Winter 2006 Issue

CQ VHF Reviews:
The ICOM IC-7000
HF/VHF/UHF Transceiver

For most of last year ICOM teased us with pictures of its new IC-7000.
When it finally arrived in ham radio stores near us, N5AC was among the first in line to purchase one. Here he gives us a tour of the new radio.

By Steve Hicks, N5AC
 

The ICOM IC-7000 was released this past December and I picked up mine on Wednesday, December 7th. The IC-7000 is the first truly mobile amateur HF transceiver that has a TFT color LCD display. The 2.5-inch diagonal display shows standard radio functions and is quite similar to that of the IC-756PRO line. The frequency display is large and easy to read from different angles and can be shown in three different colors and a couple of different type styles. It is very well thought out.

The TV

One unique capability of the radio is that as designed in Japan, the radio can display NTSC VHF video channels 2 though 13. As shipped in the U.S., however, this capability is disabled due to potential liability issues. Fortunately, the radio is easily modified to enable the TV feature and simply requires the removal of a diode that is read by the radio’s microprocessor on power-up. (See the accompanying sidebar for the modification.)

The IC-7000 also has a beautiful operating display that shows frequency, memory information, power out, SWR, compression, and even radio temperature all at the same time. This has become my favorite radio display (see photo). For times when other information is displayed on the lower half of the screen, you can select which of the meters is displayed just below the frequency readout —power out, SWR, compression, or ALC.

The IC-7000 has a beautiful operating display that shows frequency, memory
information, power out, SWR, compression, and even radio temperature all at the same time.

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