From: DF2UZ Date: 14-Oct/0455 ------------------------------------------ ! ICOM IC32E ! ! Extended Frequency ! ! Range ! ! MODIFICATION INSTRUCTIONS ! ! by DF2UZ ! ------------------------------------------ The new Icom IC32E is delivered with several frequency ranges. For the Eurpean market, it covers 144 to 146 MHz and 430 to 440 MHz, although the possible bandwidth is much wider. Your radio will be able to receive from 138 to 174 MHz and 420 to 450 Mhz and transmit on roughly the same ranges after the work is done. The modifications necessary are very simple and do not require any special electronic parts. All you need is a small soldering iron with solder, diagonal cutters, a small screwdriver, adhesive tape, shrink hose if available, 2 diodes 1N4148 or equivalent and 12 cm of insulated, thin wire. Before starting with the modifications, remember that you might loose warranty. I also cannot guarantee a successful work ! Here is, how to carry out the modifications: 1.) Remove the battery pack and turn the radio off. 2.) Remove the 4 screws on the back of the transceiver. Be sure to use the right screwdriver. 3.) Hold the radio in your left hand and try to lift the frontpanel near the the battery pack holder with your right hand. Move a little bit left and right, back and forth to make it come loose. Open it up to about 1 cm on the bottom of the radio, then pull the frontpanel towards you with little force. Be careful not to break any leads inside. There is also a rubber gasket around the inner side of the case, that prevents water to penetrate it. Be sure not to rip it. 4.) Detach the speaker/mic connector, open the case completely and put the radio in front of you, with the battery connector pointing to the left. 5.) Below the speaker in the left, lower corner you find 3 diodes, soldered to small patches. One sits alone, 2 are adjacent to a multi lead connector. Thdse two diodes must be unsoldered at their cathodes, the leads that point towards the speaker and marked with a ring. Cut a small piece of adhesive tape and slide it under the diodes, so that it covers the free copper patches now and prevents the unsoldered diode leads from touching them. This completes the receiver modifications. If you are not interested in modifying your tramsmitter too, please proceed with 15. 6.) Now you need a calm hand ! Cut two pieces of wird to a length of about 2 cm and remove 2 mm of insulation from both ends. Cut two pieces of wire to a length of 4 cm and do the same. 7.) Take one of the 1N4148 diodes and cut both leads to a length of 2 mm. Hold it with a tweezers and carefully put some solder on both leads. 8.) Take one of the 2 cm wires, put some solder on the ends and solder it to the kathode (marked with ring) of the diode. Keep soldering time as short as possible. 9.) Take one of the 4 cm wires and solder it to the anode of the diode the same way. 10.) Do the same with the second diode. 11.) Use adhesive tape or shrink hose to insulate diodes. 12.) Twist together the free ends of the 4 cm leads and solder them to the anode (lower) patch of the diode that is the nearest one to the multi lead connector. 13.) About 4 cm up and right from this diode there are 2 SMD-diodes with 3 pins. They can be found easily, because they are big, compared to the other parts around. They look like little, black boxes with two connectors on the left, one on the right side. 14.) Carefully solder the free ends of your diode cables to the RIGHT pins of the SMD-chips, one wire for each pin. Which wire you solder to wich diode is of no importance. It is a good idea to switch of the soldering pencil during this action to prevent heat destruction of the SMD's. This completes the transmitter modifications. 15.) Carefully examine the radio for wire clippings, solder splashes or foreign objekts. 16.) Attach the speaker/mic connector again, have a look on the rubber gasket whether it is still in its bed and then slide the front panel under the top cover. 17.) Close the case completely, put the screws in and tighten them again. DON'T PANIC ! Your radio will be resetted and all stored memories lost when you switch it on. This is NO malfunction. Because the second digit of the frequency (e.g. 1<5>3.205) cannot be entered through the keypad, you have to use the dial-select function in conjunction with the main dial knob to change the 10 MHz digit or the scanner. If a 'U' appears in the display instead of the chosen memory channel, the PLL will be unlocked and the radio is unable to receive or transmit. This might happen when you are close to the band ends. Written by DF2UZ P.S. Any comments welcome, please send them to mailbox DB0GV PORTED AND REALIGNED FROM PC TO AMIGA FORMAT BY BOB G0LBQ - N6XDI.