Frequently Asked Questions
1) Microsoft OneDrive: Whatever you do, never, ever use Microsoft OneDrive to put the default MyDocuments folder in Windows into the cloud. You will forever have issues with your computer and non-Microsoft applications!!
2) COM0COM is shown as not working in the Windows Device Manager or the ports do not show up in Win4Icom.
If you have installed com0com version 3, then the com0com install program will not work with current Windows 10 and 11. However com0com version 2 does. The issue is, to install version 2 after you have installed version 3, you must uninstall version 3 the right way.
You first open the Device manager on your computer (type device in the windows search bar).
Near the top you will see com0com version 3 listed. It will have an exclamation mark since it did not install correctly.
Right click on a com0com entry and select uninstall. When the dialog box opens there is a check box.
On Windows 10 it says “Delete driver software”
On Windows 11 it says “attempt to remove device” (or something to that effect)
Check the box. If you don’t then when you install version 2 of com0com Windows will just use the version 3 setup which does not work.
Do this for each com0com entry.
Install version 2 at this link: https://sourceforge.net/projects/com0com/files/com0com/2.2.2.0/
There are no signing issues with com0com. If you get one that says it is not signed then you have the wrong one.
SDRPlay: It is important that the sdrplay.dll file in Win4Icom’s executable folder matches that used by the SDRPlay API. If you have installed a beta version of SDRUno or a brand new release of SDRUno it will not work with Win4Icom and you will receive an error when the IQ spectrum opens. In that case you will need to copy the sdrplay.dll file from c:\Program Files\sdrplay\api\x86 into the executable folder of Win4Icom. Do not copy the file from x64!
3) Cannot connect at 115200 Baud. If you cannot connect at 115200 while some other packages can, check that you are not using an older version of Windows Universal Drivers. These drivers do not work correctly with .NET. To determine if this is the case, open the Windows device manager and expand the Ports section. Double click the port for the Silicon Labs CP210x and select the driver tab. The version should 10.1.2.2115. If this is not the case, you will need to install the ICOM drivers. The Japan site will have the latest. (Note: September 2018, version 1.3).
First, uninstall the driver from the Device manager and make sure to check the box “Delete driver software for this device”. Next, unplug the USB cable and reinstall the ICOM drivers from the ICOM site. After it is complete, plug in the USB cable.
4) SDRPlay:
It is important that the sdrplay.dll file in Win4Icom’s executable folder matches that used by the SDRPlay API. If you have installed a beta version of SDRUno or a brand new release of SDRUno it will not work with Win4Icom and you will receive an error when the IQ spectrum opens. In that case you will need to copy the sdrplay.dll file from c:\Program Files\sdrplay\api\x86 into the executable folder of Win4Icom. Do not copy the file from x64!
5) On the IC-7100, IC-7600, IC-7800, IC-7850/51 you still cannot connect after following the video
If the radio is in standby and the software turns it on but cannot connect, make sure you have the latest firmware for your radio. Some CI-V commands were added that were not present in older firmware versions.
6) My screen is missing buttons or borders
You are using the Windows Classic Theme. This is a very old theme that predates Windows XP. Chose any other theme than this one.
7) Fonts are in the wrong size or the spectrum is shrunk
You are using a font scaling that causes issues with Windows. Scaling of 100%, 150% and 200% work fine. 125% can have issues.
8) I can’t connect to the radio!
Please take a look at the user manual. The quick install is 1 page long, the detailed install 3 pages. If you follow this and cannot connect please check that the “USB Serial Function” found in Menu>Set>Connectors>USB Serial Function is set to CI-V and not RTTY.
8) I cannot log in to my ClubLog account.
The first thing to check is if you have a reserved letters in your password: Reserved letters are letters that will not work correctly with the underlying web control software. These include ? ” \ etc. These will work interactively but not through the software. Please change your password to omit these characters.
If you password is OK, then make sure you are signing in with your call sign, not email address. ClubLog allows both interactively but the @ sign is reserved as above.
You will also need to have uploaded a log at some point in the past to ClubLog
9) Communications is lost between the radio and Win4IcomSuite
There are two possible reasons for this. One, if your computer has sleep mode or power settings that suspend the USB devices, you will need to go into your power settings and disable Selective Suspend on the USB devices including hubs. The second reason is RFI. It appears that the Silicon Labs USB devices are prone to disconnecting when there is any RFI present (even milliwatts!). Make sure your USB cable is short, and is an FT240-31 which is a 2″ OD mix 31 with several turns of the cable through it. Beads are useless!!
Also make sure that you have proper grounding. A sure sign of RFI is that the disconnection will not occur at low power but rather as the power increases.
10) When making a remote network connection, make sure that the MOD IN in Tools, Input Output Menu is set to USB. Also the USB Mod Level should be set to not overload the radio. On the IC-9700 and IC-7100, a 12% drive is good. Other radios may need higher levels.
11) If you are using the SDRPlay or the IQ output of the IC-7610 and want to increase the amplitude of the signals, watch the video on How to use the Spectrum Scope. Pay attention to drawing the little box!!!
12) If you start the software and it doesn’t appear to start, check the task bar. If you see the icon for Win4Icom then it is most likely just off screen. This can happen if you a multiple monitor system and monitors are off or were started in a different sequence. To correct this do the following:
a) Hover your mouse over the icon and when the little window appears move your mouse over it and right click
b) Select Move
c) Before anything else, press an arrow key on your keyboard.
d) Use your mouse to move the window into position.
13) Never use font scaling that is not 100%, 150% or 200%. Odd sizes like 125% or 175% cause issues with the graphics elements in the display. This is a long standing flaw in Windows that they have been trying to fix. The latest releases of windows botch this up even more. At 125%, use of the mouse wheel will resize the whole application and cause white out areas of the graphics.
14) No Spectrum on the IC-7300, IC-7610, IC-7851, IC-705, IC-9700?
The baud rate of the radio must be at 115200 otherwise no spectrum is displayed.
15) How to listen and transmit using Windows (non-network)
Win4 really has nothing to do with the sound. This is purely a Windows thing.
So basically you need to redirect the sound from the radio to your headset speakers and the sound from your headset microphone to the input of the radio.
You will notice two sound devices from the radio. One is a Speaker and one is a microphone.
To hear the sound from the radio:
Open the Windows control panel and select Sound.
Click on the recording tab
Select the sound codec that corresponds to your radio (It will be something like Microphone – USB Codec)
Click on Properties
Next click on the listen tab
At this point check the checkbox “Listen to this device” and then Playback through your headset speakers.
Click apply and it should now work.
To send sound from your headset microphone, it is the same idea.
Open the Windows control panel and select Sound.
Click on the recording tab
Select the sound codec that corresponds to your headset microphone.
Click on Properties.
Next click on the listen tab
At this point check the checkbox “Listen to this device” and then Playback through your USB Codec of the radio, something like Speakers, USB Audio Codec
Click apply and it should now work.
16) I have more than one radio. How can I control both with different settings?
Download both the 64 bit and 32 bit versions of the software. They are identical except have different version numbers and install in different folders. The settings are distinct. Rename the short cuts for your radio.