RETEVIS RB48PLUS (01) PDF Document

Please adhere to the following safety warnings when using your RETEVIS RB48PLUS:

• Please read the manual carefully before using the radio.

• Don’t charge the radio in flammable, explosive, and radio communication prohibited areas (gas station, airport, etc).

• Don’t operate the radio without a license in government-prohibited areas.

• Avoid exposing the radio to the sun, and avoid putting the radio near any heating equipment.

• Avoid putting the radio in dust, wet, or splashing water places, and avoid putting the radio near any heating equipment.

• Remove the battery pack from the radio immediately and contact the nearest retailers if the radio smells or smokes.

• The radio is repaired by the technical, self-disassembly is strictly prohibited.

For optimal performance and battery life of your RETEVIS RB48PLUS, follow these charging attentions:

• Please use the matched charger to charge the radio.

• Turn off the radio before charging the radio.

• To get the best battery performance, please charge at least 5 hours the first time.

• Don’t charge the battery pack for a long time, otherwise, the service life of the battery will shorten. When fully charged, please stop charging in time.

• The charger only charges the radio. Don’t charge other battery packs, otherwise, the charger and the battery will be damaged.

• When fully charged, put the battery pack in cool and dry areas. Don’t be near the fire or exposure to the sun. Otherwise, it will exist a safety hazard.

• Don’t turn on the radio during charging.

• During charging, it is common that the battery pack is slightly heated.

• Obey the local regulations when using the radio.

The RETEVIS RB48PLUS includes the following features:

• IP67 Waterproof

• LCD Backlight Display

• 30 Channels

• 159 CTCSS/DCS Codes (50 CTCSS, 109 DCS)

• Channel Busy Lock

• Earpiece Jack

• 10 Call Tones

• VOX

• High/Low Power Selection

• Call End Tone

• One-key Cancel CTCSS/DCS

• Scan/Priority Channel Scan

• Keypad Lock

• Channel Hidden

• English Voice Broadcast

• Battery Save

• Low Battery Alert

• Local and Remote Alarm

• TOT

• Call Vibration

• Talk Around

• Easy Pairing (Pair one channel and Pair all channels)

• One-key Group Call

• PTT ID (only transmit)

• Double PTT

• Allow Transmission Prompt

• NOAA

• Monitor

• Roger Beep

• Squelch

• Restore Factory Mode

• Mic Gain

The parts of the RETEVIS RB48PLUS are identified as follows:

• A. Antenna

• B. Earpiece jack

• C. Power/Volume knob

• D. LCD display

• E. PTT (Push-to-Talk)

• F. NOAA/Call tone key

• G. Menu/Key lock key

• H. Monitor/Scan key

• I. Speaker

• J. Type-C charging port

• K. Mic port

• L. 【▲】 & 【▼】 Button

• 【PTT】 Key

Use the double PTT to transmit. One is the small PTT key on the side, and the other is the big PTT key in the front. In menu mode, press the PTT key to save settings and exit the menu.

• 【▲】 Key

Shortly press: Switch options up in the menu.

Long press: Customized side key, OFF, Weather, Alarm, Call, Monitor, and Group call. Factory default: Monitor.

• 【▼】 Key

Shortly press: Switch options down in the menu.

Long press: Customized side key, OFF, Weather, Alarm, Call, Monitor, and Group call. Factory default: Alarm.

• 【/CALL】 Key

Shortly press: Send Call Tone.

Long press: Two-way radio and Weather switch.

• 【MENU】

Shortly press: Enter or switch the menu.

Long press: Lock or unlock.

• 【Mon/Scan】

Shortly press: Turn on or off the scan.

Long press: Turn on the monitor.

Turn on/off the Radio

Clockwise rotate the power knob to turn on the radio. Anticlockwise rotate the power knob and hear a click sound to turn off the radio. When turning on the radio, it will have a power-on prompt and display all icons. After turning on the radio, it will stay in two-way radio mode and display the current channel number, CTCSS/DCS codes, etc.

Volume Adjustment

Clockwise rotate the knob to increase the volume. Anticlockwise rotate the knob to decrease the volume. Note: don’t put the radio speaker too close to the ear when the volume does not adjust to a proper state. Otherwise, a loud voice will hurt the ears.

