IC-R8600 Front Panel, Touch Screen & Controls

Summary: What each key, dial and indicator on the IC-R8600’s front panel does, how the touch screen works and the Multi Dial menus.

Front Panel Keys and Controls

• POWER – turns the receiver on (lights blue) or off (hold until “POWER OFF” shows).
• LOCAL – turns off the Remote mode (in Remote mode all panel operations except a few keys are locked).
• PANEL LOCK – locks the front panel controls (lights white); hold 1 second to turn the display off.
• TIMER – turns the timer on (lights orange) or off.
• [PHONES] jack (3.5 mm; 8-16 ohm headphones) and [USB] (mini-B) port.
• DIAL B – rotate for the volume; push for a menu to adjust RF gain, squelch, treble or bass; hold to turn the Monitor function on.
• [SD CARD] slot.
• MENU – the MENU screens (memory editing, settings). FUNCTION – the FUNCTION screen. M.SCOPE – push for the Mini Scope, hold 1 second for the Spectrum Scope. QUICK – the QUICK MENU. EXIT – leave a screen.
• SPEECH/LOCK – push to announce the frequency and mode; hold 1 second for the Dial Lock (the two actions can be swapped in the Set mode).
• MAIN DIAL – changes the frequency or a setting value; a tension adjuster sets its friction in three steps. The RECEIVE indicator lights green while a signal is received or the squelch is open, and a white LOCK indicator lights when the dial is locked.
• Memory keys: memory channel dial key (then rotate the main dial to change channel), memory write (push for the MW MENU; hold 1 second to write the current settings to a channel), V/M (VFO or Memory mode; hold 1 second to copy the selected memory to the VFO), group keys, DIAL C (push for the Multi Dial menu; turn to change the memory channel), PRIORITY SCAN, DIAL A (push for the scan speed and priority interval) and SCAN (push for the SCAN START screen; hold 1 second to start the last scan).

Touch Screen Operation

“Touch” is a brief press (one beep); “touch for 1 second” gives a short and a long beep. The touch screen may not work properly with a protective film, and fingernails or sharp objects can damage it; tablet gestures (flick, pinch) aren’t supported. Wipe it with a soft dry cloth without pressing hard. If touches land in the wrong place, calibrate it (see IC-R8600 Maintenance, Reset, Firmware & Calibration).

The Display

The touch panel display shows:

• Mode indicator and function indicators: VSC, SCRM (scrambler), ENCR (encryption), BK (break-in call), EMR (EMR signal received), L (packet loss)
• Passband width indicator (BW/SFT), which also shows the tone or digital squelch type (TSQL, DTCS, CSQL, NAC, COM ID, CC, RAN, UC)
• IF filter indicator (FIL1-3), PREAMP and attenuator (ATT10/20/30) indicators, IP+ icon, AGC indicator (AGC-F/M/S/OFF), NOTCH (AN/MN), NB, NR, TPF (twin peak filter), DUP, AFC, MONI
• Network control indicator (RS-R8600 remote), voice recorder icon, clock (touch it to see local and UTC time)
• Memory: name, channel number and group (00-99, A auto memory write, S scan skip, P program scan edges), SKIP / PSKIP and BLANK indicators, VFO or MEMO mode
• Priority indicator (blinks while the squelch is forced open), tuning step indicator, TS indicator, antenna indicator (ANT1-3, below 30 MHz)
• Signal meter and received signal strength readout, RF gain (RFG) indicator, tuning indicator, OVF (overflow) indicator

Multi Dial Menus

Push DIAL B or DIAL C to open a menu; touch an item and rotate the dial to change it. The items depend on the mode, for example PBT1/PBT2, BACKLIGHT, CW PITCH, AFC, VSC, NB, NR, NOTCH, TPF, LEVEL, DEPTH, WIDTH, POSITION. See IC-R8600 Menu, Function Screen, Quick Menu & Entering Text.