Humminbird VHF255SW User Manual

Humminbird® VHF255S / VHF255SW Operations Manual531469-1_A

9MARITIME MOBILE SERVICE IDENTITY (MMSI) The Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number is the nine-digit number usedon marine radios like your VH

10To enter your assigned MMSI into your radio:1. Press and hold the DSC/MENU key; the Text area on the LCD will display theSetup Menu list. 2. Rotate

VHF255S CONTROLS - RADIO BASE STATION FRONTThe following drawing shows the Humminbird® VHF255S controls on the front of theradio base station:NOTE: On

12CANCEL/WX: Use this dual function key to cancel your last selection or change yourselection without saving. This allows you to step back one level o

VHF255S CONTROLS - RADIO BASE STATION REARThe following drawing shows the Humminbird® VHF255S connections on the rear ofthe radio:Power Input: Allows

14VHF255S CONTROLS - MICROPHONE HANDSET The following drawing shows the Humminbird® VHF255S controls located on themicrophone handset:Channel Up/Down:

151234567891011 12WHAT'S ON THE DISPLAYThe Humminbird® VHF255S uses an LCD display, together with keys and various control knobs on thetypical vi

1613141516171819e radio base station and microphone handset, to provide access to user functions. The figure shows aIndicates current Watch mode, Dual

17INSTALLATION OVERVIEWFollowing are instructions for the installation of your radio. Before you start installation,we encourage you to read these ins

18Radio Base Station Recessed Mounting Kit:NOTE: Use the recessed mounting bracket instead of the gimbal mounting bracket forrecessed mounting applica

1THANK YOU!Thank you for choosing Humminbird®, America's #1 name in fishfinders. Humminbird®has built its reputation by designing and manufacturi

19CABLES:• 4.25 ft (1.30 m) power supply cable with fuse holder (1).• 2.0 ft (0.6 m) GPS NMEA connection cable (for optional-purchase GPSReceiver) (1)

CONNECTIONS OVERVIEWIn the following steps, you will be making at least one of the following connections:• Power Supply: Your radio is powered by your

211. DECIDE WHERE TO INSTALL THE RADIO BASE STATIONBefore you install the radio base station, you should find a mounting location for it that:• Does n

222. INSTALL THE RADIO BASE STATIONMount the VHF255S radio base station on your vessel, using the mounting locationdetermined in the previous procedur

23CAUTION: Keep the radio and microphone handset at least 3.3 feet (1 meter) away fromany magnetic devices on your boat (such as a compass).To instal

245. Working from the rear of the dash, align the ratcheted mounting circles on eachside of the radio with the central hole in each mounting bracket.

253. ATTACH THE ANTENNA CABLE TO THE RADIOA suitable antenna must be mounted in a safe location and connected to the radio basestation before turning

26CAUTION: If you cannot reach behind the mounting surface to attach the nuts to the bolts,use the supplied self-tapping screws to fasten the bracket

275. ATTACH A GPS RECEIVER (OPTIONAL-PURCHASE)It is strongly recommended that you use your Humminbird® VHF255S with an optional-purchase GPS Receiver.

28USING YOUR VHF255SBefore you use your radio for the first time, you should make sure that you are familiarwith the following FCC radio frequency (RF

2OPERATOR WARNINGSThis radio will transmit/receive on channels that are restricted in the U.S. Tooperate on these channels you must have explicit perm

29BEFORE YOU USE YOUR RADIO: FCC RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTSWARNING: The radio operator and any bystanders should be at least 3.3 fee

30BEFORE YOU USE YOUR RADIO: FCC PRIVACY AND PRIORITY CHANNEL REQUIREMENTSWARNING: You must monitor Channel 16 (the main priority and distress channel

312. ADJUSTING SQUELCHSquelch is used to eliminate static and background noise between receivedtransmissions. Squelch effectively mutes the radio spea

324. SELECTING HIGH/LOW POWER You must press and release the HI/LO key on the microphone handset or theHI/LO/MEM key on the radio base station to togg

337. SELECTING A WEATHER CHANNEL AND TURNING ON WEATHER ALERTThe U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) broadcastscontinuous weat

348. ACCESSING THE 16/9 PRIORITY CHANNELS Channel 16 is the universal distress and emergency channel and Channel 9 is asecondary distress and emergenc

3510. ACCESSING CHANNELS SAVED TO MEMORYOnce channels have been saved, you can easily access them using the followingprocedure. Once in Memory mode, o

36on the receiving channel as long as it is present. If the signal ceases or is lostfor five seconds or more, the radio resumes the scanning sequence.

