Icom IC-R8500 Shortwave AM FM SSB Receiver 100Khz 1999.99 Mhz with AGC MOD

  

This sale is for an Icom IC-R8500 that is used and has a couple of minor signs of previous ownership, but nothing truly outstanding. Please look at our pictures for specific cosmetic detail.

Operationally, the receiver was removed from a measurement lab prior to coming into our hands and it has been fully tested and performs very well with excellent sensitivity on its various receiving bands. Please note that there are some modifications to this receiver that is not consequential if you cannot use them and these can be seen on the lower left corner on the rear of the receiver. However, there is a very nice mod that is useful and which enables the user to turn off the AGC. This toggle switch offers you the AGC to be powered on for regular operation, but if you want to tune with higher sensitivity, you can tune with the AGC off when using the lower HF bands. This is especially useful when tuning the HF amateur radio bands.

There are no known issues or shortcomings with the receiver. This is the civilian version of the receiver which offers excellent coverage with the exception of the blocked 824-849 MHz and 869-894 MHz cellular bands. Since these bands have converted to digital, this blocked band has no detrimental listening results. This receiver is supplied with. Copy of the user manual.

Copy of the service manual. Copy of the brochure (4 page color). Monitoring Times review August 2004. Passport review 1998 (Passport to World Band Radio).

Icom catalog page 2004 (color). QST review April 1997 (amateur radio magazine). WRTH review 1999 (World Radio & Television Handbook). EEB 1997 catalog page copy (Electronic Equipment Bank). CD which contains a block diagram, the schematics, and both the user and service manuals.

This CD is to assist in the use of the receiver and to enable the owner to keep the receiver operating for many years to come. While the R8500 is very reliable and repairs are few and far between, the PDF of the service manual will be handy should it's use ever be necessary. They would want to be able to get amateur bands and hear virtually everything during an emergency. And not only a receiver, but they would like to have scanning features and a lot of controls to assist with reception and to help find unknown frequencies.

They would be describing a receiver / scanner as the Icom IC-R8500 and such a receiver would be attractive to amateur radio listeners, preppers, DX signal chasers, and radio enthusiasts who enjoy listening to the wide variety of signals that can be gathered with the proper antennas. Thus, this receiver appeals to casual listeners or those who desire an excellent emergency receiver.

This R8500 is what is often referred to as a DC to daylight receiver. This term is meant to describe a wideband receiver that picks up the low end of the spectrum in the longwave frequencies, but then extends up thru all the useable broadcast, amateur, marine, emergency and satellite frequencies. If you were to look for a do-it-all receiver, you would have very few choices. This Icom IC-R8500 is a nice receiver that allows the user to have access to the full range of usable frequencies and not compromise reception on one end of the spectrum at the expense of reception at the other end and adds scanning features as well. Let us explain what you can do with a powerful wideband receiver.

This receiver is comprehensive and can receive the following analog signals if using a decent antenna and within receiving range. Police and other emergency personnel. Security (campus, hotel, stadium, auditorium, etc). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Service weather broadcasts. TV audio channels 1 thru 69.

MRS (General Mobile Radio Service). FRS or family handheld units.

Military emergency guard and strategic air command. A few years ago, we owned an Icom IC-R1 handheld unit. It did not have the range as the IC-R8500, but with that little hand held unit, we picked up Lifeflight helicopters, Rockview State Prison chatter, Lock Haven University's Maintenance Dept. Penn State University's football stadium security, and even Air Force 1 in addition to all the typical communications. That's right, a few years ago, when Bill Clinton was in office, AF1 landed at Centre Community Airport on open channel.

Just before AF1 landed, all the bands went dead as everyone went silent for security reasons. Ground communications with the Secret Service were encrypted so we could not receive them.

But soon after landing, the channels were all alive once again. That was on a tiny handheld unit that did not have the sophistication of this R8500 receiver. This Icom IC-R8500 can receive so many broadcasts that you will sit for hours and listen in to a world that you never knew existed in radio reception. We have sat in our office and played with a similar, but older receiver, the Icom ICR7000, and gone from a NOAA weather broadcast on 162.400 in State College, PA, to TV channel 10 In Altoona at 197.750 to the local State College Ham 2 meter on 146.850.

