Improving Icom IC-F3400DT range?

[TropicalConductor]

Hello, everybody. I started a job as a train conductor a few months ago and was just issued my company radio last week. It's an Icom IC-F3400DT with FA-S83V antenna.

Up until a few years ago, the railroad issued conductors Motorola CP200XLS radios. The conductor who was training me had one and I noticed that he was picking up transmissions on his radio that I wasn't. When I got more than about 1,500-2,000 feet away from the locomotive, the engineer reported that he could barely hear me. I've had to resort to holding the radio up in the air (and looking like the Statue of Liberty in the process) so he could hear me but it's a hassle having to take the radio off and do this, plus it's very difficult to hold the radio up while holding on to the side of a moving train car.

Does anyone have any recommendations for improving the performance of the radio? I bought a Smiley antenna but the MX connector they recommended for it didn't seem to be the correct one because it ended up sinking the pin in the radio's antenna connector and I had to get it repaired.

 

[mmckenna]

If it's a company issued radio, the correct procedure is to tell your supervisor that your radio is not working correctly and you consider it a safety hazard. Making changes to the radio, even adding an after market antenna, can cause issues.
Especially as the "new guy", don't go messing with company property. They have techs that take care of that stuff. If the performance of the radio is that bad, then it likely has a fault that needs to be addressed by a technician with the correct test equipment.

 

[12dbsinad]

Many possibilities here, but a red flag is raised when you state you had to have the antenna connector repaired. Was this done properly and tested properly like RF output? Something is clearly drastically wrong with that radio.

 

[TropicalConductor]

Thank you for your responses, everyone. According to the repair paperwork, the radio was tested and confirmed to be functioning normally. Other coworkers with the same model radio have had engineers tell them that they sound low when they're at the end of a long enough train, which is where the workaround of holding the radio up in the air came from. The older employees with Motorola radios don't seem to have this issue and they've told me that the Icom radios the company is now issuing just don't seem to perform as well in the field. When I'm with a conductor who has an Icom, both our radios perform similarly. It's only when I'm with someone with an older radio that I notice the difference.

 

[DeoVindice]

Something is very wrong with that radio. You should see far longer effective range than that outdoors, demonstrated by the Motorola radios.

The fact that this issue is reported by other users with the same model radio is particularly concerning. I Can Only Monitor strikes again.

 

[12dbsinad]

So is this an audio issue or a signal issue? Because that is 2 very different things

 

[mmckenna]

Thank you for your responses, everyone. According to the repair paperwork, the radio was tested and confirmed to be functioning normally. Other coworkers with the same model radio have had engineers tell them that they sound low when they're at the end of a long enough train, which is where the workaround of holding the radio up in the air came from. The older employees with Motorola radios don't seem to have this issue and they've told me that the Icom radios the company is now issuing just don't seem to perform as well in the field. When I'm with a conductor who has an Icom, both our radios perform similarly. It's only when I'm with someone with an older radio that I notice the difference.

Yeah, usually when users claim the brand of the radio is the problem, it strongly indicates there's a lot more going on.
A properly set up Icom will work just was well as a properly set up Motorola.

So, question is, as other stated, is it an audio issue or an RF issue?
Holding the radio up like that suggests RF, but the description of "they sound low" sounds more like either a programming or alignment issue.

Either way, simply replacing the antenna isn't likely to fix the RF issue, and it won't do anything for the audio issue.

Installing the incorrect antenna can damage the radio, as you've discovered.

The correct solution is for a competent radio tech to look at the radios and address the core issue. If you hand them a radio with a damaged antenna connector, that's what they are going to fix. If a bunch of you get together and say "Hey, there's audio issues between these radios", chances are, you'll get someone to put them on a service monitor and check performance and look at the programming.

Either way, it's not something you are going to fix yourself, especially by asking on what is ultimately a hobby radio website. The tools and test equipment necessary to fix these sorts of issues are not something you'll have.

 

[wa8pyr]

Yeah, usually when users claim the brand of the radio is the problem, it strongly indicates there's a lot more going on.
A properly set up Icom will work just was well as a properly set up Motorola.

Ditto, there's something more going on than just the antenna. I've got an F3400DT and it works like a champ; it's one of the best radios I've ever owned. Get the railroad radio techs involved.

 

[EWC_BDN]

For whatever reason I've seen radio prefer awful in that situation. Never really explained it and the solution used won't apply to your situation. (1W kenwood vs a much less IS 5W HT1250 in that customer's case)

I wouldn't say there's defiantly still a problem with the radio at least. To me, if someone said they tested something, I put some weight on it. I'm open to this being a range issue or an issue with the locomotive. Is this a yard where you're talking to a different locomotive every time or is it the same one? Maybe it's their problem and they never notice because it kind of works.

I don't think the CP200XLS is outputting more than your Icom. IMO an older CP200 is probably not putting out it's full power anymore. though it's receive could be better than a new icom. Not too much icom portable experience to know if their antennas fair. Often that's not tested,

This is a big problem and should be solved by someone. you need this communication to do your job.

 

[12dbsinad]

A lot of times if you have sticker made up that says "Motorola" and cover the portion of the radio that says Icom, the problem fixes itself!

 

[wa8pyr]

A lot of times if you have sticker made up that says "Motorola" and cover the portion of the radio that says Icom, the problem fixes itself!

And the price automatically goes up by a factor of 10...

 

[westcoaster]

I have been chasing this exact same problem for years with the radio installed in my truck.

I first noticed it with the Kenwood TK-760H I had installed. It just didn't seem to receive well.
I then changed the radio to a Kenwood TK-760HG. That seemed to perform well, but still wasn't right.
I then changed the radio to a TK7360H That didn't work as well as the 760HG
So I changed the radio to a different TK-7360H, Meh....
In goes the TK-7180H.... Well that really did suck.... (Actually, it really was bad enough I had an alignment done on it with no noticeable improvement...)
I now have an Icom IC-F5061...

I'm starting to get the idea it isn't the radio after all and is really the '04 dodge diesel truck. I'm thinking that is the next item I need to change in my quest for better reception.... (yes, the antenna was changed a couple times but the location on the drivers fender was not.)

Actually, being "hyper aware" of a "problem" can be an issue as well.
pretty soon any little hiccup in reception (or the coffee tasting bad) is blamed on the radio.
I stumble across this from time to time when dealing with customers and their business telephone systems.

Small issues that are completely unrelated to the original problem are now a huge crisis that needs to be resolved right away...
Usually, having the customer track the problem on a sheet of paper with dates, times and telephone numbers makes the crisis resolve itself....

 

[wa8pyr]

Usually, having the customer track the problem on a sheet of paper with dates, times and telephone numbers makes the crisis resolve itself....

Good luck with that. I've been trying for 20 years to get customers to note the date, time and other pertinent info when there's a problem, but it rarely happens. All I usually get is "X happened, I don't remember exactly when."

When I do get customers tracking that data, the problem (more often than not) turns out to have been user error.