Icom R5 / R6 Quickstart guide

[nanZor]

Happy New Year everyone!

A radio-savvy friend of mine picked up a new R6 over the holidays and was having a particularly bad OBE (out of box experience) with it. I talked him through a few things over the phone, and had the idea to share it here. The R5 is similar.

The objective is to get over the initial hurdle of the Icom button interface, use the VFO for tuning around, listen to a few freqs, perhaps a simple bandscan, and change a few options. Once comfortable with that, I would leave it up to him to go deeper for setting up memory channels, banks, alpha tags etc. The point was to quickly tame the radio, and do some basic VFO work and option settings.

The Icom R5/R6 are good radios that scan, and due to the small size, what would normally be about a 12 to 16 button keypad is reduced to only 4 keys with multiple functions.

The biggest problem is that Icom does not explain the CONTEXT of these buttons very well in the manual by describing the button pushes with the entire list of options that may not be applicable depending on your need.

So what follows are a few hopefully short messages to get a frustrated user up and running to have some fun before digging into the manual.

 

[nanZor]

R5 / R6 keypad interface

A lot of functionality has been packed by necessity into those 4 major keys depending on how you manipulate them. Silkscreen descriptions on the keys help, and with the R6, a THIRD row of silkscreens appear to help remind the user. This third row is missing on the R5, but are actually functional in the same way as the R6. That third-row of silkscreen just isn't visible on the R5. Don't worry - you'll get it.

There are FOUR ways to manipulate the buttons. For the rest of the guide, from left-to-right, I'll call them BUTTON 1, BUTTON 2, BUTTON 3, and BUTTON 4. A minor consistency issue with button 1 will show up quickly!

Here are the 4 different ways they are manipulated:

1) A quick TAP activates the upper white row (BAND, TS, MODE, V/M)

2) HOLDING DOWN the button activates the second row of functions in orange.

3) Holding down FUNCTION (top left button with your thumb) and a quick TAP on the buttons activates the lower third row functions. On the R5, you won't see this third row, but it is the same as on the R6 which does have them!

4) INCONSISTENCY: Holding down FUNCTION and then HOLDING DOWN button 1 will toggle the keypad lock. This lock function is in orange, and with the other buttons, all you have to do is hold down the key to activate the orange functions. BUT, with button 1, you have to hold down the function button first.

#4 is probably the most maddening thing about not being able to just pick up an R5/R6 and figure it out, since it differs a little bit from the other three keys. Don't sweat it, you'll get over this.

 

[nanZor]

Tuning Knob / Volume Keys

By default, the arrow keys adjust the volume, and the knob changes frequencies and options.

If you prefer it the other way around, so that the knob controls volume, and the arrow keys change freqs and options, push

FUNCTION (and hold)
then
BUTTON 2

"VOL" will now show up in the display as a reminder that you have swapped these features.

I prefer the default, and to stay on the same page as this guide, be sure that these are back to default. If "VOL" shows up in the display, just push the buttons as shown above to toggle this feature back to normal. VOL should not be visible now.

Obviously, do as you wish. Good to know if you really prefer things the other way around.

 

[nanZor]

Squelch / attenuator

No need to drive yourself crazy with the squelch blowing wide open, or missing signals because the attenuator is on.

Toggle the attenuator:

FUNCTION (hold)
SQUELCH (tap)

If the attenuator is on, you'll see ATT in the lower left. If you have toggled it on, toggle it back off for now.
----------------------

Setting the Squelch:

You have three options: Open, AUTO, and LEVEL 1 - 9.
For now, set it to AUTO:

SQUELCH (hold)
ROTATE knob

Pick AUTO and release the button.

To see ALL the options, make sure you rotate BOTH left and right. This is important because like other options you'll set later, you'll possibly land on an option setting in the middle of the available ones, and if you only rotate one direction, you could miss a few possible choices.

OPEN is normally only used by shortwave listeners, or perhaps under special circumstances when monitoring for very weak signals and you don't mind the noise between comms.

AUTO is a pretty safe default to use, and the Icom will open when it detects noise from communications.

LEVEL 1 through LEVEL 9 is the more traditional squelch adjustment, useful for when you have a specific need for fine-tuning the amount of signal that will open the squelch.

 

[nanZor]

Vfo monitoring

Now that the radio is tamed with the squelch and attenuator, let's actually start using it like a traditional radio where you spin the dial. In Icom's case, to get exactly on freq, you tune by choosing a band, doing coarse tuning, then fine tuning.

