icom r8500 fm tuner not working

[vocm2022]

my fm tuner on r8500 not working. is it possible that i might have shorted something while trying different antennas. i don`t know much about this receiver. would appreciate any help.

 

[MStep]

my fm tuner on r8500 not working. is it possible that i might have shorted something while trying different antennas. i don`t know much about this receiver. would appreciate any help.

I don't know much about the 8500 either, but do you mean that when you press the "FM" button, it does not go into FM mode ? If that is the issue, what about the other mode buttons--- are they working?

 

[Ubbe]

It sounds as if you have tried antennas that connects directly to the receivers antenna jack, like a telescope type and others? The receivers antenna jack can be damaged. Inspect that carefully. It's an N connector and the center piece are very fragile and be easily damaged if the wrong connector are forced into it. It usually can be bent back to work satisfactory again. Always have a N to BNC adapter at that connector to protect it. The connector for HF are a PL259 type that are more forgiving to brute force and are harder to damage. That's probably why HAM gear often have PL connectors even at UHF frequencies.

/Ubbe

 

[vocm2022]

I don't know much about the 8500 either, but do you mean that when you press the "FM" button, it does not go into FM mode ? If that is the issue, what about the other mode buttons--- are they working?

thanks for the reply. it does go into fm mode. it sounds like the center piece inside the antenna as ubbe suggested may be damaged. i will have to check it further.

 

[vocm2022]

It sounds as if you have tried antennas that connects directly to the receivers antenna jack, like a telescope type and others? The receivers antenna jack can be damaged. Inspect that carefully. It's an N connector and the center piece are very fragile and be easily damaged if the wrong connector are forced into it. It usually can be bent back to work satisfactory again. Always have a N to BNC adapter at that connector to protect it. The connector for HF are a PL259 type that are more forgiving to brute force and are harder to damage. That's probably why HAM gear often have PL connectors even at UHF frequencies.

/Ubbe

thanks for the reply. i think you may be right. i will check it further.

 

[vocm2022]

thanks for the reply. i think you may be right. i will check it further.

i checked it again. you were absolutley right. i thank you so much. you made my day.

 

[prcguy]

Most multiband multi mode receivers have a dedicated IC for FM demodulation, could be that chip died.

 

[MStep]

It sounds as if you have tried antennas that connects directly to the receivers antenna jack, like a telescope type and others? The receivers antenna jack can be damaged. Inspect that carefully. It's an N connector and the center piece are very fragile and be easily damaged if the wrong connector are forced into it. It usually can be bent back to work satisfactory again. Always have a N to BNC adapter at that connector to protect it. The connector for HF are a PL259 type that are more forgiving to brute force and are harder to damage. That's probably why HAM gear often have PL connectors even at UHF frequencies.

/Ubbe

Somewhat of a nuanced but important point that Ubbe makes is that even on my Icom 8600 and AOR DV1, I utilize an adapter jack to connect the antenna to. This way, the adapter gets more of the abuse when swapping antennas, and not the actual built-in jacks. Ditto with my SDS200's.

 

[iMONITOR]

The ICOM IC-R8500 has three antenna connections. Which one are you using and did you select it properly?

Type-N 50 ohms (Don't try to plug a PL259 into it you'll damage it)
SO239 50 ohms
RCA Phono 500 ohms

 

[vocm2022]

The ICOM IC-R8500 has three antenna connections. Which one are you using and did you select it properly?

Type-N 50 ohms (Don't try to plug a PL259 into it you'll damage it)
SO239 50 ohms
RCA Phono 500 ohms

View attachment 111695

good info. i am using a pl259 on vhf-uhf. i guess that is the problem.

 

[vocm2022]

wondering where to buy a proper vhf-uhf antenna for the icom R8500?

 

[vagrant]

If you used a PL259 on the 30 ~ 2000 MHz "N" connector on the radio, you probably destroyed it and will need to replace the connector on the radio first. As to an antenna, a Diamond discone with an N connector will work. Then just buy some LMR-400 Ultraflex at the length you need with male N connectors on either end.

good info. i am using a pl259 on vhf-uhf. i guess that is the problem.

