PRODUCT REVIEW
ICOM IC-7000 HF/VHF/UHF
Transceiver
Reviewed by Mark Wilson, K1RO
QST Product Review Editor
It’s hard to believe that 10 years has
passed since QST first reviewed the
IC-706, calling it “one of the most exciting new products to come along in
1
years.”
The package proved a huge hit, and
ICOM kept the radio fresh by following
on with the IC-706MkII and IC-706MkIIG.
By the time the G version rolled out in 1999,
ICOM had added 70 cm, bumped up the
power on 2 meters, made DSP noise reduction and notch filter standard, and made
quite a few improvements. Meanwhile, ICOM
has been busy doing extreme makeovers on
the rest of the product line, moving to DSPbased receivers and sophisticated display
screens.
Which brings us to the IC-7000. Although
the ’7000 is similar to the ’706 in many ways,
it also shares features with the IC-756PROIII.
ICOM touts the IC-7000 as a mobile transceiver, but, like the ’706, it will find its way
into many a suitcase for DXpeditions and
Field Day outings. For a lot of hams, it has
everything they want and need in a home
station radio.
Feature Overview
The IC-7000 covers 160 meters through
70 cm except for 1.25 meters. Power output
is 100 W on 160 through 6 meters, 50 W
on 2 meters and 35 W on 70 cm. The radio
works on the five 60 meter channels available
to US operators, and it transmits only when
one of those channels is precisely dialed in.
The receiver covers 30 kHz to 200 MHz and
400 to 470 MHz. Modes include SSB, CW,
AM, FM and RTTY. The receiver has WFM
for listening to FM broadcast stations and
TV audio.
DSP features include selectable IF filters,
adjustable AGC, noise blanker and noise
reduction, passband tuning, an automatic
notch filter and a two point manual notch
1
The original IC-706 review appeared in March
1996 QST. The IC-706MkII was reviewed in
March 1998, the ’706MkIIG in July 1999 and
the ’756PROIII in March 2005. Reviews are
available for download from the Members Only
section of the ARRL Web site, www.arrl.org/
members-only/prodrev/.
filter. In addition, the ’7000 offers a CW
memory keyer, RTTY demodulator and digital voice keyer. FM features include scanning,
automatic repeater offset, subaudible tones,
DTMF memories and other familiar features.
Gadget junkies will love this radio.
Hooking it Up
The package is compact and feels quite
solid. It’s the same height and width as the
IC-706 but not quite as deep. There’s a folding
bale on the bottom for desktop use, and the
speaker and small fan are both on top. The
front panel detaches and ICOM offers several
different brackets and separation cables for
mobile use.
The radio needs about 22 A at 13.8 V dc.
The supplied HM-151 mic plugs into one of
two modular jacks — one on the bottom edge
of the front panel, the other on the back of the
main unit. (You can’t use two microphones
simultaneously, though.) A
the right edge of the front panel works with
stereo or mono headphones or an external
speaker thanks to a
switch behind the front panel.
The rear panel will be familiar to IC-706
users. There are two antenna jacks, one for
160 to 6 meters and the other for 2 meters
and 70 cm. There’s a
PHONES
SPEAKER/PHONES
1
⁄4 inch stereo phone
jack on
jack for connecting a CW paddle or external
keyer. Several
ICOM’s CI-V computer interface (sorry, no
USB jack), external speaker and RTTY (FSK
keying and PTT). The
(more on this later).
The 13-pin
band data and audio signals and is used for
digital modes, amplifier connections, external
tuners or antenna switches. A matching plug
is wired with short pigtails — no soldering
to minuscule pins! The 6-pin
also be used for connecting a TNC or sound
card for digital modes. Note that the IC-7000
can handle amplifier key lines up to 16 V dc
at 200 mA. Some amplifiers will require a
separate keying interface with higher ratings
to avoid relay damage.
1
⁄8 inch phone jacks handle
VIDEO
jack is new
ACC
jack provides control,
DATA
jack can
That Colorful Display
Everyone who used the review radio raved
about the ’7000’s color TFT display screen. It
measures 2.5 inches diagonally, and is about
2 inches wide by 1.5 inches tall. Before the
radio hit the streets there was some trepidation about the readability of such a small, busy
display. Let’s face it — many hams (including
me) are at the age where things look a little
fuzzy and we need to break out the reading
glasses when QST arrives.
64 May 2006
Mark J. Wilson, K1RO
Product Review Editor
k1ro@arrl.org
5
20
70
Transmit 9th-order IMD (dB)
I
9
TX
20
3
5
Transmit 3rd-order IMD (dB)
TX
I
3
33
58
−40 +35
2 kHz 3rd-order intercept (dBm)
I
3
2
−40
+35
20 kHz 3rd-order intercept (dBm)
I
3
20
2 kHz 3rd-order dynamic range (dB)
50
110
I
3
2
50
110
20 kHz 3rd-order dynamic range (dB)
I
3
20
2 kHz Blocking dynamic range (dB)
DR
2
70
140
70
112
111
86
86
89
89
63
60
6
6.5
−27
− 31
140
20 kHz Blocking Dynamic Range (dB)
DR
20
50 10
Tx-Rx Turnaround Time (ms)
T-R
12
+
+
− −
−
− −
−
Those fears were completely unfounded.
