contrast

    Channel 9 as well as the radio channel you are otherwise using (TripleWatch), or you can choose to only monitor Channel 16 and your regular channel (DualWatch) which lets the radio check each channel more frequently. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 38: Setting The Key Beep

    A double beep sounds and the radio returns to the root menu option screen. Press MENU again to return to the marine mode. Setting the Key Beep [For All Bands] Your MHS550 confirms a key KEY BEEP KEY BEEP press by sounding a short single or double beep (default).
  • Page 39 P r e s s t h e e n t e r k e y A d d A d d 0 2 _ _ _ _ 0 2 _ _ _ _ E x i t E x i t Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 40: Changing Channel Names

    Channel Name menu. Use ▲ or ▼ to Exit and press ENTER. Channel Name Channel Name Restoring Default Names [For Marine Band Only] Default All Default All If you want to restore Exit Exit all the factory default Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 41: Setting Ctcss Codes

    Channel 09 Channel 10 Channel 10 Exit Exit Channel 11 Channel 11 Press ENTER to choose it. You can select ON, OFF, or EXIT, next. Use ▲ or ▼ to choose ON (to associate a CTCSS Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 42 Note: CTCSS codes range between 1 and 142. If you set a code number outside this range (for example 190), when you press ENTER to set that number, an error tone sounds to tell Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 43: Setting Frequency Steps

    FM MENU. Either scroll to Exit or wait until the radio times out and returns to the previously selected FM station. Note: during the time you are taking these steps, your radio continues to broadcast the station selected. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 44: Setting Fm Muting

    LIGHT/LOCK. Locked remains next to the channel number or frequency to remind you that the locked option is enabled for all bands. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 45: Manually Selecting Coast Guard/Distress/Hailing Channels

    Press the key again to switch to Channel 9, the backup calling channel. 9 appears and NON COMMERCIAL appears at the bottom for USA channels. Press again to return to the standard marine channels. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 46: Storing A Channel Or Frequency In Memory

    VHF band only. If you take no further action, the screen returns to the standard marine screen in 3-seconds. To remove a channel from memory, with the stored channel displayed, press and hold SCAN/MEM. MEMORY disappears. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 47: Selecting And Using The Weather Channel And Weather Alert (Wx/Alert)

    HURRICANE WARNING. Note: if the event code is longer than 16 characters, the display label scrolls across the display bottom then changes to the abbreviated format. Thus, HURRICANE WARNING Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 48: Using The Triplewatch Or Dualwatch Mode

    NOAA website mentioned on Page 39. Using the TripleWatch or DualWatch Mode [For Marine. Weather Channel, and FRS Band] If during setup of your MHS550, you selected Triple or DualWatch mode. The following shows you how to use this valuable feature.

  • Page 49: Scanning - The Basics And Beyond

     seconds after the channel activity ceases. Scanning - The Basics and Beyond Marine VHF radios use scanning to let you monitor several channels at once. It’s common to want to listen most of Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 50 To accomplish this, your MHS550 has several scanning modes which can be used based on your needs. DualWatch — allows you to monitor a primary channel, for example Channel 68, yet check for traffic on Channel 16 ev- ery two seconds.

  • Page 51: Normal Scanning

    ▲ to jump from station to station. Normal Scanning To activate Normal Scanning, momentarily press SCAN/ MEM. The radio scans all the channels you stored in memory from lowest to highest. The VHF marine band display shows Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 52: Triplewatch And Dualwatch Scanning

    2 seconds. Channel 16 and 9 are no longer checked. The radio continues to scan only channels stored in memory. CHANNEL SCAN appears on the bottom and each channel number is displayed in rapid sequence. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 53: Both Watches And Weather Channel

    • All channels, except CH70, and the weather channels, can be stored in memory. When you turn off the radio, all Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 54: Scanning (Memory Preset Station Tuning) In The Am, Fm, And Aircraft Bands

    SCAN/MEM until the double beep sounds. Memory disappears from the display and the frequency is removed from memory. It is no longer available for that session. Note: if no frequencies have been stored and you press SCAN/MEM, an error tone sounds. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 55: Examples Of Mode Applications

    Examples of Mode Applications While there are many scenarios for making a mode choice or setting the MHS550 in a certain manner that applies to your own special requirements, we hope the following three examples might help you get started.

