R8600 Icom R8600 Thoughts On ?

[BOBRR]

Hi,

Giving some serious thought to getting an Icom R8600 receiver.
Seems every time I look at HRO the price has jumped another hundred or so.
Any reputable dealer with a lower price I should consider ?

Would appreciate, and probably enjoy, hearing any thoughts or comments
re the "human factors" of the receiver.

Wow !

The layout, screen, information displayed, etc. seems like a disaster.
If they had only made it a few inches wider, it would have done wonders
in the real estate available to present the settings, information, etc.

I have an old JRD NRD 545 and it's a pleasure to play with.
Super clean layout. Lots of smarts went into it, obviously.

Any thoughts from owners re how easy it actually is to use, or
am I overblowing the usage problems ?

General thoughts on receiver (good value for $2,300 ! ?) ?

Regards,
Bob

 

[MStep]

The 8600 is a great receiver on shortwave; and perhaps slightly better than average on VHF and UHF. Ergonomically, they did not backlight the control buttons on the front panel. Until you get used to the radio, you have to use a flashlight or other illumination source if you are in a darkened shack.

The scope is a nice feature. But something else that Icom overlooked---- no DMR decoding. For some, a major deal-breaker. I own the 8600. While it does have some scan functions, do not expect the versatility of a Uniden SDS 100 or 200 in terms of scanning features. And of course, no trunking capability on the 8600.

 

[WPXS472]

I just recently got an R8600, and have not really had time to thoroughly test it. My thoughts so far is that it would be a great $1K receiver, but at $2K plus, not so much. I haven't even decided yet if I am going to keep it. I haven't looked at the alternatives, but there should be some, and depending on what you are looking for, there might be better choices. I don't own one, but I have seen some R8500s on eBay for what I thought were reasonable prices. I understand that the newer Uniden SDR based scanners are good, if you want a scanner. I understand the R8600 does scan, but it is slow. I had an R7000 and it was terribly slow in scanning.

 

[bearcatrp]

I wanted a 8600 but out of my price. Was lucky to find a used 8500, which was my dream receiver 10 years ago. The 8500 is a great receiver. Just need to out fit it with computer cable a software I’m still researching. Just keep searching the net for lowest prices or find someone selling theirs. I think when the 8600 came out it was around $1900. Sure has jumped up.

 

[palmerjrusa]

Hi,

Giving some serious thought to getting an Icom R8600 receiver.
Seems every time I look at HRO the price has jumped another hundred or so.
Any reputable dealer with a lower price I should consider ?

Would appreciate, and probably enjoy, hearing any thoughts or comments
re the "human factors" of the receiver.

Wow !

The layout, screen, information displayed, etc. seems like a disaster.
If they had only made it a few inches wider, it would have done wonders
in the real estate available to present the settings, information, etc.

I have an old JRD NRD 545 and it's a pleasure to play with.
Super clean layout. Lots of smarts went into it, obviously.

Any thoughts from owners re how easy it actually is to use, or
am I overblowing the usage problems ?

General thoughts on receiver (good value for $2,300 ! ?) ?

Regards,
Bob

I own an IC-R8600 and and like it a lot.

I find the layout and organization of controls a breeze to use and the display is great.

Whether or not it's worth the current asking price is something only each individual can determine.
I believe when it was introduced it was actually around $2,500.

I love my old JRD NRD 545 too, though haven't used it in a while (intend to hang onto it though).

Now wish I'd bought an IC-R8500 before it was discontinued (you can never have too many radios😁)

 

[kruser]

My 1st 8600 was 2499.95 in Nov 2017
I bought a 2nd 8600 Dec 2018 for 2299.95 so the price dropped for me.

Both of them did have $100 dollar rebates as well so the total was really 2399.95 and 2199.95 after the rebate checks arrived.
I've never seen them below $2300 unless there was a rebate involved but I've honestly not been watching the prices either as I don't need a 3rd 8600! I can't say I've noticed any price increases on the 8600's though when browsing sites like say HRO or others.

I also have an R9000, R7000, R71A, R1000, R2500 and R8500. The R8600 blows the doors off the others but I still find myself using the R9000 a lot. Something about that large radio and its large and smooth tuning knob and other controls keeps drawing me to it!

As was mentioned, the 8600's lack of DMR is a disappointment but one I was well aware of before purchase of my 1st one. I use DSD+ Fastlane for DMR decoding from one of my 8600's IF output if needed.
DMR is in direct competition with Icom's NXDN radios. Icom's past president stated they will never support DMR because of their NXDN line but Icom does have a new president as of late so who knows if that stance will ever change or not.

