[South Florida DX Association] From The ARRL Letter

[bmarx@bellsouth.net]

* HQ staffers get IC-7800 preview: Members of the ARRL Headquarters staff
got a hands-on preview of the not-quite-yet-released ICOM IC-7800
transceiver, thanks to Icom Engineering Manager John Gibbs, KC7YXD. Gibbs
visited Headquarters March 4 with a pre-production model of his company's
new top-end Amateur Radio HF plus 6-meter transceiver. Among its multitude
of features, the IC-7800 offers a seven-inch color TFT display, two
independent receivers, a spectrum display, CW autotune, and RTTY and PSK31
capability just by plugging in a keyboard. The IC-7800 will replace the
venerable IC-781 as the capstone of Icom's Amateur Radio product line. In
terms of performance, Gibbs claims the IC-7800 will offer third-order
intercept (IP3) performance in the +40 dBm range and two-tone, third-order
intermodulation distortion dynamic range well in excess of 100 dB.
Although a retail price has not yet been firmed up, it's anticipated that
owning an IC-7800 will set buyers back less than $11,000. Musician Joe
Walsh, WB6ACU, and audio expert and manufacturer Bob Heil, K9EID, were
among the operators as the IC-7800 saw action at W1AW during the ARRL
International DX Contest (Phone) March 6-7. The IC-7800 will be the focus
of Icom's Hamvention exhibit May 14-16, and it could be on the market in a
month or so.