Old ICOM Receivers and a Transceiver.

I have some old ICOM equipment that needs to get used again.
This concerns the IC-R7000, the IC-R7100 multimode receivers and the IC-451 70cm transceiver.

The reason is that I was growing a bit weary of using my AR-8600 for receiving QO100 signals from a PLL-LNB with reference frequency stabilization. The 8600 has poor SSB filters and a not-so-good audio quality, too.

The IC-R7100 had been standing unused for a while, as it did not switch on. I suspected the missing connector at the back, after waiting some months, finally I checked, and yes, indeed. the connector is used as power-through for the built-in power supply.

The IC-7100 clearly has better filters and a much better speaker/AF-amp, and the tuning is a lot more convenient than the much smaller (clicking) knob of the AR-8600. Even with its 100Hz tuning steps, the IC-R7000 it ia a vast improvement in use over the 8600. Now I have the inclination to tune the satellite band. With the AR-8600 it felt like winding up an old clock ;)

However, in all three sets, the built-in power supply is a substantial source of heat, so I will prefer using an external power supply for all of them.

Fortunately, the connector looks like it is exactly the same used in older 5 1/4 and 3 1/2"  harddisks, so I needed to find a few of those. I found a few in an old unused ATX power supply, and I can most probably find more in an old computer I have lying around.
Update: The harddisk connector is not mechanically identical to the one used in the radios, but they can be modified. It just takes a bit of filing one end of the connector in a triangular shape, and not (more or less) rectangular one.

Further, during a modification attempt some time ago I blew an IC in the IC-R7000, the wideband FM demodulator. This needs to be replaced, though the radio can be used with SSB and NBFM without the repair.

The IC-451 seems to have been in a smokers home before I got it, and the least I have to do, is using an external power supply for reducing the heat. Yes, the heating up makes the radio smell of smoke, it is that bad.

Yet more tasks to do with my station. I do expect parts of this to be done this year.

Let us face it: I do have a sufficient amount of radios, but not enough antennas. I will have to do something about additional antennas and/or a more efficient use of the existing antennas.

If I get enough done, there may be another post this year.