Icom IC-M604 CommandMic Issues

[Cruzer]

Greetings! We figure there are others here with the venerable IC-M604 VHF from Icom with which OLOH is equipped, so we're hoping someone may have had a similar experience and a thought on this issue which has just cropped up...

The CommandMic functionality on one of our M604s has suddenly stopped working. An attached CommandMic will only power the radio on and off but the CommandMic itself won't light up or function in any other way. If you have this radio with a CommandMic, you know that a distinct beep is emitted on power-up if a CommandMic is connected. This beep no longer sounds when the mic is plugged in.

We did basic troubleshooting by plugging the CommandMic into a different radio to ensure it was working (it is). I plugged the CommandMic as well as another one known to be working directly into each of the two freshly cleaned CommandMic jacks in the back of the radio (thus ruling out issues down the line) yielding the same result. There is no menu function I can find that addresses anything like this and cycling power from the breaker has no effect. Seemingly, the CommandMic functionality just went away, but that just seems too odd.

Have you had a similar experience or any suggestions as to another approach? We've come to understand that getting a human being on the phone at Icom may prove challenging so this is our first stop but we'll certainly give their support team a try.

Looking at the current Icom lineup, there doesn't appear to be a model that shares the 604's footprint so we'd also be interested to hear what anyone has replaced one with. We do like Icom radios and want to stay with the brand if possible. The M510 looks nice enough but would require helm reworking and the M605 is too big for the space this particular 604 occupies. In either case we are disappointed that the direct entry keypad has been eliminated as we're used to and enjoy that functionality.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[stiggy]

Greetings! We figure there are others here with the venerable IC-M604 VHF from Icom with which OLOH is equipped, so we're hoping someone may have had a similar experience and a thought on this issue which has just cropped up...

The CommandMic functionality on one of our M604s has suddenly stopped working. An attached CommandMic will only power the radio on and off but the CommandMic itself won't light up or function in any other way. If you have this radio with a CommandMic, you know that a distinct beep is emitted on power-up if a CommandMic is connected. This beep no longer sounds when the mic is plugged in.

We did basic troubleshooting by plugging the CommandMic into a different radio to ensure it was working (it is). I plugged the CommandMic as well as another one known to be working directly into each of the two freshly cleaned CommandMic jacks in the back of the radio (thus ruling out issues down the line) yielding the same result. There is no menu function I can find that addresses anything like this and cycling power from the breaker has no effect. Seemingly, the CommandMic functionality just went away, but that just seems too odd.

Have you had a similar experience or any suggestions as to another approach? We've come to understand that getting a human being on the phone at Icom may prove challenging so this is our first stop but we'll certainly give their support team a try.

Looking at the current Icom lineup, there doesn't appear to be a model that shares the 604's footprint so we'd also be interested to hear what anyone has replaced one with. We do like Icom radios and want to stay with the brand if possible. The M510 looks nice enough but would require helm reworking and the M605 is too big for the space this particular 604 occupies. In either case we are disappointed that the direct entry keypad has been eliminated as we're used to and enjoy that functionality.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Don't believe it would apply based on your troubleshooting but do you have the radio power setting turned on?

 

[DavidM]

I would first suspect dirty, corroded connections and second a break in the cable of one of the conductors. Clean the connections at the cable radio as good as possible then spray both with WD/40 or similar.

Feel the cable along its length for a broken wire.

And finally use an ohmmeter to check continuity of all wires. You will have to open the mic to get to the terminals on that end.

David

 

[Cruzer]

do you have the radio power setting turned on?

Unfortunately the "Radio Power" menu item only appears when a CommandMic is plugged in. By virtue of the fact that "Radio Power" does not appear, it seems that the radio isn't acknowledging that a CommandMic is plugged in even when one is.

 

[twistedtree]

It does sound like the problem is in the radio itself. You probably need to call Icom to see if they can attempt a repair, and what the cost might be.

 

[Cruzer]

I would first suspect dirty, corroded connections and second a break in the cable of one of the conductors. Clean the connections at the cable radio as good as possible then spray both with WD/40 or similar.

Feel the cable along its length for a broken wire.

And finally use an ohmmeter to check continuity of all wires. You will have to open the mic to get to the terminals on that end.

Thanks David. That was my first suspicion as well, but as mentioned, I bypassed the cable completely and went directly into each of the two CommandMic jacks in the back of the radio (after cleaning the terminals) with two different CommandMics both determined to be working with my other radio. Same result.