Icom IC-A6 User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

iA6

iA24

VHF AIR BAND TRANSCEIVER

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC
Rules. Operation is subject to the condition
that this device does not cause harmful inter­ference.

IC-A24 IC-A6

i

SAFETY TRAINING INFORMATION

Your Icom radio generates RF electromagnetic energy during
transmit mode. This radio is designed for and classified as
“Occupational Use Only”, meaning it must be used only dur­ing the course of employment by individuals aware of the haz­ards, and the ways to minimize such hazards. This radio is
NOT intended for use by the “General Population” in an un­controlled environment.

This radio has been evaluated for compliance at the distance of 2.5 cm with
the FCC RF exposure limits for “Occupational Use Only”. In addition, your Icom
radio complies with the following Standards and Guidelines with regard to RF
energy and electromagnetic energy levels and evaluation of such levels for ex­posure to humans:

• FCC OET Bulletin 65 Edition 97-01 Supplement C, Evaluating Compliance
with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electro­magnetic Fields.

• American National Standards Institute (C95.1-1992), IEEE Standard for
Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Elec­tromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz.

• American National Standards Institute (C95.3-1992), IEEE Recommended
Practice for the Measurement of Potentially Hazardous Electromagnetic
Fields– RF and Microwave.

• The following accessories are authorized for use with this product. Use of
accessories other than those specified may result in RF exposure levels
exceeding the FCC requirements for wireless RF exposure.; Belt Clip (MB­86/103), Rechargeable Ni-MH Battery Pack (BP-210N) and Alkaline Bat­tery Case (BP-208N).

To ensure that your expose to RF electromagnetic en­ergy is within the FCC allowable limits for occupational
use, always adhere to the following guidelines:

WARNING

• DO NOT operate the radio without a proper antenna attached, as this may
damaged the radio and may also cause you to exceed FCC RF exposure
limits. A proper antenna is the antenna supplied with this radio by the man­ufacturer or antenna specifically authorized by the manufacturer for use
with this radio.

• DO NOT transmit for more than 50% of total radio use time (“50% duty
cycle”). Transmitting more than 50% of the time can cause FCC RF expo­sure compliance requirements to be exceeded. The radio is transmitting
when “ ” appears on the function display. You can cause the radio to
transmit by pressing the “PTT” switch.

• ALWAYS keep the antenna at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) away from the body
when transmitting and only use the Icom belt-clips which are listed on
page 31 when attaching the radio to your belt, etc., to ensure FCC RF ex­posure compliance requirements are not exceeded. To provide the recipi­ents of your transmission the best sound quality, hold the antenna at least
5 cm (2 inches) from your mouth, and slightly off to one side.

The information listed above provides the user with the information needed to
make him or her aware of RF exposure, and what to do to assure that this radio
operates with the FCC RF exposure limits of this radio.

Electromagnetic Interference/Compatibility

During transmissions, your Icom radio generates RF energy that can possibly
cause interference with other devices or systems. To avoid such interference,
turn off the radio in areas where signs are posted to do so. DO NOT operate
the transmitter in areas that are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation such as
hospitals and blasting sites.

Occupational/Controlled Use

The radio transmitter is used in situations in which persons are exposed as
consequence of their employment provided those persons are fully aware of
the potential for exposure and can exercise control over their exposure.

CAUTION

ii

FOREWORD

Thank you for purchasing this Icom product. The IC-A24/A6
VHF AIR BAND TRANSCEIVER is designed and built with
Icom’s state of the art technology and craftsmanship. With
proper care this product should provide you with years of
trouble-free operation.

IMPORTANT

READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS carefully and completely

before using the transceiver.

SAVE THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL— This in-

struction manual contains important operating instructions for
the IC-A24/A6.

EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS

SUPPLIED ACCESSORIES

Accessories included with the transceiver: Qty.

q Antenna .......................................................................... 1

w Belt clip ........................................................................... 1

e Handstrap ....................................................................... 1

r Battery pack* or battery case .......................................... 1

t Wall charger* .................................................................. 1

y Carrying case* ................................................................ 1

u Headset adapter* ........................................................... 1

*The battery pack, wall charger, headset adapter or carrying case

may differ depending on version. Some versions do not include a
battery pack, wall charger, headset adapter or carrying case.

WORD

RWARNING

CAUTION

NOTE

Personal injury, fire hazard or electric shock
may occur.

Equipment damage may occur.

If disregarded, inconvenience only. No risk
of personal injury, fire or electric shock.

