Instruction manual

Operational Hints
What follows are a few anomalies which might crop up do to circumstances beyond our control. They are here to
help you solve erratic operational problems, whatever their cause.
The single biggest cause of erratic behavior, is inadequate RF bypassing of the motor leads. Please review the RF
Bypassing Remotely Controlled Antenna Leads below.
The second biggest cause of erratic behavior, is an inadequate image plane under the antenna. This causes RF to
flow over the motor leads (even when they are bypassed), over the outside of the coax (parallel line currents), and
into the vehicle wiring. As a result, additional bypassing of the leads in and out of the TC/SC may be necessary.
Split beads are your best bet. They should be installed on the power and motor control leads, and mounted close to
the TC/SC. For more information on split beads, review the RF Bypassing Remotely Controlled Antenna Leads
below.
Proper antenna matching is a prerequisite for full automatic use of the TC/SC. Although the SWR threshold maybe
reset higher than the factory default of 1.5:1, doing so points out the need for better impedance matching. Review
Antenna Matching below.
If you experience erratic operation at some remote locations, it is an indication that the threshold SWR is set too
low. Remember, the input impedance of any HF mobile antenna is partially dependent on the image plane losses
which vary from location to location. Setting the SWR threshold too low at one location, may cause erratic
operation at another. This often occurs when you set the SWR threshold while parked atop a steel reenforced,
concrete driveway.
Proper DC wiring is a must. You should never connect amateur radio equipment to existing vehicle wiring. Besides
inviting RFI issues, it can also cause ground loops to occur. Ground loops are the worst of maladies, as they appear
to be caused by RFI, when they’re not.
Manual operation of the antenna for the purposes of checking its capability of reaching adequately low SWR
values can be initiated by executing steps 1) through 3), and then proceeding directly to steps 15) through 18). To
check the SWR on another band, press the TUNER/CALL button for at least one second, and the IC-7000 will
stop transmitting This only works if you have the current firmware version. Also note, pressing the SPCH/LOCK
button will save the SWR value being displayed as the new SWR threshold for the current band as described in the
section on Setting the SWR Threshold.
Yes, it is possible to set menu item #18 (PTT Start) to On (Refer to IC-7000 Owner’s Manual, page 131), and
control the TC/SC by using the PTT. However, this will cause the TC/SC to transmit a 25 watt carrier, anytime the
frequency is changed more than 1%. This is an undesirable side effect, which should be avoided.
As pointed out above, aborting some operations could cause the RF power out to remain at 25 watts. This will
require you to reset the SSB output power level (please refer to the IC-7000 Owner’s Manual, page 38). It may also
cause the TUNE indicator (upper left hand corner of the IC-7000 display) to light. In this case, the indication is
false.
The 13.8 VDC user supplied circuit used to power the antenna’s motor, should be fused at 3 amps maximum.
Under no circumstances should it be connected to the accessory port, or Tune port, of the IC-7000. These ports are
rated at 1 amp maximum (total for both ports). Exceeding this will cause a circuit trace to fail long before the
IC-7000’s internal 5 amp fuse will blow.
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