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First off, we know this radio is going to be far beyond what most people will need and is probably beyond what most people want to spend; but with that being said, for those who are deep into Ham Radio and DXing, there are a number of high-end radios that offer features beyond what you will find in a normal rig. Today, we are going to look at one of those HF Base Stations.
The Icom IC-7610 is one of those radios that almost everyone wishes they had in their ham shack. It’s an HF + 6 Meter rig that was designed for DXers, Contesters and those who seek out weak signals.
A Preparedness Look at the Icom IC-7610
From a preparedness standpoint, one of the biggest selling points for us was this radio’s ability to pick up weak signals that most other radios would miss. The IC-7610 has some of the best RX we’ve ever seen; in fact, at times the RX is so quiet that if it wasn’t for the display you wonder if the radio is on.
What we like about the Icom IC-7610
- Since this radio was designed for DXers and contesters they really focused on helping pull in those weak signals and it shows! This radio is phenomenal at picking out signals that most other radios would miss – even through interference and stronger signals.
- Solid all-around performance and good audio on TX and RX.
- Dual watch/monitor on different bands and antennas and Dual spectrum/waterfalls.
- Noise reduction was great and it works very well in CW also.
- If you work a lot of CW, the APF is unbelievable and will help you make out signals that you otherwise would not be able to copy.
What we didn’t like about the Icom IC-7610
- The User Manuals are crap and someone should have sent them to an editor before they were released!
- For the price, we think illuminated buttons should have been included.
- The knobs feel a little cheap for something at this price point.
Icom IC-7610 Specs and Features
Frequency Range:
Tx: 1.800–1.999, 3.500–3.999, 5.255–5.405, 7.000–7.300,
10.100–10.150, 14.000–14.350, 18.068–18.168, 21.000–21.450,
24.890–24.990, 28.000–29.700, 50.000–54.000 MHz
Rx: 0.030– 60.000 MHz
Mode: USB, LSB, CW, RTTY, PSK31/63, AM, FM
Output Power (HF/50 MHz):
SSB/CW/FM/RTTY/PSK: 1–100 W AM: 1–25 W Digital P.S.N.
Power consumption:
TX: 23 A (at 100
W output power)
RX: 3.0 A (Standby), 3.5 A (Maximum audio)
Antenna connectors:
SO-239 × 2 (50 Ω unbalanced (Tuner off)) BNC × 1 (RX antenna In/Out)
Recommended Accessories and Add-ons
The Radio is pretty good to go out of the box, even the antenna tuner performed well enough that we didn’t feel the immediate need for an external tuner. That being said, there are a couple of things that you will probably need.
Antennas:
We used two different antennas that worked well with this radio. But overall, as a good starting point, we like the MFJ-1778 G5RV Wire Antenna.
Power Supply:
Our primary base station power supply for all our radios is the Astron RS-35M-AP and is exactly what we would recommend for this radio set up.
Find The Icom IC-7610 on Amazon
