Amateur Radio FAQ's

To promote Amateur Radio in the UK, the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) has organised the first ever Ham Week. Running from the 1st October - 10th October 2010, there will be a series of events and activities with the aim of promoting the hobby to the general public. Ham Week UK will begin wit...

Existing Notices of Variation (NoVs) of Amateur Radio Full Licences for the purpose of facilitating use of frequencies in the 5 MHz (experimental) band will expire on 30 June 2010.

Following consent from the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Ofcom is able to permit operation of stations by ama...

The 64 bit version of the new Microsoft operating system, Windows 7, is currently incompatible with our past range of PCR products (IC-PCR100, IC-PCR1000) and existing range of PCR products (IC-PCR1500, IC-PCR2500, IC-R1500 or IC-R2500). This is because there are no 64 bit drivers available on this...

The IC-R2500 is attached to the USB socket on your PC. For some reason the audio codec in the PC system set-up always seems to default to the standard USB Audio Codec, and this occurs every time the receiver software starts up. What you need to do is download the latest Receiver Firmware and Softwar...

Tuning the airwaves for new and interesting transmissions has fascinated enthusiasts since the very earliest days of radio. As a result of advances in computer & radio technology the equipment packed radio rooms of the past can now be replaced by a scanning receiver the size of a mobile telephone. T...

D-Star is a new mode of communicating which has started to get a foothold in the UK. It’s already taken off in Japan, American, Australia and various other countries around the world. With the review of the IC-E2820 Dual Band Mobile Transceiver in this issue it now seems appropriate to explain what...

To successfully perform PSK31 communications you will need to use the 8 Pin ACC Socket No. 1. This contains all the connections required to successfully achieve communications by PSK31. The 6 pin mini Din socket is used only for data communication on the 2m band. For more information please refer...

There are two Tone Squelch Selection Functions. The first is the standard Tone Squelch and the second is the Repeater Tone Squelch. Tone Squelch is used for simplex operation, whereas the Repeater Tone Squelch is used for split frequency or Duplex operation. To ensure the repeater can be heard bot...

Icom do not recommend a third party software supplier but if you contact you local dealer they will be able to recommend a supplier.

IOTA is an award programme in which participants “collect” contacts with islands worldwide. These contacts count towards 18 separate certificates, graded in difficulty, for island chasers, as well as two prestigious awards for high achievement. The awards can be claimed by any eligible licensed radi...

The Foundation Licence is a new opportunity for the ordinary person on the street to gain an understanding of the basic precepts about the technology and operation of Amateur Radio. More importantly, after the completion of a basic Morse test, practical test and 20 question multiple choice paper, th...

The Queen's Jubilee is a good time to reflect on the events and triumphs of the past 50 years. One of the major achievements has been the spread of global radio communication. It is now possible to see pictures from outer space, hear news from Afghanistan or get press releases from any major capital...

AF - Audio Frequency

AM - Amplitude Modulation (receiver mode)

ANL - Auto Noise Limiter (helps reduce impulse
noise interference).

AFC - Automatic Frequency Control (keeps the receiver tuned to the centre frequency of the station).

Audio Peak Filter - Reduces interfere...

Most 2 metre repeaters in the United Kingdom now are set for 12.5Khz channel spacing, and hence will only clearly accept narrow deviation signals. If your set has the ability then select narrow deviation. Alternatively, if necessary, Icom can supply you with the information on how to reduce your own...

Yes, this is not a problem. However what we do need from you is a written request for this information stating that you are only going to use the radio outside the UK. It is an offence to use amateur equipment outside the usual amateur bands within the UK.