Icom IC-Q7 User Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules.Operation is sub­ject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause
harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept an y interference
received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

iQ7A
iQ7E

DUAL BAND FM TRANSCEIVER

i

FOREWORD

READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS carefully and completely

before using the transceiver.

SA VE THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL — This in-

struction manual contains important operating instructions for
the IC-Q7A/E.

EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS

The explicit definitions below apply to this instruction manual.

CAUTIONS

R WARNING! NEVER hold the transceiver so that the

antenna is very close to, or touching exposed par ts 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.

DO NOT push the PTT when not actually desiring to trans-

mit.

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).

Place unit in a secure place to avoid inadvertent use by chil­dren.

WORD

R

WARNING

CAUTION

NOTE

DEFINITION

Personal injury, fire hazard or electric
shock may occur.

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

Equipment damage may occur.

Versions of the IC-Q7E which display “CE” on the serial number
seal, comply with the essential requirements of the 89/336/EEC
directive for Electromagnetic Compatibility.

ii

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

For U.S.A. only

CAUTION:Changes or modifications to this device, not ex-

pressly approved by Icom Inc., could void your authority to
operate this device under FCC regulations.

SUPPLIED ACCESSORIES

Accessories included with the transceiver: Qty.

q Antenna (FA-S270C) ...................................................... 1

w Handstrap ....................................................................... 1

e Belt clip ........................................................................... 1

qw e

FOREWORD ...................................... i

EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS ................... i

CAUTIONS ......................................... i

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................... iii

1 ACCESSORY ATTACHMENT ..... 1

2 PANEL DESCRIPTION .......... 2–5

■Panel description ...................... 2

■Function display ........................ 4

3 FREQUENCY AND CHANNEL

SETTING ................................ 6 –8

■

VFO and memory/call channels

.. 6

■Operating band selection .......... 6

■Setting a frequency ................... 7

■Setting a tuning step ................. 7

■Selecting a memory channel .... 8

■Lock function ............................ 8

■RIT function .............................. 8

4 BASIC OPERATION ............. 9–11

■Receiving and transmitting ....... 9

■Setting volume level ................ 10

■Setting squelch level ............... 10

■Monitor function ...................... 10

■Receive mode selection ......... 11

■Display backlighting ................ 11

5

MEMORY/CALL CHANNELS

.. 12–14

■General ................................... 12

■

Programming during selection

.. 12

■Programming after selection ... 13

■Transferring memory contents

to another memory ................. 13

■Memory clear .......................... 14

■Call channel ............................ 14

6 SCAN OPERATION ............ 15–19

■Scan types .............................. 15

■Full/band/programmed scan ... 16

■Memory (bank) scan ............... 16

■Selecting scan edges ............. 17

■Skip channel setting ............... 18

■Scan resume condition ........... 18

■Frequency skip function .......... 19

7 PRIORITY WA TCH ............. 20–21

■Priority watch types ................ 20

■Priority watch operation .......... 21

8 REPEATER OPERATION .. 22–25

■General ................................... 22

■Subaudible (repeater) tones ... 23

■1750 Hz tone .......................... 24

■Offset frequency ..................... 24

■Auto repeater function ............ 25

9 SUBA UDIBLE TONE

OPERATION ....................... 26– 27

■Tone squelch operation .......... 26

■Pocket beep operation ............ 27

■Tone scan ............................... 27

10 OTHER FUNCTIONS ......... 28–32

■Set mode ................................ 28

■Dial select step ....................... 29

■Beep tones ............................. 29

■Power saver ............................ 29

■Auto power-off function ........... 30

■Monitor switch function ........... 30

■Dial speed acceleration .......... 31

■Lock function effect ................. 31

■Channel indication mode ........ 32

■Partial reset ............................ 32

■All reset ................................... 32

11 TROUBLESHOOTING .............. 33

12

OPERATION FLOW CHART

... 34–35

13 SPECIFICATIONS .............. 36– 37

14 OPTIONS ................................... 38

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1

1

ACCESSORY ATTACHMENT

D Antenna

CAUTION:

Transmitting without an

antenna may damage the transceiv er.

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

Keep the jack cover attached when jack
is not in use to avoid bad contacts from
dust and moisture.

D Battery installation

q Remove the battery

cover from the trans­ceiver .

w Install 2 R6 (AA) size al-

kaline, dry cell or op­tional Ni-Cd batteries.

•Be sure to observe the cor­rect polarity.

Keep battery contacts clean. It’s a good idea to clean bat-
tery terminals once a week.