DEFINITION

qw e

t

y

u

r

iii

PRECAUTION

R WARNING! NEVER hold the transceiver so that the

antenna is very close to, or touching exposed parts of the
body, especially the face or eyes, while transmitting. The
transceiver will perform best if the microphone is 5 to 10 cm
away from the lips and the transceiver is vertical.

R WARNING! NEVER operate the transceiver with a

headset or other audio accessories at high volume levels.
Hearing experts advise against continuous high volume op­eration. If you experience a ringing in your ears, reduce the
volume level or discontinue use.

NEVER connect the transceiver to an AC outlet or to a

power source of more than 11.5 V DC. Such a connection will
damage the transceiver.

NEVER connect the transceiver to a power source that is

DC fused at more than 5 A. Accidental reverse connection will
be protected by this fuse, higher fuse values will not give any
protection against such accidents and the transceiver will be
ruined.

NEVER short the terminals of the battery pack. Also, cur-

rent may flow into nearby metal objects, such as a necklace,
etc. Therefore, be careful when carrying with, or placing near
metal objects, carrying in handbags, etc.

DO NOT allow children to play with any radio equipment

containing a transmitter.

DO NOT operate the transceiver near unshielded electrical

blasting caps or in an explosive atmosphere.

AVOID using or placing the transceiver in direct sunlight or

in areas with temperatures below –10°C (+14°F) or above
+60°C (+140°F).

The use of non-Icom battery packs/chargers may impair
transceiver performance and invalidate the warranty.

Even when the transceiver power is OFF, a slight current still
flows in the circuits. Remove the battery pack or case from
the transceiver when not using it for a long time. Otherwise,
the battery pack or installed dry cell batteries will become ex­hausted.

Icom, Icom Inc. and the logo are registered trademarks of Icom Incor­porated (Japan) in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France,
Spain, Russia and/or other countries.

FCC caution: Changes or modifications to this transceiver, not
expressly approved by Icom Inc., could void your authority to
operate this transceiver under FCC regulations. (U.S.A. only)

iv

SAFETY TRAINING INFORMATION ............................................... i

FOREWORD ................................................................................... ii

IMPORTANT .................................................................................... ii

EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS ................................................................. ii

SUPPLIED ACCESSORIES ............................................................ ii

PRECAUTIONS............................................................................... iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................. iv

1 PANEL DESCRIPTION ........................................................ 1– 6

■ Panel description ................................................................... 1

■ Function display ..................................................................... 5

2 ACCESSORY ATTACHMENT .................................................. 7

3 BASIC OPERATION .......................................................... 8– 11

■ Setting a frequency ................................................................ 8

■ Setting a squelch level ........................................................... 8

■ Selecting a weather channel................................................... 8

■ Receiving ............................................................................... 9

■ Transmitting ........................................................................... 9

■ ANL function ........................................................................... 9

■ Low battery indicator ............................................................ 10

■ Recall function ..................................................................... 10

■ Setting weather alert function................................................ 11

■ Accessing 121.5 MHz emergency frequency ....................... 11

■ Lock function ........................................................................ 11

■ Side tone function ................................................................ 11

■ Setting beep tone ................................................................. 11

■ Backlighting .......................................................................... 11

4 MEMORY OPERATION ................................................... 12 – 15

■ Memory channel selection ................................................... 12

■ Transferring memory contents ............................................. 12

■ Programming a memory channel ......................................... 13

■ Memory names .................................................................... 14

■ Clearing the memory contents ............................................. 14

5 SCAN OPERATION ......................................................... 16 – 17

■ Scan types ........................................................................... 16

■ COM band scan ................................................................... 16

■ Memory scan ....................................................................... 16

■ Weather channel scan

(U.S.A. version only) ............................ 17

■ “TAG” channels ................................................................... 17

6 VOR NAVIGATION (IC-A24 only) .................................... 18 – 24

■ VOR indications ................................................................... 18

■ VOR functions ...................................................................... 19

■ Flying to a VOR station ........................................................ 20

■ Entering a desired course .................................................... 22

■ Crosschecking position ........................................................ 22

■ Duplex operation

(U.S.A. version only) .................................... 24

7 BATTERY PACKS ........................................................... 25 – 27

■ Battery charging ................................................................... 25

■ Battery cautions ................................................................... 25

■ Optional battery case ........................................................... 26

■ Optional battery chargers ..................................................... 27

