Midland Sp-400 Transceiver Users Guide

							
User’s Guide 
 
 
SP-400 Series Portable 
 
4/16 Channel VHF-FM Portable Transceiver 
4/16 Channel UHF-FM Portable Transceiver 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
www.midlandradio.com  
						

							
 SP-400 Series User’s Guide 
2 © 2005, Midland Radio Corporation 
FCC RF EXPOSURE COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS 
FOR OCCUPATIONAL USE ONLY 
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), within 
its action in General Docket 93-62, November 7, 1997, 
has adopted a safety standard for human exposure to 
Radio Frequency (RF) electromagnetic energy emitted 
by FCC regulated equipment. Midland Radio Corporation 
subscribes to the same safety standard for the use of its 
products. Proper operation of this radio will result in user 
exposure far below the Occupational Safety and Health 
Act (OSHA) and FCC limits. 
 DO NOT transmit for more than 50% of total use 
time (50% duty cycle). Transmitting more than 
50% of the time can cause FCC RF exposure 
compliance requirements to be exceeded. 
 This radio is NOT approved for use by the 
general population in an uncontrolled 
environment. This radio is restricted to 
occupational use, work related operations only, 
where the radio operator must have the 
knowledge to control the user’s exposure 
conditions for satisfying the higher exposure 
limit allowed for occupational use. 
 When transmitting, hold the radio in a vertical 
position with its microphone 2 inches (5 cm) 
away from your mouth. The radio is transmitting 
when the red LED on the front of the radio is 
illuminated. You can cause the radio to transmit 
by pressing the PTT button on the radio. DO NOT 
transmit while the radio is attached to your belt. 
 These are required operating conditions for 
meeting FCC RF exposure compliance. Failure to 
observe these restrictions means violation.  
						

							
SP-400 Series User’s Guide  
Contents 
Conventions and Symbols in this Book...................................4 
Disclaimer........................................................................\
........5 
Safety........................................................................\
...............5 
Introduction........................................................................\
......7 
Radio models.......................................................................7 
Radio features......................................................................7 
Radio Controls........................................................................\
.9 
Top........................................................................\
...............9 
Top........................................................................\
.............10 
Front........................................................................\
...........10 
Side (right)........................................................................\
..10 
Side (left)........................................................................\
....10 
Setup........................................................................\
..............12 
Unpacking........................................................................\
..12 
Attaching and removing the antenna.................................12 
Installing and removing the battery pack............................13 
Installing and removing the belt clip...................................13 
Charging the battery pack..................................................14 
Basic Operation.....................................................................16 
Turning the radio ON and OFF..........................................16 
Adjusting the volume..........................................................16 
Selecting the channel.........................................................16 
Receiving transmissions from other radios........................16 
Monitoring the channel.......................................................18 
Transmitting to other radios...............................................19 
Selecting transmission power............................................20 
© 2005, Midland Radio Corporation 3  
						

							
 SP-400 Series User’s Guide 
Sending a 2-tone/selective call or emergency call.............20 
Scanning channels.............................................................21 
Advanced Operations............................................................24 
Operating hands-free.........................................................24 
Using the scrambler...........................................................25 
Editing your scan list..........................................................25 
Care and Maintenance...........................................................26 
Using rechargeable battery packs......................................26 
Cleaning your radio............................................................30 
Optional Accessories.............................................................30 
Recommended accessories...............................................31 
Quick Reference....................................................................32 
Controls function table........................................................32 
Status LED table................................................................33 
Specifications........................................................................\
.34 
Warranty Statement...............................................................35 
Conventions and Symbols in this Book 
 This symbol marks a “caution”. Cautions are special 
notices which you should read and follow carefully to 
avoid possible damage to your equipment and to avoid 
potential danger to yourself or other people. 
! This symbol marks an “important point”. Important points 
are specific instructions which should be followed closely 
for proper operation. 
 This symbol marks a “note”. Notes are hints or tips which 
offer additional information to help you. 
4 © 2005, Midland Radio Corporation  
						

							
SP-400 Series User’s Guide  
Disclaimer 
Midland Radio Corporation is committed to continuous quality 
improvements, for this reason specifications may change without 
prior notice. 
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this 
document is complete, accurate, and up-to-date. Midland 
assumes no responsibility for the results of errors beyond its 
control. The manufacturer of this equipment also cannot 
guarantee that changes in the equipment made by unauthorized 
people will not affect the transceiver’s performance or functions. 
Safety 
Your SP-400 series portable transceiver has been carefully 
designed to give you years of safe, reliable performance. As with 
all electrical equipment, however, there are a few basic 
precautions you should take to avoid injury to yourself or 
damage to the radio: 
 Read the instructions in this handbook carefully. Be 
sure to save it for future reference. 
 Read and follow all warning and instruction labels 
on the radio itself. 
 Do not carry the transceiver by the antenna. This 
may damage the antenna or antenna terminal. Grasp it 
by its base (not the tip!) when you need to attach or 
remove the antenna. 
 Do not hold the radio with the antenna very close to, 
or touching the body, while transmitting. The radio 
will perform best if the microphone is 2-4 inches away 
from the mouth and the radio is vertical. 
 Be sure the PTT button is not pressed when you do 
not need to transmit. 
© 2005, Midland Radio Corporation 5  
						

