i9100 HF/VHF/UHF Transceiver QST Product Review QST Magazine is owned and published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Icom America expresses its gratitude to the ARRL for the permission to reprint and post this review on our Website. This product review remains the copyright of the ARRL. To join the ARRL, please visit www.arrl.org ©2012 Icom America Inc. The Icom logo is a registered trademark of Icom Inc.
TechnicalReview Product by Mark Spencer, WA8SME Mark J. Wilson, K1RO, k1ro@arrl.org ICOM IC-9100 MF/HF/VHF/UHF Transceiver ICOM’s new dc to daylight transceiver raises the bar. Reviewed by Rick Lindquist, WW3DE National Contest Journal Managing Editor ww3de@arrl.org The only real problem I encountered with the ICOM IC-9100 was getting it away from the delivery guy, a budding ham. He was taken by what was on the outside of the ICOM packing box.
mode buttons, which are bracketed by the MENU and FILTER buttons. Given the addition of the DV/DR button, the ’9100 does not have separate CW and RTTY mode buttons as on the ’7410. There is a single CW/RTTY key. There are other accommodations. Take notes! There will be a quiz. Since the main receiver’s AF/RF SQUELCH controls take up the spot where the MIC and RF PWR controls live on the ’7410, ICOM has relegated these functions to the row of four stem controls along the lower apron of the front panel.
Table 1 ICOM IC-9100, serial number 02001053 [continued] FM two-tone, third-order IMD dynamic range: Not specified. 20 kHz offset, preamp 2: 29 MHz, 81 dB*; 52 MHz, 78 dB*; 146 dB, 77 dB*; 440 MHz, 66 dB*, 1290 MHz, 68 dB*. 10 MHz channel spacing: 29 MHz, 115 dB; 52 MHz, 113 dB; 146 MHz, 97 dB; 440 MHz, 82 dB; 1290 MHz, 70 dB. Variable, 18 dB maximum. Manual notch: 61 dB, auto notch: 53 dB, attack time: 40 ms.** S9 signal at 14.2 MHz: preamp off/1/2, 62.3/26.3/9.9 µV; 50 MHz, 80.3/31.2/ 12.
Table 2 ICOM IC-9100, serial number 02001053 Key Measurements Summary ARRL Lab Two-Tone IMD Testing (500 Hz DSP bandwidth, 3 kHz roofing filter)‡ Band/Preamp Spacing Input Level Measured IMD Level Measured IMD DR Calculated IP3 3.
In terms of blocking gain compression, the IC-9100 turns in excellent numbers on 144 and 430 MHz, more than 100 dB even at 2 kHz spacing. It’s a bit lower on 23 cm. For comparison, on HF (14 MHz), where you’d expect better performance, the ’9100 comes in at 142, 120 and 111 dB (preamp off) at 20, 5 and 2 kHz spacings, respectively. The IC-9100’s VHF and UHF performance is superior to that of the IC-910H.
Into the Great Beyond: VHF/UHF and Satellite Operation Prior to lab testing the IC-9100, I installed the UX-9100 23 cm band unit. The electronics are concealed in a die cast metal box, with few connections necessary, but you must follow the single page of instructions closely. Installation took about 40 minutes and went smoothly. We also added the UT-121 module for digital voice (D-STAR) operation.
band is excellent, which helps pull out the weak-ish signals emanating from low powered satellites. Terrestrial V/UHF Operation The ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes offered another opportunity to put the ’9100 to the test. My own all band transceiver does all right with the help of external preamps, although at times it’s prone to overload and other unwanted effects from several local strong stations, especially on 2 meter SSB.
Technical Short Takes by Mark Spencer, WA8SME Steve Ford, WB8IMY, wb8imy@arrl.org Xtal Set Society SADL RF Attenuator Kit Rich Arland, K7SZ k7sz@live.com There are times that many of us need a step attenuator to accurately control the output of an RF generator during receiver alignment, or to reduce the output of a QRP transmitter for on-air testing.
