Icom IC-F420 issues

[SpugEddy]

Does anybody have experience with this radio?
I finally blew the dust off of my IC-F420 and got a new
programming cable. I programmed the radio with the
channels. (NO PROBLEMS)
1.) I cannot turn the volume down
2.) I cannot get the radio to scan

Can somebody steer me in the right direction here?
Left side of the radio has 2 buttons [Volume up] is on top. [Volume Down] is on bottom
Pressing [Volume Down] beeps the radio but does not reduce the volume.

I programmed [P0} for scanning mode. Pressing the [P0] key displays the bank number
(Scan 1) but nothing happens

Am I doing something wrong here or did I buy a bum radio?

 

[mmckenna]

Does anybody have experience with this radio?
I finally blew the dust off of my IC-F420 and got a new
programming cable. I programmed the radio with the
channels. (NO PROBLEMS)
1.) I cannot turn the volume down
2.) I cannot get the radio to scan

Can somebody steer me in the right direction here?
Left side of the radio has 2 buttons [Volume up] is on top. [Volume Down] is on bottom
Pressing [Volume Down] beeps the radio but does not reduce the volume.

I programmed [P0} for scanning mode. Pressing the [P0] key displays the bank number
(Scan 1) but nothing happens

Am I doing something wrong here or did I buy a bum radio?

Oh, man, it's been a while since I programmed any of those.

Let me give it a try. Maybe someone who has touched these models a bit more recently than me can clarify/correct/confirm:

1. Make sure you don't have a "minimum" or "maximum" volume set anywhere in the programming. Don't know if these actually have that, but if they do make sure "minimum" is set to zero (or lowest number) and "maximum" is set to the highest number.

I don't remember if these two buttons are programmable or not, sounds like you have them set correctly.

2. Mic "hang up" needs to be grounded. You probably have the off hook scan set up. This will stop the scan function when the microphone is taken off the grounded mic hook. If you don't have the mic hooked up, or you don't have the hang up clip grounded, it won't scan.
If you are going to use this radio as RX only and not have a mic hooked up, you either need to set up the programming to ignore the mic hook, or make an RJ-45 plug that connects the hook function to ground.

 

[SpugEddy]

You are the best mmckenna. Right on both problems.
Had the mic hook turned on so it wouldn't scan. Switched
it and it now scans just fine. The volume was set to 32 min.
I dropped it to 15 and it's much better. Thank you again.

Another question. If you can...
The radio is an IC-F420-10
Is there any way to tell how many channels this radio is?
Does the -10 mean 10 channel or does it indicate a certain
frequency range?

 

[mmckenna]

-10 is the frequency range. 450MHz to 470MHz, although they will stretch down into the 70cm amateur band.

It's a 32 channel radio.

The only other version is the F-420s, which has no LCD display and only does 4 channels.

 

[N2AL]

Oh, man, it's been a while since I programmed any of those.



Let me give it a try. Maybe someone who has touched these models a bit more recently than me can clarify/correct/confirm:



1. Make sure you don't have a "minimum" or "maximum" volume set anywhere in the programming. Don't know if these actually have that, but if they do make sure "minimum" is set to zero (or lowest number) and "maximum" is set to the highest number.



I don't remember if these two buttons are programmable or not, sounds like you have them set correctly.



2. Mic "hang up" needs to be grounded. You probably have the off hook scan set up. This will stop the scan function when the microphone is taken off the grounded mic hook. If you don't have the mic hooked up, or you don't have the hang up clip grounded, it won't scan.

If you are going to use this radio as RX only and not have a mic hooked up, you either need to set up the programming to ignore the mic hook, or make an RJ-45 plug that connects the hook function to ground.

You are absolutely correct! You suggested one of the thoughts I was going to. It has been about six or seven years since I have programmed one of these radios, and the mic hook was an issue I had, not allowing it to scan. It did a fine job puzzling me for a period of time.

 

[SpugEddy]

I really thought either I got a bum radio or
I was a complete dunce. How hard can it be?
Hit scan and it scans, right? Hit the volume
down and the volume goes down, right? Feeling
very thankful right now for you guys. Thank you

 

[mmckenna]

Glad I could help. Glad I could actually remember something from that long ago.

 

[SpugEddy]

Sorry Mckenna but I need your thinking cap on again.
I must have changed something in the programming
without knowing it. Now I can't seem to get the scan to stop.
While in scan mode, I hit the [P0] button and it just keeps
scanning. I do have the radio set to autoscan at power on.
Could that be the issue? I have no idea what I may have changed.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

The 420s will actually do 8 channels in PMR mode...but not LMR mode like it's successor.

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[mmckenna]

Sorry Mckenna but I need your thinking cap on again.
I must have changed something in the programming
without knowing it. Now I can't seem to get the scan to stop.
While in scan mode, I hit the [P0] button and it just keeps
scanning. I do have the radio set to autoscan at power on.
Could that be the issue? I have no idea what I may have changed.