3713. USING THE WATCH MONITOR MODESThe Humminbird® VHF255S is equipped with two types of monitor modes: Dual Watchand Tri Watch.Dual Watch monitors th

3814. DIGITAL SELECTIVE CALLING (DSC)DSC (Digital Selective Calling) is a semi-automated method of establishing a radio callthat has been designated b

3TABLE OF CONTENTSVHF255S Introduction 6How VHF Radio Works 6Features Overview 7Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) 9VHF255S Controls - Radio Bas

39DSC Call TypesLAST CALL: NEW CALL: GROUP: ALL SHIPS:CALL LOG: DISTRESS LOG:POS REQUEST:EXIT:Recalls last call regardless of which type of call was r

40To make an All Ships call:1. From the DSC Call Type List, select ALL SHIPS. The following choices will bedisplayed: Urgency, Safety, and Routine.2.

4115. MAKING A DISTRESS CALLThe DISTRESS key is used to make a Distress call. A Distress call will send out the positionand time information from the

42NOTE: If you release the DISTRESS key before 3 seconds have passed, the Distress call will notbe sent; if you hold down the DISTRESS key for more th

4310. Release the PTT key and listen for a response. If you do not get a response,repeat step 9 until you do. 11. If you must abandon ship without rec

44To send an individual call using an MMSI stored in the Contact List:1. From the DSC Call Type List, select NEW CALL. The NEW CALL submenu will bedis

454b. If the call is not acknowledged within 16 seconds, the radio will prompt you toresend the call.5. If you do nothing for 5 minutes, the individua

462. When position data is included within the signal, it is displayed in the Text areaof the LCD. When no position data is included within the signa

472. You must continue to monitor the channel in order to receive the voicecommunication.3. The call data is stored in the Call Log.To receive a Group

48To acknowledge a missed call:1. If you miss a call, the blinking icon will appear on the LCD, and will remainuntil you go to the Call Log and scrol

410. Accessing Channels Saved to Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3511. Using the Transmit Time-Out Ti

49To request the Lat/Lon position of an MMSI (POS request):This option allows you to request GPS position information from any vessel for which anMMSI

50SETUP MENUThe radio’s setup functions are accessed through the Setup Menu. Setup Menuselections are as follows: CONTACTS: Selects the Contact List E

51To access the Setup Menu:1. Press and hold the DSC/MENU key for 3 seconds; the Text area on the LCD willdisplay the Setup Menu list. (Setup Menu cho

524a. Press the CH/ENTER knob to save the new Contact, which will be displayed atthe top of the Contact List. or...4b. Press the CANCEL key to termina

53LOCAL/DISTANTYou can set the receiver to LOCAL to eliminate noise, as the LOCAL setting limits radioreception to strong signals only.To set the rece

54CONTRAST ADJUSTMENTYou can adjust the contrast on the LCD to adapt to changing light conditions.To adjust the Contrast:1. From the Setup Menu, selec

55GPS/TIME SUBMENUThe radio automatically detects NMEA strings and decodes the appropriatelatitude/longitude position and time. If the GPS navigation

56GPS/TIME SUBMENU: MANUALLY ENTER GPS DATAIf no GPS data is available, the NO GPS icon appears, and POS DATA REQ is displayedwith NO GPS. An alert wi

57GPS/TIME SUBMENU: SETTINGS SUBMENUThe Settings Submenu under the GPS/TIME Submenu allows you to set the followinginformation: • Whether Position dat

58GPS/TIME SETTINGS SUBMENU: TIME DISPLAY ON/OFF You can choose whether or not the time is displayed in Normal mode.1. From the GPS/Time Submenu, sele

5Maintenance 71Troubleshooting 71VHF255S Doesn't Power Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

59GPS/TIME SETTINGS SUBMENU: TIME FORMAT You can choose the time display to be in either 12 hour or 24 hour format.1. From the GPS/Time Submenu, selec

60RADIO SETUP SUBMENU The Radio Setup submenu under the Setup Menu allows you to set thefollowing information:• The name of a channel.• Ring volume fo

61RADIO SETUP: CHANNEL NAME DISPLAY AND EDITING You can associate a text name with a channel, and display the name on the LCD belowthe channel number,

