INSTRUCTION MANUAL VHF MARINE TRANSCEIVER iM45A FOREWORD Thank you for purchasing this Icom product. The IC-M45A VHF MARINE TRANSCEIVER is designed and built with Icom's superior technology and craftsmanship. With proper care this product should provide you with years of trouble-free operation. FEATURES  Durable, water-resistant construction  Dual watch and tri-watch functions Built tough to withstand the punishing marine environment, the IC-M45A offers reliability you can count on. IMPORTANT READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS pletely before using the transceiver. carefully and com- Convenient functions which allow you to monitor the distress channel (ch 16) while receiving a channel of your choice--dual watch; or monitor the distress channel and another channel while receiving a channel of your choice--tri-watch. With dimensions of 20(H) × 60(W) mm, the IC-M45A's function display is easy to read and shows operating conditions at a glance. Backlighting and contrast can be adjusted to suit your preferences. SAVE THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL--This instruction manual contains important operating instructions for the IC-M45A.  Large, easy-to-read LCD EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS DEFINITION Personal injury, fire hazard or electric RWARNING shock may occur. CAUTION NOTE ii Equipment damage may occur. If disregarded, inconvenience only. No risk of personal injury, fire or electric shock. WORD  `Smart' microphone  Simple operation Operating channel and transmit output power level settings are easily selectable via the supplied microphone. Ergonomic design with a minimum number of switches and controls provides simple intuitive operation. CAUTIONS RWARNING! NEVER connect the transceiver to an AC outlet. This may pose a fire hazard or result in an electric shock. touch the antenna or an internal antenna connector during transmission. This may result in an electric shock or a burn. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY If your vessel requires assistance, contact other vessels and the Coast Guard by sending a distress call on channel 16. RWARNING HIGH VOLTAGE! NEVER USING CHANNEL 16 DISTRESS CALL PROCEDURE 1. "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY." 2. "THIS IS ..........................." (name of vessel) 3. Your call sign or other indication of the vessel. 4. "LOCATED AT ....................." (your position) 5. The nature of the distress and assistance required. 6. Any other information which might facilitate the rescue. NEVER connect the transceiver to a power source of more than 16 V DC. This connection will ruin the transceiver. AVOID using or placing the transceiver in direct sunlight or in areas with temperatures below ­20°C (­4°F) or above +60°C (+140°F). DO NOT operate the transceiver without running the vessel's engine. When your vessel's engine is OFF and the transceiver is transmitting, the vessel's battery will soon become exhausted. KEEP the transceiver out of the reach of children. KEEP the antenna cable and DC power cable as far away as possible from electrical pumps, generators and other electronic instruments to prevent instrument malfunctions. KEEP the transceiver and microphone at least 1 meter away from your vessel's magnetic navigation compass. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ....................................................................... ii IMPORTANT ........................................................................ ii EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS ..................................................... ii FEATURES .......................................................................... ii CAUTIONS ......................................................................... iii IN CASE OF EMERGENCY ............................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................... iv 1 OPERATING RULES ...................................................... 1 2 PANEL DESCRIPTION ............................................... 2­4 I Front panel .................................................................. 2 I Microphone .................................................................. 3 I Function display .......................................................... 4 3 BASIC OPERATION ................................................. 5­10 I Power ON .................................................................... 5 I Channel selection ........................................................ 5 I Receiving ..................................................................... 7 I Transmitting ................................................................. 8 I Scan function ............................................................... 9 I Call channel programming ........................................ 10 I Display backlighting ................................................... 10 4 SET MODE ............................................................. 11­12 I Entering SET mode ................................................... 11 I SET mode items ........................................................ 11 5 CONNECTIONS AND MAINTENANCE ................. 13­16 I Unpacking ................................................................. 13 I Antenna ..................................................................... 13 I Fuse replacement ...................................................... 13 I Cleaning .................................................................... 13 I Connections .............................................................. 14 I Mounting the transceiver ........................................... 15 I Dimensions ................................................................ 16 6 TROUBLESHOOTING .................................................. 17 7 VHF MARINE CHANNEL LIST .................................... 18 8 SPECIFICATIONS AND OPTIONS .............................. 19 I Specifications ............................................................ 19 I Options ...................................................................... 