Icom is an outstanding, comprehensive radio manufacturer that produces radio communication equipment of all genres, from amateur radios to terrestrial, marine and avionics radios, as well as LTE, WLAN and satellite radios. The built-in RTTY/PSK31 modem allows use of the IC-7700 as a complete digimode terminal, requiring only a keyboard. This is great for semi-portable operation (e.g. Field Day) or when shack space is at a premium. IF-DSP notch filter with adjustable parameters. The analog image rejection mixer’s linearity makes it possible to use a simplified receiver design. This improves the distortion performance of the receiver. 50MHz Band Preamplifier and Mixer The IC-7700 was designed with the 6m aficionado in mind. I am running it with HDSDR free software and this integrates well with all my software. You run this radio either with a separate receive antenna or share the same antenna with your transceiver. Many radios have easy ways to share the antenna such as the Icom 7600, Tentec Orion, Tentec Omni VII, just to name a few. Included drivers (for Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP and Macintosh MacOS 8.6-9.2 and Mac OS X 10.2 or later) create an emulated serial port (COM1-COM8 for Windows, Communications Toolbox compatible for Macintosh) that allow any well behaved application to use the USB Icom CI-V Interface as though it was a normal serial port.
ANNOUNCING THE CONTESTER'S RIG
IC-7700 Overview
The new IC-7700 is a self-contained, top-performance HF/6m transceiver closely related to its 'bigger brother', theIC-7800. Its main features are:
Two independent DSP units.
One DSP (TI TMS320C6727B) is dedicated to the transmitter and receiver, and the other (TI TMS320C6720B) to the spectrum scope. These are of a later generation than the TMS320C6713 used in the IC-7800.
HF/6m transmitter with a MOSFET PA delivering 200W output at full duty cycle.
The PA utilizes a pair of MRF150 MOSFET power devices.
The new Rev. 12/13 PA employs a single ST Micro STAC2942 output device.
Quiet, built-in switch-mode mains power supply.
Single HF receiver with I/Q second mixer, offering +40dBm 3rd-order intercept point*.
- The single receiver should be seen not as a disadvantage, but as a plus. The single receiver allows no-compromise RX performance at a reasonable price; BNC sockets on the rear panel, and CI-V, allow easy connection and synchronization of a second Icom transceiver such as the 756Pro3 as a secondary receiver. Many prospective IC-7700 buyers already own an IC-756Pro3. Add the IC-7700 to your existing Pro3 for the perfect contest station; use the IC-7700 as your main transceiver, and the IC-756Pro3 as a spotting receiver.
Upgrade from your IC-765 or IC-775DSP, and get the benefits of a spectrum scope.
Built-in 'Digi-Sel' automatic tracking RF preselector.
The built-in tracking preselector, and relay-switched front end, offer unrivalled strong-signal HF performance.
Built-in high-speed automatic antenna tuner.
The tuner covers the HF and 6m bands.
- Selectable 15, 6 and 3 kHz roofing filters (refer to Fig. 4 above.)
As provided in the IC-7800. The filters are optimized for lowest IMD. Each filter is mounted on a plug-in daughterboard.
Precision OCXO with ±0.05ppm frequency stability and 10 MHz Reference I/O jack
The precision OCXO with 10 MHz REF I/O allows the IC-7700 to clock other equipment, or to be clocked from a higher-level master clock source.
7' color TFT LCD display.
The display includes a simulated analogue multi-function meter.
Rear-panel VGA socket for external video monitor.
Multi-function spectrum scope with configurable resolution bandwidth (RBW).
- RBW is configurable by selecting scope span and sweep rate.
- The adjustable RBW permits spectral analysis of received signals. IMD products and spurs can be displayed.
Fig. 6 is a typical scope screenshot. The green trace is the real-time spectral display; the blue trace is the peak-hold display. Note the low 'grass' level in the absence of signals.