In this case, I want to monitor the unofficial airband air-air channel, 123.450 mhz. In AM mode.

Make sure we are in VFO mode, and NOT memory mode:

BUTTON 4 (tap)

This toggles you between VFO and Memory modes. (V/M as the upper white silkscreen, which is always just a tap). If you see "MR" in the right hand side of the display, you are in memory mode, and we aren't really getting into that here. Tap Button 4 again until MR goes away.

To reduce the amount of knob-spinning, let's get as close to that frequency as possible by changing bands until we're as close as we can get:

BUTTON 1 (tap)

Continue tapping button 1 until you get into a band NEAR 123.450. Remember that a mere "tap" of the button activates the upper white silkscreen row of that button. Ok, "band" is easy to tap.

At this stage when you are near freq, you may be tempted to then ROTATE the knob to get exactly on frequency until your fingers fall off. I know I have when I first got it.

Unless you were lucky, it is better to follow a band change with a coarse-tune. My unit is set up for 1-MHZ steps for coarse tuning:

FUNCTION (hold)
ROTATE knob

You should now be moving in 1 mhz steps. IF NOT, see the next message for how to change that option.

At this point, to get directly on frequency, just rotate the knob for a fine-tune.

TUNING STEP or "TS"

Depending on how you received it, your tuning step may not be set up correctly to land on the .450 of 123.450. In my area, airband channels are spaced 25 khz apart. If I were to use say 15 khz "TS" steps, I would not end up exactly on frequency. (Note: if you live in an area that uses 8.33 khz spacing for airband, the R5 / R6 can handle that. And 8.33 khz spacing will only show up when you are in the airband)

How to change the TS Tuning-Step:

BUTTON 2 (tap)
Rotate knob for 25
(Finish the selection by tapping Button 2 again)

Now just rotate the knob until 123.450 appears. NOTE: To avoid frustration, before changing the TS tuning step, rotate the knob until you land on a freq ending with 00. THEN change your tuning step. This isn't necessary for the R6.

IMPORTANT: For airband monitoring, make SURE you are using the AM MODE. If AM does not appear in your display:

CHANGE MODE:

BUTTON 3 (tap)

Continue tapping button 3 until AM appears. Taps are easy to remember since they activate the upper white row of the silkscreen.

WARNING: Changing modes is very easy to bump by accident. If you aren't hearing any traffic when you KNOW you should be, doublecheck your mode.

 

[nanZor]

Change a Setting

Eventually, you'll want to customize the settings to your liking at some point. Earlier, I pointed out that when I do a coarse tune, I like to use 1 mhz steps when I hold down FUNCTION and then Rotate the knob to get very close to my desired frequency. (Don't confuse this with the fine-tune TS step)

Lets get into the setup menu to change this if you like:

BUTTON 2 (HOLD)

Setup are basically two-fold. An Option and a Choice of several settings. In this case, I want to change the Dial Select.

After holding down button 2, you'll be in the settings menu. The next step is to find "D SEL". So, the steps up to this point are:

BUTTON 2 (HOLD)
Rotate knob until "D SEL" appears briefly.

What appears on it's own shortly afterward, is the choice that was previously made for the D SEL option. Don't worry that it no longer shows D SEL. It just times out quickly to actually show you the current setting of that particular option.

You can release the hold at this point.

Your choices for this setting option are either:

100K
1M
10M

To choose one of these three, hold down FUNCTION and rotate the knob. To finish your selection, just tap Button 2 when done. I'm partial to 1 Mhz coarse steps.

It might take a little practice changing settings, since the option appears briefly in the display, followed by the actual choice. Remember to just tap button 2 again to get back out.

 

[nanZor]

Band Scanning

I'm not going to get too heavily into all the various scanning options, but something to help get you started. Basically just tuning yourself to a VFO frequency, and initiating a scan of the airband 118-136 mhz.

Following all of the above, just get yourself into any freq on the airband.

Initiate a bandscan by:

BUTTON 3 (HOLD)

You can release the button. What will show up is typically either ALL or BAND. What we want is BAND:

If BAND isn't shown in the display, just ROTATE the knob until BAND shows up. Then just tap Button 3 again, and a scan of the airband will start.

You can change direction while scanning by rotating the knob one way or the other. If it gets stuck on some noise, just rotate the knob to kick-start it again. If you want to stop the bandscan, just tap Button 3 and it will stop.

TIP: MAKE SURE you are using the right mode! In this case for airband, make sure you are in AM mode. It is easy to accidentally change modes, so lookout for this common mistake.