1. Press the PTT key and hold the microphone 3-5cm away from your mouth. Speak in a normal voice. When the radio displays the transmit icon, the radio is transmitting. To avoid stopping your talk, press the PTT key and pause, then start to talk.

2. When finishing talk, release the PTT key to receive. When receiving, the radio displays the receive icon.

The key lock function aims to prevent changing radio settings from accidental operations.

1. To lock the keypad, long press the Menu key. You will hear a beep sound, and the radio will display the lock icon, indicating it has entered key lock status.

2. To unlock the keypad, long press the menu key again. You will hear two beep sounds, and the lock icon will disappear from the display, indicating the radio has exited key lock status.

Note: In key lock status, pressing any key except the PTT key will cause the radio to send a failure sound.

1. In standby status, press the Menu key once. The current channel number will flash.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to select the desired channel number.

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu, or press the Menu key to move to the next menu setting.

4. The radios can communicate when they are set to the same channel.

CTCSS/DCS codes can reduce interference between radios. The RETEVIS RB48PLUS has a total of 159 codes: 1-50 are CTCSS codes, and 51-159 are DCS codes. A setting of 0 (displays as OF) turns off the codes.

1. In standby status, press the Menu key twice. The current CTCSS/DCS codes setting will flash.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose the desired CTCSS/DCS code. Press and hold the ▲ or ▼ key to switch codes quickly.

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu, or press the Menu key to move to the next menu setting.

Note: When canceling CTCSS/DCS, the codes will display as OF.

1. In the standby status, press the Menu key three times. The call tone setting will display “CA” and the call tone number will flash.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose the desired call tone. The speaker will send the corresponding call tone as you select it.

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu, or press the Menu key to move to the next menu setting.

Note: If the call tone setting is set to 0, the call function is invalid and pressing the Call key will do nothing.

When VOX is on, the radio will transmit automatically when you speak into the microphone, without pressing the PTT key.

1. In the standby status, press the Menu key four times. “VOX” will appear on the display.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to select the sensitivity level from 0-9:

• 9: High sensitivity level

• 5: Medium sensitivity level

• 1: Low sensitivity level

• 0: OFF

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu, or press the Menu key to move to the next menu setting.

1. In the standby status, press the Menu key five times. The radio will display “Pr”.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose LO (Low power) or HI (High power).

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu.

Note: Channels 8-14 only have low power.

This setting determines if the Mon/Scan key can activate scanning.

1. In the standby status, press the Menu key six times. The radio will display “SC”.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose ON or OFF.

• ON: Shortly pressing the Mon/Scan key will turn on the scan.

• OFF: Shortly pressing the Mon/Scan key is invalid. The scan cannot be turned on.

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu, or press the Menu key to move to the next menu setting.

In standby status, shortly press the Mon/Scan key. The radio will emit a beep sound and enter scan mode. The channel number will increase, and the LCD will display the SCAN icon. When a signal is detected, the radio will pause on that channel to receive the signal until it disappears. The radio will continue to scan when the signal disappears for 5 seconds.

During scanning, if you press the PTT key, the radio will transmit on the starting scanning channel. If a signal is detected and you press the PTT key, the radio will transmit on that current channel. After releasing the PTT key and waiting for 5 seconds, the radio will resume scanning.

To exit scan mode, shortly press the Mon/Scan key again. The radio will prompt with two beep sounds and return to standby status.

You can set a priority channel (CH1-CH30) through the Customer Programming Software (CPS). When scanning is active, the radio will scan the priority channel once for every other channel scanned in the scan list.

The scan list is managed through the Customer Programming Software (CPS). In the software, you can set the current channel as “Add” to include it in the scan list or “Del” to remove it from the scan list.

1. In the standby status, press the Menu key seven times. The radio will display “bE”.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose ON or OFF.

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu, or press the Menu key to move to the next menu setting.

4. After turning the function on, the radio will send a prompt sound when you finish transmitting.

1. In the standby status, press the Menu key eight times. The radio will display “U1”.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose ON or OFF.

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu, or press the Menu key to move to the next menu setting.

