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Reviews For: Icom IC-9700

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-9700
Reviews: 66MSRP: $2099
Description:
A new release of an old favorite (Icom IC-910H) VHF/UHF All Mode Base Station. Wow - Well worth the long wait!
Product is in production
More Info: http://icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/9700/default.aspx
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
25664.1
K6SPY Rating: 2020-09-04
Fantastic radio! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Always wanted a VHF UHF base rig and I couldn't be happier. Getting great transmit audio reports. Its a keeper and hopefully it at its twin 7300 outlast me!
PA3MET Rating: 2019-12-28
with reflock: superrr!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
just like said below -- I also hate to send another review but I do.

It has shown that the stability/drift issues for most of the people is a non-issue; the small part of people that need to have a clean and stable signal have now also the possibility to reflock it.

I first have used v1.10 of the firmware with my 7851 ref output which is +/- 0.05ppm and I effectively have worked ft8 and wspr on 23 so with that reference it's already good enough now.

Still I have ordered and now connected a leo bodnar dual port GPSDO and connected to the 9700 and 7851.

The stability is near perfect even if the fan kicks in and even when I played with the aircondition in my shack.



In the mean time I now use a leo bodnar gpsdo source and the cheap external refsync board. you cannot be more happy. Extremely stable.
WD1V Rating: 2019-10-08
Tri-Band Scan Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
In "normal" use, you load 144 MHz memories and can scan just them. And the same for 450 MHz. 2 receivers with independent memories for each band. So if you want to use 1.2 GHz, you have to turn off a receiver that was on 144 or 450 since it only has 2 receivers. Right? Only in "normal" use.

In "too cool" use, you edit a copy of your DR Memory file that comes with all D-Star repeaters and whittle it down to your Top 10, or 20, or whatever your favs are - any band, any mode, simplex, D-Star, whatever. And when you press the DR button, all of those are presented. You can then scan and not miss out on 3rd band action using only 1 receiver.

Your welcome. :-)

KG6TR Rating: 2019-09-15
2nd time around, does what I need Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought this radio some time back, liked it but was finding that it had too much overlap with another radio in the shack (FTM-400XDR) so I sold it. The only unique function it had over the Yaesu was 2m SSB, and I figured I'd find an older radio to do that. Plus I listen to air bands all the time, which the Yaesu does. So I sold my IC-9700.

After a few experiments for 2m SSB, I came to the conclusion that the IC-9700 was probably the best option - 100W (no external amp needed), modern capabilities, and similar function and form factor compared to my IC-7300. The only thing it was missing that I like are air bands (FTM-400XDR does them), but a $85 Bearcat scanner ended up covering that. So the Yeasu was sold and I bought another IC-9700.

Happily back on 2m SSB where the radio works quite well paired to an Arrow 146-4 yagi. I programmed up local repeaters (programming software is free from Icom) on 2m, 70cm and 23cm. I put my Comet GP-95 tri band back up and use that for 70cm and occasional 23cm (not much activity in my area). I do try to work sats, but end up doing that with a handheld antenna and HT, but at some point will try the IC-9700 for that.

Your happiness with this will depend on what you're trying to do. Some here have chronicled the issues with the IC-9700, but for my operating I would never run into those problems. For what I am trying to do - 2m SSB and general VHF/UHF use, it is a very good radio, and there aren't a lot of other choices at least for SSB capabilities. For 2m SSB you have to go to an all-band/all-mode radio and I don't think they perform as well. And none of them do 100W on 2m.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KG6TR on 2019-06-13

I'm a recent convert to the IC-7300 on the HF side of things. Find that a very easy and fun radio to operate - just enough capabilities for what I want to do (SSB voice, not much into contesting). I decided to get a bit more into VHF/UFH, in part due to it being easier to field a reasonable antenna within the limitations of my QTH. Basically want SSB capabilities, and may mess around a bit with Sat use.

The IC-9700 isn't a direct clone of the IC-7300 (other than physically), but close enough that much of the workflow is the same. Having run an FT-991a for a year, I find the menus on the Icom to be easier to navigate. At first I wasn't sold on the 9700 - that much money for 2m/70cm/23cm, the latter I've never run before? But there seems to be a fair amount of simplex 2m in my area, and having SSB Tx is a capability I don't have with my other VHF/UHF radios (TM-V71 in the car, FTM-400 at home).

So far have had good reports on audio via SSB and FM on 2m. Currently waiting on a triband antenna and triplexor to get on 23cm (we have local repeaters), along with an Arrow to experiment with Sat use. Do I wish this was a $1K radio? Sure, though they currently are $1700 which is probably what they should have been at release. It is what it is, and I'm sure they will come down in price over the next year, just like every other radio. Overkill if you're just working repeaters, but one of the few games in town for SSB (other than older/used rigs) and seemingly well suited to Sats.
N6SBN Rating: 2019-09-02
Failed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I set the 9700 along side my IC-7300. They make a nice pair. I set up the GPSDO and was pleased with the 9700's performance. They ease of use of the IC-9700 sets this radio apart. I was getting very nice audio reports.

Now, It's probably something I did, but I was running 25 watts of digital on the IC-7300 and monitoring the 2 meter traffic on the IC-9700 when the 9700 "Popped" and was dead. I have sent it back to the service center and will have to see what they say. I will not put the 9700 and 7300 together as a pair in the future. Perhaps one will be on the left side of the desk and the other on the right. I have chokes on my antenna leads, grounds and coils on my power cords. I will double check these.

