Abstract: Frequency hopping communication devices have a frequency slot switching circuit for sequentially switching the frequency slots used for transmission and reception according to a frequency hopping pattern. The communication devices also include a timing circuit for setting the dwell time for each frequency slot. The timing circuit sets a shorter dwell time during acquisition operations than the dwell time used during tracking. Hence, the receiver can more quickly detect the frequency slot used by the transmitter and acquire synchronization in a shorter time.