The New ICOM IC-7800 Rig

[KL7FZ]

I see that ICOM is now selling the new top-o-the-line IC-7800 HF and 6 Meter rig.


ICOM list price is $13,466.65.
AES has them for $10,599.99.
HRO has them at $10,599.00

And they still make you purchase the CT-17 Level converter for PC control as an extra! Good Grief!

So how many are you going to buy? #I can see the need for at least two. One base and one mobile, don't cha know?

Maybe even a third for a backpack radio for portable operation. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif #

Maybe even send a couple to some poor starving third world ham orphans so they can operate those contests they want to do so badly. #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Darn! This thing should come with a new automobile at that price!

Gotto go now. Want to get my order in right away!

Steve #KL7FZ

[n9vr]

Hi Steve,

I wonder how well this "pricey" rig will sell also...

73
Bill

[n5tjd]

As Frank Barone (sp?) would say... "Holy Crap!"

That costs as much as a small car... no wait, you can get a new minicar for under 10k...

It is very interesting. I would love to play with one.

like anything in this world if you want it and they know it the price goes up dont be tempted,it only a new toy,GI3GGY ,jimmy reads RSGB NEWS has a radio 50 years never had it opened same tubes, tops ,by the way some one is thinking up a new radio to beat the icom as we type 73s merv

[ai4ep]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Since it transmits on 6 meters...the " no-code-tekkies " can use it...wonder how long it will be before there is a MODIFICATION for 11 meter usage ? ...I figgered I would go ahead and ask that question before some one else did ( duh )...!! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif ---ai4ep--- ( keep the code but why DO you have to ask why ? )

[n7wsb]

I got a QSL card from a Japanese ham the other day with one of those on the front in a shack environment. Apparently it was the radio he made the QSO with. I've seen one personally - I can honestly say if I had the extra cash I would have one - its very very very nice.

Some hams seem to have lots of money. Many stations around here have several towers, with several hf yagi antennas on them, and inside plenty of hf rigs (some of them worth 4000-8000 a piece)

Personally I think I'll be doing well to lay down 700+ for a new mobile radio.

[K8EEI]

Well , OM , like anything else , if you wait about a year or so , the price will probably go down by quite a bit .


Over ? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[N5RLR]

<span style='color:blue'>Anybody for a Space Shuttle dashboard?

http://www.rigpix.com/icom/ic7800.jpg

Seriously...I wonder how long this rig is going to be manufactured. #$10K isn't exactly pocket change to a lot of hams; ergo, I don't believe that many will be sold. #Can Icom justify the tooling and other manufacturing processes to build this? #And what about support after the sale/cessation of production?

Pardon my seeming pessimism. #The IC-7800 looks great, probably handles and is engineered well...but all this won't do a lot of good if it turns out to be the proverbial white elephant.

Unless...the rig is relegated to &quot;special order&quot; status.

Just my http://forum.goregasm.com/images/smilies/twocents.gif. # http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif</span>

[wd0ct]

fz said: [Darn! This thing should come with a new automobile at that price!]

I remember [back in the late 80s or early 90s], if you bought a cretain new Leica lens for their 35mm camera, they included a new Volkswagon car.

[W3MIV]

Hey, RLR:
It isn't $10K ----- It's $10K PLUS the cost of a new IC-718. Or more, depending on where you want to buy one.

I think they build these things as image enhancers that often will boost sales of their other products through association. After all, whatever the LEADER manufactures has got to be wonderful.

And, there are lots of folks to whom $11,000 or more is nothing. Mitsubishi has a DLP projection TV out that costs about $12K and, as a trap shooter, I know lots and lots of people who buy shotguns that cost $15K and up. At least with a radio, you figure that the money is buying all kinds of bells and whistles that make some sort of real difference in its performance.
I've seen a 14-year-old kid using an old H&amp;R Topper outshoot guys with Silver Seitz trap guns.

The one really big advantage to this ICOM, I am told, is that it will send code for you and you don't have to bother learning Morse with one.


Sorry, just couldn't resist....

[WA5KRP]

IC-7800 $10,500

Talent: $ 3,500
Prestige: 1,000
Blue Sky 6,000



Just my humble opinion. Equipment cranked out by Art Collins sold at a premium and has remained highly sought after. Performance was state of the art.

