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INSTRUCTION MANUAL
VHF MARINE TRANSCEIVER
iM304
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FOREWORD IMPORTANT Thank you for purchasing this Icom radio. The IC-M304 VHF READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS carefully and completely MARINE TRANSCEIVER is designed and built with Icom’s state before using the transceiver. of the art technology and craftsmanship. With proper care, this radio should provide you with years of trouble-free oper- SAVE THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL — This in- ation. struction manual contains important operating instructions for the IC-M304. We hope you agree with Icom’s philosophy o
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IN CASE OF EMERGENCY NOTE If your vessel requires assistance, contact other vessels and A WARNING STICKER is supplied with the transceiver. the Coast Guard by sending a distress call on Channel 16. To comply with FCC regulations, this sticker must be affixed in such a location as to be readily seen from the operating con- USING CHANNEL 16 trols of the radio as in the diagram below. Make sure the cho- DISTRESS CALL PROCEDURE sen location is clean and dry before applying the sticker. 1. “MAYDAY MA
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RADIO OPERATOR WARNING Icom requires the radio operator to meet the FAILURE TO OBSERVE THESE LIMITS MAY ALLOW FCC Requirements for Radio Frequency Expo- THOSE WITHIN THE MPE RADIUS TO EXPERIENCE RF sure. An omnidirectional antenna with gain not RADIATION ABSORPTION WHICH EXCEEDS THE FCC greater than 9 dBi must be mounted a minimum MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE (MPE) LIMIT. WARNING of 5 meters (measured from the lowest point of IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RADIO OPERATOR the antenna) vertically
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TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD …………………………………………………………… i 6 DSC OPERATION …………………………………………… 13–27 IMPORTANT …………………………………………………………… i MMSI code programming……………………………………… 13 EXPLICIT DEFINITIONS ……………………………………………… i MMSI code check ……………………………………………… 13 IN CASE OF EMERGENCY…………………………………………… ii DSC address ID………………………………………………… 14 NOTE …………………………………………………………………… ii Position indication ……………………………………………… 15 RADIO OPERATOR WARNING ……………………………………… iii Distress call …………………………………………………… 16 TABLE
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PRECAUTIONS BE CAREFUL! The transceiver rear panel will become RWARNING! NEVER connect the transceiver to an AC hot when operating continuously for long periods. outlet. This may pose a fire hazard or result in an electric Place the transceiver in a secure place to avoid inadvertent shock. use by children. CAUTION: Changes or modifications to this device, not ex- pressly approved by Icom Inc., could void your authority to BE CAREFUL! The transceiver (except cables) and hand operate this device un
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OPERATING RULES 1 (2) OPERATOR’S LICENSE D D PRIORITIES 1 A Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit is the license • Read all rules and regulations pertaining to priorities and most often held by small vessel radio operators when a radio keep an up-to-date copy handy. Safety and distress calls is not required for safety purposes. take priority over all others. The Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit must be • You must monitor Channel 16 when you are not operating posted or kept with the
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PANEL DESCRIPTION 2 Front panel w POWER/VOLUME CONTROL [VOL] (p. 7) Speaker Function display (p. 4) q w Rotate to turn the transceiver power ON and OFF and ad- justs the audio level. e SQUELCH CONTROL [SQL] (p. 7) Rotate to set the squelch threshold level. r CHANNEL 16/CALL CHANNEL KEY [!•9] ➥Push to select Channel 16. (p. 5) ➥Push and hold for 1 sec. to select call channel. (p. 5) •“CALL” appears when the call channel is selected. ➥Push and hold for 3 sec. to enter call channel program- ming
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PANEL DESCRIPTION 2 Microphone 2 y SCAN KEY [SCAN•TAG] (p. 11) q ➥Push to start or stop the Normal or Priority scan. Microphone ➥Push and hold for 1 sec. to set or clear the displayed channel as a TAG (scanned) channel. • The favorite channels are set by the TAG channel setting. ➥While pushing and holding [HI/LO] on the microphone, push for 3 sec. to clear all TAG channels in the selected w e channel group. • Repeat above procedure to set all TAG channels. u DISTRESS KEY [DISTRESS] (p. 16) Pus
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2 PANEL DESCRIPTION t CALL CHANNEL INDICATOR (p. 5) Function display Appears when the call channel is selected. y LOW POWER INDICATOR (p. 7) qe w r Appears when low power is selected. u WEATHER CHANNEL INDICATOR (pgs. 6, 29) ! ➥“WX” appears when a weather channel is selected. t ➥“WX ALT” appears when the Weather alert function is in y use; blinks when an alert tone is received. ! u i DSC INDICATORS ! ➥“DSC” appears when a DSC call is received. (p. 24) i ➥“POS REPLY” appears when a Position Rep
