Page 49FT-897 OPERATING MANUALOPERATION ON ALASKA EMERGENCYFREQUENCY : 5167.5 kHz(U.S. V ERSION O NLY)Section 97.401(d) of the regulations governing amateur ra-dio in the United States permit emergency amateur commu-nications on the spot frequency of 5167.5 kHz by stations in(or within 92.6 km of) the state of Alaska. This frequency isonly to be used when the immediate safety of human lifeand/or property are threatened, and is never to be used forroutine communications.The FT-897 includes the capability for transmission andreception on 5167.5 kHz under such emergency conditionsvia the Menu system. To activate this feature:1. Press and hold in the [F] button for one second to acti-vate the Menu mode.2. Rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to select Menu ModeNo-050 [EMERGENCY].3. Rotate the DIAL knob to select “ON.”4. Press and hold in the [F] button for one second to exitthe Menu mode.Emergency communication on this spot frequency is nowpossible:5. Press the V/M key, as necessary, to enter the Memorymode, then rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to select theemergency channel (M-EMG), which is found betweenchannels M-P5U and M-001.6. Note that the receive-mode CLARIFIER functions nor-mally while using this frequency, but variation of thetransmit frequency is not possible. Activation of MenuMode No-050 [EMERGENCY] does not enable any otherout-of-amateur-band capability on the transceiver. Thefull specifications of the FT-897 are not necessarily guar-anteed on this frequency, but power output and receiversensitivity should be fully satisfactory for the purpose ofemergency communication.7. If you wish to disable operation capability on the AlaskaEmergency Frequency, repeat the procedure detailedabove, but set Menu Mode No-050 [EMERGENCY] to“OFF” in step 3 of the procedure.In an emergency, note that a half-wave dipole cut for thisfrequency should be approximately 45’3” on each leg (90’6”total length).Emergency operation on 5167.5 kHz is sharedwith the Alaska-Fixed Service. This transceiver is not au-thorized for operation, under the FCC’s Part 87, for aero-nautical communications.CW T RAINING F EATUREThe FT-897 provides a CW Training feature, which sendsrandom Morse Code five-character groups via the sidetone(heard in the speaker), so you can improve your CW profi-ciency whether or not the bands are open.1. Press and hold in the [F] key for one second to enter theMenu mode.2. Rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to select Menu ModeNo-031 [CW TRAINING].3. Rotate the DIAL to select the Training mode:N: Numeric characters onlyA: Alphabet characters onlyAN: Numeric and Alphabet characters (Mixed)4. Press the [B](STRT) key to begin generation of the five-character code groups (CW sidetone only, does not keythe transmitter).5. When the code group is completed, code, the “Answer”will appear on the display.6. Press the [B](STRT) key to generate another code group,as above.7. To disable the CW Training feature, press and holdingthe [F] key for one second to exit to normal operation.You may adjust the Morse speed by the MenuMode No-030 [CW SPEED].PROGRAMMING THE P ANEL K EYFUNCTIONSThe Function ([A], [B], [C]) keys in Multi Function Row“q” [PG A, PG B, PG C], may each be assigned the functionof a particular key. These may be used to create a custom setof “hot keys” to often-used functions from other Multi Func-tion Rows.To assign the key functions:1. Press and hold in the [F] button for one second to acti-vate the Menu mode.2. Rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to select Menu Modecorresponding to the key to be assigned a function (No-065: [PG A] key, No-066: [PG B] key, No-067: [PG C]key.3. Rotate the DIAL knob to select the feature or functionyou wish to assigned to the key.4. When you have completed the set-up, press and hold inthe [F] button for one second to exit the Menu mode.