Zart e k Eco Us e r’ s Manu al

INTRODUCTIONCongratulations! You have just purchased a new remarkable breakthrough

product in communications using the Public Mobile Radio (PMR) frequency band. The Zart e k E c o is the smallest and lightest PMR two-way radio in the world. This is due to the use of Li-ION battery technology and micro-circuitry. With the Zart e k E c o you can talk instantly to as large a group as required and as often as you like without airtime charges, giving you, family, friends, commercial and industrial colleagues many years of free quality communications. We have called this model the Ec o as it uses a Lithium Ion battery(Li-ION), the most advanced and ecologically friendly rechargeable battery available(most advanced mobile phones also use a Li-ION battery).

New legislation allows you now to own and use this relatively powerful equipment without an operator’s annual license from ICASA. This applies in all SADC(Southern African Development Community) region(14 countries) as well.

To obtain maximum performance from your personal two-way radio, please take a few minutes to carefully read this user’s manual. The Zart e k Ec o is a lightweight, palm-sized wonder communication device with 304 two-way radio channels, so small you can carry anywhere and talk to any person who is set on the same channel, as long as they are within range.

The range of the Zart e k Ec o is anything from 1km indoors to 15kms outdoors, depending on terrain and environment. The signal will bounce around and penetrate materials at the speed of light, bearing in mind the greater the barriers the more attenuation i.e. weakening of the signal.

The Zart e k E c o is our exciting third-generation product, but now sits in the PMR band of frequencies(446MHz). It is therefore not channel compatible to the original Zart e k model no. 21-1860-AF(463MHz).

MAIN FEATURES• PLL (Phase Lock Loop) Controlled Circuitry• Ultra Slim size (18mm)• Ultra light weight (67g with battery)• 8 UHF (Ultra High Frequencies) Frequencies• 38 Quiet (CTCSS-Continuous Tone Coded Sub-audible Squelch) Codes• Digital Volume Control • Frequency Scan• VOX (Voice Operated Transmit) Function (3 levels of sensitivity)• VOX Overtime Delay (5 levels of time)• Call Function (10 Group Call Selection)• Auto Squelch Control• Back lighted LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)• Keypad Lock• Memory Retention Function• Power Saving Circuitry• Battery Charge/Drain Indication• External Mic/Headset (PTT or VOX)• Dual Watch• Transmit Red LED

INSTALLING BATTERIESUse the Li-ION rechargeable battery provided.

Press battery cover release button slightly down and then slide the battery door off.

Follow "This Side Face Up" and +/- polarity to install the Li-ION battery pack into the compartment.

Slide the battery door on to close. Warning:

Make sure the polarity of battery is correct. When the battery is damaged or not working, dispose of it safely. Never discard

them or put them close to heat, otherwise, it may explode.

This radio is designed to use a 3.7v Li-ION rechargeable battery. The battery included is well designed to function with this equipment and has built-in protection circuitry for internal short circuit and overcharge. The charging cycle rate is about 750 times.

RECHARGING BATTERIESWhen the “Battery Level” icon is low, you need to charge the battery with the enclosed AC/DC Adaptor (or Optional Desktop Charger). The battery has a built-in charging current limiting circuit and when the battery is fully charged, the circuit will automatically cut the charge current to protect the battery.

With AC/DC Adaptor & vehicle cigarette lighter Adaptor: Plug the adapter into the wall or vehicle cigarette lighter socket and the other

end plug into the earphone jack on the radio. On the LCD display “Battery Level” icon flashes when charging. To charge fully from empty requires about 4 hours. When fully charged the “Battery Level” displays full bar and a Red LED

will go ON. During charging, the radio unit will turn auto OFF. After charging, please turn

your radio back ON again. WARNING: Only use vehicle cigarette lighter adaptor with standard 13.6vDC

socket.

With Desk Top Charger Plug the AC/DC adaptor into wall and other end plug into the desk-top charger. Place the radio into the desk-top charger. While charging, the Red LED on the charger will remain ON Unlike the direct adaptor, the radio remains ON and does not turn auto OFF. A full charge requires about 5 hours. The Red LED of the charger will then turn

OFF and the radio’s Red LED will turn ON, indicating full charge.

