INSTRUCTION MANUAL VHF AIR BAND TRANSCEIVER iA4 This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the condition that this device does not cause harmful interference. FOREWORD READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS carefully and completely before using the transceiver. CAUTIONS R WARNING! NEVER hold the transceiver so that the antenna is very close to, or touching exposed parts of the body, especially the face or eyes, while transmitting. The transceiver will perform best if the microphone is 5 to 10 cm away from the lips and the transceiver is vertical. SAVE THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL -- This instruction manual contains important operating instructions for the IC-A4. R WARNING! NEVER operate the transceiver with a headset or other audio accessories at high volume levels. Hearing experts advise against continuous high volume operation. If you experience a ringing in your ears, reduce the volume level or discontinue use. EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS The explicit definitions below apply to this instruction manual. DEFINITION Personal injury, fire hazard or electric shock RWARNING may occur. CAUTION NOTE Equipment damage may occur. If disregarded, inconvenience only. No risk of personal injury, fire or electric shock. WORD NEVER connect the transceiver to an AC outlet or to a power source of more than 16 V DC. Such a connection will damage the transceiver. NEVER connect the transceiver to a power source that is DC fused at more than 5 A. Accidental reverse connection will be protected by this fuse, higher fuse values will not give any protection against such accidents and the transceiver will be ruined. NEVER attempt to charge alkaline or dry cell batteries. Beware that external DC power connections will charge batteries inside the battery case. This will damage not only the battery case but also the transceiver. FCC caution: Changes or modifications to this transceiver, not expressly approved by Icom Inc., could void your authority to operate this transceiver under FCC regulations. i SUPPLIED ACCESSORIES DO NOT push the PTT when not actually desiring to transmit. Accessories included with the transceiver: Qty. q Antenna .......................................................................... 1 w Belt clip ........................................................................... 1 e Handstrap........................................................................ 1 r Battery pack or battery case with Ni-Cd batteries* ... 1 set t Wall charger* .................................................................. 1 * The battery pack(BP-195 or BP-196), battery case or wall charger may differ depending on version. Some versions do not include a battery pack and wall charger. DO NOT operate the transceiver near unshielded electrical blasting caps or in an explosive atmosphere. AVOID using or placing the transceiver in direct sunlight or in areas with temperatures below ­10°C or above +60°C. Place unit in a secure place to avoid inadvertent use by children. The use of non-Icom battery packs/chargers may impair transceiver performance and invalidate the warranty. Even when the transceiver power is OFF, a slight current still flows in the circuits. Remove the battery pack or case from the transceiver when not using it for a long time. Otherwise, the battery pack or installed dry cell batteries will become exhausted. NOTE: Optional functions vary with transceiver version. In this manual, optional functions are indicated by " " Icon. Please contact your dealer for details. q w e r + _ t ii TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ........................................................................ i EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS ..................................................... i CAUTIONS .......................................................................... i SUPPLIED ACCESSORIES................................................. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................... iii 1 ACCESSORY ATTACHMENT ....................................... 1 2 PANEL DESCRIPTION ............................................ 2 ­ 4 I Panel description ................................................... 2 ­ 3 I Function display .......................................................... 4 3 BASIC OPERATION ................................................ 5 ­ 7 I Receiving and transmitting ......................................... 5 I Setting squelch level ................................................... 6 I Side tone function ....................................................... 6 I Lock function .............................................................. 6 I Display backlighting .................................................... 6 I Low battery indicator .................................................. 6 I Dial select function ..................................................... 7 4 SCAN OPERATION ...................................................... 8 I Memory (lockout) scan ............................................... 8 I VFO (full) scan ............................................................ 8 5 MEMORY PROGRAMMING .................................. 9 ­ 10 I Programming a memory channel ............................... 9 I Memory names ......................................................... 10 6 OTHER FUNCTIONS .................................................. 11 I Initial set mode .......................................................... 11 I Resettng the CPU ..................................................... 11 7 BATTERY PACKS ................................................ 12 ­ 14 I Charging precautions ............................................... 12 I Battery pack charging ............................................... 12 I About the battery pack .............................................. 14 I Installing batteries in the battery case ...................... 14 8 CLONING .................................................................... 15 9 TROUBLESHOOTING ................................................ 16 10 SPECIFICATIONS ....................................................... 17 11 OPTIONS ..................................................................... 18 iii ACCESSORY ATTACHMENT D Antenna CAUTION: Transmitting without an antenna may damage the transceiver. Insert the supplied antenna into the antenna connector and screw down the antenna as shown at right. Keep the jack cover attached when jacks are not in use to avoid bad contacts from dust and moisture. 