Icom IC-7300 A Look Under the Hood Bruce Wampler - WA7EWC
The Icom IC-7300 is a brand new (April 2016), Direct Conversion, 100% SDR. It is the first SDR amateur radio transceiver by one of the major Japanese companies.
Is the IC-7300 revolutionary? $1,500 entry level Transceiver changes what entry level means. 160m to 6m plus full general coverage receiver Exceptional receiver - RMDR@2K: 103dB RF and Audio Spectrum scopes Built-in Tuner Built-in USB transceiver control and audio Full remote control capability Direct conversion SDR YES! This changes everything.
From now on, an entry level base station transceiver will have: Receiver with 2kHz RMDR of at least 100dB Real time Spectrum scope USB control and audio Antenna Tuner SDR / DSP Digital features: audio recording, predefined messages Highly customizable filters
2kHz RMDR Scope Tuner Price Icom IC-7300 (sdr) 103 X X 1,500 Icom IC-7100 (mobile) 84 1,100 Icom IC-7600 86 X X 3,000 Icom IC-7650 (speculation) 115 X X 3,000 Icom IC-7851 116 X X 13,000 Flex 6300 (sdr, w/ Maestro) 116 X X 3,650 Flex 6700 (sdr, w/ Maestro) 116 X X 8,500 Kenwood TS-590SG 94 X 1,400 Kenwood TS-990S 87 X X 6,800 Yaesu FT-991 75 X X 1,300 Yaesu FTDX-3000 82 X X 2,700 Yaesu FTDX-5000 104 X X 5,000 Yaesu FTDX-9000MP 92 X X 9,000 Elecraft K3S (sdr - base station) 114 +800 +650 2,650 Comparison of some currently available transceivers
Reciprocal Mixing Dynamic Range ARRL Test Labs: Reciprocal Mixing must be seriously considered while evaluating the overall performance of a receiver. In fact, it is probably the most significant figure in receiver performance! http://www.arrl.org/forum/topics/view/177 RMDR is a measure of how well the receiver blocks adjacent signals.
Why does SDR make such a difference? Superheterodyne + DSP vs. SDR
Why does SDR make such a difference? Superheterodyne Analog design for RF signal Multiple IF stages with complex filtering issues Added noise Analog filters SDR Can be all digital (except RF pre-amps/ bandpass) Current A/Ds and D/As work well, not expensive Digital domain allows use of FPGAs and/or DSPs for mod/demod and customizable perfect software filters
Basic IC-7300 Features Output power: 100W (25W AM) TX Frequencies: 160m - 6m (SSB, CW, RTTY, AM, FM) Antenna Tuner: Matches up to 10:1 SWR RX Frequencies: 0.030-74.800 Receiver type: RF direct sampling system Color touch screen: 4.3 color TFT touch LCD Spectrum Scope: Real-Time FFT RF/Audio scope Built-in automatic antenna tuner SD memory card slot for saving data, audio, screen shots Cooling fan system Multi-function meter CW functions: full break-in, CW reverse, CW auto tuning Customizable filter profiles Easy to use settings with buttons and touch screen Requires 13.8v, 22 amp DC power
IC-7300 Features: Spectrum Scope Spectrum Scope: Large Size Spectrum Scope: Small Size
Mystery: What is This???? RFI: Probably my heating boiler Note: Center View vs Fixed on previous slide.
IC-7300: Audio Scope CW Audio Spectrum
Audio Scope LSB Audio PSK31 Audio Signal
IC-7300: Frequency/Band Selection Direct selection by touching Spectrum Scope. Band Selection by touching first frequency diet, then selecting band. Can also directly enter frequency.
IC-7300: Auto Antenna Tuner Will match up to 3:1 SWR at full power Up to 10:1 SWR at reduced power Remembers up to 100 frequency matches
IC-7300: Display & Settings Combination of physical buttons and touch screen buttons to select displays and change settings. Many options, most obvious in context. Long-press used to open settings for a button.
IC-7300: Example - setting a filter Can set passband filters using Multi knob.
IC-7300: Observations The Good: Receiver Really Good Noise Reduction Amazing Spectrum Scope: Wow Control Interface: A- Mode Filters: Really work Good reports of TX audio The Bad: Only one antenna connector - no separate RX antenna Memo interface awful Fixed Scope only has 3 edge settings Built-in speaker mediocre IP+ feature apparently not yet right You need to have this radio! USB control /audio Antenna Tuner Cost/feature ratio: A+
WA7EWC WA7EWC - Complete Station Where s the tuner, the audio interface box, amplifier, DSP speaker, keyer, and all that other stuff? Don t need em. Outside: Hustler 6BTV+17m Vertical with 32 radials
IC-7300: Technical Overview FPGA DSP TX D/A RX A/D Main CPU Altera EP4CE55F23I7N Cyclone IV E TI TMS320C6745 Intersil ISL5857IAZ High Speed D/A Linear LTC2208-14 Renesas R7S721000VCFP 55856 Logic elements 200 MHz 375MHz 12 Bit 260 MSPS 14Bit 130MSPS 32 Bit, 1M Ram 400MHz clock Plus display CPU and audio A/Ds and D/As
IC-7300: Main Board
DSP To LCD FPGA TX D/A RX A/D Microphone CPU RF Speaker
The End