During snowstorms, we dial in the PennDot Penna Dept. Of Transportation road crews on 47.300 chatting about road clearing during the storm. A few minutes into my playing, the local fire whistle went off so we tuned into 154.070 to get information on the Nittany Valley Fire Company call out. We hen punched in the frequencies for the local PBS station at 91.5 Mhz to get the news.

The IC-R8500 is not only a receiver, but a scanner with 1000 memory channels. You can spin the dial to get a frequency, direct dial with the keyboard, or access via memory. Since you can scan, you can locate unknown transmissions or enter known frequencies that you want to monitor by setting band parameters and scanning for signals. There is a priority channel that will come alive if you are listening elsewhere when a signal is transmitted and you also have scan speed and delay knobs at your disposal. Much of the owner's manual is dedicated to explaining the wealth of scanning features. Anyone who owns an Icom unit will tell you how well made they are. This receiver feels like a tank... Only a bit of plastic on the face, but otherwise metal and reminds me of military spec equipment. Since this receiver was a popular one for Icom, many past users have played with their R8500's to tweak it's features.

There are modifications online (MODS) to allow you to experiment and improve the receiver, if you are inclined. These MODS are free to those who search for them in Google and generally will give you a step by step through the MOD process. This unit has not been touched so it is open for MODS, if desired. Over the years, it has been our pleasure to own some of Icom's finest units. As licensed ham radio operators (KB3GGC & KB3GGD), we formerly owned a Icom IC737 transceiver that was an excellent unit.

In addition, we have owned the ICR75 receiver and also the ICR9000 receiver that is probably one of the finest units ever made by anyone. This IC-R8500 follows in that tradition and was produced from 1996 for a little over 16 years available to consumers. This R8500 is loaded with features that will enable you to enjoy virtually anything you chose to hear. Let me take some time to list them for you below.

Bandwidth of 150 KHz / 12 KHz on FM and then widths of. Sleep timer function shuts the unit off after preset time. Record jack for external recording.

Noise Blanker for removing pulse type noise interference. AGC (automatic gain control) circuit to minimize the effects of fading. IF Shift to move the receiver's IF to avoid adjacent channel interference, esp. Auto Peak Filter that aids in signal intelligibility and sound improvement. Attenuator of -10db to -30db.

Tuning Steps of 10 Hz, 50 Hz, 100 Hz, 1 KHz, 2.5 KHz, 5 KHz, 9 KHz, 10 KHz, 12.5 KHz, 20 KHz, 25 KHz, 100 KHz and 1 MHz. 1000 channels are available organized in 20 banks of 40 channels, plus 100 skip channels and 100 auto write memories.

RS-232C input to allow for computer control with available software. This thoroughness of this receiver is somewhat deceiving as many of the features are hidden and not on dedicated keys. It is assumed that many of these features are not used on a regular basis and the folks at Icom have added them by hitting a button and turning the memory dial to access them. Once accessed, the operator would turn the main tuning dial to alter the settings.

This keeps the front panel clean and uncluttered with infrequently used controls. If you would like to read more information on this receiver, you may find some info in the following links. Comprehensive all around great link. Excellent review of this receiver in pdf format.

Yahoo R8500 user group page. At this point, we believe we have conveyed all the pertinent information to allow you to make an informed decision. However, we are happy to answer any questions if you feel that we have overlooked anything. The item "Icom IC-R8500 Shortwave AM FM SSB Receiver 100Khz 1999.99 Mhz with AGC MOD" is in sale since Thursday, December 5, 2019. This item is in the category "Consumer Electronics\Radio Communication\Ham, Amateur Radio\Ham Radio Receivers".

The seller is "bigapple59" and is located in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Frequency Band(s): HF
• Model: IC-R8500
• Country/Region of Manufacture: Japan
• Band: AM
• Type: Shortwave Radio
• Supported Modes: AM
• MPN: Icom IC-R8500
• Brand: Icom