Essential Rig Requirements
While I’m not wedded to Icom rigs, they have been very good to me and our efforts with Radio Scouting activities. Not only that, but I like their rigs and their approach. That all started with inheriting an IC-745 from my dad, followed by the IC-9100 plus testing their IC-7300 and IC-9700. After that, I thought about an SDR rig like SunSDR. But I wanted to stay in my current Airspy SDR receiving setup.
The other criterion is that I wanted a rig with both 6 and 2 meters. That included some older used Icom rigs from IC-746 Pro to another IC-9100. But considering that the rig is mostly a transmitter only, supported by the Airspy, the IC-7100 fit very nicely.
IC-7100 — Features that Fit
One big thing that I wanted was a direct USB connection to the rig. But, on the other hand, I didn’t need much in the way of a receiver. And a compact rig is always a good size.
I also valued two antenna connectors, one for HF/6 and one for 144/432 MHz. That gave it a significant leg-up over the more expensive and lower-power IC-705.
It’s also convenient that the menu structure and overall operation match the IC-9100, so my learning curve isn’t quite as steep.
The downside is that IC-7100 does not have a separate PTT connection for an amplifier. But you can implement that with the ACC connector, including separate HF/6 and VHF/UHF PTT lines. That could be useful if I return to VHF roving or portable operations.
Purchasing the IC-7100 — Lots of Options
Icom has discontinued the rig, but there are still many options for purchase. [Note: I’ve been informed that Icom has not discontinued this rig but expect to get them back in stock soon]. I kept a close eye on eBay listings. And, while watching some of those auctions and buy-it-now listings, I stumbled upon HamEstate.com. Their goal is to help ham families move the departed ham’s gear onto others. Their listing of an IC-7100 appeared on one of my searches. The price was right, and they shipped very promptly. Check them out for other gear.
BTW. I also picked up a remote head base mount on eBay. It moves the remote head vertically to 90 degrees rather than the 45-degree display. It’s a 3D-printed item. I found the included screws didn’t fit. But Lowes has the correct metric version, M3-.50 x 10. I particularly like how it now matches the alignment of the IC-9100 display. The buttons and touchscreen still work great, although you’ll need to add rubber feet to the mount to prevent movement. I also picked up a Nifty! Mini-Manual — you’ve got to have that!
Two Rig Setup — IC-7100 and IC-9100
My first big motivation to get the IC-7100 up and running was so that I could send the IC-9100 for repair. Unfortunately, something went wrong with the HF/6 receiver, which I haven’t been using on 6 meters, but HF is another matter.
Once the IC-7100 arrived and was placed on the air, I sent the IC-9100 to Matt Adrian at the Icom Service Center in Michigan. I worked with Matt at Heathkit back in the day. He does excellent work and keeps you informed at every stage of the process.
On the initial installation of the IC-7100, everything was pretty much plug the IC-9100 connections into the rig, and make sure all the levels were correct. It worked a treat on both HF, 6, and 2 meters. While the IC-9100 was being repaired, I added a few more South American grids on 6 meters and a 1200-mile meteor scatter contact on 2 meters.
Now that the IC-9100 has returned home, I’ve set the IC-7100 for 6 meters only. It uses the Airspy SDR, Antennas-Amplifiers preamp/switch/bandpass filter, and M2 amplifier. A Downeast Microwave sequencer is used to keep all that switching correctly.
The IC-9100 is set up for 2 meters and HF. Instead of a sequencer, it directly runs the Tokyo Hy-Power 2-meter amplifier and uses the amp’s internal preamp. I like that simple setup, and we’ll see how the receiver works versus the Airspy lash-up I have been using.
That’s the news from K5ND. Glad to see the 6-meter Sporadic E season getting underway. There’s been some tropo for 2 meters but not enough other stations on the air during the openings. Next up is the ARRL June VHF Contest.
I look forward to seeing you on the air.
Iam very grateful to be alive and writting to you over here. I have recently suffer a stroke and ham radio has helped me inmenslyto get better using mug voice to communicate to others my wishes