Icom shows new IC-R15 at Tokyo Ham Fair

[eorange]

That's gonna be an interesting test, given the R30 is so sensitive already.

A while ago I posted that scanning on the R30's A band caused some birdies in the B band in the civ and mil air ranges. That's the one I'm curious about with the R15.

 

[eorange]

Here. Digital scanning was involved. R30 - Cross A/B Band Interference

Still will be curious if this happens with all analog scanning on the R15.

 

[DudleyG]

At the bottom of page 4-1 in the R15 Advanced Manual, it mentions about scanning in one band may cause noise in the other band. It further mentions that - "this is not a receiver malfunction".

I seem to remember a similar comment somewhere in the R30 documentation, but I can't find it.

 

[G7RUX]

I was expecting it to be around that price point and think it's pretty reasonable.

I can remember way back paying over $500 for a Yaesu VR-500 so, taking inflation into account and the advances in technology, $449.95 is a reasonable price.

You can make a good argument with current radio amateur gear that never before have you gotten more value/performance for your $$$ than now.

Absolutely. Back in 1992 my Yupiteru MVT-7000 was around £300 so the R15 doesn’t seem horribly excessive. That said the ID52 is £500 and the R30 was around £550 so the R15 isn’t a cheap set at all.

I was warned when I was training that radio was an expensive game and the lecturers weren’t wrong!

 

[DudleyG]

Looking at page 7-8 in the R15 Advanced Manual, there is an MEMU option called Heterodyne that addresses spurious signals when in Dual Watch mode. It sounds like the "Invert Filter" on the Uniden SDS100/SDS200 scanners. The R30 has no such feature. So @eorange they may have tried to help you!!!!

 

[eorange]

Whoa! Well, to all future R15 owners... you're welcome! 🤪

 

[G7RUX]

The one thing that caught my eye in the Sensitivity specs were measurements of 0 dBu or less. You don't often see that on receivers of this class.

The R30 spec sheet shows 1.4 uV for VHF airband against the R15’s 1 uV (0 dBu) which is extremely close so I doubt you’d notice a difference in use.

Given that most modern receivers are really quite sensitive already it’s more important for usability to compare selectivity and especially so with OOB strong signal handling. Here is where published specifications get to be a bit unhelpful in that they usually give insufficient information. The R15 says “50 dB or more” but doesn’t indicate the offset so we have to assume +/- at least 1 or two channels. The R30 specs indicate 60 dB between 12 kHz and 30 kHz offset which is pretty good. Neither receiver’s specification sheet gives any more in-depth information about their performance so some bench tests will be required.

 

[palmerjrusa]

Everyone that has IC-R15s pre-ordered let the thread know when you've got notification of shipping.

HRO ships orders via UPS with me and I always get an email that a package is on the way, I'll update everyone here when I get one.

 

[dzirzow]

I see the FCC approved it yesterday. 3-26-24

 

[dzirzow]

FCC identifier. AFJ432200.

 

[bearcatrp]

Am hoping Icom already shipped to stores to be ready to sell after approval.

 

[palmerjrusa]

Am hoping Icom already shipped to stores to be ready to sell after approval.

Same here, although I think it's likely FCC certification documents will be required before the radios get past any custom inspection etc.

Still, not long now😀

 

[Kiniutech]

Looking forward to direct comparison with New Uniden 160N, we already see differences in Display, etc but
I am interested in reception, ease of use, etc, Can the price difference justify purchasing Icom

 

[bearcatrp]

Can the price difference justify purchasing Icom

That will be the million dollar question. I hope so. Had high hopes the Icom 52a would have been a nice receiver but Icom nuttered it.

 

[palmerjrusa]

Looking forward to direct comparison with New Uniden 160N, we already see differences in Display, etc but
I am interested in reception, ease of use, etc, Can the price difference justify purchasing Icom

I think the two radios have different target audiences.
The IC-R15 also has features the BC-160DN lacks, dual receive etc.

 

[Kiniutech]

I think the two radios have different target audiences.
The IC-R15 also has features the BC-160DN lacks, dual receive etc.

Yes exactly, then Uniden 160DN has DMR/NXDN and a wider frequency range, etc, side by side comparison will be helpful, after releasing IC-R15 especially reception and sensitivity. Wait and see do I need another toy,
ps For handhelds I already have:
UBC126AT, TRX-1, Icom IC-R30 and Yaesu FT-60R,

 

[bearcatrp]

You don't have enough handhelds. Buy more.

 

[Kiniutech]

Yep, I suspect it's only a fraction of what other members have. Another radio has to be significantly better than the existing collection.
At this stage, I am not so sure about that. Yaesu and Uniden 126 would have to go if the new Icom R15 performs better on Civ and Mil Air.
Have a good day

 

[JohnGingras]

I think you mean the 125

 

[Air490]

I think you mean the 125

No he definitely mean 126. The UBC126AT was the version of the 125 for the Australian and New Zealand market.