Leixen LX VV-898
Dual Band VHF/UHF 136-174/400-470MHz 10W ultra compact Two Way Mobile Transceiver. This is a transceiver for amateur radio manufactured in China. It features 199 memory channels, and up to 10 watts of power with channel scanning, dual watch, CTCSS/DCS encode/decode, DTMF, and 1750 Hz burst tone. Other features include 65-108Mhz commercial FM radio, individual call, group call, user-defined channel names, VOX capability and an emergency alarm.
Options
Review
Usage
There are four lettered hand microphone buttons
A Call (?) B VFO/MR Switch (switch between channel mode and VFO) C A/B Mode Switch (switch between top or bottom watch) D VFO Band Switch (kinda useless)
Power on/off
Once power is connected, press the button to turn the transceiver on. Three ascending tones will sound, indicating that the transceiver has correctly powered on. Hold the key for 2 seconds to turn the transceiver off.
Turn Volume
Press “VOL+” to raise the volume. Press “VOL-” to lower the volume. Hold the key to go fast. The volume is adjusted in 15 steps from 0 (lowest) to 15 (highest). The default setting is 4.
Select Channel
You can select an operating channel in one of several ways:
- Use the programming software to store operating channels ahead of time. You can then access them directly in MR mode, using the channel up/down buttons or the numeric keypad on the microphone.
- Input frequency values by using the numeric keypad in VFO mode.
- Press the “CHA+” or “CHA-” key to select the frequency in VFO mode. Hold the key to go fast
- Input channel number by using the numeric keypad to select memory channel in MR mode. Note: This transceiver has a dual-watch function, you can switch between A and B channels using the “C” key (A/B switch key) on the microphone keypad. The A channel can only operate in MR/CH mode, while the B channel can be set to either MR/CH or VFO mode. Please refer to page 40-41 regarding the user-defined key function of the A/B switch and the VFO/MR switch.
In VFO mode, the transceiver will store the most recently used frequency in each of its supported ranges. To switch quickly between the transceiver’s supported frequency ranges, press the key.
Function Menu
To modify settings in the VV-898’s settings menu, follow these steps:
- Press the “M” key.
- a, Use the “CHA+” and “CHA-“ keys, or the “VOL+” and “VOL-“ keys to select the menu option you wish to modify. Hold the key to go fast b, You can also input menu number directly by using the numeric keypad to select desired menu.
- Press the “M” key to select the menu for modification.
- Use the “CHA+” and “CHA-‘ keys, or the “VOL+” and “VOL-“ keys to select the desired
- Press the “M” key to confirm your changes,
- Repeat steps 2-5 above to modify other menu options.
- Finally, when you have made all of your changes, press any of the front panel keys, except “CHA+”, “CHA-“, “VOL+”, or “VOL-“, to exit the menu.
Menu of 50 items
| Menu # | Menu Item | Description | Option |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Auto Power Off (APO) | Turns off radio after set time | 10 mins to 16 hours/OFF |
| 02 | APRO | Sets compander and voice scrambler on per channel basis |
ON/OFF |
| 03 | Busy Channel Lockout | Disables TX on active channel | ON/OFF |
| 04 | Key Beep | Beep when key is pressed | ON/OFF |
| 05 | Channel Save | Save frequency as memory channel | default channel is 001 |
| 06 | DTMF Function | Dual Tone Multi-Frequency settings Individual Call Group Call Code Transmission Mode Remote RX/TX Inhibition |
Enable/Disable ID Code 1000 A Enable/Disable |
| 07 | Dual Watch | monitor dual frequencies | ON/OFF |
| 08 | Decode Type | Set CTCSS/DCS | OFF/CTCSS/NDCS/IDCS |
| 09 | Decode Code | Choose CTCSS/DCS Code | NONE/Code # |
| 10 | Encode Type | Set CTCSS/DCS | OFF/CTCSS/NDCS/IDCS |