I presume this is state of the art. But do you really believe the 7800 will be considered a benchmark, or just a pretty radio with a bunch of gee-gaws? Once you own one, what will the resale market be two years from now - reallistically?

I'm just fishing for opinions. Would I buy one - I can't afford it. Just to clear that up.


73

WA5KRP

[KG4ZQZ]

- went down to candy store a couple weeks ago... was told that the 7800 would 'never be on display'...

- guess i have to wait until Dayton to touch one?

[N5RLR]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (W3MIV @ April 10 2004,15:16)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><span style='color:darkgreen'>I think they build these things as image enhancers that often will boost sales of their other products through association. After all, whatever the LEADER manufactures has got to be wonderful.</span>[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
<span style='color:blue'>Good point, but this may also have a little of the opposite effect -- having such an expensive rig may give the impression that all of their equipment is rather exorbitant. #At least to a new ham, anyway...</span>

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (W3MIV @ April 10 2004,15:16)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><span style='color:darkgreen'>And, there are lots of folks to whom $11,000 or more is nothing. Mitsubishi has a DLP projection TV out that costs about $12K and, as a trap shooter, I know lots and lots of people who buy shotguns that cost $15K and up. At least with a radio, you figure that the money is buying all kinds of bells and whistles that make some sort of real difference in its performance.
I've seen a 14-year-old kid using an old H&amp;R Topper outshoot guys with Silver Seitz trap guns.</span>[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
<span style='color:blue'>Oh, true, there are those who figuratively, if not literally, have money burning holes in their pockets. #I am certainly not one of these; and even if I were, I personally would go for a simpler, less-expensive transceiver [again, my opinion, not to defame Icom or the IC-7800]. #For me, radio is more skill than equipment, all other things being equal [this equation subject to change with individual circumstance! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif].</span>

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (W3MIV @ April 10 2004,15:16)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><span style='color:darkgreen'>The one really big advantage to this ICOM, I am told, is that it will send code for you and you don't have to bother learning Morse with one.


Sorry, just couldn't resist....</span>[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
<span style='color:blue'>**GROAAAANN** http://www.jms101.btinternet.co.uk/full_sets/gold/circular_bold_std/bobby2.gif</span> http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[k9kjm]

Rumors I heard is that this radio is mostly aimed
at the military and commercial market worldwide,
With the appropriate &quot;mod&quot; of one or more diodes
left out, I hear it will work on all of those frequencies.

Even if I had this type of &quot;mad money&quot; in my pocket,
I think I would buy two IC 756PRO radios used and
spend the $7,000.00 left over on towers and antennas...

But for those with the bucks, More power to them! Looks
like a great rig!

[ac0be]

Hey- if I had bucks to burn I'd buy one! (I don't so while I'm dreaming, now I can dream BIG)

I'd park it right next to an Orion and a FT1000 and have a shootout!!

In the meantime, I'll have just as much fun with my old TS 130SE!

73 Steve

[bigdog]

I think that if they keep the price of their rigs high enough all the time that they will go the way of TEN TEC and not sell enough product to justify being in business.

[KG4ZQZ]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (bigdog @ April 11 2004,03:44)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I think that if they keep the price of their rigs high enough all the time that they will go the way of TEN TEC and not sell enough product to justify being in business.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
- ICOM offers rigs in a spectrum of prices... (the 718 was below $500 at Xmas time)...

- you can read about ICOM's history here:

http://www.icom.co.jp/world/info/p-interview/

- ten tec will be around for a long, long time... the company makes more than just radios, and their design philosophies in current production rigs drive future designs of the other manufacturers... (right now, no other rigs on the market are flash-upgradeable except for Ten Tec's)

- you can read a bit of Ten Tec's history (and bios of its company founders/officers) here:

http://www.doug-smith.net/audiophile.htm

- hope this helps!

[K6UEY]

I don't really think ICOM is worried about the HAM market supporting sales of this rig. Word has it the rig has been in service for over 2 years being used by Goverment and military sources. Offering it to the Ham Market is just another way of selling an already winner.

