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Division! Keep up with the
latest products, news and
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IN THIS ISSUE:
F70/F80 Portable: High End Thats
Tough Enough
Market Reports Benet Dealers,
Vertical Customers
Did You Know? OTTO Speaker
Microphones for F70/F80 Radios
Meet Your Icom Team Kevin McClinton - Systems Support
Specialist, IAS
New, Improved How to Choose
Portable Radio Guide Released
TECH CORNER - MDC1200 Call
Logging for the F70/F1700 Radios

ia

F70/F80 Portable: High End Thats

Tough Enough
While pursuing a suspect on foot, a
Beardstown, Ill., police ofcer felt his radio dislodge from his belt. The radio, an
Icom F70, ew through the air and landed
on the hard pavement 20 feet away. The
ofcer later returned to retrieve his radio.
It still worked perfectly.
Luke Wheeler, owner of TrueLine
Communications of Jacksonville, Ill.,
who sold the radio to the police department, says his customers rave about the
F70. Everybody likes them, he says.
The No. 1 feature they like is its durable,
waterproof construction. No. 2 is its
compact size and relative low weight.

Ask a dozen public safety agencies to

describe the perfect radio and youll get
an array of answers. But a few common
themes will resonate: A radio needs to
be tough, lightweight, and water resistant. It has to be well built and reasonably priced. Icoms high-end analog
F70/F80 portable and F1721/F1821
mobile meet these requirements.
The radios are especially well suited
to the tough conditions of reghting,
says Charlie Edwards, owner of the

Continued on page 2

Market Reports Benet Dealers, Vertical Customers

Hot off the press, Icoms recently
released vertical market reports already prove to be effective marketing tools for dealers hoping to boost
sales to local public safety agencies
and school districts.

F11/F21 Series Radio Showing

Higher Sales

2006 Icom America Inc.

The Icom logo is a registered trademark
of Icom Inc. All other trademarks remain
the property of their respective owners. All
information and specications subject to
change without notice or obligation. 8532

December 2006

Icom produced full-length reports

on the P25 and education vertical
markets that inform the dealer and potential customers on specic user
requirements, regulatory issues, and
available radio solutions.

Accompanying the reports are dealer

handouts, ads, and a sample press release. Dealers are encouraged to tailor
these tools for marketing campaigns.
The reports make a dealers job
easier, says Rickey Roy, owner of RadComm Radio of Lubbock, Texas. RadComm adapted the P25 report for a mail
campaign reaching the 15-county region
of West Texas. Roy recently sold his rst
P25 radios to the Sweetwater (Texas)
Police Department.
From an informative sense, the reports are also very valuable, Roy says.
He hopes the education vertical market
report, which he distributed to local
school districts earlier this month, will
alert school ofcials to the need for
implementing radio equipment for security purposes. Weve already sold some
radios to the schools for maintenance
and sports, but not for security, he says.
Maybe this will open their eyes.
The P25 and education vertical market
reports are the rst two installments of a
series of market reports to be released
by Icom America.
For People Who Make Smart Choices

Continued from page 1

Did You Know?

ianews
F70/F80 Portable

OTTO Speaker Microphones for

Icom F70/F80 Radios
There are several speaker microphone
options available for use with the Icom
F70/F80. It is simple to nd one to nd one
to t virtually any applications. Each of the
mics has a clothing spring clip that can be
positioned 360 degrees.
Prole - V2-L2CE11
The prole mic is a basic model with a
2.5mm earphone jack.
Evolution - V2-10274
Also tted with a 2.5mm earphone jack, the
Evolution is sealed to withstand MIL-STD810 40 mph blowing rain, has Hi/Lo volume
switch, and spare parts kits are available for
technicians to perform eld repair.
Evolution H2O - V2-10273
The H2O model has all of the features of
the standard Evolution except the 2.5mm
earphone jack. This model is submersible,
rated and fully sealed to IP68 standard
(submersion in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes)
Genesis - V2-G2CE211
The top of the line Genesis speaker mic
has a removable front grill to easily wash
away dirt and debris. The dual grill provides
immersion and a high pressure water seal.
The large snap-action PTT button can be
located and felt easily even when wearing
gloves. A reduced gain on the microphone
helps reduce ambient noise. It has a
heavy duty cable and a durable design
and construction to meet MIL-STD-810
specs. Fully sealed and immersion rated
to IP68 standard, the mic can be raised
clean without loss of function. The Genesis
speaker mic has an optional sealed jack
allowing use of a variety of accessories
such as headsets, a throat mic, a skull mic
or earphone kit.

