Icom R10

[FrankJ]

I'm considering buying a used one. I've currently been using a PRO-43 and BC780XLT. How does the R10 compare on VHF/UHF when it comes to sensitivity, selectivity, dynamic range, and intermod rejection? What can I expect for HF SSB utililities?

Frank

 

[Randall]

I'm considering buying a used one. I've currently been using a PRO-43 and BC780XLT. How does the R10 compare on VHF/UHF when it comes to sensitivity, selectivity, dynamic range, and intermod rejection? What can I expect for HF SSB utililities?

Frank

i have a pro 43 and an icom R1 and R10, the R10 is my favorite by far, i carry it everywhere with me. the one weakness is the bnc connector on the icoms seem to wear out after a year or two. with my R10 i dont use the rubber duck antenna, i have replaced the bnc connector with a two terminal connector which i clip different lengths of wire to , i get much improved shortwave reception that way. the bandwidth is a little wide on shortwave but its fine for running around and taking with me to work.one other thing i dont like about icoms is their squelch, it stops only for a certain period of time and then resumes or stops completely but you cant set it to stop for the entire transmission if its a long one.all in all i like the R10 very much and will probably get an R20 next time.

 

[ka3jjz]

Frank I saw the question you posted both here and at Strong Signals....we have a fairly complete wiki page set up for the R10 here

Like all multiband handhelds of this type, I think you will quickly find that such radios have some serious limitiations when a band becomes very crowded or if many stronger signals start showing up. Usually this becomes apparent when strong signals override the weaker ones, stations start showing up 2 or 3 at a time, ect. Putting a good antenna on these radios on HF is usually a mistake; you probably won't be able to put more than 20 or 30 foot of wire - if that - without overloading. Keeping the antenna short, and tuning for just the stronger stations, may be about as good as you're going to get.

The wiki has several links for receivers from Icom, Yaesu and AOR, and there are several more that we don't have that can be better referenced with Passport to World Band Radio and Radiointel's links (such as some of the higher end portables). Do your homework now, save a few bucks (and aggravation) later. You can check out the receiver reviews section on our Utility Monitoring wiki for some other links to such reviews.

73s Mike