INSTRUCTION MANUAL VHF MARINE TRANSCEIVER iM45A
FOREWORD FEATURES Thank you for purchasing this Icom product. The IC-M45A VHF MARINE TRANSCEIVER is designed and built with Icom’s superior technology and craftsmanship. With proper care this product should provide you with years of trouble-free operation. IMPORTANT READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS carefully and com- pletely before using the transceiver. SAVE THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL—This instruction manual contains important operating instructions for the IC-M45A.
CAUTIONS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY RWARNING! NEVER connect the transceiver to an AC outlet. This may pose a fire hazard or result in an electric shock. If your vessel requires assistance, contact other vessels and the Coast Guard by sending a distress call on channel 16. RWARNING HIGH VOLTAGE! NEVER touch the antenna or an internal antenna connector during transmission. This may result in an electric shock or a burn.
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ....................................................................... ii IMPORTANT ........................................................................ ii EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS ..................................................... ii FEATURES .......................................................................... ii CAUTIONS ......................................................................... iii IN CASE OF EMERGENCY ...............................................
OPERATING RULES D Priorities • Read all rules and regulations pertaining to priorities and keep an up-to-date copy handy. Safety and distress calls take priority over all others. • You must monitor channel 16 when you are not operating on another channel. 1 OPERATOR’S LICENSE A restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit is the license most often held by small vessel radio operators when a radio is not required for safety purposes.
2 PANEL DESCRIPTION ■ Front panel iM45 VHF MARINE PWR VOL OFF UP TAG 9 SCAN 16 DUAL DIM U I C DN q q CHANNEL UP/DOWN SWITCHES [YUP]/[ZDN] Push to select an operating channel. (p. 6) • Push and hold to ‘speed’ scroll up or down through the available channels. w SCAN SWITCH [SCAN • TAG] ➥ Push to start/stop scanning. (p. 9) • Scan type can be selected in SET mode. (p. 12) ➥ Push for 1 sec. to toggle the tag setting for the displayed channel. (p.
PANEL DESCRIPTION ➥ Push for 1 sec. to start/stop dual (tri) watch. (p. 7) • Use SET mode to select dual or tri-watch in advance. (p. 12) t CHANNEL 16 SWITCH [16 • 9] ➥ Push to select channel 16. (p. 5) ➥ Push for 1 sec. to select the call channel (channel 9 by default). (p. 5) • Each group can have it’s own call channel programmed. ➥ Push for 3 sec. (when a call channel is selected) to enter call channel write mode. (p. 10) 2 ■ Microphone ➊ HI/LO ➋ • Channel indication flashes.
2 PANEL DESCRIPTION ■ Function display q w e T X BUSY !2 !1 LOW CALL CANUSA INT WX ALT !0 t y TAG DUALTRI SCAN DUP u i o q TRANSMIT INDICATOR Appears while transmitting. (p. 8) w BUSY INDICATOR Appears when receiving a signal or when [SQUELCH] is rotated too far clockwise. (p. 7) e CHANNEL INDICATOR Shows the operating channel (pgs. 5, 6) r TAG CHANNEL INDICATOR Appears when the selected channel is set as a tag channel. (p. 9) t DUALWATCH INDICATOR Appears and flashes during dualwatch operation.
BASIC OPERATION ■ Power ON ■ Channel selection ➀ Rotate [PWR/VOL] clockwise to turn power ON. D Channel 16 T X BUSY LOW CALL CANUSA INT WX ALT TAG DUALTRI SCAN SCRM DUP ACK RCV All display indications appear briefly. Channel 16 is the distress channel. It is used for establishing initial contact with another station and for emergency communications. Channel 16 is monitored during dual/tri-watch. While standing by you are required to monitor channel 16.
3 BASIC OPERATION D USA, Canadian and international channels D Weather channels There are 57 USA, 57 Canadian and 57 international channels. These channel groups may be specified for the operating area. There are 10 weather channels. These are used for monitoring NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) weather broadcasts. ➀ Push [CH/WX] to select a regular channel. • If regular channels (USA, CAN or INT) are already selected, this step is not necessary.
BASIC OPERATION ■ Receiving ➀ Rotate [PWR/VOL] to turn power ON. ➁ Rotate [SQUELCH] fully counterclockwise. ➂ Adjust [PWR/VOL] to a suitable listening level. ➃ Rotate [SQUELCH] clockwise until the audio noise disappears. ➄ Select a channel. See pgs. 5–6 for details. • When a signal is received: ➧ The squelch opens. ➧ Audio is emitted from the speaker. ➧ “BUSY” appears in the function display. When dual watch is selected in SET mode: ➥ Push [CH/WX • DUAL] for 1 sec. to start dual watch.
3 BASIC OPERATION ■ Transmitting Before transmitting, read the call procedures at right. ➀ Select an operating channel. See pgs. 5–6 for details. ➁ Push [H/L] to select a transmit output power. • “LOW” appears when low output power is selected. • High power cannot be selected on some channels. Refer to the channel list on p. 18. ➂ Push and hold the [PTT] switch to transmit. CALL PROCEDURES You must identify yourself when you transmit and you must respect time limits.