4. After turning the function on, the radio will vibrate when receiving the first call in standby status.

The Talk Around function sets the transmitting frequency to be the same as the receiving frequency, allowing radios to connect directly without a repeater. When it is turned off, the frequencies are different (for repeater use).

1. In the standby status, press the Menu key nine times. The radio will display “tA”.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose ON or OFF.

3. Press the PTT key to save the current setting and exit the menu.

In two-way radio mode, long press the Mon/Scan key to activate the monitor function. This allows you to check if the selected channel has any audio transmission, even if it’s too weak to break the squelch. If there is no signal, the radio will emit a static or rustle sound. Release the key to turn off the function.

To activate the alarm, long press the ▼ key (factory default). You can choose between two alarm modes:

1) Local Alarm

If the alarm mode is set to Local Alarm, pressing the alarm key will cause your radio to continuously send an emergency alarm sound. Press the PTT key to exit the alarm.

2) Remote Alarm

If the alarm mode is set to Remote Alarm, pressing the alarm key will cause your radio to continuously send an emergency alarm sound and also transmit an alarm signal to other radios. Other radios on the same frequency and within range will also sound an emergency alarm. Press the PTT key to exit the alarm.

With the radio turned off, press and hold the ▲ key and then turn on the radio. The radio will send a beep sound to indicate that all CTCSS/DCS codes have been temporarily turned off. If it sends two beep sounds, it means it has restored all the channel CTCSS/DCS codes to their programmed settings.

The battery save function helps to save battery consumption and extend usage time. If there are no calls or other operations for 10 seconds, the radio will automatically enter battery save mode. In this mode, the radio can still receive information.

Enter NOAA Mode

In two-way radio mode, long press the /CALL key to turn on the NOAA mode.

Set NOAA Channel

1. In NOAA mode, shortly press the Menu key, and the NOAA channel number will flash.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose the proper channel for your area.

3. Long press the /CALL key to exit the menu.

NOAA Weather Alert

When the NOAA weather alert function is on, the radio monitors the standby NOAA channel in the background. If an alert is broadcast, the radio will respond and turn on the NOAA receiver to provide instant weather information. In two-way radio mode, when NOAA alert is on, the weather alert icon will display.

1. In NOAA mode, press the Menu key twice, and ON or OFF will flash.

2. Press the ▲ or ▼ key to choose ON or OFF for the NOAA alert.

3. Press the Menu key to exit the NOAA menu setting.

After enabling the group call function and setting a group call channel via the CPS, the radio will monitor both the current channel and the group call channel. You can program the long press function of the [▲] or [▼] key to initiate a group call. Pressing this key will make a call on the designated group call channel. When the radio receives a signal from the group call channel, you can directly press the [PTT] key to reply within the programmed restore time. If the group call channel is set to OFF in the CPS, this function is disabled.

(1) Pair One Channel

This copies the frequency and codes from a transmitting radio to a receiving radio for a single channel.

1. On the receiver radio, select the channel you want to program and turn it off. Press and hold the small side [PTT] key while turning the radio on. Wait for 3 seconds and hear a three-beep sound, then release the [PTT] key. The receiver is now in pairing mode.

2. On the transmitter radio, select the channel you want to copy. Press the PTT key to transmit and hold it for a while.

3. When the receiver hears a “beep” prompt and starts receiving the voice from the transmitter, the channel has been successfully paired and saved. After finishing, restart the radio.

(2) Pair All Channels

1. Transmitter: With the radio off, press and hold the big front PTT key and the Call key for 3 seconds, then turn on the radio. It will send three beep sounds twice and enter transmitting mode.

2. Receiver: With the radio off, press and hold the big front PTT key and the Mon/Scan key for 3 seconds, then turn on the radio. It will send three beep sounds twice and enter receiving mode.

3. Press the PTT key on the transmitter. The LED will light up red as it transmits data. The receiver’s LED will turn from purple to blue as it receives the data. After receiving the data, the radio will restart automatically. Restart the transmitter to exit the mode.

If you only want to use a specific channel, such as Channel 1, you can hide the other channels using the Customer Programming Software (CPS).