| 11 | Encode Code | Choose CTCSS/DCS Code | NONE/Code # |
| 12 | FM Radio | built-in broadcast receiver | ON/OFF |
| 13 | FM Dual Watch | Listen to FM radio and RX simultaneously | ON/OFF |
| 14 | FM Scan | Scan FM radio channels | ON/OFF |
| 15 | FM SQL | Sets squelch for FM radio scan | 0-9/5 |
| 16 | Font Size | Adjust display font | SMAL/BIG |
| 17 | Key Lock Function | Lock transceiver controls | ON/K/K S/ALL/OFF |
| 18 | Keypad Function | Sets DTMF Keypad | ON/OFF |
| 19 | Backlight | Sets display backlight | OFF/KEY/CONT |
| 20 | Set Channel Name Display | Display channel name | ON/OFF |
| 21 | Channel Name Display | Choose name or number | ON/OFF |
| 22 | Edit Channel Name | Create name for channel | Name*** |
| 23 | Set Opening Display | Set power on display text | ALL/SYS/User/Time |
| 24-29 | Custom Keys Set | Define Programmable keys P1, P3, P3, M |
|
| 30 | High/Low Power Set | Sets transmit power | LOW/HIGH |
| 31 | PTT ID | Sends code to identify your transceiver |
ON/OFF |
| 32 | Roger | Sends a "Roger Beep" | ON/OFF |
| 33 | Reverse | Swaps RX/TX frequencies for to toggle simplex and repeater operation |
ON/OFF |
| 34-35 | Offset Frequency | Sets offset frequency | |
| 36 | Save Battery | Sets sleep mode option | ON/OFF |
| 37-39 | Scan Menus | Sets scan modes | TO/CO |
| 40 | Squelch Level | Sets Squelch Level | 0-9/2 |
| 41 | Step | Adjusts frequency step | 2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5 LOW/25KHz |
| 42 | Tail Elimination | noise burst at end of transmit | ON/OFF |
| 43 | Talk Around | Enables Talk Around | ON/OFF |
| 44 | Timeout Timer | sets TX timeout | 10-120 seconds/30 |
| 45 | TX Stop | Enables/disables transmitter | OFF/ON |
| 46-49 | VOX | Sets Voice Operated Transmit features | ON/OFF |
| 50 | Wide/Narrow Bandwidth Set | Sets channel bandwidth | WIDE/NARROW |
Programming
from the radio
SAVE FREQUENCY TO CHANNEL MEMORY
- In VFO mode enter the frequency.
- Press the [M] key on the front face to access the menu
- Use the channel up down keys to navigate through the menu options
- Goto menu option #5 "CHASAVE"
- select the channel number after the screen dispays "CHASave to 001" letting 001 be whatever channel number you choose
PROGRAM SIMPLEX FREQ WITH PRIVACY (PL) EXAMPLE
- menu #10 (EncType) choose CTC
- menu #35 (RPTType) choose simplex
- menu #08 (DecType) choose CTC
- menu #09 (DecCode) choose value in Hz
- menu #11 (EncCode) choose value in Hz
- menu #05 (CHASave) and select a channel #
using their software
The programming software is specific to the radio. The software is available as a free download. The USB cable driver needs to be installed, the programming software is available for Windows PCs only, and you do need a username and password to run the program. The default username is "ham" (all lower case) and the password is "89812345".
Modification
Support
Factory Reset
- Press POWER ON button and immediately (while WELCOME screen is displayed) Press M for 2 seconds and release.
- "Menu 0 / ALL RST" will appear on the LCD.
- Press VOL+ or VOL- to select either: Menu 0 / ALL RES (factory reset) or Menu 1 / FUN RES (function reset)
- Press M again "Reset ?" will appear
- Press M again to start process
transceiver refuses to go into VFO mode
Pressing the VFO assigned button on the face or microphone (B) should switch the radio from channel to vfo mode. A bug causes the radio to stay in channel mode.
Things to know about VFO mode:
- Only the B Band of the display can be put into VFO. Similarly, only the A band can be used in Memory mode.
- Using software programming the radio can be made to deny VFO mode when mobile to make it more like a Part 90 radio
- Be sure you have a button set to Band Change (Settings, Radio Menu Settings, Common 2 tab, Key Assignments) so you can switch between VFO bands.
