The world-renowned TRCV manufacturer Icom presented its new product at the largest meeting in the USA - Dayton, with which it wants to strengthen its position on the market and provide all radio amateurs, who of course have the HF transceiver of their dreams with everything that such a machine should contain.
Icom has always been revolutionary and was the first to bring transistor technology, digital PLL and DSP to the market, which was unprecedented. So we can't be that surprised when we see the IC-7800, which should exceed everyone's expectations. Among its basic characteristics, I can perhaps mention an excellent 32-bit DSP, two completely independent receivers, a color TFT display, a built-in RTTY/PSK31 decoder and even a Compact Flash card slot! So dreams become reality:
You can download a PDF file with complete information from the "Downloads" section, which you can find in the main menu of our portal. So let's take a closer look at some of the features of this new TRCV from Icom:
- Four 32-bit DSP units – completely independent! One for the output stage (transmitter), one for each receiver (2!), and the last one for the spectrum scope.
- +40dBm ultra high intercept point – this corresponds to the best military transceivers, so-called 3rd order for ultra wide dynamic range, very important for receiving very weak signals.
- Two completely independent receivers – this means that we actually have 2 receivers in one "box", both are of the same quality, have independent inputs, controls, antenna connectors... Simply beautiful!
- 200W output allows you to really work at "full throttle", which means that even PSK31 at 200W should not be a problem, which is more than we need for this mod!
- At 200W, we also need a quality power supply, the IC-7800 of course has one built in.
- Very high frequency stability – as standard, the IC-7800 has plus-minus 0.05ppm!
- The IC-7800 has a beautiful TFT display with a resolution of 800x480 points, highly linear S-meters, a built-in RTTY/PSK31 decoder, so you can immediately output decoded digital modes without the help of a computer, and if the display is not enough for you, you can even connect an external VGA monitor!
- Multi-functional spectrum scope – with a built-in DSP unit, this spectrum scope is highly linear and accurate!
- RTTY/PSK31 without a computer? Yes, that's possible too! Just connect a USB keyboard and you have everything you need. You can record individual connections on a CF card, the necessary slot for which you will find already built into this TRCV.
- Professional 6m receiver – this receiver has an independent preamplifier and mixer for the 6m band, which makes it different from the existing combined HF/6m TRCVs. Its qualities will certainly be appreciated by anyone interested in this band!
I could write a lot more about the Icom IC-7800. It is/will be a truly excellent "machine" that Icom really has nothing to be ashamed of.
Perhaps the only mistake is the price for the seed. It is supposed to be above 4000 USD from the beginning, which is really not a small amount. So the question is: "Is it worth investing in this beauty?". My answer is, only for those who are proud of being radio amateurs and are interested in HF and 6m: "Yes!".
Oliver Bross, MW3SDO