Warning: To avoid damage to the radio use only original accessories.OVERVIEW

1. Transmit LED indicator 2. Microphone3. Earphone and Wall Charger jack4. Call Key5. PTT (Push To Talk) Key6. Scan / Monitor Key 7. Up Key8. Menu / Lock Key9. Down Key10.Power On/Off Key11.Speaker12.Desk top Charger Pins

General Operation

Power On/Off the unit ------------------------------------- 1Making communication ----------------------------------- 2Speak to other radios -------------------------------------- 3Listen to other radios --------------------------------------- 4 Adjusting speaker volume --------------------------------- 5Talk Time-Out Function ----------------------------------- 6Talk Range -------------------------------------------------- 7Menu Flow chart ------------------------------------------- 8Select channel ---------------------------------------------- 9

Zart e k PERSONAL TWO-WAY RADIO

CTCSS code function ------------------------------------- 10Scanning Channels ----------------------------------------- 11Sending Call Tones ---------------------------------------- 12Select Call Tones ------------------------------------------- 13VOX “Hands-Free Walk & Talk” ----------------------- 14Earphone with “PTT” ------------------------------------- 15Key Lock ---------------------------------------------------- 16Dual Watch -------------------------------------------------- 17

(1) POWER ON/OFF To power ON the radio, press Power On/Off Key for 3 seconds until a beep is

heard and the LCD screen displays the Channel and battery level icon To power OFF the radio, press Power On/Off Key for 3 seconds until LCD

display turns off.

(2)MAKING COMMUNICATIONSThe Radio has 8 main frequencies (large numbers) & 38 CTCSS codes (small numbers) effectively giving you 304 channels. You can communicate with any other user who is using the same combination, providing they are within range.

(3)SPEAK TO ANOTHER RADIO Press & hold the PTT key, transmit Red LED turns on. Hold the radio in a vertical position with the microphone 5-8cm from your

mouth and then speak. When you finish speaking, release the PTT key and a beep tone will be heard.

(4)LISTEN TO ANOTHER RADIO When you press the PTT key, you can’t listen to other radio. Make sure you

do not press the PTT key for listening. Adjust volume control if necessary.

(5)ADJUSTING SPEAKER VOLUME(8 LEVELS) Press the key to increase the volume. Press the key to decrease the volume.

(6)TALK TIME-OUT FUNCTION Time-out function can avoid transmitting by chance and prolong the battery life. The radio will stop transmitting and sound a warning tone when PTT is held

over 60 seconds. You then need to release PTT and press again for further transmission.

In VOX mode, the unit will stop transmitting and sound a warning tone after continuous talk for 60 seconds. You can re-activate VOX after the time-out. (Please refer to VOX function for detailed VOX operation)

(7)TALK RANGEThe range will depend on the type of terrain that you are communicating across.The Zartek uses the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) band and will be subject to similar obstacle interference as cellular phones. The radio works indoors as well as outdoors. Typical rough estimate ranges for different terrains are:Shopping centre 300m-1000mBuilding 5-30 stories, City centre & dense bush 500m-2km,Residential & over water 2-4km,Farmland 3-5km, Top of mountain or building (line-of-sight) 10-30km. When you press the PTT talk button a signal is transmitted and the signal floods the area in all sideway directions. The signal travels in 3 different ways: 1) Penetration: The signal can go through materials such as wood, plastic, cement and fabric. The denser the material or more built up the environment the weaker the signal will become. The signal cannot go through solid metal or very large solid land structures such as a hill or mountain. Metal acts like a shield and that is why the performance from the inside of a vehicle (car or 4x4) will be less than outside.2) Reflection: The signal cannot go through metal or very large structures such as a hill or mountain, but it can bounce off (like a mirror), go around and reflect in other directions as well. This happens at the speed of light.3)Line-of-sight: Line-of-sight is when there are no obstructions in the path between the communicating parties. The higher up you go the further you can see, so the larger the line-of-sight distances will be. Generally you can talk to wherever you can see, which is why the coverage in a valley is much less than the coverage from on top of a hill. Ensure that there is nothing blocking the antenna .The less metal in close proximity (0-2m) the better the range. There may be external interference from electrical equipment (power lines or factories) or natural causes (moisture in the air or storms) that may vary depending on the location and the weather.

(8)MENU FLOW CHART Press " " once to enter main channel selection, press " " again for next function selection etc.

