Memory Scan on Icom IC-A14 Air Band Transceiver

[SatHunter]

I recently purchased an Icom IC-A14 air band transceiver and entered all of the relevant local frequencies in the first 10 available channels. I then set the radio to scan them according to the “memory scan” instructions in the manual. The scan starts out fine & stops on the active channel when receiving. At first I thought everything was working perfectly but soon realized the radio was too quiet for a long period of time. I soon realized that the A14 doesn’t always resume scanning after receiving an active signal & I manually have to start the scan again. After reading the entire manual I was unable to find a solution to this specific problem. I’m not sure if this is the normal behaviour of this type of radio or if I’m doing something wrong.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated

 

[DudleyG]

I just did a quick look at the owners manual for the IC-A14 (I own a IC-A25 which has a similar scan function) - the ICOM aircraft transceivers only scan “TAGGED” channels and it appears looking at the A14 manual, it defaults to not setting the TAGGED field when you follow the instructions on how to store frequencies in memory.

Use the instructions to browse thru your memory channels and see if they are TAGGED and make sure the 10 channels are TAGGED. It has to have at least two TAGGED channels in order to scan. If none are TAGGED or only one, it sits on the first memory channel. During a scan, it skips channels that are not TAGGED.

 

[SatHunter]

I just did a quick look at the owners manual for the IC-A14 (I own a IC-A25 which has a similar scan function) - the ICOM aircraft transceivers only scan “TAGGED” channels and it appears looking at the A14 manual, it defaults to not setting the TAGGED field when you follow the instructions on how to store frequencies in memory.

Use the instructions to browse thru your memory channels and see if they are TAGGED and make sure the 10 channels are TAGGED. It has to have at least two TAGGED channels in order to scan. If none are TAGGED or only one, it sits on the first memory channel. During a scan, it skips channels that are not TAGGED.

Thanks for your reply. I checked my memory channels over & they are all tagged. Once in the blue moon it will continue to scan for a couple of minutes & then stop. I thought possibly my squelch was turned too low but I cranked it up to 8 as a test and I still run into the same problem. It‘s an older model so I doubt Icom would provide any support. Outside of this little glitch it is a far superior receiver to any other scanner or aircraft band radio that I own

 

[DudleyG]

The only other suggestion - can you take your A14 out to a very open area such as a large park or rural area where there is no chance that you are getting some type of radio frequency interference? Items such as compressors on refrigerators and air conditioners plus gasoline powered yard equipment can at times create enough interference that the receiver won't resume scanning after the actual voice part quits. Large transmission lines and nearby transformers can also cause problems if they are near the receiver. Sometimes a nearby broadcast FM radio station transmitter tower can cause that problem. I have seen that happen on scanners but not on my A25, however your A14 is an older model that may not have the best "noise" rejection filters. The A25 advertises how well it handle engine noise in the cockpit of an aircraft to make sure there is no interference.

 

[SatHunter]

The only other suggestion - can you take your A14 out to a very open area such as a large park or rural area where there is no chance that you are getting some type of radio frequency interference? Items such as compressors on refrigerators and air conditioners plus gasoline powered yard equipment can at times create enough interference that the receiver won't resume scanning after the actual voice part quits. Large transmission lines and nearby transformers can also cause problems if they are near the receiver. Sometimes a nearby broadcast FM radio station transmitter tower can cause that problem. I have seen that happen on scanners but not on my A25, however your A14 is an older model that may not have the best "noise" rejection filters. The A25 advertises how well it handle engine noise in the cockpit of an aircraft to make sure there is no interference.

The A25 is an amazing radio & will likely be my next purchase. I love the large display on it. All of the factors you mentioned are in play at my location. Being in the downtown area the interference is insane with 2 FM station towers within about half a mile. I noticed even going to the front of the house that the signals are a lot stronger & have less background noise. The A14 does quit scanning though quite often. We do have a park very close to the airport so I’m going to take a trip down there tomorrow and see if the radio performs better in a quieter environment.
Thanks for all of the great suggestions 👍