							
 SP-400 Series User’s Guide 
 Do not operate the radio near unshielded electrical 
blasting caps or in an explosive atmosphere. 
 Do not transmit without the antenna attached to the 
radio. Though designed for protection against damage, 
damage to the transmitter may occur. 
 Respect the environmental conditions. The radio is 
designed to operate in harsh environments, but avoiding 
extended or unnecessary exposure will prolong the 
service life. 
 Never attempt to disassemble or service the radio 
yourself (aside from the routine maintenance described 
in this handbook). It will immediately void the warranty 
and you may cause damage requiring extensive repair 
work. Always contact your local dealer or 
communications coordinator for assistance. 
 Use only recommended accessories. Use of incorrect 
accessories could seriously damage your handheld 
transceiver. 
 Do not use your radio near water, or spill liquid of 
any kind into it. If the transceiver gets wet immediately 
dry it with a soft, clean cloth. 
 Switch the radio off before you clean it. Follow the 
instructions in the “Care and maintenance” section. 
 Handle the battery properly. Follow the instructions in 
the “Care and maintenance” section. 
 Make sure that your AC power source matches the 
rating of the supplied battery charger AC adapter. 
 The above warning list is not intended to include all 
hazards that may be encountered when using this radio. 
6 © 2005, Midland Radio Corporation  
						

							
SP-400 Series User’s Guide  
Introduction 
Congratulations! By choosing the Midland SP-400 series, you 
have selected a professional grade portable radio. Its rugged 
design will provide years of reliable service and its sophisticated 
software allows many customizable options. 
Radio models 
There are four models in the SP-400 series portable radio line. 
The models differ only by band of operation and channel 
capacity. 
SP-410 – 4 channel VHF, 148-174 MHz. 
SP-420 – 4 channel UHF, 440-470 MHz. 
SP-430 – 16 channel VHF, 148-174 MHz. 
SP-440 – 16 channel UHF, 440-470 MHz. 
Radio features 
The SP-400 series is a programmable, synthesized radio with 
the following features: 
5 Easy to use – only five controls access all the 
transceiver’s functions. 
5 Up to sixteen channel capacity – simple and reliable 
knob selection. 
5 Programmable transmit power – select the transmit 
power to maximize range or battery life. 1 or 5 watts (4 
watts UHF) programmable per channel. 
5 Channel scanning – flexible scan programming allows 
the radio to search for signals on programmed channels. 
Priority scan, priority transmit and priority lookback are 
all programmable selections. Scan talkback and 
nuisance delete functions are available. 
5 CTCSS/DCS encode and decode– blocks 
conversations sharing the same frequency that are not 
intended for you. Allows access to your radio repeaters. 
© 2005, Midland Radio Corporation 7  
						

							
 SP-400 Series User’s Guide 
47 CTCSS tones and 104 DCS codes programmable per 
channel. 
5 2-tone decode – your radio may be programmed to 
respond only when paged with a two-tone sequence. 
Two sequences selectable per channel and up to 15 
different sequences programmable per radio. 
5 VOX (voice operated transmit) – allows hands-free 
operation using an optional headset/microphone. 
5 Voice inversion scrambler – for secure 
communications. Radio communications are encoded 
and decoded, when activated, to make the conversation 
unintelligible to third parties listening on your frequency. 
5 2-tone or sequential tone selective call – for more 
advanced radio network management. Allows individual 
or group calls to users in a radio network. 
5 Emergency selective call – can be sent to alert other 
users of an emergency situation with an activation 
protected against accidental switching. 
5 Busy channel lockout – prevents transmission when 
the channel is busy. Programmable override function will 
allow transmission during repeater hangtime. 
5 Transmit time-out timer – ensures continuous 
transmissions are limited to the programmed time. A 
penalty timer is also programmable. 
5 Battery save mode – may be programmed to extend 
battery life. 
5 Wide range of optional accessories – provide 
additional flexibility of use. 
These transceivers are compliant with ETS 300 086, IEC529 
level IP54 and MIL STD 810E. 
8 © 2005, Midland Radio Corporation  
						

							
SP-400 Series User’s Guide  
Radio Controls 
Please read this section to familiarize yourself with the 
transceiver’s controls. 
2
3
1
7 4
68 
5
9 
© 2005, Midland Radio Corporation 9  
						

							
 SP-400 Series User’s Guide 
Top 
[1] Channel selector knob. Rotate this knob to select the 
operating channel. 
[2] Power ON/OFF knob. Rotate this knob clockwise to turn the 
transceiver on (counterclockwise to turn off). 
[3] Status LED. Tri-color LED lights and flashes at different rates 
to indicate operating conditions. 
Front 
[4] Speaker. Receive audio will be heard from the built in 
speaker located in this area. 
[5] Microphone. The internal microphone is located here. 
Side (right) 
[6] Accessory connector. Use for connection of 
speaker/microphones, headsets and other accessories. It should 
be protected with the supplied cap when not in use. For 
additional information, please see the “Accessory Connections” 
section. 
Side (left) 
[7] Upper function (monitor) button. The upper function button 
performs two functions. The primary function is activated by a 
brief button press (press and release) and the secondary 
function is activated by pressing the button for more than two 
seconds (press and hold): 
 If you press the upper function button for less than two 
seconds the monitor mode will be activated while pressed 
and deactivated when released. For details, please see the 
“Monitoring the channel” section. 
 If you press the upper function button for more than two 
seconds the monitor mode will latch on. To turn the monitor 
mode off, press and release the upper function button. For 
details, please see the “Monitoring the channel” section. 
10 © 2005, Midland Radio Corporation