iCom IC-400 Pro wont find any channel

Tezza,

Afraid I cannot help but I am certainly interested in responses as i was just about to purchase Icom 400 Pro. I know they are great units but it seems the GME maybe an easier unit to use from what I have read. I have Uniden and won't be buying another one.

Once set up, the Icom 400 is a great unit, but a fair bit of patience is needed while doing that setup. Suggest you thoroughly check your installation first, re the antenna integrity (coax centre and braid circuits to the actual antenna wire and it's ground). As for the squelch (don't have my manual here) .....you just have to read the relevant section on 'mining down' through the various programming button sequences, until that section is arrived at - I think it goes from 0 to 250 or so. BOL.

Icom is a great unit. The manual is not the most user friendly but it does all work. I have set mine up to even display the rego on startup.

Squelch is very important and if set wrong you will get anything.

Why has this just started? Have setting recently been changed? If all was worrking OK before I believe it to be an aerial issue. (The lead hasn't dropped off the back????)

Alan

Do you have another radio or hand held to compare with and test with?

If you are away from regular radio traffic there may be bugger all to recieve.

If I fired up my GME here in the drive way......unless there was some roadworks nearby, I'd be lucky to recieve anything except one repeater channel and I can barely crack that from here.

drive 15 minutes down the road and there will be guaranteed insessant chatter on Ch 40.

unless you are somewhere with regular strong radio traffic you need a second radio to test with.

cheers

Firstly, do you have an instruction manual for it? If then download it from here.

Is it a new model you are trying to get working? Was the Rx working OK before? If so try to remember what you fiddled on the settings.

You will just have to go through the settings listed in the handbook. First of all find the squelch setting and turn the squelch off. If you are getting noise through the speaker then try calling someone, or just go through the channels and listen.

If you are not getting any noise from the speaker then go through the settings and turn off the CTCSS and/or the selcall. If you can not get any noise you probably have a receiver problem.

Evening gents,

I am blown away by your responses cant thank you all enough.

Have an update I did manage how to figure out how to get into the setup and have taken the squelch to about 80, ) was just plain noise at 0. Fiddled around with it but still nothing coming thru....... Phoned a guy up from TJM in Hornsby who sells ICOM told him the problem, first thing he asked me was, where is the coax cable from the aerial, told him it was curled up under the dash, then plugged into radio, wherein he said that is your problem. That coax cable is your aerial it must be spread out as much as possible throughout the car it is not just about the bit at the front he said. So going back to auto electrician tomorrow so they can redo. Did one thing though found a hand held and tested it, had to be right in the car it sort of worked, I could here the handheld but when going from my CB to the handheld nothing.

Still a great improvement from the other day, yes the supreme optimist :)

Thanks all again everyone one of you has helped me get to this point

Tez

UPDATE

Well guys it all seems to be working fine now. BUT in saying that whilst unraveling the cable did improve it marginally who the hell knows why after reading your comments, you will never guess the real reason for the problem from the start........... after I had it installed took car to VW to have a modification done on it. They obviously took the antennas off to do the work........when finished they put the 3G antennae on instead, so bloody wonder nothing was happening. As the antennas look identical I did not even think to check either despite a couple of you saying check it.

There you a go a lesson learnt and yes learning bloody fast. Now just got to figure out best squelch level even though I am at 120 still a lot of noise.

Once again THANK YOU ALL you are tremendous to a newbie :)

Tez