Help Me Decide - ICOM

[gordiebill]

Good Day;

I am a ham in training and my rig decision has come down to two transceivers. They are the IC-7600 and the IC-9100. The 7600 is the more expensive of the two and I was wondering what it offers that the 9100 doesn't. Would I be paying the premium for the fancy colour screen and spectrum scope? I like the idea of the 9100 having the 2 meter/440 bands built in.

I'm teetering back and forth between the two models and I am hoping some experienced users could enlighten me.

Decisions, decisions, decisions ...

Thanks for any and all input;
Gord

 

[AC2OY]

Wow not bad for your first rig!! What'sthe 7600 go for about $3,700.00?

 

[gordiebill]

You're about right. I get one shot at setting up my shack as I retire next May and there won't be any large purchases after that. I want to make sure I do things right the first time.

 

[AK9R]

The nice thing about "all-in-one" radios is everything is one one box. The bad thing about "all-in-one" radios is everything is one box. If the HF part of the IC-9100 fails or if one of the VHF/UHF bands fails and you send the unit in for repair, you are completely off the air. If you had separate radios, that would be less of a problem.

Do you ever plan to operate on VHF/UHF sideband or CW? If you only need VHF/UHF for FM, the IC-9100 is overkill. Buy an HF radio and a separate dual-band mobile radio for VHF/UHF.

The IC-7600 has the color display, a better spectrum scope, and dual-watch compared to the IC-9100. The dual-watch in the IC-7600 lets you monitor two HF frequencies in the same band and same mode. The IC-9100 has dual receivers, but the allowable combinations is HF plus one VHF/UHF band. You can't watch two frequencies in the same band which is a feature many dual-band FM mobiles have.

 

[elk2370bruce]

I agree with the above. The 7600 is a rig that, while going for a nose bleed price, is a better purchase for hf use. There are lots of VHF/UHF rigs that can be had for a good price and can be used in the shack or as a nice mobile.

 

[w2xq]

Wirelessly posted (Moto Droid Bionic: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.4; en-us; DROID BIONIC Build/5.5.1_84_DBN-74) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

I second W9RXR's recommendation of separate radios. A separate dual band radio is easier to use and cheaper to upgrade if you go go to APRS stuff or get onto a local DX spotting network. HTH.

 

[rapidcharger]

I.C.O.M.
(I can only monitor)


Just sayin.

 

[N2ICV]

I have a Kenwood TS-2000, and I love it! Take a look at all the radios out there not just ICOM.

 

[AC2OY]

I have a Kenwood TS-2000, and I love it! Take a look at all the radios out there not just ICOM.

Radiomart has a TS-2000 going for $1125.00 that's good right?

 

[N2ICV]

Yes, I got my TS-2000 from Ham Radio Outlet | KENWOOD TS-2000 | HF/6/2/UHF TRANSCEIVER DSP 100W HF

 

[AC2OY]

I really like Kenwood so far Mike, just toying around with the handheld I picked up yesterday my lord the audio quality is insane! I tuned to I think 462.000 and the am recieve band simultaneously I couldn't how clear both receivers are!! I have soooo much more to learn about operating it and obviously can't transmit just yet.

 

[gordiebill]

Thanks everyone for your input, it is appreciated. I opted for the 7600 and now I am in the market for a dual band 2m-440 mobile that I can use on base.

I haven't seen many good reviews regarding ICOM mobiles, so I may look at others. Anyone have any experience with the Kenwood TM-V71A?

Thanks again folks!
Gord

 

[AK9R]

Anyone have any experience with the Kenwood TM-V71A?

Yes. I own one. It's a full-featured, true dual-band mobile. 1,000 memories, lots of scan options, built-in CTCSS and DCS encode and decode, computer programmable (the program is a free download from Kenwood's site, but you have to purchase the cable), 50 watts output on both 2m and 440 MHz, front panel can be inverted so the speaker can fire either up or down, programmable function keys on both the control panel and microphone, automatic repeater shift, etc. It's basically two separate radios in one box, so you can set the two "sides" of the radio to listen to VHF-UHF, VHF-VHF, or UHF-UHF. It also has cross-band repeat. The TM-V71 and TM-D710 use the same RF deck--the only difference is the control head.

You may find some references on the web to problems with the RF filters. This was an issue with an early batch of radios and all indications are that Kenwood has addressed the problem. Assuming you get one that was built in the last year or two, you should be OK.

 

[gordiebill]

Thanks Joe. I appreciate your input regarding the Kenwood.

Gord

 

[k7ltf]

HF radios

The other thing is that if you have multiple bands , vhf and uhf - in an HF rig, there is always going to be a compromise. Either the HF suffers, Vhf or UHF suffers. You won't get the best performance out of on of those bands. It will be good, but won't be great. Typically If the VHF - UHF side is the best in said case, the HF won't be as great, in general. If HF is what you wanted to focus on , get an HF only radio your be happier overall IMO.

I know this is post decision , but you made the a good one in the end. I also have a 7600, and enjoy it

Zach

 

[ranger821]

I own 2 V71A's. One is my base and the other is my mobile. Outstanding dual band radio.

 

[cmdrwill]

We like the Kenwood TM-V71 and they come with the commercial Kenwood mic.

 

[iHam]

I am in the same boat as far as decision for rigs. Now that a couple of years have passed, what do you think of your decision?

 

[retiredinsemo]

I like the Icom 7200 and it's built like a tank. The reviews on eham are extremely impressive.

 

[KQ4BX]

The reason Icom cost so much is obvious to the people who own them. I would take the 7600 over the other radios, but you do get what you pay for. I agree with the suggestions to keep the HF by itself, and buy a duel band model for local repeaters. I happen to have the ID-5100, and the IC-7100, and they are both great radios, but the 7600 is way above either of those in performance. Icom has some of the best DSP filters in Ham Radio. When you go DSP, you get a wide range of use, but only if they work well. If you have to add filters, consider that in the cost of any HF radio. Why? Well because the filters rae the parts that they take out of the radios because they add to the cost, but they also make the radio a way better radio. The good thing about DSP getting so good, is that it is mostly all firmware programming, and that is cheap compared to mechanical filters. With DSP getting so good, and being so cheap to make, you will find it in a lot of low end radios. The DSP filters in my Icom IC-7100 are fantastic. I had them in my 756 Pro II, and that is when I realized that Icom has the DSP market locked. You have to know what bad DSP is before you can know what good DSP is. If you know what good mechanical filters can do, you may also be a good judge of great DSP. I won't go into what poor DSP can, or can't do, just be warned that not all DSP is the same. The same can be said about mechanical filters, but the margin between good mechanical and great mechanical is much narrower than that of good DSP, and great DSP. You can actually add another category to DSP, poor DSP. The truth is that you don't find poor DSP anymore, we crossed that road a while back.
If you are going to retire, and not spend anymore big money on Ham Radio, but the 7600 and don't look back. You won't regret it.