IC-7100_review_2013.pdf

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1、 1 IC-7100 User Evaluation it turns very smoothly with minimal side-play. RJ-45 jacks for the control and mic cables, and 3.5mm PHONES and ELEC KEY jacks, are on the rear panel of the control head. A slide switch on the bottom of the control allows connection of an external speaker or headphones to

2、the PHONES jack. The supplied HM-198 hand mic, the optional HM-151 control mic or the OPC-589 8-pin round/modular adapter cable can be plugged into the mic jack. The IC-7100 is solidly constructed and superbly finished. It conveys a tight, smooth, and precise overall feel (as do other Icom radios).

3、The main unit is built in a die-cast alloy chassis, and its sheet-steel case is finished in an attractive black crinkle coating. The control head has a smooth, matte surface. The IC-7100 main unit weighs 2.3kg and the control head 500g. The radio is fitted with the new 4-pin DC power socket. A mini-

4、USB socket is provided on the rear panel, allowing direct CI-V and baseband connectivity to a PC via the supplied USB cable. Both the case and the rear panel are well-ventilated. The air-intake grille and the SD card slot are on the front panel of the main unit. 2. Control knob/key and touch-screen

5、functions and menus: Apart from some differences in placement, the IC-7100s control knobs will be familiar to users of the IC- 7000, IC-706 series and IC-703. The concentric multi-function controls and MIC GAIN/RF-SQL knobs are to the left of the screen. The multi-function controls are multi-turn an

6、d detented. The large monochrome touch-screen displays a very clear, crisp image, with excellent contrast and a white backlight. The touch-activated menu softkeys in the lower field of the screen change with menu selection via the MENU key. Pressing the MIC/RF PWR or SPEED/PITCH key in the lower row

7、 (below the screen) redefines the multi-function controls correspondingly, and an appropriate pop-up is displayed in the lower field of the screen. I found that even with a bright desk lamp shining on it, the display was still highly legible and did not “wash out”. Figure 2: Control head, with scree

8、n and panel. 3 Pressing the inner multi-function knob switches the controls to Twin PBT. A bandwidth/shift pop-up appears, and the green PBT LED is lit. When the RIT key is pressed, the yellow RIT LED is lit. Pressing the inner knob now toggles between memory, PBT and RIT functions. When RIT is acti

9、vated, an RIT pop-up is displayed. Pressing and holding the inner knob now clears the PBT or RIT setting (as selected). The menus are somewhat akin to those in other Icom radios, allowing for the addition of menus for D-Star Digital Voice (DV) and GPS functions. The row of touch-activated menu softk

10、eys at the bottom of the screen, in effect, adds a third row of feature keys to the control head. I found the set-up process fairly intuitive after consulting the relevant user-manual sections in cases of doubt. Icom continues the use of a “Smart Menu” system which changes available functions based

11、on the mode currently in use. Menus are selected by pressing the MENU key on the bottom left of the screen; this key also serves as an EXIT key. Menu selections with default values can be returned to default by pressing and holding their DEF softkey. For several menu items, the F-3 key serves this p

12、urpose even though it is not marked DEF. Touching the leading (MHz) digits of the frequency display opens a band-selection matrix; the desired band is selected by touching its designator. Mode selection is similar; touching the current mode icon opens the mode-selection matrix. Tuning steps for kHz

13、and Hz are set by touch, or by touch/hold, on the respective digit groups. In addition a touch-matrix can be opened for DTMF digit keysending. The filter selection and adjustment procedure is similar to that on other Icom DSP radios. Touch the FIL-(n) icon to toggle between FIL-1, FIL-2 and FIL-3. T

14、ouch and hold this icon to adjust the filter bandwidth and select CW/SSB Sharp/Soft shape. All IF filters are continuously adjustable. As in other Icom IF-DSP radios, filters with 500 Hz or narrower bandwidth have the BPF shape factor, but a non-BPF filter can be configured via Twin PBT. The P.AMP/A

15、TT key toggles between preamps 1 sand 2, and a 20 dB RF attenuator. The DR key brings up the D-Star (DV) menu. The SET key opens easily navigable setup menus, and the QUICK key opens a menu of common feature selections. Many of the menu values can be selected by touching a bar, and touch arrows for

16、up/down scrolling and return to the previous screen are provided. The DR key accesses a D-Star repeater setup menu, facilitating D-Star service configuration. The DR mode is the “enhanced” user interface for VHF/UHF D-Star operation. For HF D-Star, or for those more accustomed to the basic D-Star op

17、eration, simply selecting DV will give access to the D-Star mode. The Time-Out Timer feature limits transmissions to a preset duration (3, 5, 10, 20 or 30 minutes, selectable by menu.) The PTT Lock function inhibits transmit. This feature is useful when receiving via active antennas or mast-mounted