With the radio in shutdown status, press and hold the small side PTT key and the ▼ key, then turn on the radio. The radio will prompt with two beep sounds. Release the keys to restore the factory setting.

General

Transmitter

Receiver

The RETEVIS RB48PLUS can talk to the 1-22 channels of all Retevis FRS radios in their factory default setting, such as the RB47, and so on.

1. The radio features both Type-C charging and a desktop charger. If one charging method doesn’t work, try the other.

2. If both charging methods fail, try using the spare Type-C charging cable.

3. If it is not a cable issue, the battery or radio may be abnormal. Please contact customer service.

The VOX (Voice-activated Transmit) function is likely turned on. You can turn off this function in the radio’s menu settings.

The battery may be too low. Please charge the radio.

Transmit no more than the rated duty factor of 50% of the time. Transmitting is important because the radio generates measurable RF energy exposure only when transmitting. To reduce your exposure:

• Reduce the amount of time spent using your wireless device.

• Use a speakerphone, earpiece, headset, or other hands-free accessory to reduce proximity to the head. Both wired and wireless earpieces remove the greatest source of RF energy (the handheld device) from proximity to the head and can greatly reduce total exposure.

• Increase the distance between wireless devices and your body.

To control your exposure and ensure compliance with the controlled environment exposure limits, always adhere to the following procedure:

– To receive calls, release the PTT button.

– To transmit (talk), press the Push-to-Talk (PTT) button in front of the face.

– Hold the radio in a vertical position with the microphone (and other parts of the radio including the antenna) at least one centimeter away from the nose or lips.

Nearly every electronic device is susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI). During transmissions, your radio generates RF energy that can possibly cause interference with other devices or systems. To avoid such interference, turn off the radio in areas where signs are posted to do so, such as hospitals or healthcare facilities.

For persons with pacemakers, ICDs, hearing aids, or other medical devices:

• Consult with your physician regarding the potential risk of interference from radio frequency transmitters.

• Turn the radio OFF immediately if there is any reason to suspect that interference is taking place.

• Do not carry the radio in a chest pocket or near an implantation site. Carry or use the radio on the opposite side of the body from the implantable device.

• If you use a hearing aid or other personal medical device, consult the manufacturer of your device to determine if it is adequately shielded from RF energy.

• Turn off your radio prior to entering any area with a potentially hazardous or explosive atmosphere (e.g., blasting areas, areas with inflammable gas, dust particles, fueling areas).

• Turn off your radio when taking on fuel or parked at gasoline service stations.

• Turn off your radio when on board an aircraft.

• Turn off your radio before removing or installing accessories.

• If your radio has a damaged antenna, do not use it, as a burn can result if the antenna comes into contact with the skin.

• When the transceiver is used for long transmissions, the radiator and chassis will become hot.

CAUTION: Exposure to loud noises from any source for extended periods of time may temporarily or permanently affect your hearing.

• Use the lowest volume necessary to do your job. Turn up the volume only if you are in noisy surroundings.

• Limit the amount of time you use headsets or earpieces at high volume.

• When using the radio without a headset or earpiece, do not place the radio’s speaker directly against your ear.

• Use carefully with the earphone; maybe possible excessive sound pressure from earphones and headphones can cause hearing loss.

• WARNING: KEEP NEW OR OLD USED BATTERIES OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.

• In the event of a battery leaking, do not allow the liquid to come into contact with the skin or eyes. If contact has been made, wash the affected area with copious amounts of water and seek medical advice immediately.

• Store batteries in a cool and dry place, between +10°C and +25°C, and never exceed +30°C.

• Leaving a battery in an extremely high temperature surrounding environment can result in an explosion or the leakage of flammable liquid or gas.

• Turn off your radio before removing or installing a battery.

• The battery supply terminals are not to be short-circuited.

• Do not replace the battery in any area labeled “Hazardous Atmosphere”.

• Exhausted batteries are to be removed from the equipment. Do not dismantle, open or shred batteries.

• Turn off your radio before charging.

• Rechargeable batteries are only to be charged by adults or by children at least 8 years old under adult supervision.

• Do not use the charger outdoors or in moist environments; use only in dry locations/conditions.