Built-in RTTY/PSK31 modem requiring only a USB keyboard.
The built-in RTTY/PSK31 modem allows use of the IC-7700 as a complete digimode terminal, requiring only a keyboard. This is great for semi-portable operation (e.g. Field Day) or when shack space is at a premium.
IF-DSP notch filter with adjustable parameters.
- The notch filter shape factor is selectable in 3 steps, and its maximum stopband attenuation is 70 dB.
Multi-function noise blanker implemented in DSP.
Separate, high-performance 6m receiver front end.
Digital voice recorder.
Front-panel USB ports for USB memory drive and keyboard.
- The USB memory drive socket permits use of pocket USB memory drives. No CF card is required.
* at 50 kHz test-signal spacing.
User Manual Erratum
Contrary to the statement on p. 3-5 of the earlier IC-7700 user manual, the numerical keypad is not backlit and does notlight when theF.INP key is pressed. This has been corrected in all newer editions of the manual, from ENG_1 onwards. The correct procedure reads as follows:
Download the Ver. 2.20 upgrade and accompanying manual here.
This upgrade was released on 21 May 2015.
Note: All versions of the IC-7700 are upgradeable to Ver. 2.10.
View the new Ver. 2.0 and higher spectrum scope/waterfall and audio scope screen modes.
Watch my IC-7700 Ver. 2.0 Firmware presentation at Dayton 2014.
Rev. 12 IC-7700:
This IC-7700 version was released in April 2011. It incorporates redesigned PA200W and FILTER Units. The new PA200W uses a single STMicroelectronicsSTAC2942B dual MOSFET power device in its output stage. The serial number prefix begins with '1' e.g. 1201234 (US/Canada), 1301234 (EU), 1701234 (UK).
The previous serial number ranges begin with '0' e.g. 0201234 (US/Canada), 0301234 (EU), 0701234 (UK), and have the earlier PA200W (2 X MRF150) and FILTER Units.
Q: Why was Dual Watch omitted?
A: Provision of Dual Watch would most likely have pushed the price well above the USD 6K target.
Q: Then how can I monitor my transmit frequency in split operation?
A: By pressing the XFC (Transmit Frequency Check) button.
The IC-7700 received FCC certification onFebruary 11, 2008. FCC ID: AFJ300900
The officialIcom Japan IC-7700 pageandbrochure*(in English)
The Icom Canada IC-7700 page
The comprehensiveIC-7700 brochure*mirror
IC-7700 Upgrade Model brochure*USA/CanadaEurope
Dayton 2007 pre-releasebrochure*
Icom Japan IC-7700 pre-releasebrochure* (in English)
IC-7700User Manual V6
Icom JapanFirmware Updates page
Firmware Manuals: V2.20V2.10 V2.00 (the big one!)
RS-BA1 V1.96, compatible with IC-7700 Firmware V2.20. RS-BA1 User Manual V9.
Note on USB Memory Drives- removing proprietary formatting
Connecting an Icom Radio to a PC*, by John White VA7JW
AGC in the IC-756Pro3, IC-7600, IC-7700 and IC-7800
AGC and Noise Blanker in an IF-DSP Receiver
IC-7700 Noise Blanker Demo: 20m SSB signal with severe impulse noise.NB offNB on
The IC-7700 Drive Gain Control
The IC-7700/IC-7800 'Digi-Sel' Preselector
The IC-756Pro3 as 2nd receiver with the IC-7700
View or download the 15-minute Icom JapanIC-7700 Promotion Movie (in English)
My IC-7700 User Review & Test Report
Noise Power Ratio (NPR) Testing of HF Receivers*including IC-7700
IC-7700 NPR Test Data*
IC-7700 MW Broadcast Band Tests
On-Air IC-7700 Microphone Trials with VA7JW and VA7OJ
Glenn McNeil, VK4BG: IC-7800 PA Power Device Replacement Notes. (Also applicable to the IC-7700)
Use the IC-7700 as a bench spectrum analyser!
