Hi Chip. Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you’re finding them helpful.

Thanks Mohammad. Good points on the audio. I will be covering those settings in an upcoming video. Didn’t want this one to get too long.

@@HamRadioA2Z Tahnk you, Sir. Since you have several transceivers, you can use them as station for demos, and not need to wait or look for any other stations during bad band's propagations.. Can you demo the RF gain (RFG_ effect during digital mode RX? Thank you.

Showing what RF gain does to a DSTAR signal is a good idea. I’m not really sure how it will behave. I expect the receive audio will become intermittent at some point and then just disappear. It will be an interesting experiment.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there is a single answer that works everywhere. Under Windows 10, I didn't load any drivers. The standard drivers built into Windows seemed to work fine for both serial and sound. Under Windows 11, I have had to load the Icom drivers to get things to work right. Here is a link to the Icom USB driver installation guide: www.icomjapan.com/support/manual/1768/

Hi. That is correct. The 7100 has the equivalent of a USB sound card built into the radio. It also has a serial data interface that works over the USB connection. So when you plug the radio into your computer, you will see a new audio device and a new COM port. Everything you need to operate digital modes and control the radio goes over the USB cable.

@@HamRadioA2Z Great, thank you. I've seen other videos and devices for sale saying that is what is needed to do digital modes with the ic-7100. I ordered two different lengths of the cables you have listed in the links below, glad I don't need those other devices to drag around.

Yes. The 7100 can load that .icf file directly. Unfortunately, you can’t customize that list and the file on the Icom website isn’t very recent. On the DStar.info website, you will find information to create a customized repeater list for your area or region. It creates a.CSV file that you can download. Newer DStar radios can read a .CSV file to create the repeater list. Unfortunately, the 7100 cannot. RT Systems makes software to program the 7100 that is less expensive than the Icom software. The RT Systems software will import the .CSV file and program the repeater list in the radio. You can also directly edit the repeater list in a spreadsheet like format with the software and set it up however you like.

Hi Fred. Sorry I didn’t get back to your earlier post. Glad to hear it’s mostly working. With Windows, it sometimes changes the default speaker output when you connect a new audio device. The USB connection to the 7100 will look like a new audio device. Try left clicking on the speaker icon at the lower right corner of your Windows task bar. Just above the volume control bar it will say what device Windows is using for default audio out. Usually “Speakers (..some device name..)”. If it says USB something for the device name, it’s probably sending the sound back to your radio. Click the ^ to the right of the name and it will show you a list of audio devices. You’ll want to pick whatever your laptop normal speaker device is. If you click the volume slider up and down, you should hear a musical chord letting you know the new volume level. If you don’t, you haven’t selected the correct device.

Here is a link to a type A to mini B cable that will fit the IC-7100. www.amazon.com/dp/B003L1380E/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_7QPDWBVG0ZF3MJKDM84J?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 This is a link for a 3 ft. Cable. You can select other lengths on the page. Full disclosure: This is an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy from it, I earn a small commission. It doesn’t affect your price. 73, Tom

Hi Jeffrey. I’m sorry I missed this comment a couple weeks ago. I’m not sure what might be going on with your setup. I’m running Windows 10 on 2 different laptops that I use with the radios. I also switch between connecting my 7300, 7100 and 705 pretty regularly, along with a USB microphone and other accessories. I sometimes have to re-select the audio device in programs like FL-Digi. However, I suspect that is more because I’m switching back and forth between several audio devices. When you say you have to play with the config, do you mean on the laptop? Or do you have to re-adjust radio settings in the SET menus? If selecting or re-selecting settings on the laptop fixes it, I don’t see how that could be a radio problem.

One other question. Do you have another laptop or access to a friends laptop you could try to see if the issue follows the laptop?

Actually, what happens is that the RED transmit led does light up on the radio, but there is no RF coming out.

Hi Arnie. The good news is that if the RED light is lighting up, we know that WSJT-X is talking to the radio. If you're not hearing a tone or seeing any power, it's probably because the audio isn't getting to the radio. Do you have the mode set to USB-D (-D is data)? Also, do you have the radio set to get audio (modulation) from the USB port? Go into the Settings-Connectors menu. Scroll up or down to find DATA MOD (Data Modulation). Make sure that option is set to USB.

Hi Don. Sorry for the delayed reply. I’m afraid I don’t have any ideas. I I don’t know why those settings would not get saved across power cycles.

that's what I'm saying there is plenty room for a Type B and the cable they give you is Crap!

I don’t recall a USB cable coming with my 7100 when I bought it. (>4 years ago now). Maybe you got a package where the dealer through in a USB cable?

Hi Gary. Yes. You can operate the 7100 without the head. In the Set Mode under Function, there is an option called Power OFF (With No Controller). The default is that the radio turns off if the control head is disconnected. Confusingly, that option is labeled ON. If you set this to OFF, the radio will operate without the control head. The 7100 does support CI-V (CAT) commands to power the radio on and off. So you can completely control it with RS-BA1 or other similar radio control software.