  • Page 56: Care And Maintenance

    Care and Maintenance Your MHS550 is a precision electronic product and you should treat it accordingly. Due to the rugged design, very little maintenance is required. However a few precautions should be observed: • If the antenna has been damaged, do not transmit except in an emergency situation.
  • Page 57 You can hear The transmit power is set Use BAND/1/2.5/5W to change transmissions, but the to 1W watt. to a higher transmit power level. other radio cannot hear you. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 58: Reference Section

    ±kHz (FRS with Subaudio) ±kHz Modulation Distortion 750 S De-emphas 0.3 to 3kHz BPF Hum and Noise 750 S (MRN) De-emphas 0.3 to 3kHz PF (FRS) Current Drain @ High Power 5W (MRN) 1500 (FRS) Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 59 THD @ Standard Output Power (MRN) 10 max. Audio Output Power @ 10% THD (MRN) 0.45 0.3 min. Oscillator Dropout Voltage (MRN) 3.8 max. Current Drain @ No Signal (MRN) 85 max. Current Drain @ Maximum Output (MRN) 250 max. Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 60: Usa Channel Frequencies

    63 A 156.1750 Simplex VESSEL TRAFFIC VESSEL TRAFFIC 156.1750 SYSTEM 64 A 156.50 Simplex COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL 156.50 65 A 156.750 Simplex PORT OPERATION PORT 156.750 OPERATION 66 A 156.350 Simplex PORT OPERATION PORT 156.350 OPERATION Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 61 MARINE OPERATOR MARINE 157.750 OPERATOR 161.950 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE 157.350 OPERATOR 161.9750 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE 157.3750 OPERATOR 16.050 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE 157.450 OPERATOR 157.450 Simplex COMMERCIAL (SHIP- COMMERCIAL 88 A 157.450 SHIP) Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 62: Canadian Channel Frequencies

    157.4000 160.6250 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 156.0250 156.0750 Simplex CANADIAN COAST COAST GUARD 61 A 156.0750 GUARD 156.1250 Simplex CANADIAN COAST COAST GUARD 62 A 156.1250 GUARD 160.8250 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 156.2250 Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 63 161.850 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.50 161.8750 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.750 161.950 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.350 161.9750 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.3750 16.050 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.450 Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 64: International Channel Frequencies

    160.650 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 156.050 160.6750 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 156.0750 160.750 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 156.150 160.7750 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 156.1750 160.850 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 156.50 Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 65 161.8250 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.2250 161.8750 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.2750 161.9250 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.3250 161.9750 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.3750 162.0250 Duplex MARINE OPERATOR MARINE OPERATOR 157.4250 Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 66: Noaa Channels And Frequencies

    141.3 74.4 146. 77.0 151.4 79.7 156.7 8.5 16. 85.4 167.9 88.5 173.8 91.5 179.9 94.8 186. 97.4 19.8 100.0 03.5 103.5 10.7 107. 18.1 110.9 5.7 114.8 33.6 118.8 41.8 13.0 50.3 17.3 131.8 Uniden MHS550 Radio Owner’s Manual...

  • Page 67: Three Year Limited Warranty

    WARRANTOR: UNIDEN AMERICA CORPORATION (“Uniden”) ELEMENTS OF WARRANTY: Uniden warrants, for three years, to the original retail owner, this Uniden Product to be free from defects in materials and craftsmanship with only the limitations or exclusions set out below. WARRANTY DURATION: This warranty to the original user shall terminate and be of no further effect 36 months after the date of original retail sale.

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