ICOM IC-P7A is a miniature dual-band (2m and 70cm) FM transceiver. In size, it resembles mobile phones more than a radio station.
Due to the dimensions, the maximum power in the 2m band is 1.5W and in the 70cm band 1W. Low power is the same on both bands, 100mW. The IC-P7A also does not have the usual connector for charging the battery, but the contacts are brought out on the bottom. The entire station is placed in the charger during charging. The standard LiOn battery 3.7V/1800mAh is charged in approximately three hours.
Like many current devices, the IC-P7A is tunable in a wide range of 0.5-999 MHz (may vary according to the manufacturer's settings), while broadcasting is only possible in the amateur bands of 2m and 70cm. It allows listening not only in FM, but also in AM and WFM.
The properties of such a miniature device do not reach the top parameters of larger devices. The sensitivity is better than 0.18uV 12dB SINAD only in the range of amateur radio bands, it decreases at other frequencies. Intermodulation resistance is weaker when the IC-P7A has difficulty processing a signal near another, much stronger one. The output power is not high, but it is sufficient for most connections. It is built in CTCSS both coder and encoder. The antenna, which by the way is higher than the body of the radio, is screwed into the SMA connector.
ICOM IC-P7A parameters stated by the manufacturer
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| Frequency range (MHz) | : |
*1 Guaranteed range, 144–148, 440–450MHz | |||||||||||||||
| Fashions | : | FM, A.M *, WFM * * onlyRx | |||||||||||||||
| Number of memories | : | 1252 (1000 normal, 2 quick, 50 border scan and 200 scan) | |||||||||||||||
| Antenna impedance | : | 50Ω (SMA) | |||||||||||||||
| Power supply | : | 3.7V DC (supplied battery) | |||||||||||||||
| Working temperature range | : | -10°C to +60°C | |||||||||||||||
| Frequency stability | : | ±6 ppm (-10°C to +60°C) | |||||||||||||||
| Tuning step (kHz) | : | 5, 6.25, 8.33, 9, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25, 30, 50, 100, 200kHz | |||||||||||||||
| Consumption (at 3.7 V DC) | : |
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| Dimensions (W×H×D) (no protrusions) | : | 47 × 81 × 28 mm; 127/32 × 33/16 × 13/32 etc | |||||||||||||||
| Weight | : | 160g; 5.6oz (with BP-243 and ANT) | |||||||||||||||
| Ext. MIC/SP connector | : | 4-pin 3.5(d) mm (1/8„)/ 2kΩ/ 8Ω | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcaster | ||
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| Output power VHF UHF | : | Higher 1.5W, lower 0.1W (approx.) Higher 1.0W, lower 0.1W (approx.) |
| Max.lift | : | ±5.0KHz |
| Unwanted radiation | : | less than –60 dB |
| Receiver | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Intermediate frequencies | : | 46.35 MHz, 450kHz (A.M/FM) 14.85 MHz, 450kHz (WFM) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sensitivity (at 12dB SINAD) | : | better than 0.18 µV (144/430MHz in radio frequency bands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sensitivity of squlech | : | better than 0.18 µV (seizure; 144/430MHz in radio waves) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selectivity A.M/FM WFM | : | over 12kHz at -6dB less than 30kHz at -60dB more than 150kHz at -10d less than 700kHz at -20dB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mirror frequency suppression | : | more than 40dB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NF output power (at 3.7 V DC) | : | more than 50mW at 10% distortion into an 8Ω load | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sensitivity outside the amateur radio bands | : |
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Visually, the IC-P7A looks very good. Frequency on the backlight LCD it is displayed in large numbers that are easy to read. The station does not have a rotary volume control, it is changed by pressing the UP and DOWN buttons, which are immediately below the display. Squelch is set by pressing the SQL button and turning the switch on the top of the station. Of course, the station is tuned with this rotary element.
The IC-P7A offers 1000 memories + 2 fast memories, 50 memories for setting the scan edges and 200 memories where the station stores the frequencies on which the scanning activity was recorded. The basic thousand memories can be divided into up to 18 groups (max. 100 memories in each). The frequency, offset, mode and CTCSS subtone are stored in memory. As a supplement, it is possible to purchase the so-called a cloning cable that allows you to copy complete settings and memories from one station to another. ICOM also offers a connecting cable to the computer, where all memories can be conveniently defined from the keyboard.
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The ICOM IC-P7A is an interesting radio station for everyone who is constantly on the move. In domestic conditions, after connecting an external gain antenna, a weaker resistance is sometimes manifested. However, it can also be used with FM LEO satellites. The ICOM IC-P7A will therefore find many occasions for which it is perfectly suited. Last but not least, the price is also interesting.