Motorola TA280 T289 Two Way Radio User Manual

							


  	

Radio Diagram 2-3


Rechargeable NiMH Battery  4
Using Rechargeable NiMH Battery 4
 

Tri-Color LED Charger 6
Charging the NiMH Battery 6
Charging Status Chart 6
Single Color LED Charger 7
Charging the NiMH Battery 7
 
 

Installing Alkaline Battery Tray 8
Replacing Alkaline Batteries 9
Battery Meter  10
Low Battery Alert  10

 
Using Radio With Holster 11

 
 
 

Power Button  12
Setting the Channel  12
Setting the Code  13
Custom Codes-T289 Only  13
 

Monitor Button  14
Channel Busy Indicator-T289 14         
Volume Control  14
Push-To-Talk Button  15
Alert Tones  15

Auto Power Off  16
Display Light  16
Keypad Lock  17
Reset 17
Time-out Timer  17
Channel Scan  18
Scan List  19
Call Tone  19

  
Using VOX Feature                         20
Enabling iVOX-T289 Only  20
Setting VOX/iVOX Sensitivity 21
 ! 

Talk Range 22
Care and Safety 22
Accessories 23
Troubleshooting 24-25
Safety Information 26-27
Charging Safety Instructions 28-29
Channel Chart 30
Code Chart 31
Warranty 32-33
Copyrights 34-35
 # 
 $
%
Menu Button 36
Call Tone 37
Light/lock Button 37
M onit or Bu tt on                                        37
Scan Button 37
  	

 
						

							&( 
 &Indicates radio is on; will be steady
red when transmitting.
%  
Indicates how much battery charge is left.) 
Turn radio on or off.% Used for plugging in optional audio
accessories.$
 
Scans frequencies for activity.
 
Calls other radio users.&*& 
Illuminates display for 5 seconds. 
Locks radio to prevent accidental 
change of settings. Picks up audible transmissions.
$ 
Changes volume and radio
settings.  
Monitors frequency activity.)++
 ,)- 
Used to transmit messages. 
Changes function mode.
 .Used for charging battery.*NiMH Battery Use Only
Figure 1.

  Motorola Talkabout radios operate on Family Radio Service (FRS)
designated frequencies. This license-free, short range, two-way radio
service was established specifically for family and individual recreational
use. You can use your radios anywhere within the United States and other
areas listed by the FCC. 

    
 
/1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)Or:	


 
						

							Your Talkabout radio operates with either a Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH)
rechargeable battery or 3 AA alkaline batteries (battery tray required). 
The NiMH rechargeable battery will provide approximately 11 hours of
operation with normal use. Normal use for the rechargeable battery is approx-
imately 0.5 hour transmitting, 0.5 hour receiving and 10 hours of standby or
monitoring time.
	 
   
 1. Grasp radio firmly at top and slide radio back down to remove. Make sure 
you are not holding battery door (sides) onto the radio body. Figure 5.
2. Place the NiMH battery inside the radio with battery contacts facing down. 
Figure 6.
3. Replace the radio’s back by sliding up and onto radio body. 
4. Push up until secure.                                     
 
$ $/The NiMH battery has a stop sign symbol to remind you to turn the
battery over and align holes with pegs before inserting battery into the radio.
Figure 7.Figure 5.
Figure 6. !
The NiMH battery kit, alkaline battery kit, and spare NiMH battery are
available as accessories (sold separately).
For information, call 1-800-353-2729.Figure 7. 
						

							 	Your radio will use one of the following types of chargers. Follow the instruc-
tions below for the charger that shipped with your radio. 
To get maximum use from the battery, charge it for at least five hours before
you use it for the first time. After initial charging, your battery will fully charge
in about three hours.	     1. Turn the radio off.
2. Plug charger into an AC wall outlet.        
Figure 2.      
3. Lift charging connector cover on radio (not 
detachable) and plug charger connector 
into jack. Figure 3.
4. LED Indicator on Battery 
Charger will flash. (See chart 
below for complete charging 
status).
                                          #$ %& 
 ()&(  
 $
  Solid Red Rapid Up to 90%
Flashing Green Top-off 90% to 100%
Solid Green Complete 100%
Flashing Red Battery Fault ______
Flashing Yellow* Standby ______
*Battery is not receiving correct voltage. Battery charging temperature must remain
between 0
0 to 40
0 C / 32
0 F to 104
0 F.
 Figure 2.
Figure 4.
*  
	 	     1. Turn the radio off.
2. Plug charger into an AC wall outlet.           
F i g u r e  4 .                                                                                              
3. Lift charging connector cover on   radio (not 
detachable) and plug charger connector 
i n t o  j a c k .  F i g u r e  3 .                                                                                     
4. The red LED on charger will flash while bat-
tery charges. LED will glow 
continuously when battery is 
fully charged.
 