 

[nanZor]

Wrap-Up

There's WAAY more to cover, but these quick messages were basically intended to keep things fun and something to listen to until you decide to become one with the manual.

Just remember that BUTTON 1 acts just a little bit different from the remaining three. You have to push FUNCTION first before doing a HOLD to initiate an orange-silkscreened keypad lock, whereas doing anything with orange silkscreen on the other three buttons only needs the button held down. Argh.

But don't get too frustrated if you don't understand everything right up front. Or in my case, retain everything. The R5 / R6 are really designed to be used on a frequent basis. The more you use it, the more you'll get out of it. Maybe not overnight, but that's the whole zen-mastery of the thing that transcends mere radio monitoring with it.

 

[JohnGingras]

Very nice work, just got a R6 myself and like it a lot. I use it for air band and it blows away my Unidens.

 

[nanZor]

I'm partial to mine for airband as well. Seems a tad more sensitive in airband over the R5, but I think I notice a slower AGC attack time than the R5 - minor, but I notice it when a strong airband station comes along for the first half-syllable or so. Not a show-stopper fortunately.

Although I used it as an example, I guess I should have mentioned that doing a bandscan of the airband is usually not the most efficient way of finding airband freqs on the go, since the comms are pretty short - knowing them beforehand, or doing a program-limit scan of perhaps 1 mhz at a time might nab more freqs. Until I found RadioReference, and also changed the way I scanned the airband, I thought there was nothing of interest on the air for years.

One feature I forgot to mention for R6 owners that can also help the out-of-box experience is the lowpass audio filter! Really makes a difference when listening to weak signals, or when using hi-fi headphones / speakers that don't need all that top-end audio, and can help prevent listener-fatigue for long sessions:

AF FILTER setup for R6:

The AF Filter will roll off the high-end of the audio. Icom did a great job by getting it just right - not too heavy handed, but strong enough to be effective. Another nice feature is that it isn't a global setting - you can have it programmed on or off for any memory. Easy to toggle for VFO too.

In the settings menu, we need to turn the Expanded menu on before we can access this feature, so I'll throw this step in just in case.

BUTTON 2 (hold, then release)
Rotate Knob until you see "Expand" momentarily.
FUNCTION (hold), ROTATE knob to turn expanded menus "ON". Release.
Rotate Knob until you see "AF FIL".
FUNCTION, ROTATE KNOB until you see "ON".
Tap Button 2 to exit the menu system.

That's it. Toggle this setting whenever you need a high-freq rolloff.

Funny thing is, after doing these little demos, I can see where an Icom engineer might wonder about being super context-sensitive in the manual, or describing every button with all the options and letting the user figure out the context. I think that if they were to get too context-sensitive, the manual would be about 300 pages long!

 

[JohnGingras]

Af

I'm with you on the AF Filter, very well done by Icom

 

[vannossc]

Nice job on the posts. I'm thinking about developing some Youtube vids to also help myself better understand as well.

 

[nanZor]

Thanks!

I tried to show the most common features up front, but I have to admit that upon seeing this, it could have the reverse effect and scare some away.

So I think a video would be GREAT! Alas, no video here, so if you can put one together that would be fantastic.

In the description above, I tried to present the material with no guarantee that settings haven't been already been changed by impatient tinkering, or perhaps gotten a loaner from someone to try it out - so I tried to keep it simple. Perhaps someone doesn't even have a manual, or is too put off by it.

If I were to do a video (I'll leave that up to you or others), my preference would be to not assume anything, and try to knock out the show-stoppers. I'd probably start out like this:

* How to toggle the attenuator
* How to toggle the volume / dial knob function so that the up/down arrows are volume
* How to toggle VFO and Memory mode. Use VFO mode for initial training.
* How to turn the vfo in khz. THEN, how to turn the vfo in larger steps, like 1 mhz.
* How to make sure you are in the right mode (am/fm/wfm)
* How to change bands
* How to change the TS tuning step for those that want to roll the vfo, but might miss a lot since they are using the wrong step for the band they are in

At least with this rudimentary info, one could actually enjoy the radio a bit while cracking the manual.

Perhaps show the difference between a tap / hold / function-tap / function-hold on the buttons, (ie, quick taps are the top rows of silk-screen etc) and how button 1 is slightly inconsistent. This was the major stumbling block for me.

This is just stuff off the top of my head. Since I'm not making the video, do it any way YOU see fit! I think anything would be a great help to R5 / R6 owners..