A Look Under the Hood Bruce Wampler - WA7EWC

Icom IC-7300

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.

$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

Is the IC-7300 revolutionary?

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

2kHzRMDR Scope Tuner Price

Icom IC-7300 (sdr) 103 X X 1,500Icom IC-7100 (mobile) 84 1,100Icom IC-7600 86 X X 3,000Icom IC-7650 (speculation) 115 X X 3,000Icom IC-7851 116 X X 13,000Flex 6300 (sdr, w/ Maestro) 116 X X 3,650Flex 6700 (sdr, w/ Maestro) 116 X X 8,500Kenwood TS-590SG 94 X 1,400Kenwood TS-990S 87 X X 6,800Yaesu FT-991 75 X X 1,300Yaesu FTDX-3000 82 X X 2,700Yaesu FTDX-5000 104 X X 5,000Yaesu FTDX-9000MP 92 X X 9,000Elecraft 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?

SuperheterodyneAnalog design for RF signal Multiple IF stages with complex filtering issues Added noise Analog filters

SDRCan 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

Output power: 100W (25W AM)TX Frequencies: 160m - 6m (SSB, CW, RTTY, AM, FM)Antenna Tuner: Matches up to 10:1 SWRRX Frequencies: 0.030-74.800Receiver type: RF direct sampling systemColor touch screen: 4.3” color TFT touch LCDSpectrum Scope: Real-Time FFT RF/Audio scopeBuilt-in automatic antenna tunerSD memory card slot for saving data, audio, screen shotsCooling fan systemMulti-function meterCW functions: full break-in, CW reverse, CW auto tuningCustomizable filter profilesEasy to use settings with buttons and touch screenRequires 13.8v, 22 amp DC power

Basic IC-7300 Features

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• USB control /audio• Antenna Tuner• Cost/feature ratio: A+

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!

WA7EWCWA7EWC - 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 Altera EP4CE55F23I7NCyclone IV E

55856 Logic elements200 MHz

DSP TI TMS320C6745 375MHz

TX D/A Intersil ISL5857IAZ High Speed D/A

12 Bit260 MSPS

RX A/D Linear LTC2208-14 14Bit130MSPS

Main CPU Renesas R7S721000VCFP 32 Bit, 1M Ram400MHz clock

Plus display CPU and audio A/Ds and D/As

IC-7300: Main Board

RF

Speaker

MicrophoneCPU

DSP FPGA

RXA/D

TXD/A

ToLCD

The End