/
     •  The NiMH battery may be charged outside the radio by plugging the 
adapter directly into the battery.
     •  For optimum battery life, battery should not be left charging for 
extended periods.
     •  Turn radio off when charging. If radio is on while charging, additional 
time is required to charge the battery.
                Figure 3.
+
Figure 3.
  
						

							
 ,- 1. Insert 3 AA batteries into alkaline tray. 
Make sure you align plus and minus 
signs on batteries with markings on bat-
tery tray. Figure 6.
2. Replace radio back by sliding up and 
onto radio body. 
3. Push up until secure.
The NiMH battery kit, alkaline battery  kit, and spare  NiMH  battery are
available as accessories (sold separately).
For information, call 1-800-353-2729.
 
 To operate Talkabout radios with alkaline batteries you’ll need to install the
alkaline battery tray. Alkaline batteries will last about 30 hours with normal
use. Normal use for alkaline batteries is approximately 1.5 hours transmitting,
1.5 hours receiving and 27 hours of standby or monitoring time.. ,-  #1. Grasp radio firmly at top and slide radio 
back down to remove. Make sure you are 
not holding battery door (sides) onto the 
rad io body. 
2. Insert 3 AA batteries into alkaline tray. 
Make sure you align plus and minus signs 
on batteries with markings on battery tray. 
Figure 6.
3. Align tabs at top of battery tray with slots 
o n  r a d i o   b e f o r e   p r e s s i n g    t r a y                                                    
into place. Figure 5.
4. Replace radio back by 
sliding up and onto radio body. 
5. Push up until secure.
Figure 6.
/0 Figure 5.
/ When batteries are low, as indicated by battery meter or low battery
alert, replace the alkaline batteries immediately to avoid interrupted use. 
						

							 The Battery Meter, located on the front
display, is divided into three bars. As power is
used, the bars will disappear. Figure 7.
/ To ensure proper functioning of the 
battery meter use only the Motorola NiMH rechargeable battery or 
th ree A A alk aline  bat te ries . T he me ter will  not  w ork  ac cur atel y                             
with Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) or rechargeable alkaline AA batteries.  	When the battery is low, the radio will beep: 
     •  3 to 4 seconds after turning power on 
     •  every 10 minutes in standby mode 
     •  after releasing Push-To-Talk button
     •  after releasing the Call button
/Remove batteries before storing your radio for extended periods. 
Batteries may corrode over time and cause permanent damage to your radio.
 Talkabout radios come with a belt holster
which can be used with both the NiMH and
AA battery doors. 12 1. Position the base of the radio in bottom 
portion of holster.
2. Push the radio towards the holster until                                                                
it latches into place. Figure 8.
3. To remove radio from holster, pull the top 
tab on holster away from radio.                
Figure 9.
/You may find it easier to clip the 
holster onto your belt before you insert radio 
into the holster. Figure 10.
Figure 8.
Figure 9.
Figure 7.

3


Figure 10. 
						

							 
 	
 
Read this manual carefully. Make sure you know how to properly operate the
radio before use. Talkabout radios have 14 channels and 38 Interference
Eliminator Codes. To talk to others, all radios in your group must be set to the
same channel and code. #)  1 41. Press orange Power button, radio beeps 
and LED Indicator Light flashes every 3 
seconds to indicate radio is on. Figure 11.
2. To turn radio off, press Power button until 
display clears. Radio beeps to confirm.
/ When you turn the radio on you are in    
          normal operating mode.	You can only communicate with radios that are set on the same channel and
code. The chart on page 30 shows you channel frequencies on which
Motorola Family Radio Service (FRS) two-way radios operate.  	  1. With radio on, press Menu button once. 
CHAN appears and current channel 
( l a r g e  n u m b e r )  w i l l  f l a s h .  F i g u r e  1 2 .                          
2. Use the Scroll buttons to select a new 
channel.                                                           
3. Press Push-To-Talk button to set new 
channel selection.
/The radio will return to normal operation                                       
mode in 10 seconds or after pressing Push-To-Talk button. 
 ! 	 #Codes filter out static, noise and unwanted 
messages on radio channels. You can only 
communicate with radios using the same chan-
nel and code. Since radio channels can be 
monitored, this will not make your conversa-
tions private. To avoid congested channels, 
change the radio’s channel/code setting.  # 11.  With radio on, press Menu button twice. The 
current Code (small number) will flash. Figure 13.
2. Use Scroll buttons to select a new code.
3. Press Push-To-Talk button to set new code selection.
/ 
     •  The channel and code may be set sequentially. Just hit the Menu but-
ton after setting a new channel to select a new code.
     •  The radio will return to normal operation mode in 10 seconds or after 
pressing Push-To-Talk button. )5 1 $ #/0 4The T289 has the ability to save a specific code for each channel. This allows
you to change channel and codes more easily. To save a specific code for
each channel, set the channel and code per the previous instructions. Press
the Menu button once from normal operating mode and use the Scroll Buttons
to switch between selected channel and code settings.
Figure 11.
Figure 12.



