recently managed to get hold of (at very reasonable cost) an ICOM IC-F4GS PMR Radio (2-way walkie talkie) which had previously been used for (what I would imagine to be) nightclub security. No-doubt the bouncer who owned this had swapped it for a lightweight unit and an earpiece. The radio had three programmed frequencies.So I have this great ICOM radio - Wow! Now what? Only having three channels programmed into it on unknown frequencies makes it pretty useless. So . . . I wanted to be able to re-program this radio for my own use on PMR446, and also perhaps the 70cm Amateur Bands.These radios are not programmable using the buttons on the front - You must program them using a PC, with specific software and a suitable cable.
The correct data cable for this radio (and for the IC-F3 radios too) was the OPC-478. I didn't fancy buying this cable. Getting it shipped over from a seller in China would cost £20-£25 (and a lot more it I got it from an official Icom retailer!) so I thought I would have a go at making the link cable myself.
Here is the circuit I used, with connection notes for a DB9, 9 pin serial plug.
The Data connection to the ICOM radio is via a 3.5mm Stereo socket, which is also used as the speaker / headphone socket. As you can see, the centre 'ring' of the plug is used as the data ('To Radio') and the connection to Ground is the outer. The centre 'top' pin is not used.
To save space, I decided to mount the two capacitors on the reverse side of the board.
Just for accuracy and completeness of the notes on this Webpage, it is worth pointing out that I exchanged the 1uF DC smoothing capacitor in the circuit for a 0.47uF one. This was due to not being able to fit a 1uF Electrolytic easily in the package. I also exchanged the 2, 33K resistors for 22K ones. This was just due to me having some spare miniature 22K resistors. These form the potential divider to Q1 and are not critical values.
I had to cut, trim, and melt the inside area of the plastic housing so that this circuit board would fit into it.The two parts of the housing would then be glued together.
As for the software needed - The correct software to use is ICOM's CS-F3G program (CSF3G).Here is the screen display of the software with the 8 Standard PMR channels programmed in.Note that the software is copyright and the property of ICOM. It is, however, available in several locations on the Internet.
NOTE:
Works great with all OPC-478 compatible radios such as; IC-A110, IC-A23, IC-A24, IC-A4, IC-A5, IC-A6, IC-E208, IC-E90, IC-T2A/H, IC-T3H, IC-T7A/H, IC-T8A, IC-T81A/E, IC-T90A, IC-V8/A, IC-V80, IC-V82, IC-V85, IC-U82, IC-W32A/EIC-208E/H, IC-2100H, IC-2200H, IC-2720H, IC-2725E, IC-2800H, IC-V8000, IC-3FGX, IC-40S, IC-F10, IC-F11, IC-F12, IC-F1020, IC-F20, IC-F21, IC-F22, IC-F3GT/GS, IC-F4GT/GS, IC-R10, IC-R2, IC-R3, IC-R5 and more....
Computer control cable for ICOM rigs. With this cable, you can control your ICOM radio from your PC!
All my source here comes from: http://www.geocities.com/wight446/opc478.htm
Thank you, remote your radio. :p
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