ICOM IC-9100 review

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EQUIPMENT PREVIEW APRIL 2011 ♦ RADCOMPETER HART, G3SJX ♦ E-MAIL: [e-mail]

INTRODUCTION. Icom first unveiled plans

for a new base station radio covering HF, VHF
and UHF bands during the summer of 2009
and since then samples have been shown at
various exhibitions and shows. It has been
a long wait but the IC-9100 should soon be
fully available. I was fortunate to obtain early
access to a pre-production sample for a few
days and this is my first impression of this
comprehensive radio.

The IC-9100 is a fully-featured HF radio
also covering 50, 144 and 430MHz. An
optional internal module adds the 1.2GHz
band. Dual receivers and duplex operation
is provided on different band combinations
together with full tracking satellite operation.
Another optional module adds full D-STAR
support.

THE BASICS. The IC-9100 is a well-

proportioned, medium-sized base station
radio requiring a 13.8V supply. At 11kg
it is quite heavy for its size but inside it
is densely packed with circuit boards,
metal screens, substantial heatsinks
and a diecast chassis.

There are four band groupings, each
fitted with a separate antenna connector
– HF+50MHz, 144MHz, 430MHz and

1.2GHz (if the module is fitted). There
are two independent receivers, Main and
Sub, each with a full set of similar features
and functions. Each band group can be
accessed from either receiver but not from
both simultaneously. Hence HF can be
allocated to one and any of the VHF/UHF
bands to the other, or 2m on one and

70cm on the other etc. If the Sub receiver
is turned off, all bands are available from
the Main receiver. For general coverage
receive the HF band tunes from 30kHz
to 60MHz.

All the usual modes are provided
including reverse sidebands on CW and
data – and modes can be set independently
for the two receivers. Digital Voice and Digital
Repeater modes are supported with the
D-STAR option fitted. The transmitter uses
the Main receiver frequency only, not the
Sub (except for satellite operation) but a
single key press simply swaps the Main
and Sub functions. Twin VFOs (A and B)
are provided for both receivers and this
allows split frequency transmit operation
on the Main channel.

The transmitter provides 100W output
on HF, 50MHz and 144MHz, 75W on
430MHz and 10W on 1.2GHz. The
Sub receiver remains fully active whilst
transmitting on the Main channel, allowing
cross-band duplex operation.

RADIO DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE. The

radio uses four separate signal paths for the
four different band groupings. On bands up to
430MHz the receiver uses a dual conversion
superhet with image rejection first mixers as
used in the IC-7800 and IC-7600. On HF
+50MHz the first IF is 64.455MHz, with
a 15kHz bandwidth roofing filter fitted as
standard. 3kHz and 6kHz bandwidth filters
are available as options and all three can be
fitted and selected manually from the menu.
On 144MHz the first IF is 10.85MHz and on

430MHz it is 71.25MHz.
On 1.2GHz the receiver
is triple conversion,
the first two IFs being

243.95MHz and 10.95MHz
respectively. In all cases the
final IF is 36kHz, which
directly feeds a DSP for all
signal processing functions,
channel filtering, notches,
noise reduction etc. Two
similar DSP units process
two 36kHz chains separately
to give the Main and Sub
receivers similar features.
Narrow roofing filters are
only available for the
HF+50MHz band.

Inside the box, the
construction is fairly
conventional, with the

usual substantial diecast frame, integral fan
blown heatsink areas for the separate power
amplifier boards and a front-panel unit that
hinges down. Both receiver outputs are routed
to a single 7cm speaker mounted in the case
top but separate outputs are available from
dual external speaker sockets on the rear
panel or through stereo headphone output.

FRONT AND REAR PANELS. The front

panel layout is similar in concept to other
Icom radios, in particular the IC-7600. A
smooth operating, weighted tuning knob
provides fine resolution tuning as well as
fast navigation across the bands. Separate
buttons select bands and modes, dedicated
rotary controls are used for the main functions
and easy to access pushbuttons for other
features. A crisp and bright monochrome
LCD panel dominates the panel with mode
and context specific buttons along the bottom.
The setup menu is fast to access and easy
to use with plain language descriptions
shown on the LCD. Overall the front panel
is very well thought out, logical, friendly
and easy to use.

On the rear panel two antenna sockets
are available on HF/50MHz band, with
single sockets for the other bands. There
are no connections for external receive
antenna or low-level RF output. DC power
can be fed through the antenna sockets
for the VHF and UHF bands for external
preamplifiers and a range of accessory
preamplifiers is available. The usual
accessory sockets and linear amplifier
control lines are provided and in addition

Icom IC-9100

First impressions of the latest HF to UHF transceiver

The Icom IC-9100 HF-VHF-UHF transceiver.

