Icom Australia IC-R6 handheld communications receiver

An entry-level handheld communications receiver, the IC-R6, supersedes the IC-R5 but adds to its feature set.

A radio communications scanner has many advantages. In certain areas, it allows monitoring of police, fire brigade and ambulance frequencies, which is not only exciting to listen to but can also be informative. Scanners can also listen to aircraft transmissions and race track/pit-lane communications.

A reliable radio scanner is also invaluable during an emergency, both on land and in the water, as it can receive emergency, CB radio and marine rescue transmissions.

In addition to the full frequency coverage (100 kHz to 1309.995 MHz), multiple power options (battery, AC or DC power), Mil-spec design and PC programming capabilities, the IC-R6 has other enhancements.

The scan speed of the unit has been tripled, and in VFO mode it is possible to scan at 100 channels a second. In addition to the fast scan, the VSC (voice squelch control) allows the user to scan only for voice, news and music, but not data bursts or beacons.

The unit also has 1300 memory channels, increasing the number available on the IC-R5 by almost a third.

The audio output volume has been increased, with the inclusion of BTL (bridge-tied load) amplifiers and a 150 mW output power.

When used with 1400 mAh Ni-MH AA cells, the unit can provide up to 15 h of continuous listening (at 50 mW output using an external speaker).