Three new radios were introduced last month at this year’s Japan Amateur Radio Leage (JARL) Ham Fair, including:
- the Icom IC-7760
- the Yaesu FTX-1F
- a new mobile VHF/UHF transceiver from Kenwood
Icom IC-7760
Icom tried to get hams talking about the new IC-7760 by displaying a bunch of prototype board under a plexiglass case at the Dayton Hamvention. It generated some buzz, but in general, most hams here in the U.S. took a wait-and-see attitude.
When it was finally unveiled, many were disappointed, mostly because of the price, I think. DXZone reported that “the initial price in Yen was approximately $6000 or 5400 €. Just a few weeks later, European dealers began publishing the official IC-7760 price at around 6650 €, significantly higher than the original estimate.” None of the U.S. dealers has published a price for the radio yet.
The radio does have some interesting features, including:
- 200 W output
- Separable control head and RF deck
- In-house remote operation through a wired LAN
- Two displays, 7-inch wide and 2.4-inch
The question is whether theses features justify the high price. Members of the IC-7610 mailing list don’t seem to think so. One of them noted, “I think the biggest competition to the 7760 will be the 7610, at nearly half the price and with very similar features, my guess is that few will opt for a 7760 unless they ‘just have to have one….'”
Yaesu FTX-1F
The FTX-1F is Yaesu’s replacement for the very popular FT-817/818. Its features include:
- SSB, CW, AM, FM and C4FM digital modes
- SDR technology and 3DSS (3-Dimensional Spectrum Stream) on a 4.3-inch high-resolution full-color touch display panel
- Two independent receivers for true simultaneous dual-band operation, whether in the same band or in different bands.
- USB ports support CAT operation, audio input/output and TX control
- 9 hours battery life on HF bands, 8 hours on V/UHF bands
Like the IC-7760, it’s not currently available from U.S. dealers, so the pricing isn’t set yet, but the word is that it’s going to cost around $2,000 when it’s finally released sometime in 2025. That’s quite a bit higher than the price of the FT-817/818, but it does have more features, and presumably, better performance.
Like the IC-7760, the question is whether these features justify the higher price. There are lots of interesting comments about this on qrper.com.
Kenwood mobile transceiver
The last announcement from the JARL Ham Fair is a new mobile radio from Kenwood. Details on this radio are sketchier than for the other two, but hamlife.jp reports the following:
- Compatible with D-STAR and APRS.
- Separate controlunit and RF deck.
- Built-in GPS receiver
- USB ports on both the control panel and the radio body.
- Currently developing it for release in 2025.
They also report that, “Price is expected to be higher than the TH-D75.” That puts the price north of $750.
The question that I have with regard to these new radios is are they making ham radio better? This is only a partly-baked idea, but please stick with me on this. I can see where these new radios might make Icom, Yaesu, and Kenwood more money, but I don’t really think that they make ham radio better.
First, how many hams can actually afford a $6,000 radio? And of those, how many will actually buy one? I’d love to see Icom’s marketing study for the IC-7760. Same goes for the Yaesu FTX-1F and the yet-unnamed Kenwood radio.
Second, I teach a lot of ham classes, and work with a lot of new hams, so I have a particular point of view here. That being the case, I’m not so sure that I’d counsel a new ham to buy one of these three radios. These are not radios for people just getting started in the hobby.
I think that what we need are more radios like the HF Signals sBitx. The sBitx is a reasonably-priced radio that offers reasonable performance at a price that’s affordable. And, it’s hackable, too! It’s not the perfect radio, but it’s certainly more accessible.
As I say, this is just a partly-baked idea, so I’d love to hear what you think. What features should a radio have to make the hobby better for all radio amateurs.
I’ve felt for quite a while that high-end radios are too complicated. Far too many features that few will ever use, and far too complicated to program. I think most hams would be better off buying a quality basic radio that had the ability to add and control high-end features from a computer, tablet, or phone.
You’re right that these are not “new ham” radios. I think many are excited about the Kenwood in particular because it will be the best analog APRS and DSTAR radio that still does the forgotten 222MHz band. I want to see a VHF/UHF/APRS/digital radio that can be used with a phone or a tablet natively. Chinese radio VGC VR2500 does this. It’s less than $200 and I have one. Works with Android and IOS. Could use some polish in terms of smoothness and reliability. Josh from HRCC famously said the “Chinese jankiness” turns him off from this rig. I would agree somewhat.
We do need new radios for different stages of the hobby. I do think the icom 7760 was a big miss. The remote head doesn’t even seem to have wifi capability.
The IC-7760 may very well be the “K4 killer”, in that when introduced in 2025, if if has all the features that are listed in the brochure, will address a number of ‘asks’ for the K4 that so far, Elecraft has failed to produce, because they are focused on getting remote operating ‘right’, before fixing or adding any new features. On my personal list is what I consider pretty mediocre noise reduction operation, which in some respects is not even as good as the K3/K3s, and those radios needed work on their NR, in particular which never happened. There are other features in the 7760 that have been a long time coming (over 5 years) for the K4, including DPD, which cleans up the transmitter/amplifier output, something that Sherwood has been harping on recently. Also, the 7760 SD card capability has several features that could be implemented in the K4, but Elecraft has simply not gotten around to it, because of the focus on remote operation. Elecraft is concerned with beating Flex Radio in that department. In any event, Icom may have local remote (on a local 1 Gbit LAN) but true remote operation uses their horrible software, so they are not in the competition for remote operation.
