Archive for the ‘icom’ Category
ICOM IC7300 – still made in Japan
January 7th, 2016 | 
Author: It looks from the pictures on the MLS site that this new radio is still made in Japan although the fan on the back says “Made in China”. One wonders when one of the big Japanese manufacturers will design in Japan but make the radios in China? This would certainly be less expensive. At some point, the high Japanese manufacturing costs will bankrupt one of the big three. It is a case of who jumps first.
With decent volumes of the same design, the manufacture of Japanese designed radios in China makes some sense. Just wait until we see a quality amateur radio product both designed and made in China. It will happen. Then Kenwood, ICOM and Yaesu will be seriously undercut and worried. Why do so many products say “Made in China”? Manufacturing costs are much lower than Japan.
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| This image is located on the MLS website and not on this blog. |
RadCom and the IC7300
My RadCom arrived by post today. Unlike in the recent edition of PW, the advertisers were publishing details of the new ICOM radio and were keen to take deposits. Perhaps they have got later data? I quite like the look of the new IC7300 radio, but feel the price will soon fall to £799 or less. I can wait. I may wait to see what the FT817 replacement looks like. A 5W (or maybe 10W) radio would suit my needs better.
The latest RadCom has a review of ICOMs latest flagship radio, the IC7851, selling for around £9000. Does anyone really spend this sort of money on amateur radio gear? With PSU, tower, big beam and big rotator this implies over £10000 on amateur gear. I suppose some people must spend this sort of money. My FT817 has served me for over 14 years now. To me, this was an investment and I had to give it careful thought. I wonder how many XYLs are happy for their husbands to spend over £10000 on a hobby?
Each to their own. If you really have that kind of disposable income how you spend it is your decision.
Where is the IC7300?
Today, through the post, I got my November 2015 copy of Practical Wireless. Suspiciously I could find no pictures or mention of the ICOM IC7300 transceiver in any advert at all. It is almost as if all the dealers have been told in no uncertain terms to sell the current products and, on pain of death, do not under any circumstances mention the IC7300. I am not saying this as fact, but it is all rather odd. A month ago everyone was full of the news and products were expected to ship by the year end. Perhaps ICOM have had second thoughts or were losing sales of current products?
There were plenty of adverts for the Yaesu FT991, although even the best published prices have since been bettered. No, I am very suspicious about why there is no mention of the IC7300. Just one dealer OK, this I could believe, but all of them tight-lipped???
ICOM what is behind this? Is there a story we are not being told?
FT991 price dropping
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| Yaesu FT991 |
MLS are advertising a time limited offer of the FT991 and a bundled SMPSU at £1149.95. Now there will soon be an ICOM competitor albeit with no 2m/70cm but with 4m in the European version (and arguably a better radio?) at less than £1000 in the form of the IC7300.
No, I confidently predict the FT991 will sell for less than £1000 before the year is ended. If you are in the market for a 100W radio it is a toss-up between the IC7300 (SDR based) and the FT991. At the moment, the IC7300 looks better value.
Yaesu may announce a (long awaited) FT817 replacement at Dayton next spring but don’t expect to see units in Europe before autumn 2016 or later, is my bet. The Yen exchange rate has vastly improved (making Japanese goods less expensive to buy) and now the FT991 has a serious rival – result is Yaesu has to drop its price for the FT991 or they lose out. My advise is wait a few months.
2m SSB history
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| IC202 |
For me, 2m SSB began with the purchase of a 10W pep Belcom Liner 2, which opened up 2m SSB to the masses. Before then, people used homebrew transverters and HF rigs to get on VHF SSB.
After that I owned the IC202 from ICOM which had a very good VXO but less power (3W pep). Later, the first digital synthesised rigs appeared and 2m SSB really took off.
In the last 20 years or so, certainly here in the UK, VHF/UHF SSB took a nosedive and what little VHF/UHF activity there is is mainly using FM. Here in the UK there is good SSB activity in contests and in good lifts, but little casual use of the SSB/CW modes, which is a pity. Ranges on SSB can be much greater than FM for similar power levels.
When I first used my Liner 2 I was amazed how far I could reach in flat conditions, even with 10W and a small indoor antenna.