[ai4ep]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif I figure I WILL go ahead and get one...that way I can brag about it over the air..and on C W. I wont modify it, but just leave it &quot; stock &quot;, since all my other amaterur rigs are &quot;stock &quot;....was no need to modify the other ones, why this rig ? Me think I will order me one of these rigs TOMORROW and go from there...73 --ai4ep--

[AG3Y]

Where else but in ham radio can you work &quot;Outer Slobbovia&quot; with a 10K-bucks-plus Icom 7800, or a home-brew QRP cw rig that cost you $25 for a handfull of parts, and the person at the other end might not even be able to tell which signal came from which rig ? ? ! ! !

Ain't ham radio grand ? ? ? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

73 from Jim AG3Y ( gotta get back to my HW-8 now ! )

[n0ov]

Hm

For that price I hope it comes with free shipping -- question is not how many are going to buy, but how long is it going to last.

[AG3Y]

Do you mean , how long is the radio going to be available, or how long will it hold up under day to day operation.

Well, I can tell you that a radio built to military or commercial standards is about as tough as radios are going to get, and as far as my own personal experience, I have owned an IC-720A for over 15 years, and it works like a new one! ( didn't pay no ten grand plus for it either http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif )

A missionary friend of mine had an IC-701 in the jungles of Brazil for a looong time ( until he retired and came back stateside, that is ) and it continued working for him even when he had to fix the vias on the printed circuit board with strands of wire from a lamp cord!

Icoms build GOOD radios!

73 from Jim AG3Y

[W3MIV]

If you can buy this radio, you don't care about the shipping costs. Take my word for it.

[k3sam]

You mean that if you buy this radio you actually need an antenna or tower ? (jk) Seriously though, if ICOM were to offer a payment plan I bet the radio with the payment plan might work. Sure, I have a few VISAs and MASTERCARDS, but having an ICOM Perferred Customer Card would be cool.

I bet $555 dollars and .55 cents on horse number 5 in the fifth horse race the other day figuring that if I won I would buy one. Sure enough, the horse came in FIFTH...

[W3MIV]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k3sam @ April 12 2004,12:05)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I bet $555 dollars and .55 cents on horse number 5 in the fifth horse race the other day figuring that if I won I would buy one. #Sure enough, the horse came in FIFTH...[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Next time, try $1111.11 and see how it plays out!
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[KL7FZ]

Ok... Maybe I'll try this.
Aging ham. Going down hill fast. Needs help in getting the rig of his dreams. Who could donate a new ICOM IC-7800 to make his declining years a little easier? He would love it and kiss it every day. Talk to it just like a trusted old friend. And to other old friends and potential new friends with it almost every day. My, OOPS, I means HIS, time on this old earth is growing shorter every day. Who will help? Alms? Alms for the poor ham? # #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Well, I can't lose anything by trying. Hi!

The poor KL7FZ
Wanting to give out those rare Alaskan DX contacts but really need an IC-7800 to do it.
(If I, OOPS again! I mean if HE could get two, he could give out rare mobile grids also) #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[nc4tn]

That ICOM.....Surely they jest! Even it they drop half price, I refuse to shell out my hard earned somolians for a rig priced that high, period. W4NKW

Psst...
The entire purpose of this rig is to give the XYL a heart attack... and, should she survive, to make the price of every other rig out there look like a bargain.

Damn, I hope it works.

[KL7FZ]

Do you think ICOM would send me one to use if I was to do the &quot;Cold Weather Testing&quot; for them?

I could supply them with really neat pictures of the rig being transported by a dog-team.

Or being mauled by a grizzly, showing the durability of the unit!

Or since it is so shiny and flashy, being used as a lure for those really big King Salmon.

I really need a gimmick so I can get one!

#KL7FZ

[KC8QMU]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">You mean that if you buy this radio you actually need an antenna or tower ?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

For that price it should include the instillation of a tower, beam, and associated hardware.

Come to think of it, I'll take two..... one for the shack and one for the pickup, oh wait, come to think of it, the radio would be worth more than the pickup.... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[KC9ETP]

I just don't get it. Why all the negativity about a radio?

I know people who drop far more than 10 grand on things they do as a hobby. Auto racers/restorers/hotrodders, musicians, hifi audio, antique colloctors, model railroaders, R/C aircraft flyers, and on and on. Big deal.

I'm sure ICOM will sell every one they make. It's not like they are discontinuing the rest of the line up.

