[RTTY] Icom Rigs For Contesting

[Michael Zolno]

GM Gang,

I just played in NAQP this past week with my 7410 and it was fantastic. One item I found playing with the 7410 that I feel ICOM has not done a good job advertising is that the USB not only does CAT, but if your interested in this sort of thing, it does all the PSK sound card stuff without need for Signalink USB or Rig Blaster external box. All through USB connector. I had HRD/DM780 up and running on PSK in about 5 minutes. I am mainly CW, but found it interesting it can do this. For NAQP, I was using FSK through the back 13 pin accy connector and a serial keying interface. As an aside, I purchased both 6k & 3k roofing filters from an eBay seller in Japan, NIB for $78 delivered to my door. A far cry from $100 each US sellers want them for. I can dig up his name if anyone needs these. Well worth the cost. For a better scope (panadapter) I am using SDRplay through DXE-RTR-1a. 

Great thread. Bob, your detailed expose on the 7600 was priceless.

All my best,

Mike WH6YH

Sent from my iPad

> On Jul 22, 2016, at 11:07 PM, Rudy Bakalov via RTTY <rtty at contesting.com> wrote:
> 
> I'd highly recommend the Icom 7300. Haven't had a chance to use it for a RTTY contest, but did use it during IARU, comparing it to my 756 Pro 3 with an Inrad roofing filter. The 7300 managed close by QRM much better than the 756P. At $1500, IMHO, the 7300 is a bargain.
> 
> Rudy N2WQ
> 
> Sent using a tiny keyboard.  Please excuse brevity, typos, or inappropriate autocorrect.
> 
> 
>> On Jul 22, 2016, at 10:05 PM, Bob Burns W9BU <w9bu_lists at rlburns.net> wrote:
>> 
>> According to the IC-7600 brochure, the transmit/receive DSP unit is 32-bit
>> running at 266 MHz. There is a separate 32-bit DSP unit for the spectrum
>> scope (which now has a water fall with the latest firmware) that runs at 200
>> MHz. The IC-7410 has just one DSP unit--32 bits at 333 MHz. The 7410's
>> spectrum scope is pretty minimal and does not have a waterfall.
>> 
>> The 7410 will decode RTTY internally. The 7600 will decode and encode RTTY
>> internally which means you can do RTTY without a computer (I've done this to
>> snag a few DX stations). That may or may not be useful to you if you are
>> using an external RTTY decoder ala MMTTY.
>> 
>> Both radios have built-in USB sound cards and their drivers set up a virtual
>> serial port for passing CI-V commands which means you don't need an adapter
>> to connect to a PC. Note that the IC-7600 CI-V command set does not include
>> a command to FSK key the radio, so you'll need an interface to key the FSK
>> line on the auxiliary port.
>> 
>> The 7600 has a "dual watch" feature that will let you monitor two
>> frequencies in the same band. It's not really dual receive, but it could be
>> useful.
>> 
>> The 7600 has three built-in roofing filters at 3, 6, and 15 kHz. The 7410
>> comes with the 15 kHz filter, but the rest are optional.
>> 
>> I've had my 7600 for about 2 years. It was a nice step up from my 746 Pro
>> (which the 7410 replaced).
>> 
>> All that said, the IC-7300 is really hot right now and has more features
>> than the 7410 including a full SDR architecture. I have to believe that
>> Icom's engineers and product planners are working on a 7600 replacement that
>> uses SDR architecture similar to the 7300. If I was thinking about a 7600
>> right now, I might be tempted to wait a year or so.
>> 
>> Bob...
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: RTTY [mailto:rtty-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim
>>> Sent: Friday, July 22, 2016 2:54 PM
>>> To: Thomas F. Giella W4HM <thomasfgiella at gmail.com>;
>>> rtty at contesting.com
>>> Subject: Re: [RTTY] Icom Rigs For Contesting
>>> 
>>> Tom
>>> 
>>> I use one of each in my SO2R setup. IC7600 and a 7410.
>>> 
>>> I believe the DSP in the 7600 and 7410 are the same. The 7600 has a bigger
>>> color display and a band scope. I think this is the only difference?
>>> 
>>> 73
>>> Jim W7RY
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Thomas F. Giella W4HM
>>> Sent: Friday, July 22, 2016 10:49 AM
>>> To: rtty at contesting.com
>>> Subject: [RTTY] Icom Rigs For Contesting
>>> 
>>> I've been using an Icom IC-756 Pro 3 for contesting since 2003. Back in
>> April I
>>> added a new Icom IC-7410 and have found that the IC-7410 has faster IF DSP
>>> and better IMD performance than the Pro 3, so have been favoring the
>>> IC-7410 for RTTY contesting.
>>> 
>>> Presuming that the Icom IC-7600 has faster IF DSP and better IMD
>>> performance than the Pro 3 also and at least equal to the IC-7410 I've
>> been
>>> thinking about retiring the Pro 3 and replacing it with the IC-7600. I
>> would
>>> appreciate comments on IC-7600 performance in RTTY contesting.
>>> 
>>> 73 & GUD DX,
>>> Thomas F. Giella W4HM
>>> Lakeland, FL, USA
>>> thomasfgiella at gmail.com
>>> 
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