VOX: Voice Activated Transmit

VOX (Voice-Operated Transmit) lets your radio key up automatically when you speak, without pressing the PTT button. It's designed for hands-free operation — useful when you need both hands for driving, hiking, climbing, or working.

How it works

When VOX is enabled, your radio's microphone continuously listens for audio above a set threshold. When you start talking, the radio automatically switches to transmit. When you stop talking, it waits a brief moment (the VOX delay) and then returns to receive. The whole cycle happens without touching the radio.

Sensitivity levels

Most radios offer adjustable VOX sensitivity, typically on a scale of 1 to 10:

• High sensitivity (low number): triggers on quiet speech. Good in quiet environments, but picks up more background noise
• Low sensitivity (high number): requires louder speech to trigger. Better in noisy environments, but you may need to speak up or speak closer to the mic

Start at a medium setting and adjust based on your environment. The goal is for the radio to key up reliably when you talk but not trigger on ambient noise.

VOX delay

The VOX delay (sometimes called "hang time" or "tail") controls how long the radio stays in transmit after you stop speaking. A short delay (0.5–1 second) makes the radio drop quickly between words, which can clip the beginning of your next sentence. A longer delay (2–3 seconds) keeps the transmitter keyed during natural pauses in speech, but wastes airtime and battery if you pause to think.

When VOX works well

• Driving with a headset — keeps both hands on the wheel
• Hiking or biking with a shoulder mic or earpiece
• Working a job site where you need both hands
• Skiing, climbing, or any activity where reaching for a PTT button is impractical

When to avoid VOX

• Windy conditions without a windscreen — wind across the mic triggers constant transmissions
• Noisy environments — engines, crowds, music, or machinery will key up the radio
• On busy repeaters — accidental transmissions from background noise are disruptive and tie up the repeater
• When monitoring — if you're mostly listening and only occasionally need to talk, PTT gives you more control

If you find VOX unreliable in your environment, switch back to PTT. Most operators treat VOX as a situational convenience rather than a full-time setting. Also consider that accidental VOX transmissions can interfere with others on the channel — the busy channel lockout feature won't help here since VOX bypasses your awareness of channel activity.