Ic-208

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mwisz

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Question programming this IC208 is starting to piss me off...it's not holding it's programming...I've followed everything to the T and after I change channels its not holding it's settings for repeater....what's up????
 

ybbmadysu

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What is the status? I also have an IC208h in my car. Followed to book to program and gave up after a couple of hours. I will buy the software/cable and do it that way.
 

joen7xxx

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I bought the cable and Icom software from HRO. The software is pretty "stone age". It is an old version of the RT system software and is not upgradable. Version 3 of the Rt systems software is available directly or from AES. I've seen good revirews on it. Even the old software is far superior to faceplate radio programming.

Joe
 

ybbmadysu

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I bought my 208h from HRO. At that time the cost for the soft and cable was just too much. I have acquired a copy of the soft, just need the cable. I will probably mod another programming cable to use with the 208h.

Thanks
 

N8IAA

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I bought my 208h from HRO. At that time the cost for the soft and cable was just too much. I have acquired a copy of the soft, just need the cable. I will probably mod another programming cable to use with the 208h.

Thanks

If you have a Yaesu cable, it is the same thing(with the stereo plug). I know what you mean about the software, have a 2720 and with what I have for scanner programming beats the Icom stuff8>P
Larry
 

number1

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Oct 11, 2008
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programming

Hi all,
i have had my 208 for a couple of years now and i have only programmed
in local repeaters. I tried using the book but it is as clear as mud!
I want to scan just 2 meters (sometimes) so i press the scan button
until i see the 2 meter band and it starts scanning, but it keeps going,
right past 2 meters.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
 

CCHLLM

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If you want it to scan "channels", you have to be in the memory mode, not VFO mode. VFO mode stores absolutely nothing. The channels to be scanned have to be stored in the memory channel "slots" and not locked out of the scan list.

Your difficulties lie in the fact that you don't understand how a radio with VFO and memory modes works. Nothing unusual there. First thing anybody needs to know about ham radios is that if there's a way to make it as difficult as possible to program and operate, ham radio designers will figure out a way to make it even more so.

Carry the manual with you at all times. You'll understand why when you inadvertently push the wrong button while driving at night. Your stop on the roadside trying to figure out how to get the radio out of the "impossible" mode will be shorter if you have the manual and your interior light works.

The radio manual is easy enough that some school kids who got their ham licenses were able to figure it out in about 10 minutes of using the manual and playing with the club radio, so it can't be that hard. Hell, even I figured it out, so it definitely can't be that hard.

My advice is quit trying to program all the parameters by the suck method and revert to the mindset that programming software rules. Don't walk, run to the nearest software source and just do it. Even the worst versions of software make it a simple matter, comparatively speaking.

Anyway, here's some quickie mentoring. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

To store a frequency in the memory, you first have to be in VFO mode to dial in the frequency and all its parameters like TX offset, subtones, alpha tags, etc, and then you do the "three finger quick flick" memory storage drill to put that particular combo into a memory slot.

Starting scan in the VFO mode starts the scan ascending or descending through the receiver's range from the frequency it was on in the VFO when you started the scan.

Starting scan in one of the edge scan modes starts scan at one edge and scans to the other edge, then starts over. You can change the edge frequencies.

Starting scan in memory mode scans all the memory channels. If you don't want a channel scanned, you can use the "Set" mode to lock it out of the scan list or restore it.

If you want the channels divided into banks, you can elect to put the memory channels in banks.

When a bank is selected, the channel selector will only select channels in that bank, and scan mode only scans the unlocked channels in that bank, so a bank can be used as a "scan list."

On a 208, a channel can only be placed in one bank, but you can link the banks together. That means you can link the "scan lists", so to speak. Or you can duplicate the channel in more than one bank.

