Modifications for the ICOM - RogerK

This modification is read 1316 times.top of page19-07-1998(IC-2) Low audio speaker mike on IC2A, 3A, 4A OR 02ATIf you own one of the IC2A, 3A, or O2AT series Hand-helds, you may be interested in reading on. I know my hearing is prettygood, but have you ever tried to listen to the audio coming out of your speaker mike on the above ICOM's? For the most part,it's pretty low. I may be the last guy to figure out a cure for this, but here it is anyway. On the O2AT, etc., there is a groove onthe back near the top of the rig that is just the right size to accept the HM9 speaker mike turned 90 degrees so that the mikeplug fits in that groove in the rear of the rig. Thus alllowing all the audio to be heard from the internal speaker of the rig, usuallymuch better than the speaker mike.Now, in the case of the 2A series, etc., the fix is more complex. These rigs don't have that handy groove built in, so I decided agroove had to be made to accept this configuration. I thought long and hard about a minute, before getting the "Dremel" out andmaking my own slot or groove. It works well on both hand-helds I have. In fact, you can hook up an external speaker for evenmore loudness in the auto. So, give it a try or see me for a demo.This modification is read 1012 times.top of page19-07-1998(IC-2) ICOM IC-2AT internal antenna connection problemI routinely use a half wave ant. On my IC-2AT handheld. When collapsed, the antenna has the same gain ( loss ) as a rubberduck antenna while giving me greater range when fully extended.There is a certain amount of movement of the center pin of the bnc connector with the half wave antenna on the handheld.This movement causes fatigue fracturing of the wire connecting the printed circuit board to the bnc connector.After numerous failures, i used the braid of RG-174 coax to make the connection.First remove the bnc from the radio and brake off the non-used ground lug.The pin of the bnc should beplaced into the end of the braid.A thin pice of wire is then wrapped around the braid 3-4 times, and then secured, then soldered. Reinstal the bnc and dress thebraid to the solder pad on the printed circuit board and solder. Do not heat the braid to log while soldering, as solder will bedrawn up, making it stiff and subject it to fatigue fracturing...This modification is read 1016 times.top of page19-07-1998(IC-2) ICOM IC-2GAT ext frq for TransmitOut-of-band transmit mod for ICOM IC-2GAT handheld 2M transceiver(copied from packet radio; origin unknown:)Back side of display board:_____________________________________| D505| D507 D504 ___| ___ ___ |___| || |___| |___| -- + --| D506 Q506 | || _o_------ _o_ | hole for| |___| | |___| | on/off-vol| o o | o o | control| | | |__________________| -----|