IC-R20 Overview, Features & Accessories

Summary: A tour of the Icom IC-R20 wideband handheld communications receiver: what it covers, what’s in the box and its main features.

What the IC-R20 Is

The IC-R20 is a compact handheld wideband receiver covering 0.150 to 3304.999 MHz (some bands are inhibited depending on the version). It has two receivers for Dualwatch operation, a built-in bar antenna for AM broadcast, an IC recorder for received audio and a band scope. It runs from three AA alkaline batteries, the BP-206 Li-ion pack or an external 6 V DC supply. It has no SD card or Bluetooth: memory and recordings are transferred with the optional CS-R20 software.

Main Features

• Wide coverage 0.150-3304.999 MHz (see IC-R20 Specifications & Options for the UK and other versions).
• Receive modes: FM, WFM, AM, USB, LSB and CW.
• Dualwatch: receive two bands at once (with limits on which bands go in which position).
• 1,250 memory channels: 1,000 regular channels in 26 banks (A-Z), 200 auto-memory-write channels and 50 scan edge channels. (The manual’s general description says 1,050, which leaves out the auto-write channels.)
• Scans: full, band, programmed, memory, bank and all-bank scans, auto-memory write scan, and memory skip and frequency skip functions; Priority watch.
• Band scope (sweep) to see signals around a frequency.
• Tone squelch, DTCS, pocket beep and Voice Squelch Control (VSC).
• IC recorder with up to 32 tracks and about 260 minutes at low quality.
• Attenuator, RF gain, AFC, noise blanker, automatic noise limiter and AF filter.
• Built-in bar antenna for the AM broadcast band and an earphone-cable antenna option for FM broadcast.
• Data cloning with the optional CS-R20 software and OPC-1382 USB cable, and CI-V remote control through the optional CT-17 converter.
• External power operation and a large multi-function display.

Supplied Accessories

Antenna (FA-B04RE), belt clip (MB-98), battery spacer (for alkaline batteries), hand strap, and (not supplied with some versions) the BP-206 battery pack and the BC-149A/D AC adaptor. See IC-R20 Specifications & Options for optional items.

Squawker

Squawker PC’s Connect panel supports the IC-R20, but there is no Scanner Programmer or Squawker Online export for it. See IC-R20 Loading Frequencies From Squawker PC & Squawker Online.