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VFO Menu

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nicsure edited this page Oct 22, 2026 · 27 revisions

VFO Menu Overview

The VFO Menu contains settings that control frequency stepping, transmission behavior, audio handling, and multi-VFO operation for the active position.

Step

Sets the frequency step size, in kHz, used when adjusting the VFO frequency with the UP/DOWN keys in Frequency Mode.

This value also determines:

  • The spacing between bars in the Spectrum Scope
  • The scanning interval used during VFO frequency scans (default scan key: LP-4)

Default value: 12.50 kHz

TX Timeout

Sets the maximum continuous transmission time, in seconds.

  • A value of 0 disables the timeout and allows indefinite transmission

Default value: 120 seconds

Mic Gain

Adjusts the sensitivity of the radio’s microphone.

  • RT-880 - Range: 0 (minimum gain) to 31 (maximum gain)
  • RT-950 Pro - Range: 0 (minimum gain) to 63 (maximum gain)
  • This is a relative level with no physical unit

Default value: 25

Mic Boost (RT-950 Pro Only)

An additional microphone adjustment that increases the pre-emphasis gain for the microphone. It is useful especially for some external mics that may have low pickup. Setting this value too high will result is audio distortion.

  • Range: 0 (minimum gain) to 30 (maximum gain)
  • This is a relative level with no physical unit

Default value: 1

MultiWatch

Values: Off, On, Group
Default value: Off

When enabled, the radio continuously monitors all three VFOs.

Behaviour:

  • Upon receiving a signal, the radio switches to the detected VFO
  • After the signal ends, the radio either:
    • Remains on the detected VFO, or
    • Returns to the previously active VFO after the time defined by MW Pause
      • Note: if any user interaction occurs before this time elapses, the selection will remain on the detected VFO.
      • This behaviour is controlled by MW Keep VFO.
    • If the VFO being checked is in Group Mode, Multiwatch is set to Group and G-Watch VFOs permits the VFO to operate in Group-Watch mode, then all channels in the VFO's selected group will also be watched.
      • This function is best used with smaller groups. Since each channel in the group must be scanned individually, larger groups will increase the scan cycle time and may significantly impact signal detection latency.

Multiwatch only monitors VFOs that are of the same HF or non-HF band. I.e. if the active VFO is set to a frequency over 70 MHz then only VFOs that are also over 70 MHz will be monitored. Similarly if the active VFO is less than 70 MHz only other VFOs that are also less than 70 MHz will be monitored.

A circular arrow icon is displayed when MultiWatch is active.
If this setting is set to Group then the icon will have a letter G inside it.

Multiwatch Suspension

Certain conditions will cause Multiwatch to temporarily stop functioning. When suspended, the icon changes (greyed-out circular arrows with a line through them) to indicate this state.
This happens when:

  • A user interaction occurs (not PTT) or a signal is received.

    • Multiwatch resumes after the period of time defined in MW Pause

  • The radio is placed into transmit mode.

    • Once transmission is over, Multiwatch resumes when:

      • The user presses a key.

      • After 30 seconds of no signal reception.

G-Watch VFOs (MultiWatch Group Mode VFOs)

Values: A Only, B Only, A And B, C Only, C And A, C And B, All
Default: All

Selects which VFOs will perform group watch operations when MultiWatch is set to Group mode.

G-Watch Fast

Values: On, Off
Default: On

Controls the scan priority used during Group Watch operation.

When set to On, Group Watch prioritizes scanning the channels within the selected group over the other VFOs and APRS-999. This improves signal detection speed for larger groups but results in slower response times for the single VFOs and APRS-999.

When set to Off, the other single VFOs and APRS-999 are scanned more frequently, keeping them more responsive. The trade-off is that signal detection within the watched group slows down by approximately four times.

MW Pause (MultiWatch Pause)

Defines the delay, in seconds, after a signal loss or user interaction before MultiWatch resumes scanning all VFOs.

Default value: 2.0 seconds

MW Keep VFO

Controls which VFO remains active after a detected signal from MultiWatch is lost.

  • On
    The detected VFO remains active after the signal ends.

  • Off
    The radio returns to the previously active VFO after the delay defined by MW Pause.

    • Note: if any user interaction occurs before this time elapses, the selection will remain on the detected VFO.

Default value: Off

VOX Level

Enables and configures VOX (Voice-Operated Transmit), allowing transmission without pressing PTT.

When active a Speech Bubble icon is shown on the display.

  • Transmission occurs on the currently active VFO
  • Off disables VOX
  • Values 1–15 enable VOX
    • 1 = least sensitive
    • 15 = most sensitive

Default value: Off

VOX Tail

Defines how long, in seconds, a VOX-triggered transmission continues after the user stops speaking.

Default value: 2.0 seconds

Tone Monitor

When enabled, any received signal containing a CTCSS tone or DCS code will display the detected tone/code on the screen. When set on Clone in addition to displaying the detected tone, the active VFO will automatically set its TX Tone to match.

Please use Clone sparingly as it will overwrite your TX subtone settings for whatever channel you're tuned to. You'll be scratching your head as to why all your channels have different CTCSS/DCS settings from what you originally programmed.

Vales: Off, On, Clone
Default value: Off

See:

Key Frequency

Controls audible keypress feedback.

  • Off disables key beeps
  • When enabled, the value defines the beep frequency in Hz

Default value: Off

Roger Beep

Controls transmission of a terminating roger beep when a transmission ends.

When active a Music Note icon is shown on the display.

  • Off disables the roger beep
  • Values from 1 to 9999 define the beep pattern

The pattern consists of a sequence of short tones (musical notes):

  • Each digit represents a musical note.
    • 0 - B4
    • 1 - C5
    • 2 - D5
    • ..
    • 8 - C6
    • 9 - D6
  • Tones are played in reverse order

Examples:

  • 1234 → F5 E5 D5 C5
  • 582 → D5 C6 G5
  • 9 → D6

Default value: Off

Roger Beep Time

Defines the duration, in milliseconds, of each tone in the roger beep pattern.

Default value: 100 ms

Multi PTT

Configures how PTT buttons map to VFOs.

  • Off
    Only the main (top) PTT button transmits on the currently active VFO.

  • On
    All three side buttons function as PTT buttons:

    • Top button → VFO A
    • Middle button → VFO B
    • Bottom button → VFO C

⚠️ Note
When Multi PTT is enabled, the short-press and long-press key functions assigned to S1 and S2 are unavailable.

When using S1 or S2 for transmitting, the main PTT button becomes the key to send a repeater tone.
See: Radio Operation → Repeater Tone

Default value: Off

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