Low-frequency waves associated with ion conics have been observed in the central plasma sheet, in a region where there are no obvious sources of free energy that could destabilize these waves locally. We consider ion cyclotron waves generated in the equatorial plane by a proton temperature anisotropy and use computed growth rates to create a model wave distribution. Using ray tracing and conservation of the wave distribution function along phase space rays, we then map the wave intensities from the equatorial plane to the top of the ion-heating region. We find that the spectral density at a geocentric distance of 2.8 RE will be about 10 times higher than that in the equatorial region. Thus, convection from the equatorial plane could explain the observed spectral density of 10-6 V2 m-2 Hz-1 and the associated oxygen ion heating. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1991