It is my birthday soon and I would really love to get my hands on one of these!!!!

Innovative IC-7300 HF/50/70MHz Transceiver Launched at Tokyo Ham Fair 2015

Icom Inc. had a huge amount of interest on is stand at the  Tokyo Ham Fair 2015 with the unveiling of the IC-7300 HF/50/70MHz Transceiver. The launch, which caught most people by surprise, saw the manufacturer introduce a new base station transceiver incorporating the latest RF direct sampling system, a first for an Amateur radio transceiver*.

The IC-7300 transceiver, an aesthetically, attractive looking base station, features a 4.3 inch touch screen colour TFT LCD screen with a high performance real time band scope.

A first for an Amateur radio transceiver, the IC-7300 uses a RF Direct Sampling System, a technology normally seen in Software Defined Radios. RF signals are mostly processed through the FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), rather than by physical devices enabling high performance real-time spectrum scope in a compact body.

The IC-7300 includes a built-in integrated wide-frequency Automatic Antenna Tuner making ideal for field operation. The radio provides 100 watts output power on HF/50MHz bands and 50 watts on 70MHz (European versions only).

Icom Inc. has produced a pre-release leaflet for the IC-7300 which you can download from this page. This information is preliminary and a full document will be made available nearer to the product's launch. SoRF Direct sampling system — a first in Amateur Radio*

Instead of the conventional superheterodyne system, the IC-7300 utilizes the RF direct sampling system — a first in an amateur radio transceiver. This technology is seen in Software Defined Radios and other radio equipment. RF signals are mostly processed through the FPGA (Field-Programmable Gßate Array), making it possible to eliminate physical mixer and filter devices and offer a high performance real-time spectrum scope in a compact body.
* Researched by Icom, among major amateur radio manufactures.
Class leading phase noise characteristics

Overcoming cost and performance limitations of the superheterodyne system, the RF direct sampling system pursues ideal high performance phase noise. As the result, compared to the IC-7200, the IC-7300’s phase noise characteristics are improved about 15dB (at 1kHz frequency offset). This superior phase noise reduces noise components in both receive and transmit signals.