Many thanks to Dave Zantow (N9EWO) who notes that Universal Radio is accepting orders for the Icom IC-7300 at a price of $1499.95 US and expects to ship units by the latter part of this month (March 2016).
Several of you have asked if I anticipate reviewing the IC-7300–Icom doesn’t issue many loaners for review, but I will check with them nonetheless.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dave Zantow, who notes that the Icom IC-7200 general coverage transceiver is being discontinued.
Dave notes the following on his website:
Icom IC-7200 “Last Call” : It appears that the Icom IC-7200 DSP HF Transceiver is discontinued (or near of being discontinued) and dealers are now selling the last production samples. Information as via the Gigaparts (US Icom dealer) web site. If you always wanted a brand new Icom IC-7200 model , better grab it while you still can. Yes…here we go again, but the model is on the way out for sure this time. […]
Continue reading on Dave’s site…
Readers may recall that I listed the IC-7200 as a transceiver with a very good general coverage receiver. Check out my article, The best general coverage transceivers for shortwave listening.
Though I don’t own an IC-7200, I’m a little sad to see that it’ll no longer be produced. I’ve used one on the air before and thought it packed a lot of performance for the price. I think it’s an ideal ham radio club transceiver as it’s easy to use and has virtually no learning curve (for those who are familiar with transceivers)–a very good choice as a field day rig.
Universal Radio still has the IC-7200 in stock priced at $890 US. Gigaparts also has the IC-7200 priced at $895. That’s a good deal for a 100 watt, full-featured HF transceiver.
Thanks for the tip, Dave!
In this post I’m going to tell you how I repaired my Icom IC-R72 receiver. Although it’s about a specific device, the logic and methodology applies to all radios.
I bought an Icom R72 from a friend for about $200. At first, I just checked 7.0MHZ (40 meter band) and 21.0MHZ (15 meter band) and it was OK. After some time, I tried to listen to some ham radio on 20 meters (14.0MHZ) and it was deaf! I checked everything: antenna connectors, balun…everything.
With some trial and error, I found out that it was deaf from 11-15 MHz. With the help of the members of “Icom R72” Yahoo Group, I found one of the usual suspects: bandpass filters’ switching diodes.
I took a look at the service manual and apparently this radio uses multiple bandpass filters for different frequency ranges.
As you see in the above picture (grabbed from service manual), one of the bandpass filters is for 11-15 MHz range–that’s the range where my radio was deaf.
Note that there are multiple ways to test that a radio is deaf at a frequency. One of the simplest ways: connect an antenna or even a long wire to the antenna socket of radio. The noise level should increase; if not, there’s a problem.
After testing diodes with a multimeter, I found out that D31 is faulty. Almost all multimeters have a diode-test functionality.
I replaced it. The original diode was 1SS53, but I used a 1N4148 which is very common and found everywhere. Now I have a working radio! 🙂
If you have a radio that’s deaf at a frequency range, there is probably a problem in bandpass filters.
Here are some internal pictures of my Icom IC-R72:
I should thank my friend and electronics mentor, Saeed (EP2LSH) who always helps me in my electronics adventures.
Mehdi Asgari, the author of this post, is a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Mehdi lives in Tehran and is an active member of the EP2C amateur radio club.
Icom introduced a new general coverage transceiver this year at the Tokyo Hamfair: the Icom IC-7300.
Icom has released a preliminary spec sheet (click here to download), but no pricing information yet. The IC-7300 will most likely be the least expensive Icom transceiver with a full spectrum display.
At first glance, I like the form factor and touch screen display–the panel appears to be less cluttered than many other large-display models. The ‘7300 has dedicated knobs for passband tuning and AF/RF gain (major plus in my book). It also comes with a built-in automatic antenna tuner.
I’ll post more info once Icom releases pricing and availability.
You can follow IC-7300 updates by bookmarking this link.
Universal Radio has just posted “Black Friday” deals on The Kenwood TS-590SG and a wide range of Icom radios.
