Dakota Alert M538-HT MURS Hand Held Transceiver Owner’s Manual

: June 5, 2024
: Dakota Alert

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
DIAGRAM
POWER SUPPLY
FUNCTION
OPERATION
MURS FREQUENCIES
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
WARRANTY
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Dakota Alert M538-HT MURS Hand Held Transceiver Owner’s Manual

WARNINGS

To maintain compliance with the FCC’s RF exposure guidelines, this transmitter and its antenna must maintain a separation distance of at least 2 inches (5 centimeters) from your face. Speak in a normal voice. with the antenna pointed up and away from the face at the required separation distance. The belt clip is for storage purposes only. DO NOT TRANSMIT WHILE USING THE BELT CLIP. To transmit, hold the device away from your body and ensure that the antenna is at least 2 inches (5 centimeters) from your body when transmitting.

This transceiver must have the antenna connected while operating. Failure to connect the antenna can cause damage to the radio.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation of this device is subject to the following conditions:

This device may not cause harmful interference.
This device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

DIAGRAM

Backlit LCD
Power, volume
Antenna
Push to talk (PTT)
Monitor (MON)
Mode
Up and Down arrow
Call
Charger port
Microphone (MIC)
Wrist strap
Earphone jack
Battery cover
Belt clip
Numeric display
Battery icon
Lock icon
TX
RX
Alert Icon
Channel
CTCSS
Tone

POWER SUPPLY

The M538-HT is powered by 6 AA rechargeable batteries. The batteries can be charged in the unit by using the plug in transformer that is provided. The battery icon on the LCD will display the amount of battery charge. One bar showing on the icon will mean that the batteries need to be charged, three bars on the icon means that the batteries are fully charged.

Note: ONLY use the charger with rechargeable batteries. When the charger is plugged in, the unit will receive signals only on sub channel 00, and will NOT transmit.

FUNCTION

Transmit and receive. The M538-HT will operate as a transceiver, meaning it will both transmit and receive messages from other MURS radio units. The M538-HT is equipped to operate on 5 channels, with 38 sub channels. In order to communicate with another MURS radio, the channel and the sub channel must be set alike. The M538-HT also has 4 separate call tones that can be used to page other users before starting a conversation. The M538-HT can also receive an alert signal from the MURS ALERT transmitter. This will notify you of activity at the location of the MURS Alert Transmitter.

LCD Display. The LCD will display channel. CTCSS, Tone, TX, RX, Lock Icon , and Alert Icon( ). When the base station is powered up, it will return to the same channel, CTCSS, and Tone that it had when it was turned off.

Earphone. The M538-HT is equipped with a jack for an earphone.

Operating range. The M538-HT is capable of communicating up to 2 or more miles. This will vary depending on the local terrain.

Power save mode. If the unit has not received or transmitted a signal for more than a minute, it will go into power save mode. This will extend the life of the batteries. When a signal is received or transmitted, the unit will automatically go out of power save mode.

OPERATION

PowerNolume. With the batteries charged, you can turn the power on or off by rotating the knob on top of the M538-HT. This will also control the level of the volume.

Changing Channels. You can select the proper channel by pressing the up or down key. The lock lcon must be deactivated before you can change the channel.

Sub Channels (CTCSS). You can select the proper sub channel by pressing the mode button once. This will cause the CTCSS display to flash. You can then select the proper sub channel by pressing the up or down key. The Lock Icon must be deactivated before you can change the sub channel.

Call Tone. You can select between 4 different call tones. You can select the proper call tone by pressing the mode button twice. This will cause the Tone display to flash. You can then select the proper call tone by pressing the up or down key. The Lock Icon must be deactivated before you can change the call tone. The call tone can be used to initiate a conversation. In order to send a call tone, simply press and release the CALL button. There are four separate tones to choose from.

Lock. The Lock Icon will indicate that the unit is locked and the channel, sub channel and tone will not be able to be changed. To lock the unit, press and hold the MODE button for 2 seconds. To unlock the unit, press and hold the MODE button for 2 seconds.

PTT. The PTT (push to talk) button is used so that you can send a message to another unit. Simply press the PTT button and speak with a clear voice into the unit. When you are done speaking, release the button. When the PTT is pushed, the TX display will show on the LCD. This means that you are transmitting.
Monitor. The MON button will allow you to monitor the channel that you are using. When the MON button is pressed, you will be able to hear any conversations that are occurring on any sub channels. This can be used so that you do not talk over others that are trying to use the channel.

MODE.

The MODE button is used to control the Channel, CTCSS, Call tone, Lock Icon ( TrO , and Alert Ico . To lock or unlock the controls, you must press and hold the MODE button for 2 seconds. If the lock icon is not displayed, you can use the MODE button to toggle through the Channel, CTCSS, and Tone functions
If the hand held has received an alert signal from the MURS ALERT transmitter, the Alert Icon will be displayed in the LCD. To remove the alert icon, press the mode button for 1 second.

MURS FREQUENCIES

Channel	Frequency
1	151.820MHz
2	151.880MHz
3	151.940MHz
4	154.570MHz
5	154.600MHz

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Thank you for your purchase of this Dakota Alert product.

If you encounter any difficulty in the operation of this product after reading the manual, please contact us. You can reach us by phone at 605-356-2772 from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday (Central Standard Time). We will be happy to answer your questions and help you in any way we can.

WARRANTY

Dakota Alert warrants this product to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty does not cover damage resulting from accident, abuse, act of God or improper operation.

If this product does become defective, simply return it to Dakota Alert. Please include a note describing the troubles along with your name and return address as well as the original sales receipt. If the product is covered under warranty it will be repaired or replaced at no charge. If it is not covered by warranty. you will be notified of any charges before work is done.