DBelt clip

Conveniently attaches to
your belt.

Slide the belt clip into the
plastic loop on the back of
the transceiver.

DHandstrap

Slide the handstrap through the loop
on the side of the belt clip as illus­trated at right. Facilitates carrying.

■ Panel description

q ANTENNA CONNECTOR (p. 1)

Connects the supplied antenna.

w TRANSMIT/RECEIVE INDICATOR [TX/RX] (p.9)

Lights green while receiving a signal or when the squelch
is open; lights red while transmitting.

e PTT SWITCH [PTT]

➥Push and hold to transmit in 144/400 MHz amateur

bands; release to receive. (p.9)

➥Push briefly, then push and hold to transmit a 1750 Hz

tone.(Europe and Italy versions only; p.24)

r FUNCTION SWITCH [FUNC]

While pushing this switch, other switches and tuning dial
perform secondary functions.

•“Push [FUNC] + a switch” means “while pushing the [FUNC]
switch, push the switch.”

t BAND SWITCH [BAND]

➥Push to select the operating band (VHF, UHF, etc.).(p. 6)

•50 MHz band,* VHF avionics band,* 144 MHz band, 300 MHz
band,* 400 MHz band, 800 MHz band* and 1200 MHz band*
can be selected.

➥Transfers the displayed frequency to the VFO in mem-

ory mode. (p .6)

➥Push [FUNC] + [BAND] to toggle the RIT function at 800

MHz* and above.(p.8)

➥Push for 2 sec. to set the tuning step for the operating

band or the selected memory channel. (p.7)

2

2

PANEL DESCRIPTION

q

w

e

r

t

y

SPEAKER/MICROPHONE

!2

!1

Function display
(p. 4)

!0

o

i

u

3

2

PANEL DESCRIPTION

y VOLUME CONTROL SWITCHES [VOLY]/[VOLZ]

➥Push to adjust the audio level. (p.10)
➥Push [FUNC] + either switch to start a scan. (p. 16)
➥Push [FUNC] + either switch for 2 sec. to star t a tone

scan. (p. 27)

u VFO/MEMORY SWITCH [V/M]

➥Toggles between VFO and memory modes. (p.6)
➥Enters set mode when pushed for 2 sec.(p.28)
➥Push [FUNC] + [V/M] to enter memory write mode. (p.

12)

➥Push [FUNC] + [V/M] for 2 sec.to write the operating fre-

quency into the selected memory channel in VFO mode.
(p.13)

➥Push [FUNC] + [V/M] for 2 sec.to write the displayed fre-

quency into the VFO in memory mode.(p. 13)

i POWER SWITCH [POWER]

Push for 2 sec. to toggle the transceiver power ON and
OFF.

o MONITOR SWITCH [SQL] (p. 10)

➥Push and hold to temporarily open the squelch and

monitor the operating frequency. (default behaviour)

➥While pushing, rotate the tuning dial to set the squelch

threshold level.

➥Push [FUNC] + [SQL] to exchange the receive/transmit

frequency and duplex direction when the duple x function
is in use.

!0 CALL/LOCK SWITCH [CALL(LOCK)]

➥Selects the call channel.(p. 14)
➥Push [FUNC] + [CALL] to toggle the lock function ON

and OFF.(p. 8)

➥While in the memory channel programming condition,

push [FUNC] + [CALL] for 2 sec. to clear the contents.
(p.14)

➥Generates a 1750 Hz tone for repeater access while

transmitting.(Europe and Italy versions only; p.24)

!1 EXTERNAL SPEAKER AND MICROPHONE JACK

[SP/MIC]

Connects an optional speaker-microphone or headset via
an optional OPC-782

PLUG ADAPTER CABLE, if desired.

The internal microphone and speaker will not function
when the OPC-782 is connected. (See p. 38 for a list of
available options.)

!2 TUNING DIAL [DIAL]

➥Rotate [DIAL] to set operating frequencies, memory

channels, set mode contents, etc.(p. 7)

➥While pushing [SQL], sets the squelch level. (p.10)
➥While pushing [FUNC], sets the operating frequency in

100 kHz, 1 MHz or 10 MHz steps in VFO mode.(pgs.7,

29)

➥While pushing [FUNC], sets the operating channel in 10

channel steps in memory mode. (pgs.7, 8)

4

2

PANEL DESCRIPTION

■ Function display

q RECEIVE MODE INDICATORS (p.11)

Show the receive mode.