The IC-7700 Spectrum Scope: RBW & Grass Levels
My friend Matt KK5DR'sIC-7700 User Review
IC-7700 Presentation at North Shore ARC, North Vancouver BC, October 2008
My IC-7700 Meets a K3(Rev. 2, July 2011) by Jeff Smith VE1ZAC
Comparing the IC-7700 and IC-7800*, by George Bethea K5JZ
How close were we with the 'IC-7X00'?
* PDF document.
A number of people have had difficulty setting up their radios using the USB interface for WSJT-X and FT-8. It helps to have a basic understanding of the computer interface within the radio. The good news is Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu and even SignaLink share a similar architecture, often down to the same device part numbers and software drivers.
Once the USB cable is connected to the radio the first device in the data path is a USB Hub. Just like a Hub, you might use on your desk its function is to provide multiple USB ports with only one cable from the PC or Laptop. It does not require configuration or drivers and is transparent to the user.
There are two devices connected to the Hub inside the radio. They are a USB UART Bridge and an audio CODEC. If there wasn’t an internal Hub each of these devices would have a separate USB cable to the PC. This is important as it shows how separate and independent they are when setup, access, and drivers are considered.
Kenwood, Icom, and Yaesu use a USB UART Bridge from the SiLabs CP210X family. (SignaLink does not have a serial CAT interface). All three plus SignaLink use a USB/CODEC from the Ti PCM290XB family.
We will review the functions and setup of the USB UART Bridge first.
USB UART Bridge
A “Bridge” may sound complicated but all this device does is accept bi-directional USB and produces bi-directional serial data. It is a bridge between USB and serial data.
You may have used an adapter with a USB connector on one side and a DB-9 9 pin serial connector on the other side. It is likely it used the Silabs CP2101 or a similar device made by FTDI. This interface is often referred to as a Virtual Com Port (VCP) which replaced “real” DB-9 Com ports found on computers into the 1990s. It is called virtual because much of the serial COM port functionality is achieved with software.
The radios that can be computer controlled have a CAT interface (computer-aided transceiver). A related term is CI-V (Communication Interface v5) which is an Icom standard that defines the messages the radio will respond to. The messages are in text (ASCII) format, for example, to transmit you would write TX; to the radio. With a serial interface or VCP, you can send ASCII text messages to your radio using Hyperterminal or an application called PuTTY and it will respond.
Older radios used a CAT interface that required a serial COM Port on the PC. Most of the current radios can still accept serial data through an ACC (accessory port), and a few still have a DB-9 9 pin connector for serial data. Newer radios also have a USB interface and use the USB UART Bridge to receive the serial CAT/CI-V messages from the PC. A radio menu setting is used to select data over an ACC or the USB for radio control.
Audio is not passed using the USB UART Bridge CAT/CI-V interface, it is strictly used for radio commands.
WSJT-X uses a small set of messages over the CAT interface to control the radio. These include band changing, VFO frequency, PTT and a few others.
The USB UART Bridge requires a VCP driver that must be installed by you before connecting the radio to the PC. If you connect the USB cable before installing the driver Windows may locate and install a driver, this works less often than auto-correct in spell check. Once the wrong driver is installed it can be very difficult to uninstall. The correct driver can be downloaded from the radio manufacture’s website.
Once the driver is properly installed and the radio connected the driver can be found in the Windows Device Manager as shown in Figure 1. Note the COM Port number, you will need it to configure WSJT-X. Your COM port number will probably be different.
By right clicking on the driver and selecting properties and then the Ports tab you can set the Baud rate, Parity, Stop Bits, and flow control as seen in Figure 2.
Typical settings are as follows:
Baud Rate: 9,600 (Standard values from 9,600 to 115,200 can be used)
Parity: none
Stop Bits: 1 (7300 or 590S/SG 1 or 2 can be used, older rigs and SignaLink with a CP2101 must use 1)
Flow control: Hardware
The settings you select in Device Manager Properties must be used in the WSJT-X setup.