So, what about the FTX? The jury is still out on that on. Hard to tell what market it is aimed for, since the price point will be much higher than competing QRP rigs already out there. If it ran say 20W or so, then it might be of interest to others. It still uses too much power on receive to be a good battery-operated field radio. But then the 817/818 could only run a couple of hours on its internal pack.
Finally, let’s talk about the sBitx and new hams. I really would not recommended it to a new ham, especially one that thinks they can get a good radio for (not much) less then $200. For a newbie, I’d not recommend either a 5W-10W class QRP rig nor a ‘hacker’s dream’ sBitx, either. Instead, they would be better off with something like the IC-7300, which I think is a wonderful starter/intermediate 100W radio, which can be had for under $1000 new. Much less of a challenge to get and keep on the air. Let them concentrate on things like assembling a station and antenna, instead of debugging an sBitx, or struggling as a newbie with 5W-10W.
In my writing for new hams that trend techie, I think the sBitx is an ideal starter HF radio. It does all the things an HF radio should. One thing that new hams, especially those that are used to “do whatever you’re competent to do” in Linux like, is being able to tinker in the software realm of their products, and the sBitx is definitely that. In contrast, Electraft, Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu all use proprietary internal software that doesn’t encourage tinkering. Notably, while FlexRadio’s operating system for its radios is proprietary, there are “hooks” available that allow user software to run IN the radio and OUTSIDE the radio, though only the new 8000 series has enough compute power available for the former.
There’s a rabid crowd awaiting the replacement for the FT-817/818 – that radio ties for a cult following with the Kenwood TM-D710GA.
Which leads me to, I think the Kenwood “Mobile APRS Radio X” will do pretty well. I really hope they quickly spin out a simpler, cheaper version like the TM-V71A was. We need a good, solid data radio and the TM-V71A was that.
QRP rigs are the worst thing for the starting ham. It can disillusion a new ham quickly. Put a QRP radio and marginal antenna because of HOA together and you smoother the excitement of radio.
The IC-7760 isn’t designed for everyone, don’t assume it is. For the new ham, there isn’t much better than the IC-7300. The IC-7760 is designed more for the Flex or contesting community.
Amateur Radio is a large market, there’s space for a variety of radios at different price points.
Instead of bashing the manufacturers, I give them credit for even being in the marketplace and creating a variety of solutions.
I’m not trying to bash the manufacturers, nor did I assume that the IC-7760 was designed for everyone.. It obviously is not. I’m just trying to point out what I think would be in the best interests of amateur radio.
I am a senior-senior citizen and very unlikely to purchase any new amateur radio gear of any kind. My FT-857 and IC-7200 will have to do. I only hope that some thought is given before acquiring any of these really high-ticket priced amateur radio transceivers. The usual warranty will, eventually, expire. Any needed repairs performed at. home will be difficult, at best. Service won’t be cheap. Adrenaline-driven eye-candy purchases should be approached with caution. Even by the well-heeled crowd. So, keep calm and and keep everything in perspective.
No! I don’t think these named transceivers really make amateur radio any better.
Almost all of the modern equipment is ridiculously highly priced and probably has far too many bells and whistles. They are so expensive most of us will want to wait some 5-10 years before thinking about any improvements or modifications, even if we could understand the circuits. So these are defeating one basic precept in the Amateur Radio Service and interest (hobby), that of self-training in the ART of Radio Communication.
In this connotation the word ART indicates an all-encompassing insight into how the equipment works, how it should be operated, and knowledge of how to keep it in operational condition.
It does not just mean being able to bellow “You’re 59, please repeat your callsign!” into the mike.
Thanks for bringing the rigs from HF Signals into the public eye again. The μBITx (micro BIdirectional TX)
versions and the more recent sBITX, which has an operating copmputer inside. All have plenty of scope for minor or major improvements or mods if you want to engage in further work on them.
These are useful equipments for anyone to start out with, learn operating techniques, and find their own niche. Also these are far better than the multicoloured μSDR offerings from Asia.
And if one must give up up after a year, or one finds a better way to exercise ones special interest, the initial investment was not horrendous and can be more easily recouped..
I own the Sbitx and would never recommend it to any new operators except for the most computer savvy. That said years ago I wanted a TS940 and the Ft101d or mo and couldn’t afford them now I can and do own all the flagship models (TS990, FTDX101MP, and an ICOM 7760) I still find myself using and recommending the icom 7300 more often than not. Do these new rigs make radio better no not at all. But let’s also not sell lemons to kool-aid drinkers in regards to what’s available I still use my icom 718 all the time affordable easy to use and does everything a new ham needs.
The battle for a better ham radio will be realised when the battle for better signal to noise ratio is won.
Better noise blanking and better DSP noise reduction algorithms that help hams hear better. The next battle is improved transmitter IMD which is also a form of QRM. Radios have enough receiver performance. As the saying goes, “you cant work them if you cant hear them and somebody’s crap radio is blocking your receiver with IMD and splatter”
RFI and EMC pollution is ruining the performance of expensive radios because they have no ability to combat this noise. Whats the point of improving dynamic range another extra few Db while the price doubles and it has the same QRM fighting ability like a old Heathkit HW101