Icom IC-9700 - First Impression

"...the demise of the British Empire!!..."

The sun will never set on the British empire because even God doen't trust the english in the dark

 

OUCH!!

Never heard that one before. The VAT must really hurt.

It's 'only' 13% here.

 

I do not remember one instance where the US price for brand name hamradio gear was higher than in other countries. Volume of sales, and competition, makes a big difference.

 

Icom just did the United States release at 2019 QuartzFest which is happening this week in Arizona.
they're giving one away on Friday, if the attendance reaches 1000 which appears it will be an all-time record for this week long ARRL RV camping event

 

Also Ray from Icom said, if using the Icom software you'll be able to run it remotely with the icon software full functions, just like the IC 7610.
US Hamas will get yheir first hands on the radio on the air, tomorrow at the special event station here, we did have plenty of time to play with it on the table till sunset tonight.
Ray commented about the international prices and said the US price in all probability will be much lower.
K0UO

 

I'm sure you're going to see this radio on Ham Nation as Gordo is out here and they're doing some filming

 

I have on on reserve. I'm glad to hear that so many are scared off by the new fangled radio. It should make it easier to get mine.

73, Larry WB8LBZ
El Paso, TX

 

Considerably more than there are active FM satellites, though all are in low earth orbit. Maximum range of AO-7 is ~8000km, with the record currently at 8,030 km.
Whether you have much in workable range though depends on location. For example, I can work up to 126 or so DX entities from here in IL, if they actually happened to be on.

 

The price is know in EU. Several stores have it as 1995 EUR. Just subtract some 20% for the US.

 

2 grand for this lol its a rig not Jodrell Bank !

 

When is 2 meter AM mode coming back.

I still have my functioning Ameco TX-62 and Ameco nuvistor converter ready to go.

 

Does anyone have an idea when the 9700 will be released in the U.S?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is genius has it's limits"

 

There is a big difference in the word "release" and "premier." The IC-9700 was not "released" at the 2019 QuartzFest. That would mean it's for sale in the USA. The radio there is not even a production unit.

Icom does. I'd bet they'd let us know as soon as it's available for sale in the USA.

 

Has the FCC thrown its Holy Water on it yet? I'm thinking that part is part of the Government Shut-Down. I wouldn't expect any action until after things get moving again. It could have been accepted and just not released publicly.

73, Larry WB8LBZ
El Paso, TX

 

FCC has reopened its Equipment Authorization system. For equipment that doesn't require special consideration by the FCC, that means it's "business as usual" for bringing equipment to the US marketplace.

As for the IC-9700 specifically, its specifications show it only covers the 3 ham bands. This means it does not have to go through the FCC certification process. The radio would have to meet technical requirements in Part 97, which can be done without an FCC certification grant. Ray Novak mentioned this in a comment on his Facebook post about the radio last week. I referenced Ray's comment in a post on the satellite forum here on QRZ. If that's the case, it all comes down to when Icom gets the assembly line going for the IC-9700, and when they start shipping the radios to the USA.

I was at Ray's presentation yesterday at Quartzfest. The IC-9700 was not released yesterday, as W5PFG mentioned. Ray showed the radio off, although he refused to allow antennas to be connected to it. He powered it on, and demonstrated some of the functionality of the radio. After his talk, he showed me (and others) some of the functionality related to working satellites - the main reason I would have for an IC-9700. Ray was dodgy on when the radio would finally appear on the US market - maybe late March, maybe early April, but he didn't pin down the timeframe.