Figure 13. 
						

							
 	

 The Monitor button is used to check activity on current channel before trans-
mitting.Check channel activity by pressing the Monitor button, you’ll hear
static if the channel is clear. Don’t transmit if you hear conversation. 	   #

  	
 
The T289 radio has a Channel Busy Indicator to indicate that your current
channel is in use. If another user is communicating on your channel and a
different code, the flashing CHAN indicator will appear on the display. This
visual indicator of channel activity can be used instead of the Monitor button.
To avoid interrupted conversation, wait until the channel frequency is clear or
switch to another channel. $	 	,16)  7)51. Turn radio on by pressing the orange 
Power button.
2. Use Scroll buttons to adjust the radio’s 
volume. Figure 14.
3. 
VOL indicator will appear and display will 
show current volume level (1 to 19). 
Beeps confirm volume level changes as 
you scroll.
4. The radio will return to normal operation 
mode after 2 seconds.
/ You may adjust volume by using the Scroll buttons as  long as the radio
is not in Menu or Lock mode.
	% (1 1. Check channel activity by pressing 
Monitor button or view Channel Busy-
Indicator (T289).
2. Press Push-To-Talk button and speak 
into radio. Figure 15.
3. LED Indicator Light glows continuously 
while transmitting. 

 Release the Push-To-Talk button. 
/ To maximize clarity, hold radio 2 to 3 inches from mouth. 	 The Alert Tones (beeps) on the Talkabout radios are set at a fixed volume
level and cannot be lowered. However, Alert Tones can be disabled. When
Alert Tones are disabled, the radio will receive messages at the volume
setting you’ve selected, but you will not hear beeps when you press control
buttons. , #1.  Hold down the Monitor button while you turn radio on.
2. To re-activate Alert Tones, turn the radio off, then on again while holding 
the Monitor button down.
Figure 14.

 
Figure 15.

! 
						

							&# %Lock allows you to disable the Scroll, Menu,
and Scan buttons so that the radio settings
cannot be changed accidentally. ,

 %
- 8)Press and hold the Light/Lock button until
LOCK appears on the display.  %
- 8)Press and hold Light/Lock button until 
LOCK disappears. 
/Radio emits audible tone to confirm lock and unlock feature activation.
Disabled buttons will beep if pressed (when Alert Tones are enabled).
The Reset feature returns all user programmable features back to the original
factory settings.
1. Hold down both the Monitor and Push-To-Talk buttons.
2. Turn the radio on. The Time-out Timer feature helps extend battery life and prevents  you from
accidently tying up frequencies. The radio will emit a continuous warning tone
if the Push-To-Talk button is pressed for 60 continuous seconds and radio will
stop transmitting.
  (!!Your Talkabout can be programmed to turn itself off after a certain period of
inactivity. This feature is used to prevent unwanted battery drain.& ,) 9 4		1. Press Menu button six times to enter Power Off feature.
2. Use the Scroll buttons to set the number of hours, after which, the power 
shuts down (1-8 hours).
/ 
     •  The radio will return to normal operation mode after 10 seconds or after 
you press the Push-To-Talk button. If no buttons are pressed during the 
selected time interval, the radio will sound a unique tone one minute 
prior to turning itself off.
     •  Minus sign appears on display if Auto Power Off is disabled.	 Talkabout radios have a backlit display for use in low-light conditions. Press
Light/Lock button to illuminate the display. The light will stay on for approxi-
mately five seconds. 
/ Pressing other buttons will extend the time the light stays on.Figure 16.
+
*
$ )
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