On Saturday, Oct 10, 1998 my wife and I decided to take a nice scenic drive, using the back roads, to the Denver area.  Our destination was Ham Radio Outlet.  Our goal was to purchase am Icom IC-R10.... for me !!!!!  When I got home... I opened the box then the manual.... and began to read... and read.... and read.... and read.  Then I attempted to do what I had just memorized.  I found I had to read.... and read.... and read some more.   But the reading was worth it... and my (not real technical) review is below.

What You Get

• IC-R10

• Antenna

• AC adapter

• 4 AA NiCds

• Hand strap

• Belt clip

• Instruction manual

• Box

Vintage: 1997 Type: Handheld Range: (U.S.) 0.5000-823.999, 849.0001-868.999, 894.0001-1300.0000 MHz Channels: 1000 Banks: 18 Modes: AM, FM, WFM, USB, LSB, CW Priority: 1 channel Conversion: Triple

Scan: 6 channels/second Search: 17 steps/second Audio: 120mW at 10% THD Power: 4 AAs 4.6-16V DC Size: 2.3"(W) x 5.1"(H) x 1.2"(D) Weight: 10.9 oz Interfaces: BNC, speaker, CI-V, DC Accessories: Antenna, belt-clip, hand-strap, AC adapter, 4 AA ni-cads Features: VFO, band scope, auto-store, SIGNAVI, alpha-tagging, AFC, NB/ANL, search-skip, S-meter, attenuator

 

 

Chapter 1 (PANEL DESCRIPTION) starts out with an illustrated and text description of the units main areas directing you to pages further in the book for more detailed instruction.  The display functions are also described with the chapter ending with a tour of the keypad.

Chapter 2 (Ni-Cd BATTERIES AND ACCESSORIES)  explains a bit about the batteries that come with the unit, how to install them, and how to charge them.  Also explained is how to connect the the accessories that come with the radio.

Chapter 3 (BASIC OPERATION) is a general overview of the radios more basic functions such as turning on the power, adjusting the volume, the squelch, RF gain, the basic receiving modes, tuning a frequency, selecting steps, and the band scope function.  The chapter then gives a few illustrated listening examples.

Chapter 4 (MEMORY MODE) memory mode is the second mode - the first being VFO mode.  This chapter shows you how to enter a frequency and all associated settings into one of the memory channels in one or more of the 18 banks. Banks A-P are for normal usage while banks Q & R contain 100 channels each for auto memory write, scan, and program skip scan.  Memory copy is also described in this chapter with examples for all memory modes illustrated as well.

Chapter 5 (SCANNING OPERATION)  is a description of the two scanning types - Programmed Scan & Memory Scan.  Again, as in all the chapters, illustrated examples are shown for each scan mode.  The skip function and the SIGNAVI functions are also described.

Chapter 6 (PRIORITY WATCH)  describes the function which checks for signals on a priority frequency while listening to another frequency.

Chapter 7 (EASY MODE)  for those not wanting to get into all the bells and whistles right away, the R10 has what is called an Easy Mode.  Ten different frequency ranges are programmed in for easy mode operation and with just a few button pushes you can monitor those ranges.  The radio comes with pre-programmed ranges but these can be tailored for your unique desires.

Chapter 8 (EDIT FUNCTION)  The edit function is used for arranging memorized contents into memory channels, program/auto-memory write scan channels and EASY mode channels.

Chapter 9 (SET MODE)  The set mode is accessed from VFO, MEMORY or EASY mode and allows you to modify certain receiver conditions to suit your operating requirements.

Chapter 10 (OTHER FUNCTIONS)  This is the catch all chapter with descriptions and illustrations of those functions that were not contain anywhere else in the manual.  Some of the areas covered are AFC, Monitor, Lock, low battery, ATT, NB/ANL, Sleep timer, User settings, Memory search, resetting the CPU, and Data Cloning.

Chapter 11 (ALPHANUMERIC KEY ASSIGNMENT)  This chapter shows the alphanumeric symbols that will be shown when each key or the dial are used when programming in the alphanumeric mode.

Chapter 12 (CONTROL COMMANDS)  The R10, when connected to a PC, allows you transfer data.  The data formats are briefly described in this chapter.

Chapter 13 (TROUBLESHOOTING)  A flow chart of possible problems and solutions are outlined in this chapter.

Chapter 14 ( SPECIFICATIONS)  The units specifications are listed here.

Chapter 15 (OPTIONS)  This is a brief description of the different options that can be purchased to go along with your R10.