 

[vocm2022]

If you used a PL259 on the 30 ~ 2000 MHz "N" connector on the radio, you probably destroyed it and will need to replace the connector on the radio first. As to an antenna, a Diamond discone with an N connector will work. Then just buy some LMR-400 Ultraflex at the length you need with male N connectors on either end.

thanks again.

 

[jwt873]

Bit more info..

When you say FM... Do you mean broadcast band FM (From 88to 108 MHz)?
If so, are you pushing the WFM button to receive this?
Is the FM receive problem something that just cropped up, or have you never been able to receive it on your R8500?
If it just cropped up recently, can you think of anything you changed prior to it not working?
Do you hear a hiss with the squelch off and the volume turned up?
As far as damage, take a close picture of each connector and post the images here.. It's easy to tell just by looking.

What antennas are you currently using?

Note that if you're looking for local broadcast band FM stations, unless you're in a fringe area you shouldn't need much of an antenna to receive them. I've got a little $25.00 NooElec USB dongle. It came with an 8 inch whip stuck on a magnetic base. With the whip on my desk, I can pick up 3 of our local FM stations loud and clear. When connected to my 2 meter/ 70cm ham radio vertical outside the house, I pick up all our local stations no problem.

 

[vocm2022]

thank you for the info. i have solved the problem. i had forced the antenna too tightly. i had to bend back the legs inside.

Bit more info..

When you say FM... Do you mean broadcast band FM (From 88to 108 MHz)?
If so, are you pushing the WFM button to receive this?
Is the FM receive problem something that just cropped up, or have you never been able to receive it on your R8500?
If it just cropped up recently, can you think of anything you changed prior to it not working?
Do you hear a hiss with the squelch off and the volume turned up?
As far as damage, take a close picture of each connector and post the images here.. It's easy to tell just by looking.

What antennas are you currently using?

Note that if you're looking for local broadcast band FM stations, unless you're in a fringe area you shouldn't need much of an antenna to receive them. I've got a little $25.00 NooElec USB dongle. It came with an 8 inch whip stuck on a magnetic base. With the whip on my desk, I can pick up 3 of our local FM stations loud and clear. When connected to my 2 meter/ 70cm ham radio vertical outside the house, I pick up all our local stations no problem.

i have solved the problem. i had forced the antenna too hard and bent the legs inside. thanks for the info.

 

[vagrant]

By bending the legs back they may not be tight enough and or may loosen once the male N connector is inserted. You don't want to crush the legs together either, as the male N adapter fits inside of that stem. A possible fix for this is to use this fuel line tube. You would cut off 0.25 inches (6.35mm) so that it fits over the inside stem and push it in. The inner diameter of the tube will hold the legs tight and you leave that cut tube piece in there when connecting a male N connector on the end of your coaxial cable.

Alternatively and preferably, one would replace the N female chassis connector especially if one of the legs broke off. If your antenna coaxial cable does not have an N male connector, you could use an adapter for that port.

 

[vocm2022]

By bending the legs back they may not be tight enough and or may loosen once the male N connector is inserted. You don't want to crush the legs together either, as the male N adapter fits inside of that stem. A possible fix for this is to use this fuel line tube. You would cut off 0.25 inches (6.35mm) so that it fits over the inside stem and push it in. The inner diameter of the tube will hold the legs tight and you leave that cut tube piece in there when connecting a male N connector on the end of your coaxial cable.

Alternatively and preferably, one would replace the N female chassis connector especially if one of the legs broke off. If your antenna coaxial cable does not have an N male connector, you could use an adapter for that port.

thanks for good info.

 

[iMONITOR]

good info. i am using a pl259 on vhf-uhf. i guess that is the problem.

When they designed the Type N connector I can't understand why they allowed that to ever happen. I guess they hoped it would generate a lot of replacement business in the future. Radio manufactures should have rejected it from the get'go!

 

[vocm2022]

thanks for good info.

thanks for good info.

i did what you suggested and it is working fine.

 

[dlwtrunked]

When they designed the Type N connector I can't understand why they allowed that to ever happen. I guess they hoped it would generate a lot of replacement business in the future. Radio manufactures should have rejected it from the get'go!

Type-N was developed by Bell Laps in 1940's as a better connector for higher frequencies with the PL-259 dateing back to 1930's. Type-N is superior at UHF (>300 MHz). PL-249 is only called a UHF connector because back in the 1930's, >30 MHz was called "UHF".