I think other than the Uniden scanners, AOR is about the only other game in town that can pretty much do all of the digital modes including DMR but I forget which AOR model(s) have those abilities. I've read a lot of negativity about AOR recently as well including some defects they won't handle under warranty if you do purchase one. I don't think any US based dealer even stocks AOR products today, they are all ordered from AOR at purchase. Most dealers also won't take returns or do warranty claims if you have issues with them, they must go back to AOR. There are a few threads about issues in the AOR forum here that are worth reading if anyone is considering a modern day AOR product.
It's a shame as they do have some innovative receivers. I have some of their older products and they have always performed very well.

I think my biggest worry about the R8600 is if the same parts shortage occurs that caused them to discontinue the R30 happens with the R8600, we may be in the same boat and parts support may be short lived and the 8600 is also discontinued.
There's a couple users that I'm aware of that had the same relay fail that switches the ANT 1 jack in and out of circuit. This relay is used to switch from HF or 30 MHz and below to all the bands above. When that happened, others bought out all the available relays as they are now an obsolete RF relay rated up to something line 5 GHz or so I think. So nobody has stock of the relay Icom used and who knows how many Icom may have for repairs. I'd think a suitable replacement will become available for something like a relay which is more of a mechanical device but is sealed and has gold plated contacts.

All in all, I've been very happy with my R8600 purchase.
So happy in fact that I bought a 2nd one which more or less replaced the R8500. My first 8600 replaced the R7000 and R71A's.
I still keep all the 'replaced' radios hooked up in another less used area here with most fed with various multicouplers so I can do comparison testing.

As stated above, I find the 8600s very easy to use. I think it took me all of two days to get the hang of the different control functions compared to how my older Icom's worked.

 

[w4esp]

It all depends on what you want to do. I use R7000, R7100, R8500, a few PCR 1000 and a few PCR 1500 and even PCR-100 so I have always loved ICOMs going back to the crystal days ( I even still have a few of those too!). I have a few SDRPlay's, several AOR's, a boat load of GRE and Uniden, Even Yeasu and Kenwood receivers... My favorite thing to do is to hunt on the airways for illegal stuff. Catching criminals with radios is "priceless". So my usage is different than most people and I have several radios searching all together. Remember the IC 8600 will work off of software so your not locked in to the front panel. If it was me I would use 2 or more radios with software, listen on one and search on one. when I am interested about a frequency I leave one radio tuned there and keep searching with the others, actually I use a bank of radio shack PRO-2055's for single frequency listening. DO I have 40 antennas on my house? NO, but it does have the foreign embassy look. The key is high quality TV Splitters with a broad band preamp. With the splitters and F to BNC connectors one antenna can feed 20 radios. BTW I use the TV splitters mobile too. Have fun no matter how you operate...

 

[prcguy]

Rob Sherwood has been testing receivers for a long time and ranking them according to high performance specs that are difficult and expensive to achieve. He ranked an R8600 at the 4th best he has ever tested out of about 153 receivers. The Icom R-8500 ranks 10 up from the bottom or not very good compared to an 8600.

I often listen to weak VHF/UHF signals with the antenna feeding my R8600 only about 20ft from several repeater antennas fed by repeaters running 85 watts. Very few receivers will work at all under those conditions let alone work really well like the R8600 does.

 

[BOBRR]

Hi all,

Much thanks for thoughts and comments.
Really appreciate it.

For w4esp: Any specific brand and models for the TV Splitters that you mentioned ?
Would their usage be similar to a Diplexer setup ?

The unit is quite expensive, with the price seemingly increasing each week.
If I do go for one though, I am very concerned re the relay problem that has been mentioned numerous times.

As it has been out about six years now, I think, has this relay problem been totally corrected ?

If it hasn't, and, as has been mentioned, the relay is no longer available, what happens ?
Is it one unit out of a thousand, or "fairly" common ? Thoughts ?

Best regards,
Bob

 

[G8OEO]

As has been said by others the lack of provision for DMR decoding is a huge disappointment.
I know there are other ways of doing it but I’m tired of using separate DMR handhelds or messing around with a PC / DSD plus.

I’m really lucky to be able to afford the 8600, the money has been burning a hole in my pocket for some time, but there’s no way I could justify paying more than £2500 for a digital receiver which can’t even cope with what are the most common digital signals in my area.

 

[Ubbe]

I’m tired of using separate DMR handhelds or messing around with a PC / DSD plus.

I would have a PC or laptop connected to the IF out raw audio signal and have DSD configured to decode any digital mode. I'm sure that the constantly updated program will do a better job than the internal firmware that Icom hardly do any updates to and do not use as a powerful cpu as is found in an external PC. Maybe it's even possible to use OmniRig in SDR# to do trunk tracking from DSD+

/Ubbe

 

[w4amp]

Never had one due to the price and decoding limitations. I have an R30 that i really like using. It was priced realistically.