Construction and Physical
The radios construction is very nice.  The numerous buttons on the radio are just big enough to work very easily.  The text which describes each function requires glasses to be read if you're vision impaired.  The speaker is located on the upper face with the LCD display below that and finally the 20 button keypad located at the face bottom.  The function button, which provides a second feature for some of the 20 face button functions, is located on the radios left side with the CI-V and external DC power jack located on the right side.  On the top of the unit are the antenna connector (of course), the SQL/VOL, tuning dial and external speaker jack.  The plastic case is just strong enough to resist slight bangs and bumps with the radios weight and size a welcome sight (and feel).  The LCD display (with adjustable contrast) is just about right, with the numerous functions, numbers and alpha characters being visible with a glance that requires not too much squinting.  The belt clip (on the back) is a bit hard to use as it is not too flexible.

Features/Performance
The many features of the radio might overwhelm the new user and an "easier to operate" receiver might be what you need... but if you don't mind learning some new steps and you aren't too embarrassed about going back to the manual a good number of times for those not too often used functions, then the R10 is just right for you.  If you want to listen to AM radio, FM radio, Police, Fire, HAM, Marine, TV, Short Wave and just about anything else and with a range of (U.S.) 0.5000-823.999, 849.0001-868.999, 894.0001-1300.0000 MHz and modes of AM, FM, WFM, USB, LSB, CW then the R10 is a good Communications Receiver to do this with.

Programming is a bit different if you're use to a basic scanner like the BC200XLT.  Depending on which mode your in the programming requires a few more steps than usual but once learned it's a snap.  Even easier is to use the software program that is available for the R10 (CS-R10).
Scanning is done within one bank at a time.  No turning on/off different banks to be scanned is possible.  This is probably the most frustrating feature and might be a good reason why you might not want an R10..... but as I said, the many other features make this radio a good choice even if only one bank at a time can be scanned.  If you don't mind programming multiple banks with the same frequencies to catch all your requirements (mix and match), then this becomes a less problem sum item.  The SKIP feature may be used, like a lockout of certain frequencies, to avoid channel you don't want to hear temporarily.

Searching can be done like any other scanner, with limits entered in as scan edge frequencies and the search , called PROG-S mode activated.  Multiple PROG-S limits can be stored.  Search direction can be change by turning the tuning knob.

VHF/UHF Performance
I found the R10 receives the UHF/VHF range very well.  I live about 25 miles away from a medium sized city which uses the UHF/VHF range (450-460 MHz & 154-157 MHz) and these signal come in nice and strong using the provided antenna.  There is a good amount of hilly terrain between me and the city so the signal strength is greatly decreased once it reaches me... but the R10 pulls in those signals just fine.  The S-Meter on the R10 makes it nice to see just where to place the radio to get the best signal strength too.  The 800 MHz range works just as good too for those frequencies I listen to.  I would say the R10 works on the UHF/VHF range as well or better than any of the other scanners I have owned.

MW & HF Performance
If you are planning to use your R10 as your sole AM/SW receiver too... that would ok.  I found that the provided antenna is not the best for this purpose and a separate AM/SW type antenna might be a wise purchase.  If you want to connect a long wire antenna to the R10 I found the  SANGEAN ANT-60 portable shortwave reel antenna works very well.  It can be carried around in your pocket and rolled out when needed.  If a long wire is out of the question I've found the WATSON W-881 Super- Gainer whip pulls in the signals much better than the R10s supplied antenna in the MW/SW range.  Not as good as the long wire but at a much better signal strength than the original whip.  Overall I found the R10 was all the radio I needed to be carried on business or pleasure trips for all frequency ranges.  If your into serious SW listening then a separate receiver with more features would probably be an asset... but the R10 could be used by the casual listener.  I've got a few other SW receivers, analog tuning, for just that purpose but my R10 is used just as often for these bands.

BAND SCOPE Function

The band scope function was another one worth mentioning.  It was fun to use when I was in the city.  You enter a center frequency and watch other used frequencies that pop up above and below that entered frequency in a bar graph form with a higher signal strength showing higher on the scale .  It was more fun to use than functional for me but I would assume others out there would find more useful applications for it.  Maybe to find unknown frequencies while listening to a known one or finding a source of interference.

CI-V
The R10 is also equipped with a CI-V port allowing it to be programmed from a PC through the RS-232 port.  It will also allow one R10 to be cloned from another R10.  This allows all the data contents from one R10 to be transferred to another.  The OPC-478 Cloning cable is used for both these functions.  The Icom CS-R10 software package is used to connect the R10 to a computer.  I've used this software and it is very easy.  My R10 has gone through the computer data transfer routine a number of times with no errors encountered.  I still like programming the old fashion way but use these software files as a backup in case I ever lose my radio memory.

Overall
I like the R10..... what more can I say ?