Main screen Main Frequency CTCSS Call tone VOX sensitivity VOX overtime Dual Watch

(9)SELECT CHANNELTo set the Main Frequency Press the " " key once, 1 of the 8 “frequency numbers” displayed will flash, Press" " or " " key to select your required main frequency. Press the "PTT" key to confirm or press " " to continue. You have 5 seconds to decide before auto-reverting back to the main screen

(10)CTCSS CODE FUNCTIONThis function can help you select your group (38 CTCSS codes) of users on the shared frequency. Only the users with the same CTCSS code can listen and talk to each other.To select a CTCSS code Press the " " key twice, the CTCSS code display will flash, Press " " or " " key to select your required CTCSS code (1~38, " 0 " is off) Press the "PTT" key to confirm or press " " to continue. You have 5 seconds to decide before auto-reverting back to the main screen.

(11)SCANNING FREQUENCIES Press "Scan / Monitor" Key, icon will appear and radio will start scanning

frequencies automatically. Note: Pressing the button for over 2 seconds, will break the squelch noise and open (un-squelch) the frequency.

The radio scans all the frequencies one by one and will lock on any activity. After lock-on and conversation, press " " key to continue scanning.

If there is no activity, it will continue to scan. By pressing the PTT key, it will stay on the current selected channel and continue to scan after 5 seconds after release of PTT.

Press "Scan/Mon" key to stop scanning and return to main screen.

(12)SENDING CALL-TONESYou can use 1 of 10 different “Call Tones” to call to attention another user on the same channel. Press "CALL" key, icon will appear and your selected call tone will be sent. The “Call Tones” have 10 kinds of sounds for personal selection.

(13)SELECTING A CALL-TONE(10 AVAILABLE) Press " " key three times, icon will appear and call tone number will flash. Press" " or " " key to select your desired call tone.

Press the "PTT" key to confirm or press " " to continue. You have 5 seconds to decide before auto-reverting back to the main screen.

(14)VOX “HANDS FREE WALK & TALK”The ZAR T E K Ec o has innovative state-of-the-art technology not seen in other two-way radios with it’s multi-level sensitivity built-in VOX function. Operation can only function with an external VOX headset/mic(no PTT). The VOX feature replaces your PTT key as transmit is automatically activated by sound. This turns your radio into hands free “walk & talk” with your accessory earphone.

To turn on VOX function Press " " key four times, icon will appear and VOX sensitivity number will

flash. Press " " or " " key to select 1, 2 or 3 for low, medium & high sensitivity. (0 is

off) Then press " ” key again, the digit for the VOX overtime will flash. Press " " or " " key to choose overtime from 1 to 5 seconds(VOX drop-out). After turning the VOX on, you need to connect the earphone to use the hands-

free function. See steps below.

Use VOX with earphone Press " " key to power the radio OFF. Plug the earphone into the earphone jack. Press " " key to power the radio back ON, VOX icon appears. Set the earphone microphone close to your mouth (1~3 cm) and talk, the radio

will transmit automatically. When you stop talking, transmission time will drop-out depending on VOX

overtime setting. The radio will then automatically revert into receive mode. Adjust the volume to a comfortable level if necessary. NOTE: You must power OFF the radio before plugging in the earphone, otherwise the radio will permanently transmit.

(15)EARPHONE WITH “PTT”For this operation you will require an earphone with a PTT button. Press " " key four times, icon will appear and VOX sensitivity number will

flash. Press" " or " " key to select 0 to turn VOX off. Overtime(drop-out) settings only functions with VOX. Plug in your PTT earphone accessory (you do not need to turn the radio OFF).

(16)KEY LOCK Press and hold " " key for 1.5 seconds, icon will appear This will lock all keys except PTT and CALL. To unlock, press " " key again for 1.5 seconds.

(17)DUAL WATCH This feature will allow the user to monitor TWO channels at the same time, locking onto any of the channel activity(very much like scan). Set main channel first (example channel 618) Press ' ' key six times,' ' icon will appear and the “Watch channel” number

will flash. Press ' ' or ' ' key to select your required “Watch channel” (example channel 3). Press the 'PTT' key to confirm or press " " to continue to the main screen

again. The radio will watch channel 618 and 315(15 happens to be 3’s CTCSS code). To de-activate press ' ' key six times,' ' icon will appear once again, select '0'

to turn this function OFF.