The incredible resolution, bright colors and
excellent contrast make the display easy to
read under a variety of lighting conditions
and viewing angles. The characters are crisp
and clear, and everyone who used the radio
could easily see and use the screen labels and
graphics. Sure, in a mobile environment or
outdoors on a bright day it’s occasionally difficult to see the display, but I found it perfectly
readable under most conditions.
One of the menus allows you to change
display characteristics such as brightness and
contrast. Most photos show the default black
background with white lettering, but you can
change it to a bright blue background with
white letters or a white background with
blue letters.
The rear panel
earlier is an analog video output. For grins
I plugged it into the composite video input
on my TV, and the IC-7000’s display immediately filled the screen. While this might
be useful for a presentation, you’re more
likely to hook up one of those small video
screens made for portable DVD players or
automobile entertainment systems. Note that
the composite video output isn’t as crisp as
the internal display.
Controls and Menus
Although the ’7000 takes some getting
used to, ICOM did a good job with the human
interface despite a minimum of buttons and
panel space to work with. Most buttons have
multiple functions, and some menus and controls change according to mode of operation.
For the most part I was able to figure out the
functions, but I kept the manual close during
initial operation.
The main tuning knob has a nice feel. The
BAND
hand corners. Pressing one or the other will
bring you to the last-used frequency on each
band. I like to chase DX on various bands and
modes and have grown fond of the band stack-
up and down switches are at the right-
ing registers on my desktop radio. Repeatedly
pressing a band button on the keypad jumps
me from SSB to CW to RTTY subbands with
filter selection and other settings ready to go.
ICOM has added this convenience to the IC7000 through the HM-151 microphone. The
mic’s keypad resembles the keypad found on
the front panel of larger radios and works the
same way. There’s a button for each band,
and repeated pressing steps you through three
band stacking registers. The keypad also
works for direct frequency entry. Other HM151 buttons control common functions.
As mentioned before, there are two mic
jacks but you shouldn’t plug in two microphones at the same time. For home station
operation with a desk mic or headset it would
be nice to plug in a keypad with the HM-151
functions, or else be able to disable the HM151 mic element and use it as a keypad.
VIDEO
jack mentioned
Key Measurements Summary
111
DR
70
20
20 kHz Blocking Dynamic Range (dB)
86
DR
86
70
2
2 kHz Blocking dynamic range (dB)
I
3
50
20
20 kHz 3rd-order dynamic range (dB)
60
I
3
63
50
2
2 kHz 3rd-order dynamic range (dB)
I
3
−40
20
20 kHz 3rd-order intercept (dBm)
− 31
I
3
−27
−40 +35
2
2 kHz 3rd-order intercept (dBm)
50 10
T-R
Tx-Rx Turnaround Time (ms)
I
3
TX
− −
20
Transmit 3rd-order IMD (dB)
I
9
TX
− −
20
Transmit 9th-order IMD (dB)
112
+
6.5
+
89
89
6
140
140
110
110
+35
12
−
33
3
−
58
70
0.25
SINAD
Receiver Sensitivity (12 dB SINAD, µV)
I
3
60
Rx
Receive 3rd-order dynamic range (dB)
I
3
40
Rx
Receive 3rd-order dynamic range (dB)
50
ChRej
Adjacent Channel Rejection (dB)
29†
60
IF
Img
Snd
pr010
Key:
IF Rejection (dB)
62
60 120
Image Rejection (dB)
1 4
Audio Output (W)
* Noise limited at value shown.
† Off Scale
Receiver measurements with pre-amp
on
Bottom Line
The IC-7000 puts compact radio
performance and features in a new
pr009
Key:
* Noise limited at value shown.
Dynamic range and intercept values
with pre-amp off.
80 M
20 M
package. It builds on the IC-706 line,
while adding IF DSP features from
ICOM’s PRO series. It has what you
need to enjoy operating on 13 amateur
bands with many of the conveniences
found in the full-size boxes.
A Note about the Key Measurements Summary
The Key Measurements Summary shows a specific product’s performance relative to other radios we’ve tested. It’s important to remember that the comparison is to
all radios, not just those in the same class as the one tested for this month’s column.
Numbers in the “red zone” for a given radio do not mean that performance is “bad” or
“unacceptable.” Radios can be expected to fall anywhere in the range, and more expensive radios often score better. See January 2006 QST, page 69, for more details.
0.16
0.16
95@10 MHz
84@10 MHz
70@20 kHz*
75@20 kHz
70
75
95
2.1
70 cm
May 2006 65
110
*†
2 M
0.1
90
70
90
135
†
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