C4FM / WIRES-X

A guided demonstration by David G. Hunter, N7MKY, of Boise, Idaho.

Watch the complete walkthrough on finding and using a WIRES-X room.

More tutorials from N7MKY.

Demonstrated on the FTM-500; menu layouts may differ on the FTM-510.

1. Tune to H4 at 446.475 MHz
2. Select DN Mode (switches with the DX Button)
3. Hold down the DX button, radio connects after several secs
4. Use the Function knob to select ALL
5. Select the desired room
6. Press the Back button two times

You are now connected to Wires-X. Call CQ or any station desired

When you are finished with Wires-X, press the * key to disconnect from Wires-X.

1. Tune to H4 at 446.475 MHz
2. Select DN Mode (switches with the DX Button)
3. Hold down the DX button to connect to Wires-X

Direct Connection to other Rooms (Wires-X Nodes) using your mic buttons

4. Press #21080# to connect to America-Link. Bottom line of the display shows the name of the link and the number of other users there.

Switching Rooms with the mic.

5. Select the desired room: #21636# (Texas-Nexus).
6. To disconnect, hold down the *. Returns to W7HEN Room in 60 sec.

Search & Direct with the mic.

7. Select Search & Direct, then press the Function button. Enter any call sign or characters in the search. Press Function, and the text search happens.

Press the Function key to select the new room.

When you are finished with Wires-X, press the * key to disconnect from Wires-X.

Connect through the H4 repeater, then use the touchscreen or microphone keypad to find rooms.

1. Tune to H4 at 446.475 MHz
2. Select DN Mode (switches with the DX Button)
3. Hold down the DX button, the radio connects after several secs
4. Use the Function knob to select ALL
5. Select the desired room
6. Press the Back button two times

You are now connected to Wires-X. Call CQ or any station desired

When you are finished with Wires-X, press the * key to disconnect from Wires-X.

1. Tune to H4 at 446.475 MHz
2. Select DN Mode (switches with the DX Button)
3. Hold down the DX button to connect to Wires-X

Search & Direct with the touchscreen.

1. Select Search & Direct, then press the Function button. In this example, I will type in AMER in the context-sensitive search. Press the Function key, and the text search happens. This search yielded numerous rooms to choose from. Press the Function key to select the desired room.

Direct Connection to other Rooms (Wires-X Nodes) using your mic buttons

1. Press #21080# to connect to America-Link. Bottom line of the display shows the name of the link and the number of other users there.

Switching Rooms with the mic.

1. Select the desired room: #21636# (Texas-Nexus).
2. To disconnect, hold down the *. Returns to W7HEN Room in 60 sec.

Handheld procedures demonstrated on the FT-5D. Check your FT-3D menus for differences.

1. Tune to H4 at 446.475 MHz
2. Select DN Mode (switches with the onscreen MODE button)
3. Hold down the X button on the front panel, and the radio connects. After several seconds, you will connect to the W7HEN-ND C4FM repeater.
4. Press Search on the screen, and you will see the Category screen with the ALL and the SEARCH & DIRECT buttons on the touchscreen.
5. Press ALL, and you will see a screen with Wires-X Rooms and the number of people in each room. Rotate the dial to select a desired room.
6. Select a room by touching it on the screen. Press the BACK button once, and you are connected to Wires-X. Call CQ or any station desired.
7. When you are finished with Wires-X, press the BAND key to disconnect from Wires-X, and after 60 seconds, you will be returned to the H4 repeater.

1. Tune to H4 at 446.475 MHz
2. Select DN Mode (switches with the onscreen MODE button)
3. Hold down the X button on the front panel, and the radio connects. After several seconds, you will connect to the W7HEN-ND C4FM repeater.

Search & Direct with the touchscreen.

4. Press Search & Direct on the screen, and then touch Search & Direct again on the next screen. Now you can enter the name of a room you want to go to or the callsign of anyone on Wires-X who has a room. You can also enter the number of any Wires-X room. For example, press ID on the touchscreen and enter .21636 for the Texas-Nexus room.
5. After selecting a room press the BACK button once, and you are connected to Wires-X. Call CQ or any station desired. When you are finished with Wires-X, press the BAND key to disconnect from Wires-X, and after 60 seconds, you will be returned to the H4 repeater.

A compact handheld workflow, plus three supplemental tutorials from YouTube.

FT-70D C4FM Setup

1. Tune to H4 at 446.475 MHz
2. Select DN Mode (switches with the MODE button). Make sure AMS is turned off (Use the AMS button).
3. You are now connected to the W7HEN C4FM repeater.

Connecting to a Wires-X Room

1. Tap the Function (F) key, then tap the AMS key. This connects you to the W7HEN-ROOM.
2. The Dial knob on the top of the radio lets you select C4FM operating conditions.

Cn – indicates current room connection

Lc – indicates Last room connection

En – allows you to enter another Wires-X room number

For example, by entering 60755 and pressing the AMS button, the repeater will be switched to the Texas Patriots wires-X room, and it is displayed as the current connection (Cn). To select a different room, rotate the Dial knob back to (En*) and enter the desired room number. Once you have connected, to start a QSO, press the PTT button and call out with your callsign.

When you are finished with Wires-X, press the BAND key to disconnect from Wires-X, and after 60 seconds, you will be returned to the H4 repeater.