F221 programming question

[wa1nic]

Howdy,

I picked up a used Icom F221. In the box was a note that says that it has an MDC board in it. Looking at the ICOM web site leads me to believe that MDC was standard equipment on the F221, so I am confused. The service manual does not talk about an MDC board option either. I havnt looked inside yet to see if there is a board in there or not.

I also found a factory CS-F100 Rev 1.7 disk on ebay.

The F100 Rev 1.7 software does not have an MDC programming option in it. Do I have an older revision and do I need to find a newer revision to program the MDC features.

Also, when I transmit I hear three short pulses of some sort. It does not sound like a typical MDC data pulse. I am not sure what I am hearing.


I know I need to open this radio up tomorrow and see what board is stuck in there, but can anyone tell me why there is no MDC programing option in the F100 version that I have?

 

[12dbsinad]

F221 does not have built in MDC capabilities. Probably a aftermarket board like a Midian, etc, that is installed. They plug right into the option slot. Those program with there own software, not the radio CPS.

 

[wa1nic]

OK... that is making a bit of sense. I will try to figure out what is in there. I might just simply remove it, especially if it is the cause of the weird pulses at the beginning.

I am also noticing that the PL tone transmit deviation is on the low side. It isn't opening the PL tone squelch reliably on other radios. When receiving on a radio set to NFM, if I put the F221 into WFM mode it opens the squelch on some radios that I have but not all of them. In NFM, the F221 isnt opening the squelch on anything.

Voice deviation seems OK though.


I am sure that the audio is now routed thru whatever board is in there.

Thanks,,
Rick

 

[wa1nic]

The board was made by cimmarron technologies. It was just sort of kluged in there. The shop I bought it from told me that there were no board jumpers cut or jumped to install the board... it just has four wires tacked to the board and they could be cut to remove the board.

I cut the wires and removed it.

The weird pulsing at the beginning stopped, so that problem is gone.

The only other issue I am having is that the transmitted PL tones are not working well. I am guessing that they might be very low in amplitude. The voice deviation seems OK though. I have a number of handhelds of a variety of brands. On some of them, if I put the F221 into WFM mode and the handheld in NFM mode, it will break the squelch on the handheld. On other handhelds, it wont break the squelch at all. Going in the other direction, the handheld always is able to open the squelch on the F221 (yes, the mike is on the hanger and that option is selected, so I know it is PL squelch mode.

I also tried to key up a number of ham repeaters (12 of them in fact) and had no luck. There is something not right about the transmitted PL codes. I know they are set right as it almost sort of works when I put it in WFM more and try to break the squelch on a NFM handheld.

I am looking at the service manual and I notice that there is a CTCS deviation adjustment that is separate from the audio deviation level. I guess I need to play with that?

 

[wa1nic]

OK... now I am trying to get "CS-F100ADJ to connect.

If I select the wrong com port, I get a typical "Cannot access COM X" check the following..." error box

When I select the correct com port, I get a "Run-time error '8020' Error reading comm device" and then the program exits.

Note that the cloning software connects just fine.

Frustrating

 

[12dbsinad]

If you have the ability to do so, check the frequency error. These rigs have a tendency to drift off frequency with age. Causing issues like you describe and also issues receiving.

Hopefully you can get your adjust working because you'll need that to fix it if it is.

 

[wa1nic]

Thanks... I will put my frequency counter on it.

Still fighting with the adjustment program. I have manually reconfigured the interface to different com ports and selected said new com port with the adjustment program. I am still getting a connection error, even though I can then connect with the cloning program without an issue.

 

[ElroyJetson]

You may have corrupted software. The adjuster always works if the F100 software works, in my experience.

It MIGHT be a version incompatibility.

If high/low speed is selectable, use low speed if you get problems with high speed.

In my experience, speed related errors indicate a questionable programming cable. Is it an authentic Icom cable you're using, or
a Chinese knockoff copy cable?

I suggest you ask Icom tech support to send you the latest version of the software and the adjustment tools. They will usually do that for you, no problem, via email.

The specification for PL/DPL deviation is 12 percent of maximum rated deviation as per TIA 603. You should try to get as close to this figure as possible. Depending on the design and alignment of other equipment, you may have to adjust levels slightly.

 

[wa1nic]

The CD I have has version 1.7 of the cloning software on it, which I believe is the lastest version. The adjustment version is 1.0 (from the same disk). The service manual refers to ADJ version 1.0 as well. Is there a newer version of ADJ than 1.0?

 

[12dbsinad]

You have the latest cloning and adjust software.

 

[wa1nic]

I sent an email to ICOM technical support. Hopefully they have some suggestions

 

[wa1nic]

Just to add a conclusion to this thread, I figured out what was causing the problems getting the ADJ program to work. Why it did not affect the cloning software I don't know.

My power source for this radio was a deep cycle battery that was constantly being charged by a trickle charger. This not only powered the radio, but gave me several days of battery backup in the event of a power failure.

Apparently the battery charger put out enough 60 Hz ripple that it was messing the radio up a bit. Not only did it affect the programming data, it also made for erratic CTCSS operation. There was also a bit of hum on both receive and transmit audio, especially if the battery water level was on the low side.

I replaced the battery (several years old and acting up) and also replaced the crude charger with a Lamda 3.5 A power supply that is set to 13.6 volts. All traces of 60 cycle in the system is gone now. The CTCSS issues that I was having are also gone, and the ADJ program now works just fine. The much more regulated P/S will probably be easier on the battery and not boil off water anywhere near so fast.

Rick