18、preamplifiers without T/R switching, or to avoid damaging test equipment when conducting receiver measurements. 4 Being a current IC-7700 and IC-7600 owner, I found that the IC-7100s controls and menus fell readily to hand. A user familiar with a radio such as the IC-756Pro3 or IC- 7000 should find

19、the IC-7100s learning curve manageable. The IC-7100s default settings are very usable, allowing the radio to be placed in service with minimal initial set-up. 3. LCD display screen: The monochrome LCD screen is 80 x 50mm (H x W). The display is very bright and crisp, and presents all radio parameter

20、s. The display layout is somewhat similar to that of the IC-7410. The IC-7100 offers a limited, non-real-time spectrum scope and SWR Plot indicator very similar to those of the IC-7000. The spectrum scope is initiated via menu and displays an approximate, qualitative histogram of band occupancy in t

21、he lower field of the screen. It mutes the receiver during its acquisition cycle. Scope span is configurable in the range 0.5 to 25 kHz. The SWR indicator operates in a similar manner. Touching the currently-displayed meter scale toggles between scales. Touching and holding the meter scale opens the

22、 multi-function meter, which displays all scales simultaneously. The Notch, NR and NB keys, and the Twin PBT controls, open pop-ups in the lower field of the screen. These can be used to select notch width, NR level, NB parameters and filter/PBT bandwidth respectively. 5. USB interfaces: The IC-7100

23、 is equipped with a rear-panel mini-USB “B” port. The radio can be directly connected via the “B” port to a laptop or other PC via the supplied USB cable. This is without doubt one of the IC-7100s strongest features. The USB port transports not only CI-V data, but also TX and RX PCM baseband between

24、 the IC-7100 and the computer. As a result, the USB cable is the only radio/PC connection required. Gone forever is the mess of cables, level converters and interface boxes! This feature is now standard on all Icom HF radios released since 2009. An Icom driver is required in the PC; this is download

25、able from the Icom Japan World website. Note that not all rig-control software will support the IC-7100; the CI-V PTT command, introduced with the IC-756Pro3, has encountered issues with certain programs such as MMTTY. 6. Filter selections and Twin PBT: As do the other Icom DSP transceivers, the IC-

26、7100 offers fully-configurable RX IF selectivity filters for all modes. Three default filter selections are available via the touch-screen for each mode, with continuously variable bandwidth via the FILTER menu. In addition, there are selectable Sharp and Soft shape factors for SSB and CW. The BPF f

27、ilter configuration feature (for filter bandwidths of 500 Hz or less) operates in the same manner as on other Icom IF-DSP radios. To use SWR Plot (IC-7100 user manual, p. 6-14): 1. Tune VFO to desired SWR measuring frequency. 2. In Menu M-3, touch SWR. 3. Touch SET, then set desired SWR measuring st

28、ep size. 4. Touch to start sweep. mark below the graph bar shows sweep progress. 5. When sweep is complete, an SWR/frequency bar-graph is displayed. 5 Twin PBT is one of the modes of the concentric multi-function controls. Pressing and holding the inner knob CLR restores PBT to neutral. The TPF menu

29、 item in the RTTY SET menu selects the Twin Peak Filter (TPF) in RTTY mode. No CW APF (Audio Peak Filter) is provided. However, the CW RX LPF and HPF in the TONE SET menu are a reasonable alternative to the missing APF; their ranges are 100 - 2000 and 500 - 2400 Hz respectively. The HPF and LPF can

30、be set to bracket the received CW tone in a tight 100 Hz audio bandwidth. The DEF softkey restores these filters to default (off). 7. BPF vs. non-BPF filters: As in other Icom IF-DSP radios, the IC-7100 allows the user to select two additional shapes for 500 Hz or narrower filters, in addition to SH

31、ARP and SOFT. These are BPF (steeper skirts) and non-BPF (softer skirts). To configure a BPF filter, select a 500 Hz or narrower CW, RTTY or SSB-D filter with Twin PBT neutral. To set up a non-BPF filter, select a filter with BW 500 Hz, and narrow the filter to 500 Hz or less by rotating the Twin PB

32、T controls. When Twin PBT is displaced from its neutral position, a dot appears to the right of the filter icon at the top of the screen. Examples of BPF and non-BPF filter passbands are illustrated in Figures 5 its stopband attenuation is at least 70 dB. The manual notch suppresses an interfering c

33、arrier before it can stimulate AGC action; it thus prevents swamping. To adjust the notch frequency precisely, press and hold the NOTCH key, then rotate the main tuning knob. The auto notch filter (AN) is post-AGC. It suppresses single and multiple tones, but strong undesired signals can still cause

34、 AGC action and swamp the receiver. MN and AN are mutually exclusive, and AN is inoperative in CW mode. The NOTCH key toggles OFF AN MN. When MN is selected, a pop-up field is displayed at the bottom of the screen, allowing selection of WIDE, MID or NAR (narrow) notch by pressing and holding the NOT