•AM, FM and WFM are available.

w DUPLEX INDICATORS (p.22)

Appear when semi-duplex operation (repeater operation)
is in use.

•“–DUP” appears when minus duplex is selected; “DUP” only, ap-
pears when plus duplex is selected.

e TONE INDICATORS (pgs.23, 26, 27)

➥“T”appears when the subaudible tone encoder is in use;

“TSQLë” appears during pocket beep operation and
“T SQL” appears when the tone squelch function is acti-

vated.

➥Only “ë” appears when the pocket beep function is in

use.

r RIT INDICATOR

Appears when the RIT (Receive Incremental Tuning) func­tion for 800 MHz and above is in use. (p.8)

t FREQUENCY READOUT

Shows the operating frequency, set mode contents, etc.

•The smaller “75,”“50” and “25” to the right of readout indicate 7.5,

5.0 and 2.5 kHz, respectively.

•The decimal point of the frequency flashes during scan.

y MEMORY CHANNEL READOUT

Shows the memory or call channel number, etc.

u MEMORY BANK INDICATOR

Flashes when the bank memory scan is activated.

i MEMORY MODE INDICATOR

Appears when a memory channel is selected.

AM FM DUP TSQLW

75

50

25

PRIOPSKIP

1

BUSY

RIT

MR

9

5

qweuir

y

t

!0!1!2

!3

!4

o

5

2

PANEL DESCRIPTION

o SKIP SCAN INDICATOR (p.18)

➥“SKIP”appears when a selected memory channel is set

as a skip channel.

➥“PSKIP” appears when the memory channel frequency

is set as a skip frequency during scanning.

!0 SIGNAL INDICATORS

Shows the relative signal strength while receiving.

!1 PRIORITY WATCH INDICA TOR (p .20)

Appears when priority watch is in use.

!2 BUSY INDICATOR

“BUSY” appears when receiving a signal or when the
squelch is open.

!3 BATTERY INDICATORS

➥Both segments appear when the batteries have enough

capacity.

➥Only the right segment appears when the batteries are

nearing exhaustion.

➥Flash when battery replacement is necessary.

!4 LOCK INDICATOR (p.8)

Indicates that the lock function is in use.

6

3

FREQUENCY AND CHANNEL SETTING

■

VFO and memory/call channels

This transceiver has 2 normal operating modes: VFO mode
and memory (call) mode.

VFO mode is used for setting a desired frequency within the
band range.
➥Push [V/M] once or twice to select

VFO mode.

Memory (call) mode is used for operation of memory (call)
channels which have programmed frequencies.
➥Push [V/M] once or twice to select

memory mode.

•To program a memory, refer to p.12.

➥Push [CALL (LOCK)] to select a call

channel.

What is VFO?

VFO is an abbreviation of Variable Frequency Oscillator. Fre­quencies for transmitting and receiving are generated and
controlled by the VFO.

■ Operating band selection

The transceiver can receive the 50 MHz band, VHF avionics
band, 144 MHz band, 300 MHz band, 400 MHz band, 800
MHz band* or 1200 MHz band.

➥Push [BAND] several

times to select the de­sired band.

•When a memory or call
channel is selected, the
first push of [BAND] se­lects VFO mode (and
transfers the memory or
call channel contents).

When pushing [PTT],
“OFF”appears indicating
the frequency is outside
the 144/400 MHz ama­teur bands.

*Some frequencies can-

not be received with
the U.S.A.version.

FM

FM

MR

FM

MR

“ ” appears.

“C1” or “C2” appears.

FM

FM

FM

FM

AM

FM

FM

30–89.995 MHz

90–141.995 MHz

142–254.995 MHz

255–382.995 MHz

383–769.745 MHz

769.750–939.995 MHz

940–1309.995 MHz

BAND

BAND

BAND

BAND

BAND

BAND

■ Setting a frequency

q Select VFO mode with [V/M].
w Select the desired band with [BAND].
e Rotate [DIAL] to change the frequency.

•The frequency changes according to the preset tuning steps.See
the right section for selecting the tuning step.

•Rotate [DIAL] while pushing [FUNC] to change the frequency in 1
MHz steps (default;p. 29).

The 1 MHz tuning step (dial select step) can be set to 100
kHz, 1 MHz or 10 MHz tuning steps in set mode.See p.29
for details.