And yes, I'm a ham and I too own a 208, but I have the software. :D
 
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number1

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programming

wow, i guess i have just been told!
As i said, i have the channels programmed, and i know the difference between vfo and channels.
I am talking about searching the vfo, not programming memory channels.
thanks
 

loumaag

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wow, i guess i have just been told!
As i said, i have the channels programmed, and i know the difference between vfo and channels.
I am talking about searching the vfo, not programming memory channels.
thanks
Hmm, really when asking for help, copping an attitude will hardly endear you to the people you are asking for help. The answer given was pretty clear.

If you know the difference between VFO and Channels, then why are you asking why the radio continues to scan the VFO right through all available frequencies? Does the 208 have scan limits? If so, did you set them? You certainly did not provide enough information in your initial question to get a better answer than you did above (or here.)
 

CCHLLM

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I've never seen a ham radio that keeps anything you add to the VFO frequency, but then I admit I haven't owned many ham radios, and I surely meant no offense. I really did get the impression that you hadn't discovered the difference between VFO and Memory, and I wanted to say that you weren't alone, and that the ham radio manufacturers do nothing to prep you for the final exam. I was hopefully providing info for those out there who aren't well versed in the mostly useless over-complicated features and hidden menu crap that encumbers most ham radios.

Of course, I could have also mentioned the button and controls sizes obviously intended for first trimester fetuses, or the absolutely unnecessary bonus out-of-band receiver frequency ranges that encourage intermod susceptibility from hell, or the ubiquitous sh1tty audio quality and audio power and internal speaker size of a hearing aid, but then that would have been a rant about the radios and wouldn't have helped answer the original question.
 
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WatnNY

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<< To store a frequency in the memory, you first have to be in VFO mode to dial in the frequency and all its parameters like TX offset, subtones, alpha tags, etc, and then you do the "three finger quick flick" memory storage drill to put that particular combo into a memory slot. >>

wx4cbh,

Please scan in a copy of YOUR manual that CLEARLY shows how to put a freq into the memory slot. The "three finger quick flick" would be really, really nice to know for programming while on the run. Otherwise I use the software like everyone else.

Mike
 

CCHLLM

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Boy, what have I started.....

The "three finger flick" is an old military e-tech reference to the first finger that is used to push the buttons while repeatedly gaining calluses followed by the use of the left and right middle fingers to vent your frustration that the manual and reality are obviously not in sync, and that either the operator or the author is a complete idiot.
 

number1

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Oct 11, 2008
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i could have been more specific in the first place and i could have more patient so for that i apologize.
My problem is that i dont understand some of the the terms used in the book.
After being slam dunked with an epileptic seizure and being on meds ever since,
sometimes my comprehension isnt the greatest. Thats not an excuse, its just the way it is.
This radio has been the biggest pain in the ass to in terms of programming that i ever had.
I just want to search (thats my term) between 2 frequencies.
Thanks
 

number1

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Oct 11, 2008
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I apologize for being quick tempered and for not providing all the info at the start.
This radio has been a pain in ass ever since day one. Its ok for filling up memory channels but for searching the vfo within a certain frequency range, forget it. And the bank system is even worse.
I should have done my research before i bought it.
Being on medication for epilepsy among other thing doesnt help matters, it kind of distorts ones thinking and focus.
Maybe i will hear you on hf, now THATS something i can do.
73
Lewis
ve3kko
 

CCHLLM

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Well, from my standpoint, no apology was ever needed. I've been accused of having Tourette's Syndrome when trying to program a ham radio, so I'm not surprised the manual isn't clear to you, epilepsy not withstanding. Most of the time when you finally get the programming drill under control, you wonder why it was so hard on the front end of the process.

Anyway, try some futzing with the edge scan thing instead of trying to scan in VFO. That will allow you to scan continuously from one given frequency to another given frequency, and I think there are three separate of those you can set up in whatever ranges you want. And yeah, the software is the ticket to retaining your sanity.
 
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number1

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band edges

Thanks for that,
i'll start pushing buttons (ON THE RADIO) and see what happens.
73
Lewis
 
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