NXDN set-up

[12dbsinad]

I have (or I should say had) no NXDN capability In my work office. Decided to change that. Here are a 5061D and 6061D sitting snuggly on my desk.

 

[SurgePGH]

View attachment 100987I have (or I should say had) no NXDN capability In my work office. Decided to change that. Here are a 5061D and 6061D sitting snuggly on my desk.View attachment 100988

The screws on the wall plate are giving me anxiety.

 

[12dbsinad]

The screws on the wall plate are giving me anxiety.

Ha! I was actually missing a screw for a few days... for some reason I lost one.. Good thing I didn't post that!

 

[CanesFan95]

What kind of connectors are those and how did you wire the wall panel to the antenna(s)?

 

[12dbsinad]

What kind of connectors are those and how did you wire the wall panel to the antenna(s)?

I used crimp-on threaded bulkhead N connectors. I fished 2 runs of LMR 400 inside that wall up to the attic to a 6db UHF comtelco and ASP 3db gain VHF fiberglass base antenna’s. They work well for what it is.

 

[mmckenna]

Nice. I'm a Kenwood man myself, but I used to have a lot of Icom radios. I liked most of them. All analog at the time, though.

I've still got a couple of IC-F-320S vhf mobiles that we kept as spares for some of the ATV's. Simple radios that worked well.

 

[mmckenna]

And I think Kenwood used the same designer for their KMC-9 microphone.

 

[12dbsinad]

Nice. I'm a Kenwood man myself, but I used to have a lot of Icom radios. I liked most of them. All analog at the time, though.

I've still got a couple of IC-F-320S vhf mobiles that we kept as spares for some of the ATV's. Simple radios that worked well.

Yeah, Icom has really come a long way since the "U16" days and the like. You'd be hard pressed to beat the value and features of Icom and the specs of the equipment is fantastic. Excellent RX and rejection, TX audio quality, etc.

They are Kenwood's little sister IMHO.

 

[mmckenna]

They are Kenwood's little sister IMHO.

Yeah, that's a good one, I like it.

I needed NXDN 800 gear, unfortunately Icom never showed up to that party, but did hop on P25.

I liked my old 420's for GMRS and 70cm. I had an IC-F2020 with the remote head kit and the 160 channel upgrade. I dabbled with the F-221, but that's about when I started shifting to Motorola and Kenwood.

 

[12dbsinad]

Yeah, that's a good one, I like it.

I needed NXDN 800 gear, unfortunately Icom never showed up to that party, but did hop on P25.

I liked my old 420's for GMRS and 70cm. I had an IC-F2020 with the remote head kit and the 160 channel upgrade. I dabbled with the F-221, but that's about when I started shifting to Motorola and Kenwood.

Yep, remember the 2020's well. We still have customers with them at work, still in service and they are 1998-1999 era. Never been touched, not even a basic bench check. They still work fine. They are built like a tank.

They've really come a long way since even the 420/2020 days. Their new color screen IDAS radio's are pretty cool with cool features like built in time stamped voice storage to a micro SD card up to 500 mins I believe, and other things. To bad they didn't do 800, it's the identical radio as the P25 version.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Never been a fan of Icom programming software. Nice looking radios though.

 

[12dbsinad]

Never been a fan of Icom programming software. Nice looking radios though.

Thanks man!

 

[mmckenna]

Never been a fan of Icom programming software. Nice looking radios though.

I think the last Icom software I really used was DOS, so that was always entertaining.

The 221 I had used windows software, but I don't remember much in the way of issues with it. I only had GMRS and Ham programed in that radio, but I didn't hang onto it long.

I think my brother in law still has his 621 from our GMRS days. In fact, I think he still has my cable.
I've got a 121 sitting at work that used to be the truck VHF radio. Changed it out to Kenwood NX-700 when I got the new one. Pretty sure I still have that 121 sitting in our shop somewhere. Not sure where my programming cables went. Probably the brother in law still has it.

Always hated the basic Icom microphones. I still have some of the little circuit board PTT switches that seemed to fail frequently. I think we finally went with the higher tier microphones to address that problem.


I put a set of 3 F-320S VHF radios on a rack shelf with a power supply and had them in our old dispatch for monitoring local agencies. Those ran non stop for about 10 years. Never transmitted, just sat there listening.

 

[Cognomen]

I like how you've labelled the programmable buttons. I might have to do that with my 5061D.

 

[jeepsandradios]

I like how you've labelled the programmable buttons. I might have to do that with my 5061D.

The stickers come in the box for that ! Most get thrown out but they are with it.

 

[03msc]

The only Icom commercial radio I've ever messed with is a F521 that someone gave my brother when he got his license several months ago. Man that audio is hot on that thing! Volume knob about where you have yours set in the pic and it'll almost blow you away. Not sure why they made the audio so hot unless they were targeting construction vehicle/equipment use. Anyway, decent radio but the software is a pain and, at least in that model, the scan is awkward - no off-hook scan, I guess, or so it seems. Anyway, not dissing Icom as they make good stuff...just some quirks with that radio model (unless they're all like that...).

 

[12dbsinad]

The only Icom commercial radio I've ever messed with is a F521 that someone gave my brother when he got his license several months ago. Man that audio is hot on that thing! Volume knob about where you have yours set in the pic and it'll almost blow you away. Not sure why they made the audio so hot unless they were targeting construction vehicle/equipment use. Anyway, decent radio but the software is a pain and, at least in that model, the scan is awkward - no off-hook scan, I guess, or so it seems. Anyway, not dissing Icom as they make good stuff...just some quirks with that radio model (unless they're all like that...).

Yeah, the 521 didn't have off hook scan. You either had to mod the radio front panel or microphone to fool the radio to think it was grounded. These newer ones are all programmable for off hook scan and leaps and bounds better (feature wise) than the mid to early 2000 vintage radios.

I've been very happy with these NXDN models. They exceed my expectations.