retiredinsemo
Member
- Joined
- May 3, 2014
- Messages
- 21
This is a "FYI" since I haven't seen this subject mentioned yet.
I've found that programming any new Icom mobile/portable for wide band amateur use is impossible without doing a firmware downgrade, then using the appropriate software for that particular firmware revision. Example: I bought a F3161T with the intent to use it on 2 meters. This model was loaded with firmware revision 4.9 and used software 5.0. I began by building my icf file with several area amateur repeaters. I was careful to select the WB setting per channel and turn off the "Forced Narrow" setting in the "Common" field of the programming software. After cloning this information to the radio I then re-read the radio and noticed that it had defaulted back to the forced narrow setting in the common field. I found this odd because the WB settings per channel still remained in their original WB setting. Little did I know that the firmware had overridden the software's forced narrow setting. I then tried to tag a PO button in order for me to toggle between wide/narrow. That didn't work either. Each time I toggled the button it displayed NARROW. I then did some research into the firmware release notes for various models and identified where specific firmware revisions indicated "Forced Narrow Added". Moreover, I learned that all Icom firmware released after 2010 added forced narrow only. I suspect this caused some problems for public service agencies who bought new radios after 2010 but remained wide band until the end of 2012. To make a long story short, I downgraded my firmware to 4.1 and bought the 4.0 software for a perfect combination. My radio remains Part 90 compliant with the the ability to use 12.5 / 25 kHz per channel as outline in its specifications.
I've found that programming any new Icom mobile/portable for wide band amateur use is impossible without doing a firmware downgrade, then using the appropriate software for that particular firmware revision. Example: I bought a F3161T with the intent to use it on 2 meters. This model was loaded with firmware revision 4.9 and used software 5.0. I began by building my icf file with several area amateur repeaters. I was careful to select the WB setting per channel and turn off the "Forced Narrow" setting in the "Common" field of the programming software. After cloning this information to the radio I then re-read the radio and noticed that it had defaulted back to the forced narrow setting in the common field. I found this odd because the WB settings per channel still remained in their original WB setting. Little did I know that the firmware had overridden the software's forced narrow setting. I then tried to tag a PO button in order for me to toggle between wide/narrow. That didn't work either. Each time I toggled the button it displayed NARROW. I then did some research into the firmware release notes for various models and identified where specific firmware revisions indicated "Forced Narrow Added". Moreover, I learned that all Icom firmware released after 2010 added forced narrow only. I suspect this caused some problems for public service agencies who bought new radios after 2010 but remained wide band until the end of 2012. To make a long story short, I downgraded my firmware to 4.1 and bought the 4.0 software for a perfect combination. My radio remains Part 90 compliant with the the ability to use 12.5 / 25 kHz per channel as outline in its specifications.