Icom IC-7610 Base Station Amateur Transceiver Radio

Further details of Icom IC-7610 Base Station Amateur Transceiver Radio

SDR HF/50MHz Transceiver
Whether it is poor band conditions, or battling to pick out a call in a large pile-up, faint signals have always been a challenge for DXers and Contesters around the world. The difference between putting the QSO in the log or having to try another time is the capability of your receiver. One key factor is the RMDR capabilities, the ability to pick out a faint signal in the presence of stronger, adjacent signals. The IC-7610 introduces dual RF direct sampling receivers, achieving 110dB RMDR, rivalling that of top-of-the-line transceivers.

Innovative RF Direct Sampling System
Introduced with the IC-7300, Icom’s RF Direct Sampling System has made SDR performance affordable. Direct Sampling means incoming RF signals are digitized by the Analog-to-Digital Converter and immediately processed by the FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). This process dramatically reduces distortion that naturally occurs in the various mixer stages found in traditional superheterodyne receivers.

Astonishing 110 dB* RMDR
The RF Direct Sampling system in the IC-7610 is capable of 110 dB RMDR. This performance gives you the ability to pull weak signals out of the noise of strong adjacent signals. There is a difference you can hear as the desired signal comes out of the pileup!
* Representative value at 2 kHz frequency separation (Received frequency: 14.2 MHz, Mode: CW, IF BW: 500 Hz)

Customized VCXO Is Used for the Master Clock
Reducing phase noise in a receiver is always a challenge as it is a natural characteristic of a receiver. The master clock of the IC-7610 utilises a low phase noise VCXO (Voltage Controlled Crystal Oscillator), combined with Icom’s years of technical expertise to design a common power supply for the VCXO and FPGA, yielding an ultra-low phase noise. Also, a 10 MHz reference signal can be input to the IC-7610 for higher precision.

Independent Dual Receiver
Whether listening to both sides of a rare DX station running split or looking for a multiplier on a different band or mode, the dual receivers in the IC-7610 have you covered. Two separate DIGI-SEL preselectors, two separate Band Pass Filter networks, feed two independent A/D converters into the FPGA.

DIGI-SEL for Main and Sub Bands
The DIGI-SEL preselectors are RF filters with sharp, narrow passband characteristics preventing Analog-to-Digital Converter overflow from large out-of-band signals when sampling the RF signals. Additionally, the third and higher order IMD components are reduced. This is ideal when strong signals are received in a contest pile-up or from broadcast stations on adjacent frequencies or bands.

High-Quality Speaker Sound
To finish out the receiver is an internal speaker cabinet. The cabinet is tuned to reproduce clear, natural sounding audio, and is insulated from the radio chassis to prevent noise from vibration and panel resonance.

Digital-Up-Conversion (DUC) for Clean TX –70
Breaking with the tradition of mixing a carrier signal with a local oscillator, a Digital-Up-Conversion (DUC) method is used to generate the required signal from the Digital-to-Analogue Converter. The chart to the right shows the difference made by this new design.

Built-in Automatic Antenna Tuner
The built-in automatic antenna tuner memorises its settings based on your transmit frequency so that it can recall the tuning setting when you switch operating bands. The emergency tuner function* enables you to work for short periods of time with an antenna with a high SWR.
* Output power not guaranteed and power may be reduced.

7-inch Colour Display with Touch Screen Function
The large 7-inch colour display shows various operating and setting information at a glance in high resolution (800 × 480 pixels.) The display shows multiple features, for example, the dual spectrum scope aligned vertically or horizontally, simulated analogue meters and RTTY, PSK31/63 mode decoded messages.

Dual Receivers, Dual Spectrum Scopes
The IC -7610 provides dual reception, on different bands, as does the high-speed, high-resolution spectrum scopes. Whether watching for a band opening, working a rare DX station operating split, or searching for a multiplier, the ability to watch each receiver separately allows the operator to concentrate on pulling in a weak signal. The scopes provide class-leading performance in resolution, sweep speed and a 100 dB dynamic range. To navigate around the band easier, connect a PC mouse to the USB port for point and click tuning of the receivers.

Audio Scope Flexibility
The Audio Scope screen shows both an FFT scope with a waterfall along with an oscilloscope for both transmit and receive audio. This makes it easy to monitor AF characteristics such as microphone compressor level, filter width, notch filter, and in CW, you can monitor received CW keying waveforms.

Touch Screen and Multi-Dial Knob for Smooth Operation
The combination of the touchscreen and the multi-dial knob offers quick and smooth operation. When you push the multi-dial knob, menu items are shown on the right side of the display. You can select an item by touching the screen and can adjust the levels by turning the multi-dial knob.

Remote Encoder for Second VFO Knob
The optional RC-28 remote encoder enables you to add an external Sub dial for controlling the Sub-band. Main band and Subband can be switched with the F1 and F2 buttons and can be controlled with the RC-28. The LED above the F1 and F2 buttons turns ON to show the active band.

DVI-D Connector for an External Display Connection
The IC-7610 has a DVI-D connector for an external display. Operating frequency, setting information and spectrum scope can be observed on a large external screen.

SD Card Slot and USB Port for Saving Data
When used with an SD card or USB flash drive, various contents including firmware updates, memory channels, captured screen images, and other personal settings, can be saved and loaded. TX/RX audio, voice memories, RTTY/CW memories and RTTY decode logs can be saved and used on the SD card.

I/Q Signal Output
The IC-7610 enables you to output I/Q signals from the USB connector. They can be used to analyse a spectrum range or to decode signals by a decoder software on a PC.
*This function will be provided in a future firmware update

Simplified Remote Control for RS-BA1
Whether from a remote part of your home QTH, or on a remote location somewhere around the world, the RS-BA1 software enables you to operate your IC-7610. Not only can you control the radio settings and have both RX/TX audio paths, but you are also able to display a single band spectrum scope with the waterfall. With the addition of an Ethernet connector, a base station computer is not required.