BASIC OPERATION ■ Scan function The transceiver has a high speed scan function for standing by on utility signals. The scan speed is 8 channel/sec. (except when the weather alert function is in use). Two scan types are available: normal scan (scans all tag channels in sequence) and priority scan (checks channel 16 while scanning). These scans can be selected in SET mode (p. 12). D Setting tag channels You can specify channels as tag channels for efficient scanning.
3 BASIC OPERATION ■ Call channel programming Pushing [16 • 9] for 1 sec. selects the call channel, channel 9 by default, however you can program your most often-used channels in each channel group for quick recall. ➀ While push and hold [H/L] push [CH/WX] one or more times to select the desired channel group (USA, CAN, INT) to be programmed. ➁ Push [16 • 9] for 1 sec. to select the call channel of the selected group. • “CALL” and the call channel number appear. ➂ Push [16 • 9] for 3 sec.
SET MODE ■ Entering SET mode ■ SET mode items SET mode is used to customize operation of the transceiver to suit your operating needs. Beep tones (p. 12) *1 *2 *1 *2 D To enter SET mode: ➀ While pushing [16], turn power ON. • Keep pushing [16] until the initial SET mode display appears. • SET mode is selected. ➁ To exit SET mode, turn power OFF then ON again. D To select an item: 4 16 Select a SET mode item*2 There are 5 items in SET mode that may be adjusted to suit your operating needs.
4 SET MODE D BEEP TONES D SCAN TIMER This item sets the transceiver’s confirmation beep tones (when pushing a switch) ON or OFF. This item sets the scan timer ON or OFF. Beep tones ON (default) Scan timer OFF (default) Scan timer ON • Scan pauses on a signal until the signal disappears, and resumes 3 sec. after that. • Scan pauses on a signal and resumes 5 sec. later. Beep tones OFF D NORMAL/PRIORITY SCAN This item sets the scan function to normal or priority operation. (See p.
CONNECTIONS AND MAINTENANCE 5 ■ Unpacking ■ Antenna ➀ Mounting bracket ............................................................ 1 ➁ DC power cable (OPC-891) ............................................ 1 ➂ Microphone hanger ......................................................... 1 ➃ Mounting bracket knobs .................................................. 2 ➄ Mounting screws (5 × 20) ................................................ 2 ➅ Mic hanger screws (3 × 16) ...................................
5 CONNECTIONS AND MAINTENANCE ■ Connections w r e q q DC POWER CONNECTOR Connects the supplied DC power cable from this connector to an external 12 V DC power source. w ANTENNA CONNECTOR Connects a marine VHF antenna with a PL-259 connector to the transceiver. ☞ CAUTION: Transmitting without an antenna will damage the transceiver. 14 e EXTERNAL SPEAKER JACK Connects to an external speaker. See OPTIONS on p. 19 for available external speakers.
CONNECTIONS AND MAINTENANCE ■ Mounting the transceiver 5 DASHBOARD MOUNTING (with optional MB-69) The universal mounting bracket supplied with your transceiver allows overhead or dashboard mounting. Please read the following instructions carefully. • Mount the transceiver securely with the 2 supplied screws (M5 × 20) to a surface which is more than 10 mm thick and can support more than 5 kg. • Mount the transceiver so that the face of the transceiver is at 90° to your line of sight when operating it.
5 CONNECTIONS AND MAINTENANCE ■ Dimensions 51 mm (2 in) 28.5 mm (1 1⁄8 in) 67 mm (2 5⁄8 in) 152 mm (6 in) 178 mm (7 in) 16 86.
TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE 6 SOLUTION REF. No power comes on. • Power cord not connected properly. • Blown fuse. • Check the power cord connection. • Check the polarity of the power connection, then, replace the fuse. p. 14 p. 13 No sound comes from the speaker. • [SQUELCH] is rotated too far clockwise. • Rotate [SQUELCH] counterclockwise to a suitable position. p. 7 No beeps sound even when a • Beep function is turned OFF. switch is pushed. • Set beeps to ON in SET mode. p.
7 VHF MARINE CHANNEL LIST Channel number Frequency (MHz) Channel number Frequency (MHz) Channel number Frequency (MHz) Channel number Frequency (MHz) USA INT CAN Transmit Receive USA INT CAN Transmit Receive USA INT CAN Transmit Receive USA INT CAN Transmit Receive 01 01 01A 156.050 160.650 156.050 156.050 02 02 02A 156.100 160.700 Guard 03 03 03A Guard 05 06 06 20 21A 157.000 157.000 66A 66A 66A*1 156.325 156.325 157.050 161.650 67*2 67 67 156.375 156.375 85 21A 157.
SPECIFICATIONS AND OPTIONS ■ Specifications General • Frequency coverage • Usable channels • Mode • Power supply requirement • Current drain (at 13.8 V DC) • Frequency stability • Usable temperature range • Dimensions (projections not included) • Weight : Transmit 156–157.5 MHz Receive 156–163 MHz : All USA, international and Canadian channels plus 10 weather channels : 16K0G3E : 13.8 V DC ±10% (negative ground) : Transmit high power 6.0 A Receive max. audio output 1.
Count on us! A-5581D-1US-q Printed in Japan © 1999 Icom Inc.