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BASIC OPERATION 3 Channel selection 2 ï ï Channel 16 ï ï Channel 9 (Call channel) Channel 16 is the distress and safety channel. It is used for Each regular channel group has a separate leisure-use call 3 establishing initial contact with a station and for emergency channel. The call channel is monitored during Tri-watch. The communications. Channel 16 is monitored during both Dual- call channels can be programmed (p. 8) and are used to store watch and Tri-watch. While standing by, you must mo
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3 BASIC OPERATION ï ï U.S.A.,Canadian and international channels ï ï Weather channels The IC-M304 is pre-programmed with 59 U.S.A., 59 interna- The IC-M304 has 10 pre-programmed weather channels. tional and 63 Canadian channels. These channel groups may These are used for monitoring broadcasts from NOAA (Na- be specified for the operating area. tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.) q Push [CH/WX] to select a regular channel. The transceiver can automatically detect a weather alert tone
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BASIC OPERATION 3 Receiving and transmitting CAUTION: Transmitting without an antenna will damage Simplex channels, 3, 21, 23, 61, 64, 81, 82 and 83 CAN- the transceiver. NOT be lawfully used by the general public in U.S.A. wa- 3 ters. q Rotate [VOL] to turn power ON. IMPORTANT: To maximize the readability of your trans- w Set the audio and squelch levels. mitted signal, pause a few sec. after pushing [PTT], hold ➥ Rotate [SQL] fully counterclockwise in advance. the microphone 2 to 4 inches (5
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3 BASIC OPERATION Call channel programming Channel comments Call channel is used to select Channel 9 (default), however, Memory channels can be labeled with a unique alphanumeric you can program the call channel with your most often-used ID of up to 10 characters each. channel in each channel group for quick recall. More than 6 characters comment scrolls automatically at the channel comment indicator after the channel selection. q Push [U/I/C] (both [Y] and [Z]) on the transceiver several ti
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BASIC OPERATION 3 Microphone lock function AquaQuake water draining function The microphone lock function electrically locks [Y] and [Z] keys on the supplied microphone. This prevents accidental 3 The IC-M304 uses a new technology to clear water away channel changes and function access. from the speaker grill: AquaQuake. AquaQuake helps drain water away from the speaker housing (water that might oth- ➥ While pushing and holding [HI/LO] on the microphone, erwise muffle the sound coming from th
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SCAN OPERATION 4 Scan types Scanning is an efficient way to locate signals quickly over a Set the TAG channels (scanned channels) before scanning. wide frequency range. The transceiver has Priority scan and Clear the TAG channels which inconveniently stop scanning, Normal scan. such as those for digital communication use. (Refer to the right page for details.) When the Weather alert function is turned ON, the previously selected (last used) weather channel is also checked while Choose Priority
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SCAN OPERATION 4 Setting TAG channels Starting a scan For more efficient scanning, add desired channels as TAG Set scan type (Priority or Normal scan) and scan resume channels or clear the TAG for unwanted channels. timer in advance using Set mode. (p. 29) Channels that are not tagged will be skipped during scanning. 4 TAG channels can be assigned to each channel group q Push [U/I/C] (both [Y] and [Z]) several times to select the (U.S.A., International and Canada) independently. desired chan
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DUALWATCH/TRI-WATCH 5 Description Operation Dualwatch monitors Channel 16 while you are receiving q Select Dualwatch or Tri-watch in Set mode. (p. 29) on another channel; Tri-watch monitors Channel 16 and the w Select the desired channel. call channel while receiving another channel. Dualwatch/Tri- e Push and hold [DUAL] (CH/WX) for 1 sec. to start Dual- watch are convenient for monitor Channel 16 when you are watch or Tri-watch. • “ ” blinks during Dualwatch; “ ” blinks during Tri-watch. op
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DSC OPERATION 6 MMSI code programming MMSI code check The 9-digit MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity: DSC self The 9-digit MMSI (DSC self ID) code can be checked. ID) code can be programmed at power ON. q Push [DSC] to enter the DSC menu. This code programming can be performed only twice. w Push [Y] or [Z] to select “ ” and push [DSC]. 5 q Turn power OFF. 6 w While pushing and holding [DSC], turn power ON to enter MMSI code programming condition. e After the display appears, release [DSC
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6 DSC OPERATION DSC address ID A total of 30 DSC address IDs (9-digit) can be programmed r Push [Y] or [Z] to input 9-digit of the appropriate address and named with up to 5 characters. ID. • Push [!] or [CH/WX] to move the cursor forward or backward, respectively. D Programming address ID • Push [SCAN] to cancel and exit the condition. q Push [DSC] to enter the DSC menu. 1st digit ‘0’ is fixed for a group ID. When you input 1st digit ‘0’ w Push [Y] or [Z] to select “ ,” and push [DSC]. and oth