62To delete a name tag from a saved channel:1. From the Radio Setup Submenu, select CH NAME, then CH INFO, then pressthe CH/ENTER knob. The screen wil

63RADIO SETUP: BEEP VOLUME ADJUSTMENT This setting allows you to set the key beep tone volume level. 1. From the Radio Setup Submenu, select BEEP VOL

64DSC SETUP SUBMENUThe DSC Setup submenu under the Setup Menu allows you to set the followinginformation for the DSC/ATIS function:• The User MMSI ass

65DSC SETUP: ENTER YOUR USER MMSINOTE: You must get an MMSI assigned to you before you can perform this procedure, andyou will ONLY be allowed to perf

664. If the User MMSI is blank, a dashed line will be displayed. Turn the CH/ENTERknob back and forth to enter the User MMSI along the dashed line. Pr

67DSC SETUP: CREATE AND MANAGE GROUP MMSIS You can save up to three Group MMSI numbers and associated Group names. GroupMMSI numbers always begin with

68To edit an existing Group MMSI entry:1. From the DSC Setup Submenu, select GROUP MMSI, then select an existingGroup Name and press the CH/ENTER knob

6VHF255S INTRODUCTIONThe Humminbird® VHF255S represents state-of-the-art high tech VHF radio engineering,and is skillfully designed and constructed wi

69DSC SETUP: INDIVIDUAL REPLY You can set up your radio to respond to incoming individual calls with either anautomatic response or to wait for you to

70DSC SETUP: POSITION REPLY You can set the radio to respond to a Position Request in one of three ways: Automatic,Manual, or Off (no response).1. Fro

71MAINTENANCETo keep your Humminbird® VHF255S working properly, perform the followingmaintenance as needed. If your unit comes into contact with salt

72NO SOUND FROM THE SPEAKERIf your VHF255S speaker is not emitting sound, refer to the Installation section, andmake sure that:• The volume control is

733-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTYWe warrant the original retail purchaser that products made by Humminbird® have beenmanufactured free from defects in materia

74HUMMINBIRD® SERVICE POLICYEven though you'll probably never need to take advantage of our incredible servicepolicy, it's good to know that

75RETURNING YOUR UNIT FOR SERVICEBefore sending your unit in for repair, please contact the factory, either by phone or byemail, to obtain a Repair Au

76SPECIFICATIONSChannels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All U.S., Canadian and International Channels. . . . . . . .

77MARINE CHANNELSRefer to the following Marine Channels tables, depending on your location.Channel Frequency (MHz) UseWX0 163.275 NOAA Weather.WX1 162

78Channel No.Ship TransmitMHzShip ReceiveMHzUseU.S. Marine Channels01A 156.050 156.050 Port Operations and Commercial, VTS*. Available Only in New Or

7FEATURES OVERVIEWThe Humminbird® VHF255S is a VHF Digital Selective Calling (DSC) Base Station marineband radio with the following features:• Access

79Channel No.Ship TransmitMHzShip ReceiveMHzUseU.S. Marine Channels27 157.350 161.950 Public Correspondence (Marine Operator).28 157.400 162.000 Publi

80Channel No.Ship TransmitMHzShip ReceiveMHzUse01 156.050 160.650 Public Correspondence (Marine Operator). 02 156.100 160.700 Public Corresponden

81Channel No.Ship TransmitMHzShip ReceiveMHzUseInternational Marine Channels62 156.125 160.725 Public Correspondence (Marine Operator). Port Operat

82Channel No.Ship TransmitMHzShip ReceiveMHzUseCanadian Marine Channels01 156.050 160.650 Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) 02 156.100 160.7

83Channel No.Ship TransmitMHzShip ReceiveMHzUseCanadian Marine Channels60 156.025 160.625 Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) 61A 156.075 156

84MENU TREEThe following schematic shows the relationship between the various menu choicesthat may be displayed on the LCD.DSC CALL TYPE LISTThese men

85SETUP MENUThese menu choices appear when you press and hold the DSC/MENU key.

86NOTES

87NOTES

88NOTES

8• Firm and reliable gimbal mounting bracket for the radio base station.• Large LCD (2“x 1.5”) is easy to read, with backlit display to allow operatio

Contact Humminbird®Contact the Humminbird® Customer Resource Center in any of the following ways:By Telephone:(Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.