I make this review to protect other hams from this experience. I would say that I'm an average ham, running lower power digital most of the time. 73s, Craig de N6SBN
KB7Q Rating: 2019-08-24
Excellent Radio for 2M/70cm EME Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Install fireware 1.11 - check
Attach Leo Bodnar GPSDO to the SMA rear connector - check
Access menu to tell the rig the GPSDO is there - check

Operate both 2M and 70cm JT65b EME with rock solid stability and enjoy!

The small size and light weight of the radio are perfect for my portable EME operations. The rig is an excellent value for the money.
N4UE Rating: 2019-08-11
Just update #2 Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have to echo K4TB's review. Although he has WAY more qualifications than I do, his observations were what I just observed.
I used my 9700 during the last two VHF contests without ANY noticeable "drift".
I have one of the very first radios shipped by HRO, Atlanta.
Recently, I installed a GPSDO from ePay, I also updated the Firmware to the latest level from Icom.

Although I doubt I'll ever do EME, I DO know the radio is now locked and on frequency on 1296 down to a CYCLE or two.....

Gee, how does that compare the "drifts like an iceberg" complaints earlier?

If you spend $2K for a radio, what's the big deal to spend another $90 to make it into a lab quality radio?
The sensitivity on both 2M and 70CM is orders of magnitude better than my 'old' radios.
Yes, I have large antennas, fed with hardline and they are HIGH, and mast-mounted preamps. However, the 9700 is the first VHF/UHF radio that can 'hear' the antenna in my rural, ZERO noise location. (thanks to Florida Power and Light's repairs!!!).
The only 'downside' for this OF is the HUGE capability of the radio in areas where I doubt I'll ever enter. ha ha The Manual is HUGE!!!!!

fron N4UE
K4TB Rating: 2019-07-02
I think it's Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading mixed reviews on the Icom 9700 and learning that Icom had published the version 1.11 firmware to enable the external frequency reference sync, I decided to buy one. Of course I was tempted by the big price drop. I bought one which had only the version 1.05 firmware but it wasn't hard to update to version 1.11. I am truly impressed with the performance of this rig so far, although I doubt I will ever try all the features it boasts - there are so many!

I especially wanted frequency accuracy and already had a Leo Bodner GPSDO frequency reference in the shack hooked up to my test equipment, so it was easy to add a connection to the Ic-9700's external reference input. I checked receiving and transmitting frequency accuracy and stability against my 9-digit GPS-referenced frequency counter and found the Ic-9700 was dead-on for all three bands (although on 1295 MHz the Ic-9700 displays 10 digits, all the way down to 1 hz so I couldn't check the 1 hz digit with my counter). I transmitted key-down at full output on each band for 5 minutes and saw absolutely no drift. Amazingly the rig barely got warm. The fan did kick on but was very quiet. I note that when I disconnected the external reference from the 9700, the 9700 displayed a warning on the screen, which promptly went away once I reconnected the reference and the 9700 re-locked to it.

I don't think it's fair to expect the Ic-9700 to have the stand-alone frequency accuracy and stability of laboratory equipment without the external frequency reference; most top electronics test equipment does require an external reference. In my opinion, the GPSDO coupled with the Ic-9700 makes the 9700 effectively a piece of laboratory grade equipment.

I understand some aren't happy about the inability to do 9600 baud but I don't find that to be an issue for me.

I believe the Ic-9700 is the state of the art radio now for amateur radio VHF, UHF and SHF and can't be beat.

N3CAL Rating: 2019-06-30
Needs Improvement Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This rig was supposed to fulfill the many needs of a modern Satellite/EME station. My expectations were high and I considered this a hefty investment as I enter my senior years. Although this rig has many very nice features it falls short of the mark. In the one month period of ownership I've put it through many paces and it has performed well but I'm not fully satisfied.

Likes include:
- Nice color touch screen and screen saver mode.
- Easy menu access and function access.
- I've been able to work both the FM and Linear Satellites and have logged over 80 contacts this first month. It works well with SatPC32 and TX audio reports are very good. Rx without external preamp is very good.
- I've also run the rig on 2M digital using WSJT-x FT8 and had success receiving SSTV from a amateur balloon launch recently.
- Rig is quiet and there is no noticeable fan noise.

My main dislikes are:
- It does not have the ability to TX or RX 9600 baud data!
- Freq Stability was poor until I added an external GPSDO. I still have concerns about drift running EME and whether Icom's firmware update will fully solve the drift issue.
- The RS-BA1 Remote Software cannot be used while in Satellite Mode. I was hoping to have the spectrum display up on the computer monitor and run remote but you can't in Satellite Mode. the software only handles one audio channel as well. You cannot scan your memories with the RS-BA1 too.
- Max TX delay is only 30ms. Some external preamp/sequencing could use a bit longer delay.
- The retail value of the rig has dropped $400 in the first month due the issues found so far! I could sure use that $400.00 back Icom!
G8OFA Rating: 2019-06-19
Very good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I waited until the firmware update allowing ref synchronisation. I have now owned the transceiver for 9 days and I am absolutely delighted with it. Frequency stability on all bands is within a few Hz with an external gpsdo ref attached. The operability of the transceiver is superb, just like the IC-7300 and IC-7610. A friend has measured the mds at -144 dBm (500 Hz bw) on all bands. Measured dynamic range is limited by the ADC capability but has not yet manifested as a problem. Yes it is a pity that I/Q output is not possible and XIT would have been useful for EME but given the price this is an excellent bit of equipment.