19 iv OPERATING RULES D Priorities · Read all rules and regulations pertaining to priorities and keep an up-to-date copy handy. Safety and distress calls take priority over all others. · You must monitor channel 16 when you are not operating on another channel. · False or fraudulent distress calls are prohibited under law. 1 OPERATOR'S LICENSE A restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit is the license most often held by small vessel radio operators when a radio is not required for safety purposes. The Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit must be posted near the transceiver or be kept with the operator. Only a licensed radio operator may operate a transceiver. However, non-licensed individuals may talk over a transceiver if a licensed operator starts, supervises, ends the call and makes the necessary log entries. A current copy of the applicable government rules and regulations is only required to be on hand for vessels in which a radio telephone is compulsory. However, even if you are not required to have these on hand it is your responsibility to be thoroughly acquainted with all pertinent rules and regulations. D Privacy · Information overheard but not intended for you cannot lawfully be used in any way. · Indecent or profane language is prohibited. D Radio licenses SHIP STATION LICENSE When your craft is equipped with a VHF FM transceiver, you must have a current radio station license before using the transceiver. It is unlawful to operate a ship station which is not licensed. Inquire through your dealer or the appropriate government agency for a Ship-Radiotelephone license. This license includes the call sign which is your craft's identification for radio purposes. NOTE: Even though the IC-M45A is capable of operation on VHF marine channels 3, 21, 23, 61, 64, 81, 82 and 83, according to FCC regulations these channels cannot be lawfully used by the general public in USA waters. 1 2 PANEL DESCRIPTION I Front panel VHF MARINE iM45 PWR VOL OFF TAG 9 SQUELCH UP SCAN DIM UIC 16 DUAL DN HL CH WX q q CHANNEL UP/DOWN SWITCHES [YUP]/[ZDN] Push to select an operating channel. (p. 6) · Push and hold to `speed' scroll up or down through the available channels. w SCAN SWITCH [SCAN · TAG] w e r t y u Push to start/stop scanning. (p. 9) · Scan type can be selected in SET mode. (p. 12) Push for 1 sec. to toggle the tag setting for the displayed channel. (p. 9) e HIGH/LOW POWER SWITCH [H/L · DIM] Toggles between high and low output powers. (p. 8) While pushing, push the [UP]/[DN] switches to adjust the display backlighting. (p. 10) While pushing, push [SCAN] for 3 sec. to clear all tag channels. (p. 9) r CHANNEL SWITCH [CH/WX · DUAL] Push to toggle between regular channel mode and weather channel mode. (p. 6) · While in regular channel mode, push [H/L] + [CH/WX] to change channel groups. 2 PANEL DESCRIPTION Push for 1 sec. to start/stop dual (tri) watch. (p. 7) · Use SET mode to select dual or tri-watch in advance. (p. 12) t CHANNEL 16 SWITCH [16 · 9] 2 I Microphone Push to select channel 16. (p. 5) Push for 1 sec. to select the call channel (channel 9 by default). (p. 5) · Each group can have it's own call channel programmed. Push for 3 sec. (when a call channel is selected) to enter call channel write mode. (p. 10) · Channel indication flashes. HI/LO y SQUELCH CONTROL [SQUELCH] Rotate clockwise to eliminate audio noise. (p. 7) u POWER/VOLUME CONTROL [PWR/VOL] Turns power ON and OFF and adjusts the audio output level. q CHANNEL UP/DOWN SWITCHES [Y]/[Z] Select an operating channel in the selected channel group. · These switches can be used instead of the transceiver's [UP]/[DN] switches. w HIGH/LOW POWER SWITCH [HI/LO] The same function as the transceiver's [H/L] switch--toggles between high and low output powers. · Pushing this key at power ON turns the microphone keys ON/OFF. 3 2 PANEL DESCRIPTION I Function display q w e r t y T X BUSY !2 !1 LOW CALL CANUSA INT WX ALT !0 o TAG DUALTRI SCAN DUP u i q TRANSMIT INDICATOR Appears while transmitting. (p. 8) w BUSY INDICATOR Appears when receiving a signal or when [SQUELCH] is rotated too far clockwise. (p. 7) e CHANNEL INDICATOR Shows the operating channel (pgs. 5, 6) r TAG CHANNEL INDICATOR Appears when the selected channel is set as a tag channel. (p. 9) t DUALWATCH INDICATOR Appears and flashes during dualwatch operation. (p. 7) y TRI-WATCH INDICATOR Appears and flashes during tri-watch operation. (p. 7) u SCAN INDICATOR Appears and flashes during scan operation. (p. 9) 4 i DUPLEX INDICATOR Appears when the selected channel is a duplex channel. (p. 6) o CALL CHANNEL INDICATOR Appears when the call channel is selected. (p. 5) !0 WEATHER ALERT INDICATOR "ALT" appears when a weather alert function is turned ON. (pgs. 6, 12) !1 MODE INDICATORS (p. 5, 6) "USA" shows that USA channels are selected. "CAN" shows that Canadian channels are selected. "INT" shows that international channels are selected. "WX" shows that weather channels are selected. !2 LOW POWER INDICATOR Shows that low output power is selected. (p. 8) BASIC OPERATION I Power ON Rotate [PWR/VOL] clockwise to turn power ON. T X BUSY 3 I Channel selection D Channel 16 Channel 16 is the distress channel. It is used for establishing initial contact with another station and for emergency communications. Channel 16 is monitored during dual/tri-watch. While standing by you are required to monitor channel 16. Push 16 LOW CALL CANUSA INT WX ALT TAG DUALTRI SCAN SCRM DUP ACK RCV All display indications appear briefly. USA USA Channel 16 is automatically selected. or hang the microphone on the microphone hanger. Operate the transceiver as indicated in the following sections. D Call channel The call channel is used to store your most often-used channel for quick recall. In addition, the call channel is monitored during tri-watch. The default setting for the call channel is channel 9 which is for leisure boat use. A separate call channel can be set for each channel group (USA, CAN and INT). 9 D Low voltage indicator When "b" appears and flashes as shown at right, there is a DC power source problem. In this case, check your vessel's battery and DC power cable. USA Push for 1 sec. 16 CALL USA "CALL" indicates that the call channel is selected. 5 3 BASIC OPERATION D Weather channels There are 10 weather channels. These are used for monitoring NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) weather broadcasts. Push CH WX WX D USA, Canadian and international channels There are 57 USA, 57 Canadian and 57 international channels. These channel groups may be specified for the operating area. Push [CH/WX] to select a regular channel. · If regular channels (USA, CAN or INT) are already selected, this step is not necessary. Push [UP]/[DN] to select a channel. · "DUP" appears for duplex channels. To change the channel group, while push and hold [H/L] pus ...