HT Professional Series Portables
Range Reference Sheet


Tips for checking/analyzing range on your HT Professional Series Portables:

  • Is the radio being used in simplex mode, or through a repeater?

If the communication goes through a repeater, then there is a need to analyze if the frequency used by the repeater is within the range of the antenna used.

  • Are there other portables on the system which are operating o.k.?

If the problem is only on a small quantity of the radios supplied, it could possibly be a radio archive error.

  • Is the radio 25 KHz or 12.5 KHz?

The radio operating in a 25 KHz channel spacing will have better sensitivity, hence longer range.

  • Is the radio set to high power?

The radio is able to switch to high and low power setting. The higher the power, the longer the range would be.

  • Is the antenna in the correct band split range?

Need to check if the correct antenna is being used.

  • Is the problem related to portable to base or base to portable?

If the problem is portable to base, then it could be due to a transmitter problem, and if it is base to portable then it could relate to a receiver problem.

  • Is the antenna that is being used the 14cm type?

VHF offers two types of antennas, 9cm and 14cm. The longer antenna will provide a higher gain and longer range.

  • Is emphasis set to de-emphasis and pre-emphasis?

Emphasis is a type of audio shaping a noise filter. Both the transmit and receive radios must have this feature turned on for proper operations. If either is turned off, then there will be poor audio clarity, which can be construed as a range issue.

  • Is Low Level Expansion (LLE) turned on or off in the CPS?

At maximum volume, LLE can degrade the intelligibility. This kind of problem usually exists in high noise environments. Again, intelligibility can also be construed as range issues.

  • Is compression set to disable?

Compression is also another type of filter for audio. It is a feature to be used within the HT Professional series radios. The audio level will drop slightly also. When used with other types of radios, the audio quality will also be affected. All of these side effects of the compression feature can be construed as a range issue.

  • Is auto power mode disabled?

Auto power mode will automatically adjust the power accordingly to the RSSI level received on the last transmission. It is there for optimum battery life. It is usually a problem when there is a base station involved. The strong signal from the base station will switch the radio to low power and cause the radio's low power signal not to reach the base.

  • Is audio processing filter (APF) disabled?

This audio filter will clip the audio level that exceeds the threshold level for better audio clarity. This will reduce the actual audio level and sometimes may be construed as a range issue.

  • Is busy channel lockout disabled?

This condition prevents the radio from transmitting while it is in busy mode or receiving.

  • Is the squelch setting set correctly to 10dB sinad?

This can be checked by supplying signal from a communication analyzer and if the radio opens squelch at a level of -118dbm or below, it means the squelch setting is at least 10dB Sinad. If it is already 10dB Sinad, it is recommended that the setting be changed to 8dB Sinad for improved range performance. This is especially the issue when comparing to the GP300, which has lower squelch settings.

 

If you have checked all of the above items, and still believe to have an issue with the radio range, please contact product services at 1-800-927-2744, prompt 3 then 1.