ICOM  IC F61 ATEX Reviews - Two Way Radios 

The IC-F61 ATEX VHF or UHF ICOM Radio reviews. This is an intrinsically safe version UHF unit and there's also an IC-F51 which is VHF frequency. ICOM are well known for their products and durability in adverse operating conditions and this is an extremely robust radio.

The ICOM IC-F61 two-way radio is an ATEX radio that has superior waterproof protection; it's supports demanding communications whether you're a firefighter, police, security and public utilities and of course each profession has its own unique challenges, but all have one thing in common the need for reliable communication.

ICOM's IC-F61 and IC-F51 offers a compact waterproof military standard package that's easy to use rain or shine; this radio keeps you in contact in nearly any environment of key importance on the ICF61 and ICF51 is dust and waterproof protection; there's a gasket sealed waterproof housing which provides superior dust and waterproof protection equivalent to IP67; it's reliable and dependable for use in harsh conditions underwater or where there is dust making the IC-F51 and IC-F61 the radio for all situations; IP67 offers one meter depth of water for up to 30 minutes.

Regarding the ATEX standards: These atex radios are intrinsically safe the IC-F51/61 ATX version and designated options are all certified to the ATEX protection class 2 2G Ex ib IIA T3 Gb, II 2D Ex tb IIIC T160 degrees C Db IP67 (Tamb=-20C to +55C); it is suitable for use in hazardous areas where flammable gases liquids or conductive dusts are used; these ICOM radios support a built-in tone signaling feature; use the built-in CTCSS DTCS two-tone and five-tone capability to set up your own talk group and quiet standby when all the groups are talking; its possible to also set up selected calls to individuals or control a repeater; there are multiple five tone up to eight five tone codes that can be decoded on a single memory channel this is perfect for professionals who require multiple district paging on one channel when a match tone is received. The following items are programmable for each code: a bell icon, bip sound, id code, answer back, auto transmit, emergency, cancel stun, and scan.

The radio has the usual things such as off and on, volume at the top and importantly it's got a red man down button; channel buttons; there are up to seven programmable buttons; the P0 to P3, red, and up and down buttons are programmable to meet specific needs; the red button on the top panel can be assigned to an emergency trigger there's also an alphanumeric display that is an eight character alphanumeric display showing channel, bank, tone code, and scanning channel names. On the display the seven operational icons on the subline show various states at a glance; there's also a built-in voice scrambler. The IC-F61/51 has a built-in rolling type voice scramble equivalent to the UT-110 type.

Just take a look at this radio and see exactly how robust it is; it's a very robust product, the belt clip's not about to come off anytime soon and the battery size is quite huge - this particular one is a 1950 milliampere per hour and it's 7.4 volts offering good operational times with this battery. The unit feels good in your hand - it's not too big; some of these radios can have massive antennas that can make the radio unwieldy, but this one is quite nice.

There's a wide range of coverage and a large channel capacity; the IC-F51 covers 136 to 174 Megahertz and the IC-F61 covers 400 to 470 Megahertz in this one version; there are 128 memory channels with eight memory banks that allows you to divide and store a variety of channels from the local to wide area network channels, wide middle and narrow channel bandwidth is programmable for each channel. It is programmable to either 25 kilohertz or 12.5 kilohertz or 20 kilohertz and 12.5 kilohertz per channel.

The large capacity 1950 milliamp hour battery is a rechargeable lithium ion battery; this provides a practical 10 hour of operation time with Lithium Ion batteries there is flexible charging and has no memory effect whatsoever - you never see that sort of problem with this type of battery and that's an important feature; there is a desktop charger that comes from ICOM.

The radio comes with instructions, a desktop type charger, a power supply and a few other components. Notice that the body of the radio isn't a large body the size of this is approximately 56 W x 97 H x 36.4 millimeters D; it's a compact body with durable dependable construction it's been tested to military standard specifications; the compact design fits comfortably in your palm and is easy to carry around; the following selective calling and data features are available with this system: there's 32 abbreviated core memories, seven group ID's, 24 status messages, and eight character SDM (short data messages). There are many other features some of which are: built-in audio compander, eight DTMF auto dial memories, normal and priority scans, two-step power saver, busy repeater lockout functions, power on password and all in all a very commendable radio.

LRS UK have been selling radios from ICOM for a number of years and we've always found them to be very reliable and great value; we have a number of ICOM specialists working at Long Range Systems UK that can handle any enquiry or offer free advice if you need it; as with all great radios this one's no exception in so much it's got some great options available such as: the battery pack a BP227AXD that is a rechargeable lithium ion battery that's 1950 milliampere per hour; there's also the battery charger a BC147s and a BC152n; these can charge the BP227AXD in nine to ten hours approximately so they're not super fast charges but it is a big battery; there's also a rapid charge and the BC146s can rapidly charge the BP227AXD in two to three hours so it's a third of the time of the other options - certainly worth investment; there's a multicharger that can recharge six batteries at once; it's a rapid charger and it's a BC121N plus AD-100 handles six radios that can charge all the radios in two to two and a half hours; there's a speaker microphone HM138 as well which is also IPX7. The belt clips: there are varying types available including a weather belt hanger called MB96F; there are a number of antenna options; supplied accessories are battery pack BP227AXD, the belt clip, the MB98 and an antenna.

This unit has a one watt output power on its transmitter; the audio level is half a watt; this unit weighs approximately 290 grams.

Warranty on the IC-F51 and the IC-F61 is two years from ICOM and LRS UK normally handles that for you. If you get a problem we're more than happy to be able to help you solve any warranty issue or even non-warranty issues because we do offer repairs on radios too that is available as a service from us. Remember long-range systems has ICOM experts that can guide you through the many radios that ICOM offers whether for ATEX or any other type of use, we're always trying to match the radio equipment to the client's usage in the best way possible and the most convenient and cost-effective way. Bear in mind that this website is not operated by ICOM, it's operated by LRS and it's only an introductory site to the ICOM brand. We're an authorized dealer for ICOM but if you need any in-depth support or advice it is always best to contact our specialists here at LRS UK on 01782 537000..