[ai4ep]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Folks will spend more than $10 grand on a bass boat that only gets used 5 months out of a year.... on guns, shells, licenses, food, gas, etc for hunting trips ( and never kill what ever species they went hunting for ).... they spend more than $10 grand on a four-wheel-drive vehicle that does not get &quot; 4 - wheel - drive &quot; use more than 100 miles in a year, . So what is the big beef about spending $10 grand for a radio ? To each his/her own. We all have different habits/hobbies. ---ai4ep---

[kc2jga]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (ai4ep @ April 13 2004,16:55)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Folks will spend more than $10 grand on a bass boat that only gets used 5 months out of a year.... on guns, shells, licenses, food, gas, etc for hunting trips ( and never kill what ever species they went hunting for ).... they spend more than $10 grand on a four-wheel-drive vehicle that does not get &quot; 4 - wheel - drive &quot; use more than 100 miles in a year, . # #So what is the big beef about spending $10 grand for a radio ? To each his/her own. #We all have different habits/hobbies. ---ai4ep---[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
The way I see it is, &quot;A bad day of fishing beats any good day at work&quot; No, I don't spend that much on fishing gear.

[kg4kww]

I'm in for at least 2 of these babys. 10K, that's cheap for what your getting in this rig. Yep ICOM does it again. I shall use the money from my George Bush tax break to make the purchase.

[KD4LEI]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (N5RLR @ April 10 2004,12:30)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><span style='color:blue'>Anybody for a Space Shuttle dashboard?

http://www.rigpix.com/icom/ic7800.jpg

Seriously...I wonder how long this rig is going to be manufactured. #$10K isn't exactly pocket change to a lot of hams; ergo, I don't believe that many will be sold. #Can Icom justify the tooling and other manufacturing processes to build this? #And what about support after the sale/cessation of production?

Pardon my seeming pessimism. #The IC-7800 looks great, probably handles and is engineered well...but all this won't do a lot of good if it turns out to be the proverbial white elephant.

Unless...the rig is relegated to &quot;special order&quot; status.

Just my http://forum.goregasm.com/images/smilies/twocents.gif. # http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif</span>[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
MAN! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL RIG!

That display reminds me of the multi-function displays that I have seen in the F-15E fighters. The whole rig reminds me of sitting in the 15E similator with all those nice and beautiful buttons as well.

[W4CGP]

The more recent Shuttle cockpits look a bit less cluttered than the 7800 since they converted the Shuttles to glass cockpits.

Needless to say, the rig looks superb but I won't be shelling out the price for the radio any time soon.

I wonder how much my car insurance would go up if I had one mobile? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[n0irw]

Icom will sell all of these radios thay can build.....but the majority of them will NOT go to hams.....most of them will go to the military and to the world wide diplomatic corps....since this is a software radio....changing usable frequencies is mostly a matter of a firmware change....and the receivers in this rig are equal to or better than commercial radios that START at more than 10K.....then not to mention.....after Icom gets some return on the R&amp;D.....the technology will filter down to new, less expensive rigs......the technology in this rig is an order of magnitude above eerything else out there. And on top of everything....i'm not even an Icom fan.

Later,

Kevin O'Dell
N0IRW

[WA3KYY]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (n0irw @ April 21 2004,09:28)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">and the receivers in this rig are equal to or better than commercial radios that START at more than 10K.....[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I'm not so sure about that. The specs in the brochure don't seem to be any better than those of the Elecraft K2 (a $600 kit for the basic transceiver) or the Ten-Tec Orion ($3500). Most lab reviews place these two at the top of the receiver list in terms of overall performance.

I'm waiting for the ARRL and other lab reviews of this rig. Particularly the MDS and 3rd order IMD measurements. While the 7800 has a lot to offer in terms of features and novelties, the receiver performance is not likely to be the major selling point.


73,
Mike

[K3UD]

Over the years we have probably spent $30,000+ on dog showing and associated expenses and I have spent maybe $5,000 on ham radio in the same time period. It depends on what you are into and your financial situation.

I wonder what this radio can do for me that I can not do with my FT-100 and IC-737A since I am not a DXer and just kinda dabble in contests.

There is a segment of the ham population who will immediatly write a check or whip out the VISA and take one home. It all depends on the value you see in either the radio itself or in just owning a radio that cost that much so you can get on 75 meters with the roudtable and causually mention that you are now running the IC-7800 and become the person of the hour for a short time.

I would like to play with one though.... maybe Icom will send me one for review purposes http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

73
George
K3UD