CHANNEL FREQUENCY TABLESChannel no.

Frequency(MHz)

Channel no.

Frequency(MHz)

1 446.00625 5 446.056252 446.01875 6 446.068753 446.03125 7 446.081254 446.04375 8 446.09375

CTCSS Code (Hz)1 67.0 11 97.4 21 136.5 31 192.82 71.9 12 100.0 22 141.3 32 203.53 74.4 13 103.5 23 146.2 33 210.74 77.0 14 107.2 24 151.4 33 218.15 79.7 15 110.9 25 156.7 35 225.76 82.5 16 114.8 26 162.2 36 233.67 85.4 17 118.8 27 167.9 37 241.88 88.5 18 123.0 28 173.8 38 250.39 91.5 19 127.3 27 179.910 94.8 20 131.8 30 186.2.

CARE & SAFTYTo clean the radio, wipe with a soft cloth dampened with water. Never use solvents or cleaners on the radio, they can harm the body and leak inside, causing permanent damage. Your radio is not splash proof or waterproof. If the radio gets wet, turn it OFF and remove battery immediately. Dry battery compartment to minimize potential water damage. Leave cover off battery compartment and do not use until completely dry.

WARNINGDo not operate radio in hazard environments. Explosion or fire may result. Do not operate radio near unshielded electrical blasting caps. Under certain conditions, radio can interfere with blasting operations and may cause an explosion. Turn your radio OFF to prevent accidental transmission when in a “blasting area” or in areas posted “Turn your radio off”. Construction crews often use remote controled RF devices to set off explosives.

SPECIFICATIONSOperating Frequency Range --------- 446.00625 ~ 446.09375MHzChannels ---------------------------------- 8 (12.5KHz spacing)Modulation ------------------------------- FMFrequency Control ---------------------PLLRF Output Power ----------------------- PMR 500mW e.r.pPower Supply ---------------------------- 3.7v 720mAh Li-Ion rechargeable batteryAntenna Impedance ------------------- 50 OhmOperating Temperature -------------- -20 to +60CDimensions ------------------------------ 41(w) x 86(h) x 18(thick) mmWeight (with batteries) --------------- 67gCasing ------------------------------------ High Impact materialsReceiver Unit LimitFrequency range (simplex) MHz 446.00625 ~ 446.09375MHzIntermediate Frequency 1st MHz 21.7 2nd KHz 450Sensitivity At 12dB Sinad uV ≤0.5CTCSS Sensitivity uV 1Squelch Sensitivity Threshold uV ≤0.5Spurious Response Atten dB ≥65Adjacent Channel Rejection dB ≥55Image Rejection dB ≥65Hum And Noise At 1.5KHz Dev. dB 30

Max. Audio Output Power mW ≥250Audio Distortion % ≤5Working Voltage V 3.7Min. Working Voltage V ≤Low Battery Indicator V 3.2±0.2Current Drain At Max. Power mA ≤150Current Drain at Standby Mode Saving Off mA ≤60 Saving On (Average) mA ≤25 Transceiver RF Power Output mW 500Max. Dev. (With CTCSS) KHz ≤2.5CTCSS Deviation KHz ≤0.8Hum And Noise At 1.5KHz Dev. dB ≥28Modulation Distortion (1.0KHz Dev.) % ≤5Spurious/Harmonic Emissions dB ≥63Frequency Tolerance KHz ±1.5Mic Sensitivity mV <10Current Drain mA 300Acoustic Mic Sensitivity

VOX Hi at 1KHz Signal dBA 80±4 VOX Lo at 1KHz Signal dBA 89±4

(24) ACCESSORIESGE-301 ………VOX Earphone with in-line microphone GE-302 ………PTT Earphone with in-line microphoneGE-303 ………Desk-top dual battery chargerGE-304 ………Carry bag with belt clip

(25) WARRANTYThis product is warranted by Zartek against manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a 12 month period from date of purchase via our authorized appointed dealers.

Manufactured for Zartek in South Africa to meet ICASA technical requirements.For further information contact zartek@global.co.za

Zartek PERSONAL TWO-WAY RADIO

AUTHORISED DEALER

DATE PURCHASED