EQUIPMENT PREVIEWRADCOM ♦ APRIL 2011

there are two separate linear amplifier
control lines that can be allocated to the
band groupings in various combinations.
A USB port provides control of the radio
from a PC as well as passing audio, data
and D-STAR DV mode data to and from
the radio. The Icom CI-V remote control
interface is also provided, requiring an
external level converter for PC access.
A GPS receiver can be connected using
NMEA data format for displaying or
transmitting location information in
DV mode.

KEY FEATURES. Icom radios are generally

packed with features and functions and the
IC-9100 is no exception. Extensive channel
filtering, PBT, twin peak RTTY filter, notches,
noise reduction and noise blankers similar
to other recent Icom HF transceivers are all
included and available on all bands. A huge
amount of memory space, scanning and a
rather simple spectrum scan are also included.
Although the radio has dual receivers, these
can only operate on different band groups,
not for simultaneously checking of A and B
channels in split frequency HF operation.
For split frequency operation an XFC button
swaps A and B channels and, with quick
split and selective locking of the receive
channel enabled, it is quite easy to search
a pileup for a suitable transmit channel.
An auto ATU covers HF and 50MHz and
a very comprehensive contest memory
keyer is provided for CW. A RTTY decoder
is included but as it displays a maximum
of three lines of 18 characters it is more of

a gimmick than a true operating aid.

Full facilities for repeater operation are
provided including band stored offsets, a
full range of analogue and digital access
methods and selective squelches. A host
of facilities are included with D-STAR
operation for digital voice, repeater and
data modes and together, with GPS, allows
full position reporting, APRS and position
tracking. Over 50 pages of the 200-page
manual are devoted to these digital topics;
far too much to cover here.

Full duplex satellite operation is supported
where the uplink and downlink channels are
on different band groups, typically 145, 435
and 1200MHz. Forward and reverse tracking
of channels is supported and satellite memories
provided to store the settings.

ON THE AIR PERFORMANCE. I found the

IC-9100 straightforward to use with friendly
ergonomics once the initial learning phase
was grasped, particularly the logic behind
the Main and Sub receiver settings. During
the few days I had the radio there were a
number of contests and I took the opportunity
to check out the radio in the 144MHz Activity
Contest, the March 144/432MHz Contest
and ARRL SSB contest as well as working a
number of DXpeditions on CW. Everything
functioned well and I was very pleased
with the results. Sensitivity on the VHF
and UHF bands was good and the extra
power compared with most radios helped
with DX contacts. On HF no strong signal

problems were
observed and
good audio
quality reports

were received. CW was well behaved on
semi and full break-in, but a slight click was
observed in the sidetone on initial characters.
The armoury of filters and notches all functioned
very well.

During the brief review period I did not
have a chance to check out D-STAR or
satellite operation.

I did not have time to carry out a full
set of measurements – something I will do
when the production model arrives shortly
– but a brief check was made of some of
the key figures. The transmit output power
was well up to specification on all bands.
Sensitivity was excellent, similar to the
IC-7600 on the HF bands. Measured
noise figures were 5dB on 144MHz and
432MHz and about 4dB on 1296MHz.
Third order intercept on 14MHz appeared
excellent, on a par with or even better than
the IC-7600, but the measurement was
compromised by reciprocal mixing noise
even at 50kHz spacings. Reciprocal mixing
noise was some 3dB to 6dB worse than
the IC-7600 and closer to the IC-7000
or IC-7200. This is most likely to be the
performance-limiting factor with strong
signals, although I was using a pre-production
model. Compared with 14MHz, reciprocal
mixing was also some 6dB worse on 144MHz
and 8-10dB worse on 432MHz, which might
be an issue with nearby strong signals in
contest conditions. These measurements
will, no doubt, differ in production models and
I look forward to running proper tests on one.

Overall, the IC-9100 is an excellent all­round solution for someone with wide
ranging interests spanning HF to UHF and
all modes of operation. I hope to carry out

a full review
later when the
radio becomes
fully available
but in the mean
time it looks
to have been
well worth
waiting for.

My thanks to
Icom UK for the
loan of the pre­production radio.

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The monochrome display is clear and easy to read.

The uncluttered IC-9100 rear panel.

The optionalUX-100 bandunit gives 10Won23cm.

Optional 6kHz and 3kHz roofing filters for HF/6m.