Prole

Evolution

Evolution
H2O

Genesis

The extensive line of OTTO speaker

microphones outperforms the competition
no matter what the conditions. They offer
versatility, durability and reliability. Choose
one today and stay above your element.

memory channels, and wide range

coverage. Built-in CTCSS, DTCS, and
multiple 2-tone/5-tone codes come
standard. The F70 also is upgradeable
to digital P25.

F70T
F70S

Charlie Edwards Co., a two-way dealer

in Ruston, La. The radios battery lasts
an entire shift and its waterproof construction withstands a complete drenching, says Edwards, who also serves as
Central District re chief for the Lincoln
Parish Fire Department.
When Edwards goes into a sales meeting, he likes to take along a 32-ounce
drink cup lled with water. To demonstrate that the radio is waterproof, he
dunks an F70 into the cup for a moment
before pulling it out. The stunt always
produces a roomful of stunned faces.
Nobody expects the radio to survive and
remain functional, he says.
Dale Edwards of Henderson, N.C.s
Advanced Fire & Safety, also a reghter,
says the F70 is remarkable for its ability to continue working through re,
water, and otherwise general abuse. His
customers also value the radios large
capacity lithium-ion battery pack that
lasts an entire shift.
Rich in features, the high-end F70
analog radio offers an alphanumeric
display, built-in voice scrambler, 256

While many smaller or rural departments have no immediate need

to migrate to a digital system, many
still choose to purchase the F70/F80
portable and F1721/F1821 mobile.
Homeland security grants often require
an agency to purchase P25 equipment.
The F70/F80 portable and F1721/F1821
mobile qualify under these grants with its
P25 upgrade capability.
Homeland security grants are driving
increased sales of these radios, according to TrueLines Wheeler. A lot of
departments are buying equipment that
they wouldnt otherwise purchase. Even
agencies with no immediate intentions to
go digital are tapping into the wealth of
grant money to fund new P25-compatible equipment, he says.
Charlie Edwards agrees. Some
grants are for P25 radios only, he says.
Theres a huge opportunity out there for
Icom dealers.

F80T
F80S

For People Who Make Smart Choices

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December 2006

Page 2

Meet Your Icom Team

Kevin McClinton
Systems Support Specialist, IAS

Icom employee since: 2004

Most fun experience at Icom: 2004
Dayton Hamvention, rst time ever there.
Best reason to work at Icom: I enjoy
working with radios and electronics and
Icom provided me the opportunity to
pursue those interests, in a wide variety
of market applications.
Awards & certications: NMEA
Electronics Installer; General class
Amateur Radio license.
Interests & hobbies: Electronics,
amateur radio, motorcycle touring, shing.
Kevin served in past roles as Icom
Technical Service and Applications
Support
Representatives,
moving
recently to Icom America Systems (IAS)
as Systems Support Specialist.
Kevins duties include assembling and
conguring of IAS turn-key systems,
compiling technical documentation,
and providing technical guidance to
government agencies and Icom dealers.
Icom America Systems, a department
within the Icom Land Mobile division,
designs, builds, and ships high quality
turn-key systems solutions on behalf of
land mobile dealers for private carriers.

ianews

New, Improved How to Choose Portable

Radio Guide Released
The popular pair of brochures for
choosing the right portable radio has
been updated to include the Icom F3021
and F3061 series portables, as well as
reveal an improved design and layout.
The free brochures are a comprehensive,
user-friendly tool used for measuring the
entire lineup of Icom portable radios and
nding the right t.
Since their initial release earlier
this year, the brochures facilitated the
process for dealers when educating
end-users and organizations on how to
choose a portable radio. Determining
requirements such as channel capacity
and selecting optional functions such as
digital security are now even easier with
the up-to-date 10 Step Guide and Radio
Comparison Chart.
The 10 Step Guide details ten important functions end-users should consider
when purchasing a portable radio:

