Icom to release updated IC-7300 MK2 & Updated ID-5200!

I posted an earlier note here that I was disappointed with the limited changes made here, and that it was just milking the old radio for a few more sales. In reply, I got a very upset note from a friend who felt that I didn't realize that ICOM "makes no money at all on Ham Radio products." I guess I can't fault them if they are doing this at a loss for the pleasure of a few in the amateur radio world . . . but that doesn't make sense to me. Supposedly, ham radio is 18% of their sales. Can anyone verify that this is a loss leader for ICOM? I guess I could forgive their lack of true innovation if this is just a hobby for the company. Dave, W7DGJ

 

I cannot imagine Icom or any other manufacturer for that matter, that would design, manufacture, and sell any Amateur radio equipment without making a profit.
What has been added to the 7300 along with inflation and the new tariffs, are responsible for the expected price increase.
It's quite possible that the new hardware in the radio will allow new features to be introduced in the future that the current version cannot support.
So, I wouldn't expect Icom to announce everything that the new radio will be able to do until it starts selling. And I imagine that it will sell quite well.
James
WD5GWY

 

I'm not sure that I believe claims of zero profit, but I can believe that they don't make much profit out of ham radio equipment. I think the point is that both ICOM and Yaesu have a significant presence in the commercial communications market and they use the ham market as a testing ground for new designs and technology. Take a look through the ICOM catalogue of marine radios and you will see devices that look very familiar...

I think this also explains the difference in approach between Kenwood and the other two - Kenwood have pretty much dropped out of the commercial analogue market - they do have a commercial communications division, but there is very little overlap with our requirements. Hence Kenwood's strategy of sweating out their old designs - no rapid release cadence for new ham radio designs...

Martin (G8FXC)

 

Your Call stuck out when I saw it, Good call by the way, now for Sherwood I don't know that it will matter much as his rank is determined so narrowly using CW only when considering his determinations and many who are looking for this upgraded radio will be more interested in the SSB performance and hwo it compares specifically to some other modern (newer) receivers such as the Kenwood TS890s (also TS990s) and the Yaesu FTdx10 & FTdx101 series radios. I especially am looking forward to see how it compares, in SSB operations, to the IC-7610 and the Elecraft K4 and FLEX 8400 series radios. Also wondering just how aggressive ICOM will be when pricing this upgrade to the original. I've had 3 original IC7300's over the years and still believe it's the best bang for the buck and all around best sounding SSB transmit audio from a manufacturer's hand microphone. I've never heard one that sounded bad and it's one of the few radios that most anyone can just turn on and start using without having to dissect the mannual. Great call sign (again) and see you on the airwaves.

 

I got mine reserved at HRO but like the Yaesu FTX-1, I waited for the initial reviews before purchasing it which I didn't and HRO refunded my $35. I have 2 7300s and one FT710 Field. The 710 is listed on our local Swap 'N Shop and will list the older 7300 soon.

 

It's all the same just a couple more transistors.

 

FYI:
Sherwood's radio list are not listed by the overall top radio, the people talking about the list all the time they don't even know what they're talking about. Rob is the best at what he does for sure, and thank him for so many years of his service to amateur radio.

NOTE UPDATE Aug 2025, RMDR is not even used on Sherwood list yet, but Flex and Icom recommends it as the benchmark for testing of their radios. Rob even stated this on the Icom forum last week, to clarify how to really read his list, "Please let me clarify how the Sherwood list is sorted/ranked. There are 158 radios listed, and they are sorted in order only by the 2-kHz 3rd-order dynamic range (DR3). All the other 13 columns have data on other performance criteria such as noise floor, sensitivity, blocking and LO Noise/RMDR, etc. (Note: There isn’t a column heading for RMDR since that definition was only defined in 2012, while the earliest radios on the list go back 50 years to 1976.)"


So as some of us know, being number one on the list, doesn't mean it is the number one overall best radio, as Rob clarifieds.

