Skip to main content
Version: Next (main)

Networked Icom

Status

Status: Early · Applies to: Networked Icom

AetherSDR can operate Icom transceivers that have a built-in network connection, using Icom's CI-V commands over the RS-BA1 network protocol. No Icom software and no USB cable are needed.

The IC-7300MK2 is supported and shows no EXPERIMENTAL badge. Every other Icom shows the EXPERIMENTAL badge in the title bar and an "Experimental radio support" notice when you connect. FlexRadio remains AetherSDR's supported target; see Supported Radios.

Where to go next​

Requirements​

ModelNetworkStatus
IC-7300MK2Built-in EthernetSupported: no EXPERIMENTAL badge
IC-705Wi-FiEarly (experimental); verified against its CI-V guide
IC-9700EthernetEarly (experimental); works, with read-only memories
IC-7610, IC-785x, IC-905EthernetListed in the model chooser, not verified

The original IC-7300 has no network port and is not in the model list.

Setup​

On the radio​

Enable network (remote) control and create a network user name and password. AetherSDR uses the radio's three UDP ports, which start at 50001 by default (control, CI-V, audio). The IC-705 must be on your Wi-Fi network; the IC-7300MK2 and IC-9700 use Ethernet.

Connecting​

Networked Icoms are not discovered automatically. Open File → Connect to Radio..., choose Connect by IP and set Radio type: to Icom (network). The form gains these rows:

RowWhat to enter
Radio IP:The radio's IP address or host name.
Icom user:The network user name configured on the radio.
Icom password:The network password configured on the radio. It is stored in the operating system's credential store, never in the settings file, and only after a successful connect.
Icom ports:Standard (50001–50003), or Custom NAT ports... with a First UDP port:. AetherSDR uses that port and the next two. Different port triplets let you reach several radios behind one NAT router.
Icom CI-V:Auto-detect (recommended) asks the radio for its own CI-V address. You can also pick a model from the list, or Custom... and type a hex CI-V address: (for example A2, from the radio's MENU > SET > Connectors > CI-V). A wrong address is not silently corrected: the connection gets no frequency, panadapter or transmit.

Click Connect by IP. The model is identified over the wire, not from the radio's name. If the handshake fails, the message names the target and the likely cause.

Wake Icom on connect​

Wake Icom on connect, near the bottom of the Connect to Radio window, is off by default. When it is on and the radio does not answer identification, AetherSDR wakes a supported model (IC-705, IC-7300MK2 or IC-9700) from standby once. It never puts the radio to sleep on disconnect. The radio's network interface must stay reachable in standby, so a Wi-Fi radio that has dropped off the network cannot be woken. For a custom CI-V address, pick the model in Icom CI-V: so AetherSDR knows which radio to wake.

Using a Networked Icom​

AetherSDR treats an Icom differently from a FlexRadio:

  • The radio is authoritative. It remembers its own frequency, mode and filter. AetherSDR reads the radio's state and levels when it connects and never pushes saved state onto it.
  • Unknown models fail closed. Each verified model has its own command profile. A control that has not been proven on a model is hidden, and a radio AetherSDR does not recognise gets no panadapter and no transmit, rather than guessed defaults.

What you can do:

  • Panadapter from the radio's own scope. Every Icom has one panadapter.
  • Receive and transmit: RX audio, transmit, RF gain, preamp and attenuator (each separate from the display's RF gain), AF gain, TX monitor, VOX, RIT/XIT, manual notch and the ATU on models that have one. TUNE power changes made during a tune are kept.
  • Filters: the radio's real IF width is read back, the filter buttons are ordered narrow to wide for the mode, twin PBT is supported, and TX low/high cut follow what the model supports.
  • Status bar: the radio's Network Radio Name (the name set in its network settings) is shown, separate from model and callsign.
  • Radio Health (Tools → Radio Health...) shows the radio's modulation inputs and levels.
  • Decoders: the CW, RTTY and AetherClock decoders work. The CW decoder opens in CW.
  • Memory channels use AetherSDR's shared bank on this computer, and the radio's own memories can be read in on models that support it. The IC-9700's radio memories are read-only.

PC Audio and data modes​

The PC Audio toggle chooses the radio's DATA OFF modulation input: WLAN on the IC-705, LAN on the IC-7300MK2, and MIC when PC Audio is off. The radio's DATA MOD setting is left alone. On a model AetherSDR cannot verify, the toggle refuses.

DIGU, DIGL and DFM set the radio's DATA flag, so transmit audio comes from the computer, not the microphone. If the radio's modulation input is wrong, AetherSDR tells you what to change.