The Icom R75 tabletop receiver is priced at $669.95 with free shipping and a free Grundig G2 portable radio. If you’ve been thinking about pulling the trigger on the R75, this is certainly a good deal.
Below, you’ll find links to each deal:
Each year, I attend the Dayton Hamvention and much of the QRP conference, Four Days in May. This year, I’ll be working our Ears To Our World table again, along with other volunteers, at booth 411 in the Ball Arena (BA411). Please stop by and introduce yourself!
What I love about the Hamvention (besides the massive outdoor flea market) is that it is a one-stop-shop for innovations appearing in our radio world.
Here are a few of the companies I’ll be following at the Hamvention this year:
Ten-Tec announced yesterday that it will merge with Alpha Amplifiers under the flag of RF Concepts. I plan to stop by Ten-Tec’s booth Friday and learn more about the merger. Personally, I believe the merger with Alpha Amplifiers is a good move. Both of these companies are known for great customer service and quality US-based design and manufacturing.
I know Ten-Tec is introducing a new open-source product to their line, the Patriot, because I’ve been beta testing one (check QRPer.com for details later this week).
Icom will showcase their new ID-5100 D-star, dual band, mobile with built-in GPS. While I’m more of an HF guy, this radio does intrigue me. You see, for almost one year now, I’ve been very pleased with my Icom ID-51A, dual-band, D-Star handie talkie (HT).
I find D-Star to be a very flexible digital mode and I’m amazed with how many interesting mom-and-pop companies have produced products for the D-Star mode. I’m surprised neither Yaesu nor Kenwood has adopted the D-Star standard (it’s not proprietary to Icom–indeed, read about the CS7000 below).
The new ID-5100 is a mobile version of my ID-51a. What I love about this radio is that it can store repeater frequencies and dynamically load them based on your geographic location. Perhaps my largest gripe with mobile VHF/UHF rigs is their inability to adapt to the repeater “landscape” when you travel. The ID-5100 may change this and push other manufacturers in the same direction.
In less than a year, Connect Systems has become a household name among ham radio enthusiasts who love VHF/UHF and digital modes.
This Connect Systems is developing an HT–the CS7000–which will be the first non-Icom radio to have the D-Star digital mode. Whatsmore, in addition to D-Star, the CS7000 will also pack DMR.
I don’t think Connect Systems will have a working prototype at the Hamvention (I could be wrong), but there is a possibility that they will be taking early orders.
I’ve been intrigued by the Elad line of Software Defined Recievers. This year, they will attend the Dayton Hamvention. I look forward to checking out the new FDM-DUO tabletop SDR. I plan to review some of the Elad product line in the near future.
Last year, Palstar showcased a prototype QRP transceiver with touch screen interface. To my knowledge, this would be Palstar’s first transceiver (though they’re well known for antenna tuners and their shortwave radio receiver, the R30A).
Last year, I was told that the new Palstar transceiver would be available this year and would retail between $1,600 – 2,000 US (a rather steep price for a transceiver with 20 watts output). One of the transceiver’s designers assured me that the receiver would “be worth the price.”
I’ll stop by Bonito’s booth to check out their new AntennaJet ASM300. I’m curious how it works and what the Hamvention price will be.
Though pricing is a little steep, I might bring one home as I often would like to share one antenna with two receivers simultaneously.
The only new product I know of from Elecraft is the PX3 Panadapter for their Kx3 transceiver. Reviews of the larger P3 Panadapter for the Elecraft K3 are excellent, so I imagine this will be a great product. I hope to check out the PX3 at the Elecraft booth–I believe they’ll have a prototype on display.
For the past three years, the market for software defined radios has been growing rapidly. I’ll be on the lookout for anything new–especially improvements on current 3rd generation SDRs.
Please comment if there’s something you’d like me to check out at the Hamvention–I’ll try to include it!
Again, if you’re attending the Hamvention, please stop by and introduce yourself at our booth: 411 in the Ball Arena (BA411).