Yeah, sounds like the issue.

 

[SpugEddy]

After some thought, I decided to turn off the autoscan at power on.
Why have you people here racking your brains trying to figure
out what I screwed up?
After finally getting to play with this radio for a little bit now, I'm
finding it's a really nice starter radio. Seems like a nice solid radio
with limited options so as not to get the noob user into too much
trouble.
Thank you again guys.

 

[mmckenna]

Yeah, they were decent radios. I used them on GMRS for many years as well as 70CM amateur band. They worked well. I even had one as a base.
I vacated GMRS many years ago when others in the family finally got their ham tickets. 2 meter VHF served us better, so all my UHF stuff was sold.
I've still got a few F-320 and F-320s VHF radios around for various uses. The 320 is mounted in my brother in law's Yamaha Rhino and has done thousands of miles off road across California and Nevada, exposed to rain, mud, snow, dust, heat and lots of vibration. Other than the microphones, the radios have stood up well.

If your microphone PTT button ever fails, it's a common issue. You can replace the PTT button inside pretty easily. Better yet, get the higher grade microphone, they'll last a lot longer.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

You can also enable dealer set mode on them as well...

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[mmckenna]

You can also enable dealer set mode on them as well...

That's right, I forgot about that.

I ran a remote head Icom IC-F2020 for a while on GMRS and 70cm. It had the 160 channel upgrade. Remote head with a front firing speaker worked pretty well, and at the time, reasonably priced.
I used a F-221 for a while, and it was a nice radio. That was just before I hopped off the GMRS train.

While some of these Icom's get sneered at by the Motorola Fan-Boy's, they can be suitable radios in the right conditions. Lower prices and non-redeculious software pricing made them awfully attractive. Long before the "Cheap Chinese Radios" hit the markets, there wasn't a lot of low priced options for good Part 90 accepted radios. Kids these days with their $28 dual band radios don't know how "good" they have it.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

That's right, I forgot about that.

I ran a remote head Icom IC-F2020 for a while on GMRS and 70cm. It had the 160 channel upgrade. Remote head with a front firing speaker worked pretty well, and at the time, reasonably priced.
I used a F-221 for a while, and it was a nice radio. That was just before I hopped off the GMRS train.

While some of these Icom's get sneered at by the Motorola Fan-Boy's, they can be suitable radios in the right conditions. Lower prices and non-redeculious software pricing made them awfully attractive. Long before the "Cheap Chinese Radios" hit the markets, there wasn't a lot of low priced options for good Part 90 accepted radios. Kids these days with their $28 dual band radios don't know how "good" they have it.

Before I moved to a UHF Motorola PM400 I used a F221 myself. Wanting MDC and more traditional MPL was why I switched (also had recently upgraded my VHF radio from a FT2900 to a PM400.

 

[SpugEddy]

What benefit does "dealer set mode" have?
The documentation that I have for the radio and
software is horrible.
It is enabled in my software but I have no idea what
it does so I haven't messed with it yet

 

[mmckenna]

Not sure I still have the info on "dealer set" mode, but it allowed you to do some multiple key press on power up to enable some different options.

One of them allowed you to adjust the squelch on the radio from the front panel.
Another one allowed a rudimentary front panel programming.
I forget if there was anything else. Do a web search and see what you can find on it.

It was back in the late 1990's when I was using these, so the computer that had the info on it is long gone.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

There is a YouTube video on front panel programming of the F300 series. Once the move to windows software was made those options were moved to a hidden menu.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[SpugEddy]

This may not be the right place for this post but here goes:
I have an opportunity for either a CDM1250 or a CDM1550 LS+ DP6
They both cost about the same, but my lack of knowledge with these radios
leaves me at a loss for which one to pick.
Also while looking at these radios online I'm noticing that some of the 1550 LS+
radios have a slightly different front panel. Some have P1-P4 while some have
Roam, Site, Scan, and P4. They have the same exact model number though.
Is there 1 that I should target or does it not matter?

 

[mmckenna]

Both would be good radios.

There are a lot of variations even within model numbers, so make sure you find out exactly how the radios are set up.
Some of them do LTR trunking, and they'll only give you 16 conventional channels. Preferably you want a non-trunking radio. They'll be 64, 128 or 160 channels, depending on the model.
Really useful info here: HT750/1250/1550/PRO5150/7150/9150/GP320/340/360/380/ GP318/338/GP640/680/1280/CDM750/CDM1250/CDM1550,etc.

I've got CDM-750's, 1250's and 1550's. I'm happy with all of them. Good solid radios. Not overly expensive.

The buttons are replaceable. Out of the box/new, they came with the P1 P2 P3 P4 buttons. You can purchase replacement buttons with many different designators on them. These guys sell lots of parts, including the replacement buttons:
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