10 STEP GUIDE
Step 1: Form Factor
Step 2: Memory Channels
and Scanning
Step 3: Performance
Step 4: Custom Operations
Step 5: Spectrum
Step 6: Operation Modes
Step 7: Signaling
Step 8: Safety
Step 9: Security
Step 10: Other Considerations
(e.g. accessories,
systems)

The companion Radio Comparison

Chart has been revamped into a simple
table showing all Icom portable radios
with a list of must have and nice to
have functions. Check marks peg what
radio holds the functionality covered
previously in the 10 Step Guide.
The guide/chart takes just a few
minutes to be completed individually or
with the assistance of a dealer, and can
be used by dealers as a reference tool
when discussing radio subject matter
with interested buyers.
The rectangular dimensions for the
brochures have not changed for display
stand purposes; the compact, easy fold
for a mailer or handout has remained.
The brochures were shippped to authorized Icom dealers in December. Revised
How to Choose for mobile radios are expected to ship spring 2007. Please
contact your manufacture representative
for more information.

For People Who Make Smart Choices

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December 2006

Page 3

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TECH CORNER
MDC1200 Call Logging Feature for the F70/F1700 Radios
When using MDC1200, the F70/F1700 series radios now have the ability to log (list) received calls.
This feature works for emergency calls, selective calls, and call alerts. When this feature is enabled, your
radio display shows the type of call, the radio ID of the caller, and how much time has elapsed since the
call was received.

Time elapsed since

call was received:
(zero hours, 14
minutes).

ID of calling radio.
Type of call (Selective
Call shown).

The log feature lists the 5 last received calls. Turning the radio power off clears the list. You have the option
to set the radio so it will log only selective calls, call alerts, emergency calls, or all calls together. If you have
the logged call selected on the display (as shown above), you can respond to the caller by pressing PTT.
To program this feature:
1.
Navigate to the General window and set the
Log eld to Enable.
2.
Also in the General window, set the Log Action Type to Logged if you want your radio
to respond with the same type of call. Otherwise, you can set the radio to respond with a
select call or a call alert. An Emergency Call
can respond with Select Call/Call Alert only.
3.
Set the Log eld to Enable in the Emergency, Select Call, or Call Alert windows
as needed.

To use this feature:

1.
Press the key programmed for MDC1200 Call.
2.
Select CALL LOG by scrolling the up/down keys.
3.
Press the MDC1200 call key again.
4.
The display will show the Radio ID of the calling radio, the type of call, and the time elapsed
since the call was received. The time is in hours
(left number) and minutes (right number).
5.
Press the up/down keys to scroll to each
logged call.
6.
If you want to respond to the radio that called,
press PTT.

F11/F21 Series Radio Showing Higher Sales

The right radio with a new lower price

Icom America Inc.

2380 116th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: (425) 454-8155
Fax: (425) 454-1509
Customer Service: (425) 454-7619

Icom America Systems

Phone: (425) 586-6363
Fax: (425) 586-6321
ias@icomamerica.com

The basic function F11/F21 series

portable is a popular buy for a number
of end-users who need to think both
adequately and economically on their
purchasing decision. The highly durable,
functional and affordable F11/F21 has
provided good reasoning for such considerations. But when an already affordable price is lowered, things become a
bit more energized.
Icoms recent price reduction on the
F11/F21 has seen a noticeable increase
in sales and revenues for dealers.
The jump-start in higher sales has
been described by Icom regional sales
manager, Joe Collica, as a direct result
from the improvements done to the radio
and renewed price reduction putting it
either head-to-head with or above competitive entry level product lines.
When deciding on price or value, one
will give in to the other; however, the

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F11/F21 uniquely gives an above

average value for its lower than
average price. We are offering
to our customers a 5 watt VHF
and a 4 watt UHF product with
Rapid Charger for a price that
most 2 watt units are selling
for, stated Collica.
The base price and basic
functionality of the F11/F21
has also brought out the
defense when putting the
radio up against the F14/
F24 series. John Sullivan,
Icom regional sales manager, remembers dealers who at one time were not
the biggest fans of the F11/F21. When I
told them that for a few dollars more you
could substitute the F14/F24 for the F11/
F21 they wouldnt have it, they defended
the F11/F21.
For People Who Make Smart Choices

December 2006

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