| DL4QB |
Rating:      |
2023-02-17 | |
| Very nice Icom! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I use my Icom 9700 for 2m SSB, 70cm SSB and also for the operation of the amateur radio Satellite QO100, where I use the 23cm band to go from there to the up converter.
That works all wonderful. Also the 100W on 2m are in contest already a great thing!
Via USB you can use all digi modes very easy.
A really very modern device, which actually leaves nothing to be desired in the VHF / UHF!
Icom you have done it very well!
PS: The TCXO in the fan circuit and the minimum drift, you get this fixed for next device hopefully! |
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| NR9V |
Rating:      |
2022-11-16 | |
| A fine rig |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Quite a nice rig with color touch screen, easy-to-use menus and many options. I was previously using a TS-2000 for V/UHF which is a very solid radio with great performance, and at ~half the price of a 9700 I was good with it and wouldn't have paid full price for a 9700, but then you know how hams are they often post ads for stuff in like-new condition at a huge discount off new price & tax so what are you going to do. Had to try one out and see if the now relatively small cost difference over a TS-2000 or IC-7100 could persuade me to keep it. (I was also using a 7100 for the past 5 years but decided to upgrade to something that supports cross-band full-duplex and had only picked up the 2000 a few months ago.) Honestly the only thing I don't like about the 2000 is the slow scan speed, it will only scan about 4 mem chans/sec. Compared to the 9700 which will do more like 100 chans/sec. If it weren't for that one limitation I would just have stuck with the 2000. I'm not much into D-Star so didn't really need that and don't really need 23cm.
Was pleasantly surprised to see some pretty nice features and modern conveniences in the 9700. Some have noted it groups memories by band and will only scan by band, which is true in the normal operating mode however it also has a DR mode that solves that issue. At www.dstarinfo.com/RepeaterDownloads.aspx you can download a repeater list customized to your exact location, that has not only the full list of 1,000's of D-Star repeaters but also includes as many plain old Analog FM repeaters as you'd like, including full GPS coordinates. I went with the default option of 20% of the list being Analog repeaters and thus the list has all the main D-Star and Analog repeaters not only that are near me but within North America, which covers the majority of the regular memory channels I've maintained over time (about 80 channels I keep in a spreadsheet file and have downloaded into all my other rigs with free CHIRP or Mfr programming tools). The list you download is in CSV format so it's very easy to edit. Then just put in on an SDCard and import into the radio, enter your GPS coords (set position to Manual mode), press the DR button, then hit SCAN, select 'Near Repeater DV/FM' option and it will scan every repeater within about 100 miles. So that's a pretty cool feature, that would definitely not be easy to set up in most other rigs. This would be especially useful for a road trip with a GPS hooked up to it, it would always know what the closest repeaters are.
The other thing that surprised me on this was that D-Star actually sounds pretty good. I'm not a fan of low-bitrate digital modes, and thought D-Star (and C4FM, DMR, etc) all generally sounded pretty terrible on other radios. Well apparently Icom finally got D-Star fine-tuned a little better after all these years and it actually sounds pretty good on the 9700. It still depends a lot on how each other station is set up but just from scanning around SoCal the majority of D-Star QSOs I've heard no longer make me want to quickly turn the dial due to the glitchy robotic audio I usually get on older D-Star radios (eg. 7100, TH-74A, or Droidstar App). I still prefer Analog, but with D-Star repeaters all being interconnected it opens up some DX activity and is definitely a nice option at times when nearby FM repeaters aren't very busy. The DR/CS menus on the 9700 are also much easier to use than those on the 7100. At this point I have to say D-Star seems to be finally becoming a more 'professional'-grade system.
Some have commented that Rx sensitivity is not that great on the 9700 but in tests against my TS-2000 there was no difference. Both pull in multiple repeaters from ~100 mi. away with strong signals and almost no noise. And one last note, the radio seems to still be in active development by Icom with FW updates still coming out so this looks like a solid long-term bet and if you can pick one up used at a good price you can't go wrong.
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| W6CJ |
Rating:    |
2022-09-14 | |
| Generally OK |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I'm still getting accustomed to my IC-9700, using it for FM rpt & simplex, SSB, D-Star rpt & simplex. It got just an OK rating for reasons discussed below.
Likes:
100 w on 2M, 75w on 70cm.
Similar to IC7300 in function and appearance.
Dual band monitoring with single or dual external speakers.
Allows different CTCSS tones on TX and RX.
Good TX and RX audio EQ, and filtering.
Programming memories and functions is easy to manage - with RT Systems software.
Dislikes:
Hambands only, no MARS capability.
430-450 MHz... no 420-430 coverage.
Need to be able to put channels in labelled memory banks, based on PURPOSE and not by BAND, for example: ARES bank, Simplex bank...not possible in the 9700, but my Kenwood and Yaesu HTs do this.