8 CLONING ................................................................................ 28

9 TROUBLESHOOTING ............................................................ 29

10 SPECIFICATIONS .................................................................. 30

11 OPTIONS ................................................................................ 31

12 QUICK REFERENCE ...................................................... 32 – 33

13 OPTIONAL HEADSET CONNECTION .................................. 34

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1

1

PANEL DESCRIPTION

■ Panel description

e rt

w

q

!7

!6
!5

Speaker

y
u
i

o

!0
!1
!2
!3

Microphone

!4

IC-A24

WX-ALERT

!7

IC-A6

WX-ALERT

!7

2

1

q BACKLIGHT SWITCH [LIGHT] (p. 11)

Turns the backlight for display and keypad ON or OFF.

w PTT SWITCH [PTT] (p. 9)

Push and hold to transmit; release to receive.

•“ ” appears on the function display while transmitting.

e VOLUME [VOL] (p. 9)

Adjusts the audio level.

r TUNING DIAL [DIAL] (pgs. 8–12)

➥ Rotate [DIAL] to select the desired frequency, WX chan-

nel number, BANK number and memory channel.

➥ Rotate [DIAL] to set the squelch level and beep tone

level.

t ANTENNA CONNECTOR [ANT] (p. 7)

Connects the supplied antenna.

y RECALL CHANNEL UP/DOWN KEYS [ΩΩ]/[≈≈] (p. 10)

➥ Push to enter the recall function mode.
➥ Push to call the stored frequency in the recall

mode.

➥ Push , then push [Ω]/[≈]to replace stored re-

call frequencies to back or front.

u SQUELCH KEY [SQL•

WX-ALERT

] (p. 8)

➥ Push [SQL•

WX-ALERT], then rotate [DIAL] to se-

lect the squelch level.

• 24 squelch levels and squelch open (0) are available.

➥ Push , then push [SQL•WX-ALERT] to turn

the WX-alert function ON or OFF.

i POWER SWITCH [PWR] (pgs. 9, 28)

➥ Push and hold for 2 sec. to turn the power ON

or OFF.

➥ While pushing and holding [MR•

MW], push

[PWR] to enter the cloning function mode.

o EXTERNAL SPEAKER AND MICROPHONE JACKS

[MIC/SP] (p. 34)

Connects an OPC-499

HEADSET ADAPTER and headset, if

desired.

!0 FUNCTION KEY

Push to call up the function indicator, “”, then
push another key to access its secondary function.

•“ ” appears for 3 sec. after is pushed; at this time
pushing again cancels the indication.

NOTE: In general, “” disappears when an-
other key is pushed to activate a secondary
function. However, some keys which have more
than one secondary function, (such as [DUP]),
do not cancel “”. In this case, “” disap-
pears automatically after 3 sec.

1

PANEL DESCRIPTION

3

1

PANEL DESCRIPTION

!1 CLEAR KEY [CLR•DEL

] (pgs. 8–17)

➥ Push to turn to the frequency mode, when mem-

ory channel, WX channel, 121.5 MHz, squelch
level setting or beep tone setting is selected.

➥ Push , then push and hold [CLR•

DEL]to

delete a recall frequency data.

➥ Push to clear the entered comment of memory

name while programming.

➥ Push to stop the scan function to turn to the fre-

quency mode while the scan function is operat­ing.

!2 ANL KEY [ANL•

SCAN] (pgs. 9, 16, 17)

➥ Push to turn the ANL function ON or OFF.
➥ Push , then push [ANL•

SCAN

] to start the

scan function.

!3 EMERGENCY KEY [121.5 MHz] (p. 11)

Push for 2 sec. to select the 121.5 MHz emergency
frequency.

!4 DC POWER JACK

Connect the AC adapter or optional cable to charge the
battery pack or to operate by external power supply. (see
right illustration)

!5 MEMORY MODE KEY [MR•

MW] (pgs. 12–15)

➥ Push to call the memory channel mode.
➥ Push , then push [MR•

MW] to program the

contents into the memory channels.

!6 ENTER KEY [ENT•

WX

] (pgs. 8, 14)

➥ Push to enter the numeral input. Enters con-

secutive zero digits. (p. 8)

➥ Push , then push [ENT•

WX] to enter the

weather channel selection mode (U.S.A. version
only). (p. 8)

➥ Push to program the memory name. (p. 14)

NOTE: Some functions may not be available depending on

versions. Ask your authorized dealer for details.

• DC POWER CONNECTION

IC-A24/A6

CP-20 (for 11 24 V)
(optional)

To the cigarette
lighter socket

To [DC 11V]

Wall charger

4

1

PANEL DESCRIPTION

1

!7 DIGIT KEYS

➥ Input the specified digit during frequency input, memory

channel selection, etc.

