The analog to digital converter in the IC-7300 is rumoured to be the LTC2208-14. This converter supports sample rates up to 130 MHz. This implies a max receive frequency in the first Nyquist zone of fs/2=65 MHz. So how can the IC-7300 receive on the 4m band then? Actually this was one of the first questions I had when reading about the IC-7300 and the ADC used. It looked like I was the only one wondering about it and so I moved on, until…. Until I hooked up the antenna on my new location and tuned across the bands, 29 Mhz, 30 , 31. Wow,Read More →

“Do I have to change any settings on my IC-7300 for use with RS-BA1 ?” is an interesting question. My first answer is: “Why would you..”. After reading the comments from others to this question, I decided to write this blog post. First of all, try to understand the Icom wording and terminology. Don’t draw your own conclusions. The most famous example is Icom’s usage of the word REMOTE… “Do I have to change any settings on my IC-7300 for use with RS-BA1 ?” can be answered with no. This implies that: USB is linked to REMOTE, resulting in 19200 maximum baud rate, resulting inRead More →

Never trust IT. Why, well just read (carefully) any software vendors disclaimer. Image Daimler would have you sign such a disclaimer when you are handed the keys of your new car. So when operating a remote amateur radio station (400 km away), you have to assume that something can or will fail, especially since you are radiating HF energy. In my case, due to a PC lock up, the 13,8V power supply and my IC-7300 transceiver were forced to remain switched on for 14 days (times 24 hours). Luckily the IC-7300 has a screen saver… So what’s your plan B when your PC or networkRead More →

Note: This post applies to RS-BA1 version 1.93. In version 1.94 (introduced on 30 aug 2017) the typos are corrected, the drop-down menu at the top is removed and a number of wizards are added to assist with configuration. The Icom RS-BA1 software is being discussed a lot. Some claim that it is totally crap. Others happily use it. I’ve tested the software with my IC-7300 and concluded that it works fine. Actually it works so much better than I expected. Even more, I can remote control my TS-2000 with it as well. So why these diverse opinions? My guess is that there is little knowledgeRead More →