Only 10 watts on 23 cm.
May need to add a Leo Bodnar GPSDO and internal mod for highest stability, especially on 70 and 23 cm.
Would like to see 223 and 900 MHz added.
73
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| WF0M |
Rating:      |
2022-09-14 | |
| Like it so much, I'm buying a 2nd one |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I got this radio for my birthday this year and absolutely love it. I've been using it for about a month now and really like it. The integration with SatPC32 for working satellites is amazing! Eliminates the worry of manually changing frequencies for dopler shifts. I've had great success using FM, DV and SSB modes so far. Have a dual band antenna for 144/440, but have not tried out the 1.2G band yet. Just upgraded to a newly released version of firmware today and that process was easy as well.
Update September 2022: This radio is still working flawlessly and I get out better than most. I've tried all bands and all work great. I've also done DSTAR which is nice. I'm buying a 2nd one for my cabin in the mountains. Unfortunately, the price has gone up quite a bit, but that is the nature of our economy these days. |
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| WA6CR |
Rating:      |
2022-09-08 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
It's a great radio, works amazingly and in case anyone is wondering, at 0% power it still outputs 0.65 watts.
Planning on using this for DX work in the near future, have already made multiple hundred-mile FM contacts with it, absolutely no problem. The preamp really shines in low noise conditions, EX. at the tops of mountains. This radio outperforms all other radios I've owned before.
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| PA1CW |
Rating:      |
2022-06-17 | |
| I love this radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I mainly use this transceiver for DX.
High sensitivity and easy to operate, regular software updates give it more options.
I am a satisfied user. |
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| I2BGQ |
Rating:      |
2022-04-20 | |
| Great transceiver for SSB and digital communication |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I have been owning this transceiver for about one year and mostly using it in SSB and FT8 mode on 144 MHz and in SSB or FM on 430 Mhz. It is a joy using it and I have no difficulty interfacing it with my Mac-mini running control software for the rig. I connected a 10 Mhz GPSDXO to it for more precision and frequency stability, all is running very solid. No problem at all. |
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| KF4HR |
Rating:      |
2022-04-13 | |
| Nice rig! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I initially just used my IC-9700 on local FM repeaters, and it worked fine. Eventually I migrated to Satellite work. The IC-9700, S.A.T. Controller by iGateMini, Yaesu G-5500 rotor system, and M2 LEO-PACK satellite antenna system is a really nice combination.
I wonder if ICOM has an IC-9710 under development? An overall larger unit with a larger screen sure would be nice!
For those reporting poor sensitivity, I'm curious if you sent the unit back to have ICOM check it? Factory defects do occasionally occur. |
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| G0JSV |
Rating:  |
2022-04-13 | |
| Very poor sensitivity |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The 9700 is so bad that I bought the domain ic9700.com to warn others about buying one without due diligence.
I have not been impressed with the receiver on the IC-9700. All radios in the shack out-perform the 9700 when the pre-amp is off. When the pre-amp is enabled on the 9700, it is still beaten by almost all the other radios including hand portables.
If you are considering this radio, I would advise that you ask the vendor if you can borrow one for a few days. Spend the time comparing it with the other radios you already own. Yes the 9700 may be eye candy but you need to use your ears and not your eyes.
I also use the radio with the RS-BA1v2 Software. The software is seriously lacking in support for the 9700. One band only is supported. Digital modes are difficult. You basically use the remote control software to set the radio to the required frequency and mode. Then turn off the remote software and start the digital client software. WSJT etc.
Within a week of receiving the 9700 I knew the radio was poor and called Icom UK to ask for a refund. It was not forthcoming.
Tom.
By the way. I also own a IC-R8600. Fantastic radio. The receiver on the IC-R8600 blows the IC-9700 out of the water. Being an ICOM fan I also have the IC-705. Ditto, it too blows the IC-9700 out of the water. |
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| WA2ZQX |
Rating:    |
2022-04-06 | |
| NOT FOR PORTABLE COMMUNICATIONS |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I bought this radio mainly for Satellite Communications (SSB, CW, FM) with 50% of my ops portable or at parks. Display screen is almost useless on bright-sunny days, which is most of the time here. Even in a shaded spot the reflective sun-light makes the display hard to see...With the screen intensity cranked up to full bright. Changing modes not easy for desired screen displays and channel menus (SSB-CW-FM). Instruction manuals need to provide more detail. The internal satellite VHF/UHF-UHF/VHF satellite auto-frequency tracking is useless...have to do it all, constantly changing TX and RX frequencies manually. No, I don't use a computer or auto-SAT program when portable. Miss my Kenwood TH-D72A for FM-SAT Ops! |
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