Frequently Asked Questions

Zartek Radio ZA-200

A.
Two-way radios (like cellular telephones) communicate through the air. The environment and terrain will play an important part in reception and clarity as signal strength depends on the density of obstructions between handheld devices. Open terrains and high elevations will give the widest communication range.
Typical distances in different terrains are:
• 500m-1km indoors (buildings, warehouses, shopping malls, city centre and dense bush)
• 2-5km outdoors flat (residential areas, over water, farmland and open/light bush)
• 5-30km elevated line-of-sight (top of buildings, hills or mountains range increases with height)
It is worthwhile noting that the legislation stipulates the transmitting power to be limited to 500mW and external antennas not be connected (such as repeaters) as the frequencies are for public use.

A.
All AA (penlight) batteries can be used to power the radio. Each ZA-200 is supplied standard with 4 rechargeable Ni-Cd 1000mAH AA batteries. There is a built-in charger that can be turned on (situated in the battery compartment) if using rechargeable Ni-Cd or Ni-MH batteries and switched off if using disposable batteries such as alkaline. Alkaline rechargeable batteries must not be charged inside the radio and a separate dedicated charger must be used.

A.
Standard Ni-Cd batteries can be charged for 10-12 hours from flat to full. A slow charger is used to protect the radio from incorrect batteries or overcharging. The charger does not turn off automatically and the charging plug must be disconnected manually after the time is up. Extensive overcharging (more than 24 hours) can lead to irreparable acid leakage damage.

A.
Once fully charged, the standard batteries will operate the radio for 30 hours if used moderately on a 5:5:90 duty cycle (5% transmitting, 5% receiving and 90% on standby). Heavier duty use will require the batteries to be charged sooner. A super battery pack is available as an accessory (GE-235) which consists of 4 2000mAH capacity AA Ni-MH batteries. The high capacity pack will last for 50 hours on a 5:5:90 duty cycle but will require 20-24 hours to be charged using the built-in charger. A Zartek smart rapid battery charger ZA-300 is also available which safely charges 4 1000mAH Ni-Cd AA batteries in 2 hours and 4 2000mAH AA Ni-MH batteries in 4 hours.

A.
Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries can be recharged 700-1000 times. Ni-Cd batteries have a memory affect and should be discharged completely before recharging to maximise the life span of the batteries. Ni-MH batteries do not have a memory effect but should also only be charged once flat for maximum lifespan as there are a limited number of charging cycles.It is important to note that the charger socket is shared with the microphone socket for headsets. If the socket is connected no voice audio (only noise) will be transmitted and the charger should be disconnected when transmitting. The receiver and speaker will respond to calls when charging.

A.
Each radio carries a 12 month factory warranty. This covers all faults that occurred during normal usage of the radio where no customer negligence is present. There is also a full service department to repair any damaged radios. In case of a faulty unit please contact the store where the radio was purchased so they can send it to us or contact Zartek directly.