I think we are all screwed, I do not think Icom is going to do anything about the low power out put on SSB problem.
Do not hold your breath.
You have what you have and you better like it .
I did the mic upgrade and yes it sounds a little better but the Power on SSB problem is still there.
So what can I do ? I guess ill live with it Until someone finds a MOD that takes care of this problem.
I do not think there will be a software fix for this unless the ALC has been compony set at an improper level.
And ICOM is trying to govern the output power levels. So I ask if any one has a fix for this please let me know I like the IC-7100 but I feel that I put my money into the ICOM technology too soon and Im just a ICOM guinea pig.I tell you on my next purchase I will truly do my homework based on real world word of mouth and join a blog group before I make my buy not after like I just did. Fool me once shame on you ICOM shame on me fool me twice shame on me.
Shame on you ICOM.....
I have a suggestion, for purposes of this discussion, and a question: how are we measuring the power output?
If we are trying to determine if there is really 100w PEP during voice, instead of (say) 50w, I would hope that someone is looking at a scope or something that is really measuring the peak envelope power.
If I remember, the original post said that the radio will transmit 100 watts CW or tone.
I just looked at the specifications section of the advanced manual, hoping that there was a test description for this measurement, but there is not. they do mention that they use digital PSN for SSB which probably introduces some audio shaping to the modulation, perhaps favoring voices with less bass in them.
Has anyone confirmed or refuted the voice power output from a 7100 using something that measures PEP? If we're using the uncalibrated average power readout from the "dot meter" on the front panel of the 7100 to determine this parameter, this is terribly inaccurate and imprecise. Remember that we are discussing a difference of 3 dB, so the measurement will need to have at least that much precision.
#3
I have a digital power meter, A Wavenode WN2 (it cost a lot of £ but is well worth the money). This power meter will measure accurately peak power and average power at the same time - both on its screen and on a PC. I can confirm that using the supplied HM-151 mike, the peak power is to spec on all bands. That is 100 watts on HF to 6m and 50w on 2m (I don't use 70cms at the moment as I have no antenna for the band). I have the compressor on (at 7 on its scale) and I have set the Mike gain at 70%. There is a much bigger difference between peak and average power at any one time on the IC-7100 than on my other radios but this does not impact on my ability to make good QSOs on all bands.
Hello Group,
ReplyDeleteI played with the tone, comp, mic-gain' controls all afternoon. The very best I could do was 70 watts on voice peaks. Raising the comp above 4 did nothing extra for the signal, so I left it there. I tried both med and high TWB but again, nothing that could be measured on power meter resulted from that.
Tone treble was set at +2 and bass at 0. I tried -4 to -2 but I'm not sure if this made much difference. At this point any difference could have been in my 'speaking into the mic'!
At the end of the afternoon, the 60-70 watts output was able to drive my ALS 500 amp to 300 watts. That is a whole lot better than running barefoot at 60 to 70 watts.
Still hopeful, that Icom will come up with a fix in their next firmware release, I'll hang on to this radio. If it were not for this low SSB power problem, I'd have nothing but raves about it.
73
de AA1IK
Ernest Gregoire
My observation and solution-----
ReplyDeleteWhen I first got my 7100 back in October of '13 I immediately noticed the low SSB output. Tried all my different mics and then pulled out an old Icom IC SM-6 amplified desk mic that I bought at least 30 years ago.
I made up an adapter cable round male 8 pin to the 8 pin modular. I can easily get 90 to 100 watts output on my LP100A Digital Vector RF Wattmeter on all HF bands. Though not scientific I monitor my signal on other radios in the shack and looked at it
on the Elecraft P3 screen and on my Flex 5000 and it looks very clean. I have not had any reports of bad audio from on the air contacts.
I am sure others will disagree but sometimes simple solutions can dispel a lot of anxiety.
Mike WA8EBM
Finally got the 7100 back after repair (new PA board, new main board and new head unit) and can now show 80w on 15m (not peak reading and using 50% mike gain, no compression) and 90 watts on 90% power on RTTY (for a very short time).
ReplyDeleteSeems it had multiple problems from new but all is good now.
73 Phil M0TZZ
I learned form the worst way possible which my IC-7100 is useless for voice communication besides DSTAR. Used to make tons of DX contacts with Flex 3000. I sold the Flex and bought the IC-7100 because I would have VHF/UHF/HF and DSTAR. After a while I noted my average of contacts plumed. Checking the SSB power average, is less than half of a friend´s IC-706. Testing in an one KW amplifier, my IC-7100 puts 250W when my friend´s IC-706 puts 780W. Huge difference!
ReplyDeleteI searched Youtube, social medias, eHam and every single forum I came across. This is a well known issue and Icom say nothing about it. Who got response from support said you will contact Japan and that´s it. I´m getting worried, since if this is an easy firmware fix, should already been issued a firmware update. So the problem may be more by the hardware side which is not good.
In any event, Icom should at least issue a official acknowledgement statement about it. This radio is useless in SSB and in FM I got complains about low audio all the time, no matter the settings.
There is only one IC-7100 fixed / repaired / modified on that film from SV7GBR you can see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD8uN6jLclw
ReplyDeleteIt is made by SV0CL - he is chief engeneer at Icom Greece...
It is probably problem with ALC, quote from youtube:
"As the mod made by a pro, no further details known by me. Only things I know is that mod is not complicated, needs small time, and makes the ALC less tight by changing its time constant."