R6 R6 Antenna Connector Question

[Awesomeman92]

Hello all!

I recently picked up a used R6 off eBay. Radio works great, I got a good deal, I've been super happy with it. However, I've noticed neither the antenna that came with it nor any other antenna I have will screw entirely down, leaving a gap between the bottom of the antenna and the top of the radio body. It came used so I have no idea what (if anything) has been done to it, although there are no real signs that the radio has been opened up or anything. I unfortunately don't have too many SMA male HT antennas, but none that I have will screw all the way down. Again, the radio functions just fine with any antenna I've thrown on it, this is a purely cosmetic problem. Looking at the SMA female port on the radio it does look just a tiny bit longer than it should, by maybe a fraction of an inch.

So I have a few questions then.

This may be a stupid question, but...are there different lengths of SMA male connectors that would screw all the way down? I would guess not, but I've also never seen this before. Then again I only have 2 other radios that even use SMA male antennas.
The radio came with an Icom FA-S270C antenna. Is that the stock antenna? Of course the manual doesn't list the part number for the included antenna so I'm just wondering.
Is adjusting the length of the connector just a matter of pulling the locking ring out and moving it or is it even possible? I'd really rather not have to open up the radio if I don't have to since - again - it functions just fine.

TIA!

 

[Air490]

I believe the FA-S270C is the stock antenna for the IC-R6. It should screw down flush with the receiver.
Surprisingly, yes there are different lengths of connectors. I have found Diamond antennas never screw down flush with Icom receivers. Diamond obviously know this as they include small rubber washers with SMA antennas. Comet and old Maldol SMA antennas, as well as SMA antennas sold by Ten-Tec and other companies, all screw down flush.
I hope that helps.

 

[DudleyG]

A new R6 ships with a small rubber piece that plugs into the earphone jack and that rubber piece has an arm with a ring that loops around the antenna mount. Basically, this small rubber piece keeps the "rubber flap" from getting lost when you plug an earphone into the receiver. It also fills the "space" between the receiver body and the bottom of the antenna.

If you download the manual and look at the picture of the receiver on the cover page of the manual, you can see this small rubber piece. It is also visible on a page ( PAGE I ) near the front of the manual that shows putting the antenna on the receiver.

Sounds like you are missing that rubber cover / piece. Doesn't hurt anything to have it missing for the antenna, but it will keep dust and moisture out of the earphone jack.

 

[pb_lonny]

The R6 has an cover for the 3.5mm plug on on the top which sits under the aerial.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pmr-funkgeraete.de%2Fimages%2Fproduct_images%2Fpopup_images%2F2598_2625_0.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

 

[Awesomeman92]

Thank you all! Never even thought about it could be designed that way, and never thought to look that closely at the pictures. Looks like you can get them online so I'll pick one up, or run to the hardware store and see if I can find a rubber washer or something that would work.

Thank you all so much!!

 

[jaspence]

I use a small rubber gasket on a couple of my older radios to replace the lost/broken original. Some of the gaskets are too thick but can be cut in half to get the right thickness.

 

[Awesomeman92]

Couple notes, mainly for anyone who may stumble on this thread later:

I went and picked up a 33 cent rubber grommet from the hardware store that did the job great. Doesn't cover the audio port (obviously) but this wasn't a huge deal for me. Looked fine too, was about the same diameter as the antenna so it didn't look too fat on the bottom or anything.

I also picked up an inexpensive VHF antenna (because rail band is my main focus with the radio) off Amazon and sure enough it screws perfectly all the way down on the connector, no filler needed. Interesting that there's that much variance in SMA connector length.

Thanks again for everyone's responses!