➥ In addition, each key has one or more secondary func-

tion after pushing as follows:

Push , then push [0•

BANK] to select the mem-

ory BANK number to rotate [DIAL] on the memory
operation. (p. 12)

Push , then push [1•

DVOR] to select the DVOR

display from the CDI display in NAV band. (p. 19)*

1

➥ Push , then push [2•TO] to change the

course indicator characteristics to “TO” flag in
the DVOR display in NAV band. (p. 19)*

1

➥ Corrects the deviation while using “TO” flag. *

1

➥ Push , then push [3•FROM] to change the

course indicator characteristics to “FROM” flag
in the DVOR display in NAV band. (p. 19)*

1

➥ Corrects the deviation while using “FROM” flag. *

1

Push , then push [4•CDI] to select the CDI dis­play from the CDI display in NAV band. (p. 19)*

1

Push , then push [5•DUP-W] to set the duplex
frequency in NAV band for U.S.A. version only.
(p. 24)*

1

Push , then push [6•DUP] to turn the duplex
function ON and OFF in NAV band for U.S.A. ver­sion only. (p. 24)*

1

Push , then push [7• ] to turn the key lock

function ON and OFF. (p. 11)

Push , then push [8•

BEEP] to turn the beep

tone setting mode ON (p. 11).

• Adjustable level; 0 to 9

Push , then push [9•

TAG

] to set the displayed
memory or weather channel as a “TAG” channel.
(p. 17)

*1These functions available on the IC-A24 only.

5

1

PANEL DESCRIPTION

■ Function display

q FUNCTION INDICATOR (p. 2)

Appears when is pushed.

w TX INDICATOR (p. 9)

Appears while transmitting.

e RX INDICATOR (p. 9)

Appears when receiving a signal or when the squelch
opens.

r DUPLEX INDICATOR (IC-A24 only) (p. 24)

➥“DUP” appears when the duplex function is activated in

NAV mode.

➥“DUP” blinks while setting the duplex frequency.

t LOW BATTERY INDICATOR (p. 10)

➥ Appears when the battery is nearing exhaustion. The at-

tached battery pack requires recharging.

➥ Appears and flashes when battery replacement is nec-

essary.

y LOCK INDICATOR (p. 11)

Appears while the lock function is in use.

u FREQUENCY DISPLAY (pgs. 8, 14)

➥ Shows the operating frequency.
➥ Shows the channel name when the memory name func-

tion is selected.

qw e r t y

u

!5
!4

!1!1 !2!3

!0

i
o

6

1

PANEL DESCRIPTION

1

i TAG CHANNEL INDICATOR (p. 17)

“” appears when the memory channel is set as a TAG
channel.

o MEMORY CHANNEL INDICATOR (pgs. 12–15)

Shows the memory channel number.

!0 MEMORY BANK NUMBER INDICATOR (p. 12)

Shows the selected memory bank number.

!1 OVERFLOW INDICATOR (IC-A24 only) (pgs. 18–22)

Appears when the deviation between the desired course
and flying course is over 10 degrees.

!2 ANL INDICATOR (p. 9)

Appears while the ANL (Automatic Noise Limiter) function
is in use.

!3 COURSE DEVIATION NEEDLES (IC-A24 only)

(pgs. 18–22)
Indicates the deviation between the desired course and
your actual flying course every 2 degrees.

!4 COURSE INDICATORS (IC-A24 only) (p. 19)

➥ Indicates where your aircraft is located on a VOR radial

in DVOR mode.

➥ Indicates where your desired course is located on a

VOR radial in CDI mode.

!5 TO-FROM INDICATOR (IC-A24 only) (p. 19)

Indicates whether the VOR navigation information is
based on a course leading to the VOR station or leading
away from the VOR station.

7

D Antenna
CAUTION: DO NOT transmit without an antenna. Other-

wise the transceiver may be damaged.

Insert the supplied antenna into the antenna connector and
screw down the antenna as shown below.

D Belt clip

Conveniently attaches to your belt.
Attach the belt clip with the supplied screws as below.

NOTE: Use the supplied screws only.

D Battery pack replacement

Before replacing the battery pack, push [PWR] for 2 sec. to
turn the power OFF.

Slide the battery release button forward, then pull the battery
pack upward with the transceiver facing away from you.

2

ACCESSORY ATTACHMENT

Supplied screws