With PC Audio off, the Aetherial Audio TX controls are replaced by a note that names the fix.

FT8, WSPR and other digital modes​

WSJT-X and similar programs work through the TCI Server: FT8 decoding and PSK Reporter spotting, and WSPR transmit (proven on air from an IC-7300MK2). The built-in AX.25 modem can transmit on an Icom too. DAX is not available on an Icom.

CW text: CWK​

On an Icom the status-bar CWX toggle reads CWK: CWX text is sent through the radio's own CI-V text keyer, on models that have one (IC-705, IC-7300MK2). It drives the same CWX Panel.

FM repeaters and XFC​

The FM controls set tone, duplex and offset where the model supports them. On an Icom, the FM REV button becomes XFC, a momentary transmit-frequency check; it always releases when hidden or on disconnect. The IC-705 and IC-9700 support the extended tone registers (including DTCS); the IC-7300MK2 supports tone and tone squelch, and its offset controls are disabled.

Controllers​

The Icom RC-28 remote encoder is supported (Settings → Icom RC-28 Remote Encoder...); see USB Control Surfaces.

Reference​

IC-7300MK2​

  • TX bandwidth table; CW speed 6–48 WPM; CW pitch in 5 Hz steps.
  • Squelch works in CW and data modes. The panadapter squelch line uses the MK2's own measured scale, and Auto SQL is not available on the MK2.
  • AGC threshold, AGC Off, AM carrier, VOX delay and repeater offset are disabled. TUNE is refused in CW and CW-R.
  • The preamp and ATT buttons update about 0.2 s after a change.

IC-705​

  • 2 m and 70 cm are available alongside HF.
  • WFM (broadcast FM) is receive-only.
  • GPS location and NTP time controls. The power gauge uses a QRP scale.
  • AetherSDR warns if the radio's MOD Input is not WLAN.

IC-9700​

  • Three bands with their own power ceilings (100 / 75 / 10 W).
  • CTCSS (TX and RX), DTCS, dial-lock sync, supply voltage, PA drain current, continuous compression and LAN MOD level.
  • If CI-V stalls, AetherSDR tries a bounded automatic recovery before a full reconnect.
  • Its MAIN/SUB dual-receiver layout is not modelled.

Not available on a networked Icom​

  • DAX, SmartLink or Multi-Flex.
  • More than one panadapter.
  • Anything a model has not been proven to support: those controls are hidden, dimmed with a reason, or refuse with a notice.

Known issues​

  • On the IC-7300MK2, transmit audio drops out for about a third of a second roughly every 1.2 seconds while the radio stays keyed (#6169).
  • Squelch can stick off: once its level reaches 0, SQL cannot be turned back on from AetherSDR (IC-7300MK2, IC-705, IC-9700) (#6172).
  • The speech processor (PROC) slider snaps back to DX+ after you move it (IC-7300MK2, IC-705) (#6171).
  • CW speed, break-in and pitch do nothing on models without a CW text keyer, such as the IC-9700 (#6110).
  • On the IC-9700, the panadapter trace can sit on the bottom line and look blank on a quiet band with the preamp off (#4814).
  • On the IC-9700, the waterfall rate returns to 100 after you restart AetherSDR (#5996).

Troubleshooting​

Connected, but no frequency, panadapter or transmit​

The Icom CI-V: address is wrong. AetherSDR does not correct a wrong address silently.

  1. Disconnect and open Connect by IP with Radio type: set to Icom (network).
  2. Set Icom CI-V: to Auto-detect (recommended).
  3. If you use Custom..., check the address on the radio under MENU > SET > Connectors > CI-V and type it as hex (for example A2).

Connect by IP fails with a handshake error​

The radio is not accepting network control from AetherSDR. The message names the target and the likely cause.

  1. Check that network (remote) control is enabled on the radio.
  2. Check Icom user: and Icom password: against the network user configured on the radio.
  3. Behind a NAT router, check that Icom ports: matches the three forwarded UDP ports.

The radio is in standby and does not answer​

AetherSDR does not wake the radio unless you ask it to.

  1. Tick Wake Icom on connect near the bottom of the Connect to Radio window.
  2. For a custom CI-V address, also pick the model in Icom CI-V:.
  3. On an IC-705, make sure the radio is still on your Wi-Fi network in standby; a radio that has dropped off the network cannot be woken.

Data-mode transmit warns about the modulation input​

The radio's modulation input does not match the PC Audio setting.

  1. Toggle PC Audio off and on to select the right input.
  2. Or set it on the radio's front panel: MENU > SET > Connectors > MOD Input (WLAN on the IC-705, LAN on the IC-7300MK2).

See also​