Icom IC703
One of the best rigs I once owned was the 10W Icom IC703. This was a well equipped QRP radio with a decent receiver, DSP and auto ATU. I sold it to a local amateur who was a poor pensioner but I regret selling it now! No fan needed at 10W. Just a first class rig.
User Hostile! Radios that you love to hate!
Three band HT Radio, 2 Meters, 70 CM and 6 Meters
“I hate this radio”
Have you ever said this?
I certainly have. Some radios are a joy to use. They are intuitive, easy to use and you don’t ‘NEED THE MANUAL’ every time you want to change something!
HT’s seem to be the most ‘user hostile’ radios available to hams. I know! All HT radios should have certain things, VFO, on off knob/button, volume control and keypad, and in my opinion, they should not be so difficult to use that you need to read the manual every time you want to do, what should be a simple task; change CTCSS tone of a repeater, for example!
When HT’s were reduced in size, they became more complicated to use. Menu systems were instituted. They were further reduced in size and menus were multi-layered! How many times have I yelled at my HT after holding button a for 1 second, then within 4 seconds, tried to press button 2, for 1 second but no more than 2.5 seconds, while doing 3 pirouette turns on my left foot, only then, can I use my radio. That same button has 3 functions now a days. Press it once for one thing, press it again within a specified number of seconds and you get another function. Press and hold it and you get yet another option.
Enter the English Translation, manual! Poorly translated from Japanese, but at least its in English! (With many pertinent things omitted!)
Why do manuals go to great lengths to tell you in great detail everything that you ‘don’t want to know’ and will most likely never use or use very seldom?
But tell you want you NEED TO KNOW, naw! Tell you how to ‘undo’ something? That would make it too easy!
Actually, I really like this VX5-R HT from Yaesu. It’s a love/hate relationship, however! So very handy, it fits in the palm of my hand, has lots of memories, and many many nice features. Accessing those features is not always easy, especially without the manual right in front of you. If you ever push the wrong button, and send it into ‘never-never-land’, its hard to un-do what you just did! One thing that was left out of the VX 5 is a memory clear feature! That omission makes life with this radio difficult at best!
You cannot return a designated memory channel to its ‘no data’ state. The only thing you can do from the radio itself is to overwrite that particular memory with another frequency!
2 Meter IC V8000
I’m not picking only on Yaesu!
This Icom V 8000 is the most ‘User Hostile’ radio that I have ever owned.
Not only is it difficult to use, but it has problems as well. The mic is notorious for a mechanical problem with the PTT button, and the external speaker jack does not work well. Unfortunately, the external speaker jack is where you have to plug the programming cable in to program the radio. The Icom program for doing this is also ‘user hostile’ BTW!
Editing and Cloning Software RT Systems I bought software and cable from RT systems to program and manage the Icom T 70-A. The HT and its programming software arrived yesterday.
IC T 70 programming software and cable
Icom T70 A with spare battery, left, drop in charger, and speaker mic
The Icom T-70-A, is the replacement radio for the Yaesu VX 5
It will replace the VX5 as my ‘go to’ HT. Just last night, I picked up the Yaesu VX5 the wrong way, mashed some buttons on its face and sent it into never-never-land! Try as I may, I could not undo it with normal button press. Since the radio has an RT Systems program and cable on its way, I went nuclear, and reset the processor. Finally, the radio was operational once more. It needs programming of course but the display is no longer stuck!
It programmed the Icom T 70-A radio to my specifications with only a cursory reading of the manual. The radio is intuitive, easy to use and has some great features. RT Systems Programming Software and Cable
IC 7100 with Touch Paddles
Funny, I just installed an Icom 7100 mobile HF/VHF/UHF/MF radio in my truck. That radio was ‘done right’ by the manufacturer! Its easy to program and use, so there is no need to keep the manual handy for simple tasks. I run mobile CW/SSB and VHF repeaters with it. If there were any UHF in the area, I’d have that programmed in there too. Its a joy to use!
This photo shows the IC 7100 on a modified clip board held in place with bungee cords. So far, I have not seen the need for programming software. That said, there is an SD card on board this radio. It can save the settings to the SD card. I have not explored this avenue yet. It would be nice to keep a copy of the settings on an SD card and on my laptop for future use. Something unexpected can happen. Spare radio data would come in very handy then. Replacing all the settings would be very easy with the programming/clone software. RT systems sells that one too.
Do you have a radio that you love to hate?