Once these settings are set for the COM port and in the WSJT-X app consider them set, and leave them. If you have completed these steps and do not have CAT/CI-V control of the radio it is due to incorrect radio settings, a bad/cheap cable, you are connected through an unpowered Hub, or are using the front panel USB port of a PC. (Front panel USBs are hit and miss).
Yaesu radios have an additional USB UART Bridge accessible through the hub. You will see an Enhanced port for CAT and a Standard port for PTT in Device Manager. Each has a unique COM port number. WSJT-X has a spot for a second COM address in Settings/Radio for “PTT Method”. The Standard port COM address and RTS is entered for PTT Method. I have used these setting for an FT-991 and FTDX-3000.
CAT is selected for PTT for Icom and Kenwood radios, a second COM address is not used.
USB (AUDIO CODEC)
The second device on the Hub’s output is a CODEC. The CODEC decodes the digitized audio on the USB to analog using an ADC, and using a DAC the analog audio from the radio is digitally coded to be sent to the PC over the USB. Taken together with CODEC COdes and DECodes audio signals from a digital format.
There are no COM port addresses, baud rates, stop bits, etc for you to set since it is not a VCP, it is a standard USB interface.
A PCM290x CODEC is used in the IC-7300, TS-590S/SG, FT-991, SignaLink, and others. The driver is included with Windows XP through 10 so there is nothing for the user to install. Once the CODEC has a USB connection and power it will automatically be installed and set up. The CODEC will appear in Windows Device Manager under “Sounds, Video, Game Controller” when power is applied to the radio. It can be seen in Figure 3 as “USB Audio CODEC”. If there is more than one and you are not sure which one is the radio’s disconnect the USB cable and see which one disappears and then reappears when reconnected.
If the driver has been used with multiple radios it may appear as “3-USB Audio CODEC” or similar which is not a problem provided the same exact label as seen in Device Manager appears in WSJT-X and the Windows Sound settings.
The audio CODEC was identified as “USB Audio CODEC” in the device manager, WSJT-X, and was the selected Input and Output device in the Windows Sound Setting as seen in Figure 4.
Ci V Icom Software For Use With 7700 Drivers
Note: The label “microphone” has been replaced with “Line” for PCM290XC rev C CODECs used in the TS-890, other recently released radios, and when a CODEC is replaced due to failure.
Summary
Knowing there is a Hub and two independent USB devices in the radio should help when setting up a radio for WSJT-X. The first device is a USB to Serial converter supporting CAT/CI-V, the second device is a USB to Audio CODEC supporting audio input and output.
You will not resolve audio issues by changing the USB UART Bridge settings for baud rate or the number of stop bits. Similarly changing the audio I/O devices is not going to solve a CAT/CI-V problem.
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I was surprised to learn the driver we install is only a generic USB UART Bridge. I expected a large complex proprietary composite driver that handled the CAT/CI-V and the audio CODEC. The audio CODEC driver is a standard Windows product.
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I have identified the various switches on the radio’s circuit boards and their related menu functions. An example is the switch and menu item that connects the audio I/O from the radio’s processor to the ACC port, Microphone, or the CODEC. I plan to do a separate article on this topic.
In the interim knowing, there are two independent devices should help demystify the menu settings a bit. Baud rate, USB for CI-V, Echo on, etc are for the CAT using the SiLabs USB UART Bridge. Audio I/O levels, Modulation source, and related options only apply to the USB CODEC.
Ci V Icom Software For Use With 7700 Wireless
This article may seem a bit bottoms up. It was written from the vantage point gained while troubleshooting and then replacing Hubs, bridges, CODECs and surrounding devices in numerous radios. USB is the most fragile interface on the radio when lightning is a factor….these are the parts at the end of the USB cable.
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