ICOM TRACKING BOX

Yellow River Houndsman · Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:38 am

I have an Icom 20 tracking box. I spent about 650 on it brand new. I just hate the thing. I can't track anything that is out of earshot. That dosn't really help much in keeping track of the dogs. I am wondering if the amplifier will strech the range to something acceptable? My dealer said they will not be as sensitive as the blue box but we have 3 different frequencies in our group to track and this is all I could do it with. I want to try the amplifier but don't want to waste an additional 75 on this piece of junk. If any of you have this setup, let me know if it worked out for you.
Thanks for any help.

Mr.pacojack · Post by **Mr.pacojack** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:21 am

They help alot but still are not as good as a regular reciever

plottdogs · Post by **plottdogs** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:26 pm

I have been using the Icom R-10 for four years or more now and really like it for our mountains. I haven't seen a whole lot of difference in the different boxes. Make sure you have the Icom on either upper or lower sideband, I don't remember which I use right now and am not near the box (At work) Most important make sure you have it set so when you twist the knob to adjust the frequency you have it set where it goes up or down by just one degree, for example 217.165 to 166 then 167 etc. I have an amp but don't have a real need for it. Hope this helps. The Icoms may not have quite the range of the Wildlife's etc but versatility and convenience and weight make up for a lot. Work with the Icom and I think you will like it.

Bearkiller · Post by **Bearkiller** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:01 pm

Maybe with the icom you need stronger collars. Try marshalls or tracker intellos. The batteries will get pricey on the intellos but I promise you will notice the difference. That being said the icoms I have seen didn't impress me much.

rockop · Post by **rockop** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:21 pm

the amp works great. i had r10 and the biggest prob. is make sure you have it set up right. the range should be comparable to other boxes.

Post by **buckshot** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:45 pm

I have had my ICOM R10 for a few years now. I wouldn't trade it for another tracker. I have out tracked and located mine and my buddys dogs while he was still try to locate with his Quick Track.

The guys I have run into in the woods who have seen the ICOM system have been impressed with. I have let them put their dogs collars in to see how accurate locating their dogs are with it.

Yellow River Houndsman · Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:09 am

Thanks for the replies guys. Plottdogs, I do have the frequency knob set to 1 degree at a time but I don't know how to check the sideband upper or lower. Any help you could give me on that would be appreciated.
Thanks

pete richardson · Post by **pete richardson** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:15 am

the amp works great. i had r10 and the biggest prob. is make sure you have it set up right. the range should be comparable to other boxes.
i know guys ith r 10s that can track dogs and some that cant--

i dont know if they have them set up wrong or if recievers arent working right-
should be in usb or cw mode-

tune collars in at a distance--- with your antenna attached -

colars will jump frequency sometimes - if u cant get signal try fine tuning collar a little

iknow guys getting along great with r 10 and others that cant beep a mile

have had diodes burn out on regular tracking boxes--

i have an alinco about same as r 10 and normally can track 3-4 miles -- could be twice that or half that depending on terrain - and the booster will get me about 1/3 more range--

when dogs top a mountain and go down the other side -- its pretty common to lose them on reciever and then connect booster and get a beep-and in a few minutes have lost them with booster

-- in my case im m not loosing them cause they went to far---but usually because theyve gone over hills or mountains - if terrain is real bad and dogs goneway over the booster cant work miracles -but definately is worth what it cost

u can go on ebay rite now and buy one for 50.25 including shipping

Post by **buckshot** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:34 am

Here is an ICOM cheat sheet:

buckshot wrote:Icom R10 Cheat Sheet

1. Press power button.

2. Press v/m button until you see VFO on display.

3. Press mode button until you see LSB on display.

4. Now enter your collar frequency ( ex. 217.5550) Most collars only have three digits after the decimal. Put ) in the last place.

5. Rotate tuning dial to tune collar to sharpest beep. Make sure when turning tune knob, the last digit to the right of decimal is changing. If not, tune steps must be changed. See page 13 of owners manual.

6. Squelch knob controls the amount of gain or reception. Rotaing counter clockwise increases gain, rotating clockwise decreases gain.

7. On top of the squelsch knob is the volume knob. Adjust to your liking.

8. If the dog is close and overpowering the receiver, the attenuator can be turned on. To turn on attenuator press and hold function button (on side of receiver) then press 0. ATT should now be on display. To turn off perform same function as turning on. Do not leave ATT on, this greatly reduces tracking distance.

9. To reset receiver, with power off, press and hold the clear button. Press power on button, receiver will ask you to clear. Turn dial until display says: yes. Press enter. This will reset receiver back to factory default.

Curby · Post by **Curby** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:57 am

Okay heres a problem I found, #3 on the cheatsheet says use LSB mode.
This mode doesnt work good for me, for range, never did. Like Pete said, USB or CW, I mainly only use USB.
Funny thing is I have 2 R10s, one works better than the other, well actually ones is tuned better. Used to have 2 amps, theyre long gone now

, they can make a big difference.
Lot of mixed reports on the icoms, I like mine, small, handy and fast.

Yellow River Houndsman · Thu Jul 12, 2007 1:42 am

Thanks for the cheat sheet Buckshot. I am going to the woods friday for the weekend and I am going to try and figure this thing out. Sounds like I might just be in the wrong mode. My dealer told me to use CW but that is all he really knew about the thing. Hope it works, and thanks everyone for the help.

plottdogs · Post by **plottdogs** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:30 pm

Yellowriver, adjust your receiver to usb/lsb per Buckshot's sheet and see which picks up best. Put your collar a mile or so away to check. Also like someone mentioned a collar has lets say 217.156 on it, you need to punch in 4 last digits. I start at 217.1560 (zero) and then start fine tuning to get a crisp ping. You can't go precisely by the number on the collar so find out where you get the best signal. Practice is the key to the Icoms. We have 4 or five guys that hunt with us and they all do well. Practice/Practice/Practice. You will get to trust it just fine.

catkidd · Post by **catkidd** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:52 pm

you can some times get the amps on ebay for around $35 +shipping

Curby · Post by **Curby** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:50 am

Messed around yesterday with both icoms I got, collars mile away. One works best in LSB mode, the other best in CW but still not as strong as the first one in LSB. I guess some work better than others..

treeing walkers · Post by **treeing walkers** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:40 pm

I use the r10 and simply love it. I have never had a problem finding my dogs with it and when out huntin with buddies and one loses their dog I can help track it no matter what the freq. is !! There is nothing u can't do with the r-10. I also have the amplifier for it but very rarely ever use it don't need to unless the dogs are clear out of the country or over a mountain top.