■ Setting a tuning step

Tuning steps can be selected for each band.This transceiver
has 10 tuning steps as follows:

•5 kHz •6.25 kHz •10 kHz •12.5 kHz •15 kHz

•20 kHz •25 kHz •30 kHz •50 kHz •100 kHz

DUsing the band switch

q Select VFO mode with [V/M].
w Select the desired band with [BAND].
e Push [BAND] for 2 sec.to enter tuning step setting condi-

tion.

r Rotate [DIAL] to select the desired

tuning step.

t Push [BAND] to return to normal

operation.

DUsing set mode

q Select VFO mode with [V/M].
w Select the desired band with [BAND].
e Push [V/M] for 2 sec.to enter set mode.
r Rotate [DIAL] until “STEP”appears.

•“STEP” disappears after 1 sec. and the previously selected tun-
ing step and “tS”appear.

t While pushing [FUNC], rotate [DIAL] to select the desired

tuning step.

y Push [V/M] to exit set mode.

7

3

FREQUENCY AND CHANNEL SETTING

15 kHz tuning step

FM

7

5

5

0

2

5

7

5

5

0

2

5

FM

7

5

5

0

2

5

7

5

5

0

2

5

[DIAL] changes the frequency according
to the selected tuning step.

While pushing [FUNC], [DIAL] changes
the frequency in 1 MHz steps (default).

8

3

FREQUENCY AND CHANNEL SETTING

■ Selecting a memory channel

q Push [V/M] once or twice to se-

lect memory mode.

•“X” appears when a memory
channel is selected.

w Rotate [DIAL] to change the indi-

cated memory channel.

•Only programmed memory chan­nels can be selected.

•Rotating [DIAL] while pushing
[FUNC] to change the channel in 10
channel steps.

■ Lock function

The lock function prev ents accidental frequency changes and
accidental function access.
➥Push [FUNC] + [

(CALL)LOCK] to toggle the loc k function ON

and OFF.

•[POWER], [VOL], [SQL] and [PTT]
can still be accessed while the lock
function is ON (default).

•Accessible switches can be set to 1
of 4 groups in expanded set mode.
See p.31 for details.

■ RIT function

To compensate for the off frequency of a transmitting station,
the transceiver has receive incremental tuning for receiving
frequencies above 835 MHz.

The receive incremental tuning (RIT) shifts only the receive
frequency within approx. ±5 kHz at 850 MHz and ±7 kHz at
1300 MHz.

q Set an operating frequency above 835 MHz.
w Push [FUNC] + [BAND] to turn the RIT function ON.

•“RIT” appears.

e While pushing [FUNC], rotate [DIAL] to adjust the shift fre-

quency.

•–5 to 5 appear at the memory chan­nel readout while setting the shift
frequency.

r To cancel the function, push

[FUNC] + [BAND] to turn the RIT
function ON.

•“RIT” disappears.

While the RIT function is in use, the dial select step cannot
be used. (pgs.7, 29)

FM

1

MR

SKIP

FM

MR

[DIAL] changes the
memory channel.

While pushing [FUNC],
[DIAL] changes the
memory channel in 10
channel steps.

FM

RIT

FM

RIT

BUSY

5

BUSY

9

5

Plus shift

Minus shift

FM

“ ” appears when the
lock function is in use.

9

4

BASIC OPERATION

■ Receiving and transmitting

CAUTION: Transmitting without an antenna may

damage the transceiver.

Make sure alkaline or dry cell batteries are installed. (p.1)

q Push [POWER] for 2 sec.to turn power ON.
w Push [VOLY] or [VOLZ] to set the desired audio level.

•The frequency display shows the volume level while setting.See
the next page for details.

e Set an operating frequency. (pgs.6, 7)
r Set the squelch level.

•While pushing [SQL], rotate [DIAL].

•The first click of [DIAL] indicates the current squelch level.

•“LEVEL1” is loose squelch and “LEVEL9” is tight squelch.

•“AUTO” indicates automatic level adjustment with a noise pulse

count system.

t When a signal is received:

➥The TX/RX indicator lights green.
➥Squelch opens and audio is emitted from the speaker.
➥The S/RF indicator shows the relative signal strength.

y Push and hold [PTT] to transmit, then speak into the mi-

crophone.

•TX/RX indicator lights red.

u Release [PTT] to receive.

IMPORTANT:To maximiz e the readability of y our tr ansmit­ted signal, pause a few sec.after pushing [PTT], hold the
microphone 10 to 15 cm from your mouth and speak at a
normal voice level.

q Power switch

y Speak into

microphone

y Push to transmit

u Release to

receive

w Set volume

e Select band

w Push to monitor
r Push for setting

the squelch

e Set frequency
r Set the squelch

level