A few of us have been trying to explain this list to others for years, with no avail. They only want to see what they see. RMDR is not even a part of the list

 

Well said
Grown men telling themselves what I have is best and dont even know what they are talking about LOL

It reminds of the old kiddie commercial

 

Here's hoping that the MKII does not do away with some of the 7300's features that make it very popular in the MARS and SHARES worlds. One is the 'silent scan' feature that bypasses the band relays while scanning a broad range of frequencies when using an ALE application like Ion2G and PC/MARS ALE. There are ALE users who buy the 7300 specifically for this feature. The built-in tuner 'emergency mode' is also an outstanding feature. In fact, I've stopped carrying an external tuner to the field with my 7300. If the tuner can't match my antenna in the normal mode, I'll just turn on the emergency mode and keep on operating. In emergency mode I've noted the tuner can handle up to 5:1 mis-matches.

 

Interesting analysis here on the impact of lower RX current draw on the MKII compared to original 7300 and the value for field and off-grid use. (For further comparison, the FT-710 Field is 1.8A stand-by/2.2A with a signal present - double+ the MKII specs!)

https://oh8stn.org/blog/2025/09/04/icom-ic7300mk2-off-grid-friendly/

 

My first reaction to seeing the ID-5200 is they had to respond to the Kenwood TM-D750, which DOES have 220mhz, but at an undetermined output power. Upon first glance this is the major difference between the two, and I’m leaning toward the Kenwood for the 220mhz capability.

 

You need some US manufacturers - you guys are the only ones in the world with 220 and you should not be too surprised if the big Japanese manufacturers don't see it as profitable...

Martin (G8FXC)

 

Icom makes no money on ham radio products?

Whoever said that needs to take a course in business. No for-profit business manufactures *anything* that doesn't make them money. Any kind of "loss-leader" is at the retail level, not the manufacturing level. They're (loss leaders) are very low-priced products designed to entice consumers to visit a store, see the product, and probably wind up buying a more upgraded one that better fits their needs. A salesperson's job to do that.

The 7300 might not have as much profit margin as a 7610, but the retailers are still making somewhat of a profit on it. With the initial costs of R&D long gone and sales of well over 100,000 units sold world-wide, Icom itself has a real winner. The real high margin items at retail are the accessories that compliment it...antennas, coax, headphones, mics, keys, power supplies, etc that the consumer adds at the time of purchase...keeping the vendors in the black.

While improved RMDR and phase noise are attractive feature additions to the MKII, I think the biggest kicker incentive will be the HDMI output for an external display. Hams just love those big bright LED monitors adorning their shacks. And they'll pay to have them.

 

That was said on the current Trials and Errors forum.

"Here is the general system of facts: ham radio LOSES money. That's because hams , in general, don't spend it. The major transceiver companies do NOT 'maximize profits' through ham radio. In fact, they LOSE MONEY on ham radio. Ham radio is essentially a loss-leader for marketing-- to secure commercial and military sales. Many hams work for those fields and actively are involved in buying decisions. Period. And yes, BTW, there is plenty of innovation going on in those companies... certainly FLEX comes to mind."

That's from a frequent Zed poster, a person whose opinion I have always respected, but this is wrong. I agree with you that NO ONE is going to gear up a manufacturing line to take a loss. That's just crazy. But, on your last point, while I would love to have an HDMI output on my 7300, it certainly doesn't seem to me to be an outrageous innovation. It's simply a way to milk the 7300 for perhaps another 50,000 units before the tide turns and something truly innovative comes from ICOM. Dave, W7DGJ

 

I agree it's not an "outrageous innovation". But just a refresher feature to keep up with the Jones'...FTDX-10 and FT-710, with a one-up on them being HDMI...great resolution. It's not a feature I would "love to have" nor spend for, but read reviews on the 7300 and that's an overwhelming feature on owner's wish lists.

I'd be willing to bet that when it's released, you're gonna see a bunch of original 7300s in the classifieds for $650-$750 in order to fork out the MKII's $1.4-$1.5 price tag. Icom will sell another 50K MKIIs, unless they come up with an upgraded one-receiver 7610 (7500?) for $2-2.5K.

I was in the retail business for over 40 years, and one thing I can say...sizzle sells.