35、CH key. 10. NR (noise reduction): The DSP NR is very effective. In SSB mode, the maximum noise reduction occurs at an NR control setting of 10. As NR level is increased, there is a slight loss of “highs” in the received audio; this is as expected. The measured SINAD increase in SSB mode was about 8

36、dB. For precise NR adjustment, press and hold the NR key, then rotate the main tuning knob. 11. NB (noise blanker): The IF-level DSP-based noise blanker is arguably one of the IC- 7100s strongest features. I found it to be extremely effective in suppressing fast-rising impulsive RF events before the

37、y can stimulate AGC action within the DSP algorithm. The NB completely blanks noise impulses which would otherwise cause AGC clamping. I found its performance comparable to that of the IC-7700s NB. The NB menu (threshold, depth and width) is accessed by pressing and holding the NB key. The NB works

38、very effectively in conjunction with NR. Figures 5 touching the scale toggles between PO, SWR, ALC and COMP. Touch and hold displays the multi- function meter. 15. RTTY decoder and memory keyer: The IC-7100 features an on-screen RTTY decoder/display as well as an 8 x 70 chars RTTY memory keyer for t

39、ransmitting short messages. 16. VFO/Memory management: The IC-7100 offers the same VFO and memory management features as other current Icom HF+ transceivers: VFO/memory toggle and transfer, memory write/clear, memo-pad, Split, VFO A/B swap A/B and equalize touch and hold A/B, etc. 17. Brief “on-air”

40、 report: Upon completing the test suite, I installed the IC-7100 in my shack and connected it to my multi-band HF/6m vertical antenna and to a 2m vertical dipole. a) SSB: I made a few 20m SSB QSOs with friends who are familiar with my voice and the sound of my signal. Distant stations reported that

41、the audio quality of my transmissions was excellent” when using the Heil PR-781 desk mic plugged into the radios MIC socket via an OPC-589 adapter cable. Two stations I worked on 20m SSB assisted me in optimizing transmit audio settings for the PR-781 and supplied HM-198. Slight audio “break-up” was

42、 observed on voice peaks (on-air and in the TX Monitor) when using the HM-198. This could be due to a faulty mic, as no break-up was heard when using other microphones. 7 The following are the settings I used in the SSB trials: Table 1: Transmit audio settings. Mic Band Conditions Mic Gain TBW COMP

43、Bass Treble PR-781 20m S9+ 60% WIDE 6 dB +3 +5 HM-198 20m S9+ 60% WIDE 6 dB 0 +5 As discussed in 11. above, the DSP-based noise blanker is superb. It does not distort the signal at all, and can be left on at all times; it is every bit as good as the IC-7700 or IC- 7600 blanker. At my QTH, with Level

44、 5, Width 8 and Depth 80, the NB suppressed fast- rising noise spikes and almost completely eliminated locally-generated electrical noise from HV power lines and industrial processes. As discussed in Section 10 above, I found the NR very effective on SSB. Even at 10, NR did not attenuate “highs” exc

45、essively. NR is very effective in conjunction with NB. Preamps 1 and 2 (10 and 16 dB gain, respectively) brought weak stations up to very comfortable copy without S/N degradation. The SSB filters and Twin PBT were excellent, as we have come to expect from other Icom DSP radios. MN and AN were extrem

46、ely helpful. I was able to notch out single tones with MN; also, AN reduced the levels of multiple tones. Regrettably, I was unable to try out on-air 2m, 70cm or 23cm SSB or CW operating as I do not have suitable antenna systems at my station. Overall, I found that band noise on SSB at my QTH was su

47、fficiently obtrusive to require the use of NR (Level 10) at all times. Still, SSB operation on 20m with a mix of strong and weak signals was quite comfortable and pleasant. Receive audio quality was crisp and smooth. b) CW: Due to time constraints, I did not operate the IC-7100 on CW, but listened t

48、o some CW signals on 20m. With 500 and 250 Hz CW filters (Sharp, BPF) and NR/NB on, ringing was minimal with Preamp off. I then set up a 250 Hz filter (Soft, non-BPF) with NR on and Preamp off. Again, there was virtually no audible ringing, and the received CW note was very smooth. Activating Preamp

49、 1 or 2 raised the noise level, causing slight ringing which was more noticeable in the absence of signals. In a brief test of full-break-in operation at 25 wpm, I found this mode very smooth and pleasant, with virtually instantaneous receiver recovery. No keying artifacts were audible in the headphones. c) AM: In a quick check of AM reception, I listened to various MF and HF broadcast stations. A local station on 690 kHz and a music broadcast on 5995 kHz sounded good on the IC-7100s internal speaker, but much cle