Ian Lockyer, of Icom UK, recently told RadioUser that Icom Inc. exhibited some exciting product innovations at the Tokyo Hamfair, taking place in Ariake, Tokyo from August 31st - September 1st, 2019. In particular, the company had on display: • The IC-705 RF direct sampling VHF, UHF, HF, D-Star all-mode 10W QRP portable transceiver • The IC-PW2 HF/50MHz, 1kW linear amplifier prototype, IC-9700, with updated firmware for image-transfer without PC, and a ‘translationtransceiver’ concept demonstration. At the time of this issue of RadioUser going to press, it was still somewhat of a challenge to get detailed, up-to-date, background information about these products. However, there was a limited amount of pre-sales detail available on the ICOM IC-705 HF/50/144/430 MHz All-Mode Transceiver. ICOM Inc. offered some shared pdf files, which were downloadable from the Icom website. They are shown on this page. The fi rm also provided an English language video which ICOM UK has uploaded to its YouTube Channel. The video is called Introducing the IC 705 VHF, UHF, HF, D-Star all-mode 10W QRP portable SDR Transceiver. Check out the websites at the end of this short article, for some more details. To keep up to date with further Icom news, you stay tuned to these websites and social media channels or sign up to the ICOM Newsletter. Table 1 shows some of the anticipated key features of the transceiver – as currently emphasised in the available pre-sales brochures and sparse online materials. Note that these details are relating to demonstration/prototype versions, and that final product features are a matter of TBC at the moment. Nevertheless, going through the available information and pre-sales material, it seems clear that this transceiver is marketed to operators who like to go mobile. It is there, according to Icom, for users to ‘set out to the fields’ and to ‘be active’ This is reflected in the transceiver’s small size, low weight, ability to be held in one hand, in the slogan of ‘your new partner for field operations’ and in the availability of the tailor-made backpack option. It is further emphasised by the inclusion of the GPS aerial and GPS functions, such as location information. It seems, therefore, that operating outdoors has been very much in the mind of the developers. There will be a full review in RadioUser, or in our sister magazine, Practical Wireless in the very near future, keep checking with us online, through social media, Facebook groups and other channels.

This article was featured in the October 2019 issue of RadioUser