 

[sambo300]

I have had my IC-R8600 for a few months. For HF I use a loop antenna mounted in my attic, the cheap MLA 30+. The receiver can bring in seriously.....almost any reasonable signal. The beauty of it is the "variables".....many adjustments. Not much gets by this thing. On VHF/UHF....outstanding as well. Great on aviation....I'm in east TN and lots of times pull in both sides of the major centers. As stated above....the only down side is the lack of DMR.....have tried the DSD/fastlane.....but I think my ignorance has been the obstacle in getting things to work. Actually have some success using fldigi for digital decoding on HF. Couldn't ask for more in a receiver......except that it be priced around $800 less. And I've had a life change to where I don't have as much time to enjoy it as I once did. Having to part with it. See classifieds if interested.

 

[G8OEO]

I would have a PC or laptop connected to the IF out raw audio signal and have DSD configured to decode any digital mode. I'm sure that the constantly updated program will do a better job than the internal firmware that Icom hardly do any updates to and do not use as a powerful cpu as is found in an external PC. Maybe it's even possible to use OmniRig in SDR# to do trunk tracking from DSD+

/Ubbe

Apparently some folks are using an AOR DV1 tuned to the IF output for decoding of DMR and Tetra etc.

I can’t help wondering how many more units Icom would sell if the R8600 could handle those two extra digital formats. Is it just a political thing or maybe also a financial decision.

 

[Citywide173]

I can’t help wondering how many more units Icom would sell if the R8600 could handle those two extra digital formats. Is it just a political thing or maybe also a financial decision.

News Release - Icom America

www.icomamerica.com

 

[batdude]

here is my short take.

it's a wonderful receiver. HF/VHF/UHF etc.

the screen and spectrum display are awesome.

P25 Phase 1 decode is nice and clear, radio ID and NAC are instantly decoded and on the screen.

the drawbacks, which are BIG HUGE MASSIVE FAILURES from my perspective:

1. ICOM will never release firmware for DMR decode. Typical marketing BS.
2. The radio does not instantly decode PL/DPL tones - it "searches" for them - even budget scanners instantly decode the subaudible tones.....
3. The antenna connectors are not sufficient for running multiple antennas -- meaning ... HF = awesome. VHF/UHF = awesome.... but 6m and mid-band? NOT SO MUCH. Should have been a separate antenna input for 50-118 MHz.


if you can get past the price point and the drawbacks ..... it's a very good radio and up there with the best of the best (especially on HF)

 

[bearcatrp]

Icom needs to swallow their pride and add DMR to these radios. When I emailed them last year about this, told them I would even pay extra to add DMR, like we do for uniden. But nope, stubborn. If they added DMR for the 8600 and the R30, these would be the best of the best receivers on the market.

 

[N9JIG]

I have had my R8600 for a month or so. I pretty much agree with many of the sentiments here.

As far as DMR goes, I don't see that happening as a business decision as they are heavily invested in the direct competition (IDAS/NXDN).

I like that the interface is almost identical to my IC-705 and presumably the IC-7300 and IC-9700 (Both of which are on my radar). After a little exploring on each I am pretty happy with the operation.

I found that the 8600 works great on HF as good or even better than the 705 and certainly better than the older 746 and R8500's I have had in the past. VHF and UHF has been spectacular as well.

I do find the screen saver a little annoying at times but I certainly understand the need for it so I will deal with it.

Like Batdude I wish it displayed PL/DPL right away but I have a half dozen scanners that already do next to it so it is not a deal breaker.

I also like that it is more compact than older Icom receivers.

My future dream is to have the 8600 with a 7300 on the left and a 9700 on the right as the centerpiece of my shack if we move to a new home with the ability to have the antennas to support them. I might get the others anyway of the opportunity arises, we will see.

 

[G8OEO]

Icom needs to swallow their pride and add DMR to these radios. When I emailed them last year about this, told them I would even pay extra to add DMR, like we do for uniden. But nope, stubborn. If they added DMR for the 8600 and the R30, these would be the best of the best receivers on the market.

I have the 7300 and understand the 8600 operation and menus are very similar although the 8600 is a better HF receiver and of course offers a lot more besides.
Like you I’d be prepared to pay extra for a DMR option but will not consider buying it without.

 

[bearcatrp]

I wanted a 8600 in the worst way but decided I'll keep my R8500 until Icom gets off there high horse and adds DMR, which will probably be never. Am surprised AOR hasn't took on Icom and built a competitive model receiver. Always good to have competition.