1 D Belt clip Conveniently attaches to your belt. To attach: Slide the belt clip into the plastic loop on the back of the battery case/pack. D Battery pack replacement To remove: Push and hold the battery release downwards, then pull the battery pack upwards as shown at right. To attach: Mate the notched ends of the battery pack and the transceiver, and push the battery pack until it clicks into place. To remove: Push the top of the belt clip towards the transceiver and at the same time, push it downward and free of the plastic loop. 1 2 PANEL DESCRIPTION q VOLUME CONTROLS [VOL] (p. 5) Turns power ON and adjusts the audio level. w PTT SWITCH [PTT] (p. 5) Push and hold to transmit; release to receive. e CHANNEL UP/DOWN SWITCHES [Y]/[Z] Push to select the operating channel or frequency. (p. 5) Select item conditions in set mode. r LOCK SWITCH [ ] Push and hold 2 sec. to toggle the key lock function ON or OFF. (p. 6) " appears on the display. ·" t VFO/MEMORY SWITCH [V/M] Push to select VFO mode or memory mode. (pgs. 5, 8) * I Panel description q !4 !3 w !2 !1 !0 o e r t y 2 · "X" appears when memory mode is selected. · The transceiver has 19 memory channels. i u y MEMORY WRITE SWITCH [MW] * Push and hold for 5 sec. to write information into memory channels. (p. 9) u SCAN SWITCH [SCAN] Starts and stops the scan function: PANEL DESCRIPTION 2 VFO mode: VFO scan function. (option) MEMORY mode: Memory channel scan function. (p. 10) When memory mode is selected, this switch sets the displayed channel as a scan lock-out channel when pushed for 2 sec. (option) · "SKIP" appears on the display. !2 SPEAKER/MICROPHONE !3 EXTERNAL SPEAKER AND MICROPHONE JACKS [SP/MIC] Connect an optional speaker-microphone or headset, if desired. The internal microphone and speaker will not function when either is connected. (See p. 18 for a list of available options.) Side tone function is available when an optional headset adapter is connected. (pgs. 6, 18) !4 ANTENNA CONNECTOR (p. 1) Connects the supplied antenna. i SQUELCH SWITCH [SQL] Push and hold to open the squelch. (p. 6) While pushing [SQL], push [Y]/[Z] to select the squelch level. (p. 6) · 9 squelch levels and squelch open are available. o FUNCTION DISPLAY (p. 4) !0 TRANSMIT INDICATOR Lights red while transmitting. !1 EXTERNAL DC POWER JACK [CHARGE] Connect a 12 to 16 V DC power source using the optional cables, CP-12L or OPC-254L, to charge the attached battery pack; or connect the BC-110V wall charger for charging. *NOTE: The VFO/memory switch [V/M] and the memory write switch [M/W] functions may not be available depending on version. CAUTION: This connection is for charging ONLY. Power to the transceiver must be turned OFF during charging. 3 2 PANEL DESCRIPTION I Function display MR SKIP q MEMORY MODE INDICATOR (p. 9) Appears when memory mode is selected. w LOCK INDICATOR (p. 6) Indicates that the lock function is in use. e LOW BATTERY INDICATOR Appears when the battery is nearing exhaustion. Appears and flashes when battery replacement is necessary. r FREQUENCY DISPLAY (p. 11) Shows the operating frequency. Shows the channel name when the memory name function is selected. (p. 10) 4 t BUSY INDICATORS "BUSY" appears when receiving a signal or when the squelch is open. y MEMORY LOCKOUT INDICATOR "SKIP" appears when the memory channel is set as lockout channel. u MEMORY CHANNEL INDICATOR Shows the memory channel number. When the transceiver output power increases above a specified level, a protection circuit stops the transmitting, then "--" appears on the display instead of the memory channel number. Release [PTT] then push it again to continue transmitting. BASIC OPERATION I Receiving and transmitting CAUTION: Transmitting without an antenna may damage the transceiver. q Rotate [VOL] clockwise to turn power ON, then set to the 10 o'clock position. w Push [V/M]* to select memory mode (or VFO mode: *option). e Select the desired memory channel (or VFO frequency) with the [Y]/[Z] keys. · When receiving a signal, "BUSY" appears and audio is emitted from the speaker. · Further adjustment of [VOL] may be necessary at this point. · Push [SQL] to toggle the squelch function ON and OFF. (p. 6) · When the dial select function is selected, each push increments/decrements the frequency either 100 kHz or 1 MHz. (p. 7) 3 w Push [V/M] key for 2 sec. to transfer the memory contents to VFO. · VFO mode is selected. NOTE: · Only frequency data is transferred even if the memory channel has a memory name. · When the preprogrammed memory frequency is outside the range of the preprogrammed VFO edges, an error beep tone sounds and no data is transferred. q Set volume r Push and hold [PTT] to transmit, then speak into the microphone. · Transmit indicator lights. r Push to transmit t Release to receive e Select channel or frequency w [V/M] switch e [SQL] switch r Speak into microphone t Release [PTT] to receive. ï Memory VFO Memory channel contents can be moved to VFO . q Select memory channel to be transferred: Push [V/M] to select memory mode, if necessary. Push [Y] or [Z] to select the memory channel. 5 3 BASIC OPERATION I Setting squelch level The transceiver has a noise squelch circuit to mute undesired noise while receiving no signal. To open the squelch: Push and hold [SQL] to open the squelch. This is useful to listen to weak signals that do not open the squelch. · "BUSY" appears on the display. I Lock function The lock function prevents accidental channel changes and accidental function access. [PTT] and [SQL] still function while the lock function is in use. Push [ ] for 2 sec. to toggle the lock function ON and OFF. " " appears when the lock function is in use. To close the squelch: Release [SQL] to close the squelch. MR D Setting the squelch level q While pushing [SQL], push [Y] or [Z] to select the squelch level. · `Sq 1' is loose squelch and `Sq 9' is tight squelch. (Initial level is `Sq 5') · `oPEn' indicates that the squelch circuit is turned off. w Release [SQL] to return to regular operation. I Display backlighting Display backlighting automatically turns on when a key is pushed. I Low battery indicator Low battery indicator appears when the battery power has decreased to a specified level. MR SKIP I Side tone function When using an optional headset, such as those from the David Clark Co. via the OPC-752 HEAD SET ADAPTOR, ...