ICOM Receivers Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My ICOM IC-PCR1000 has no receive audio in USB, LSB and CW modes. AM and FM modes are fine. A: Turn off the frequency scope. The IC-PCR1000 will continue to receive SSB/CW signals while the real time bandscope is running, but there will be no receive audio. Once you find the signal you are interested in, center on it and turn the scope off to get the receive audio back. AM, FM and WFM modes retain receive audio while the scope is active. Q: The internal speaker receive audio of my ICOM IC-PCR1000 seems very low. Why? A: The IC-PCR1000 has a small internal switch used to toggle the audio output between speakers and phones level. The phones level is used only if you wish to run the output audio from your IC-PCR1000 into a separate audio device, such as a computer sound card. The receiver comes out-of-the-box with receive audio set to speaker for correct speaker audio level. When the internal switch is set to phones level for sound card input, the audio level from the IC-PCR1000's own internal speaker is very low. This is normal. Q: The s-meter on my ICOM all mode receiver is stuck at some arbitrary level, and my receiver sensitivity is down. I can't hear anything! A: The RF gain control has been turned down. Turn the RF gain control fully clockwise to obtain maximum receiver sensitivity. Similarly, make sure that the squelch control knob is at the desired level, for example fully counter-clockwise if you wish to open the squelch for SSB/CW work. Q: My ICOM IC-R1 handheld receiver has been sitting on the shelf for a while, unused, and now it doesn't turn on anymore. I know that IC-R1's internal battery is good. I've even tried the external power! A: Push and hold the function button (labeled F) and then turn the unit on by rotating the power switch. The radio should come on, barring any electrical failures. See the Amateur FAQ section at http://www.icomamerica.com for more details on CPU activation. Q: Can you tell me how to modify my Icom receiver to enable receive coverage on the US cell phone bands, or could you perform such modifications? A: No. This would violate FCC regulations Q: My ICOM IC-R10 handheld receiver is not charging the AA NiCd batteries! A: The IC-R10 can operate off of either AA Alkaline batteries or off of AA NiCd batteries. ICOM America supplies rechargeable AA NiCd batteries and a charger with every IC-R10. The receiver has a switch located inside the battery compartment which can be used to toggle between Alkaline operation and NiCd operation. Actually, IC-R10 will operate just fine with both types of batteries in either of the two switch positions. But, the internal switch should be set to charge off to protect the Alkaline batteries from accidental charging when the external DC power source is plugged into the IC-R10, if indeed the alkaline batteries are being used. Charging the Alkalines may result in dangerous chemicals leaking from the batteries. The switch in the battery compartment has to be set to charge on when rechargeable NiCd batteries are being used, or the NiCds will not be charged through the receiver. Q: I'm getting a hum in SSB/CW mode when I'm powering my IC-R10 with the supplied wall power supply. A: Actually, the supplied BC-110 should only be used for charging the Ni-Cd batteries. It is not a regulated 12V power supply which you can use to power the receiver. DC hum present in the receive audio is particularly noticeable in SSB/CW modes. This is normal. You can, if you wish, purchase a separate regulated 12V power supply if you want to operate the receiver from the external DC source. Q: Why can't I program my ICOM IC-R10 handheld receiver from my PC? I keep getting an error message: "No answer from the receiver". I'm running the correct software, cloning cable is good and I've selected the correct COM port on my PC. A: You are probably trying to clone the receiver through its CI-V port. This port is used for remote computer control, not for memory channel programming (or cloning). The correct port for PC programming is IC-R10's external speaker jack. Q: Why can't I purchase the ICOM IC-R9000L receiver in the United Sates? A: All receivers being sold to the general public must not be able to receive US cell phone band frequencies as per Federal Communications Commission regulations. Most Icom receivers come in two flavors: restricted versions with 824 MHz to 849 MHz and 869 MHz to 894 MHz blocked, and full coverage versions which are available only to authorized FCC users such as government agencies and the military. The IC-R9000L is available only in the full coverage version, and as such is available only to the FCC authorized users, or for export. Q: My brand new ICOM IC-R8500 won't turn on out-of-the-box! A: The IC-R8500 receiver has been designed to operate from both the provided ICOM power supply, and the external 12 V power source. When used with the provided "brick" power supply, make sure to have the pass-through DC jumper plug installed in the 12V power connector at the back of the receiver. DC jumper plug looks like a square white piece with a red wire attached, and it ships inside the accessory box. You need to attach it to the 12 V DC port before the IC-R8500 will operate off of its original ICOM power supply. Q: I know that ICOM IC-PCR1000 software runs under Windows® 3.11 and Windows® 95. Can I install and run IC-PCR1000 software under Windows® 98, Windows® 2000, or Windows® NT? A: Probably not. The IC-PCR1000 receiver and its accompanying software were released before Windows® 98 came out. Software is 16 bit coded, and designed for Windows® 3.11 and 95. We've heard from a number of people who successfully installed and ran the software under new Windows® 98. But, it doesn't work for everybody. Running the software under Windows® NT and 2000 will not work at all. We don't yet have any information about compatibility with Windows® Millennium. If you are having problems running the original IC-PCR1000 software you may want to check out Icom America approved 3rd party control software for Icom receivers. Q: OK, ICOM IC-PCR1000 software may not work with Windows® 98. What about IC-PCR100 software? A: Newer IC-PCR100 software works fine with all flavors of Windows®, short of old 3.xx and prior versions. Q: I have one of the ICOM wide-band all mode base receivers. Only one frequency range seems to be receiving. Other bands are dead! A: ICOM wide-band base receivers usually have multiple antenna ports in the back of the receiver. Make sure that you have the antenna connected to the desired antenna connector for the band you are interested in.   Need more help? Visit the Icom America, Inc. home page at http://www.icomamerica.com