Icom Commandmic

Is it just a volume thing or is it completely missing certain traffic. My SH command mic has a separate volume. Have had to clean the connections this year at the back of the set to make good connections. Otherwise may be a failure within the Command Mic.
 
Very strange. Software fault I would guess - except... I wonder if the squelch operates separately on the Command Mic to the main set. I can't see why it would but that could give the effect you are experiencing. Try adjusting the it on the command mic and see if that makes any difference.
 
There are scanning features that a user can programme and some of these features are only available if the command mike is plugged in. It sounds as if you are scanning on the command mike independently from the set when its picking up.

I assume you have the ICOM DSC VHF.

There are various settings accessed via the software user interface for attenuation strength (probably irrelevant but experiment with that and squelch), tanoy / hail, fog horn and intercom. Some of these settings can be customised for transmit / receive options so I would have a look at that. To be honest I doubt that they would cause what you are picking up.

If there is a reset feature to default settings that might be an option.
 
My M505 seems similar. Weak signals on the main set don't seem to come through to the command mic. but they do come through to a separate extension l'speaker in the cockpit. Since the signals in question generally seem too weak and broken to be useful, I take it as a feature of the set and haven't investigated further.
 
That's precisely how squelch settings could affect the command mike. Setting squelch to its optimum level picks up more of the marginal reception so maybe that's it.
 
I've had this fault on a friends boat a couple of weeks ago. Icom 601 with the all singing command mike. At times it wouldn't relay what was coming thro on the base set, then it would suddenly work fine. On other occasions if you move station then come back it would be ok, etc etc .......it seemed to have no definitive cause and effect ! will be interested in the feed back here!
 
Apologies for the late comment but I've been away. Our command mic had exactly the same problem. The squelch setting had been altered accidentally. As said above, the command mic squelch is independent of that on the main radio.

The default setting is that the command mic rotary control alters volume. To alter channel a small button on the top of the command mic has to be pressed twice, to change the rotary control to altering channel. For us it's quite common to want to change channel. Unfortunately if the little button is pressed only once, the rotary control alters the squelch. Assuming the squelch setting is being turned up, rather than down, there's no hissing noise.

Someone evidently did this on our boat and it was several hours before we realised why the command mic sensitivity was so much less than that of the main set.
 
Coaster said:
The default setting is that the command mic rotary control alters volume. To alter channel a small button on the top of the command mic has to be pressed twice, to change the rotary control to altering channel. For us it's quite common to want to change channel. Unfortunately if the little button is pressed only once, the rotary control alters the squelch. Assuming the squelch setting is being turned up, rather than down, there's no hissing noise.

Someone evidently did this on our boat and it was several hours before we realised why the command mic sensitivity was so much less than that of the main set.[/QUOTE

Interesting thread, the Icom manual makes no mention of independent squelch setting.
'Tis true the rotary control normally alters volume, but, for a few seconds after a channel change using the "16" button it changes channel instead.
I've programmed this button to also tune to ch 80 on a long press, so my normal way of setting a channel with the mic. has always been to first select either 16 or 80 with the button and then use the rotary control.
I now realise why I've not encountered the squelch problem, because, fortuitously, I never use the top button.
Click to expand...
 
Whole Icom system is certainly female and probably from Essex. Make super market trolley seem co-operative

Far too many bells and whistles - how many MMSI numbers have you got stored in your radio?

Seems to have been designed by engineers with no idea what really happens on a sailing boat. Me it's usually to call the marina and listen to the VTS and Channel 16 - way too many features.

The remote loud speaker is totally out of control. It comes on full volume and scares the **** out of anyone nearby.
Will not keep the volume of the main unit under control - so it suddenly goes full on and wakes anyone asleep below. Pain in the arse on long overnight trips when people are sleeping below and you just want it in the background in the cockpit.

Does what it likes when it likes and is directed by some external force that could be hormones or random numbers or the movement of celestial bodies.
Switches on when it likes, will not switch off sometimes unless I ask it nicely - or disconnect it from the battery.
Remote handset is not totally waterproof.

Seems to be software driven and operates in a different reality system.

All this is hard to record and take up with Icom since it never seems to be the same fault twice or re-producable.

The free standing Icom handset just suffers from the usual **** battery life.

I really thought I'd got the best kit I could when I chose and paid for Icom. Not going to get any joy after 3 years on an ill defined warranty claim. Certainly not going to buy another one and when it comes to a replacement then Icom may not be on the list.
 
ean_p said:
I've had this fault on a friends boat a couple of weeks ago. Icom 601 with the all singing command mike. At times it wouldn't relay what was coming thro on the base set, then it would suddenly work fine. On other occasions if you move station then come back it would be ok, etc etc .......it seemed to have no definitive cause and effect ! will be interested in the feed back here!
Click to expand...


I have had exactly the same problems for the first time after about 5 years trouble free operation recently, signals on the command mike come and go randomly often half way during a conversation. Its definitley not volume or squelch setting on my comman mike because I am always careful to set these each time I connect the mike.
I wonder if a component in the radio or mike has reached the end of its life if a number of us are suddenly having the same problem?
 
BlueChip said:
I have had exactly the same problems for the first time after about 5 years trouble free operation recently, signals on the command mike come and go randomly often half way during a conversation. Its definitley not volume or squelch setting on my comman mike because I am always careful to set these each time I connect the mike.
I wonder if a component in the radio or mike has reached the end of its life if a number of us are suddenly having the same problem?
Click to expand...

Well, we've had our set just over 4 years?

How about others with the same problem?
 
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