It still seems like my friends with their bubble wrap Motorola radios are still out-ranging my ICOM f4001. And Motorola has stubby antenna and available external mic/speaker and water resistant and 1/2 the cost. Plus they can dial any channel and squelch code in the field. Plus they are 1/2 the weight. Not sure if they can use a relay though but I don’t use relays.
Seriously considering a change. Any idea how to improve range on this thing!?
I’m honestly shocked to hear you’re not already crushing them on range. The Icom F4001 is one of our most popular radios so we play with them quite a bit and I’ve always been impressed with the performance.
Couple of things to check… Are you sure you are setup in high power mode? The squelch level may also be too high, causing weaker transmissions to be filtered out and giving the appearance of poor reception. Both of those are change through the programming software.
Definitely in high power mode as its assigned by one of the option buttons but that won’t affect reception right? I adjusted the squelch yesterday and its better but still not matching the Motorola’s. Squelch was 1 higher. I lowered it until the next one caused it to open.
Its very close to Motorola’s performance but sometimes they get signals I dont but never do I get a signal they don’t. And my friends don’t all have the same model either.
You think maybe motorolas just receive motorolas better!?
Can you tell me how long my antenna should be so I can ensure I have the right one?
Are there any antennas options?
Next time this happens I’m going to open the squelch and see if I hear them. Then I know if its a squelch or sensitivity issue.
Is the problem that they always hear you, but you don’t always hear them? If so, the issue may be their radios and what you are seeing is what I would expect. The bubble pack radios are not as powerful, so their signals have trouble reaching you. Your radio is more powerful, so the transmits from your Icom go further and reach them. Does this sound like what is happening?
Its not that. When I am on the chairlift, someone right next to me will have their radio receive a signal but mine will not. Or mine will come in and out.