‰ NOW 35 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM OCTOBER 2018 QST PAGE 45 ‰ PRODUCT REVIEW ICOM IC 7610 HF AND 6 METER TRANSCEIVER REVIEWED BY JOEL R. HALLAS, W1ZR QST CONTRIBUTING EDITOR W1ZR ARRL.ORG THE IC 7610 IS A NOMINAL 100 W SSB, CW, AM, FM, AND DIGITAL MODE TRANSCEIVER FOR 160 THROUGH 6 METERS. WHILE ITS ANCESTRY IS CLEARLY BASED ON THE POPULAR DIRECT SAMPLING IC 7300, ITS PERFORMANCE AND FEATURES MAY BE MORE CLOSELY TIED TO ICOMS TOP OF THE LINE IC 7851. THE KEY STEP UP FROM THE 7300 IS THE ADDITION OF A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT SECOND RECEIVER, WITH PERFORMANCE EQUAL TO THE PRIMARY RECEIVER AND SEPARATE AUDIO CHANNELS FOR SPEAKERS OR HEADPHONES. IN ADDITION, THE DUAL FREQUENCY READOUTS AND VIRTUAL ANALOG MULTIMETERS ARE REMINISCENT OF THE LARGER, HEAVIER, AND MORE EXPENSIVE IC 7800 AND 7851 FRONT PANELS. THE DISPLAY WE WERE SMITTEN BY THE DISPLAY OF THE IC 7800, FIRST REVIEWED IN 2004 PARTICULARLY ITS DIGITAL EMULATION OF TRADITIONAL ANALOG METERS. THE IC 7610S DISPLAY IS EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE SEE FIGURE 1, WITH A NICE UPGRADE DISPLAY AND OPERATIONAL FEATURES CAN BE SELECTED BY A TOUCH OF THE SCREEN. IN SOME CASES, SUCH AS FREQUENCY AND BAND SELECTION, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO CHANGE THE SETTINGS, BUT SOME NOTABLY MODE AND METER SELECTION, AS WELL AS THE MODE SPECIFIC SIDE AND BOTTOM BUTTONS SEEM TO BE ACCESSIBLE ONLY VIA THE TOUCHSCREEN. UNLIKE THE UBIQUITOUS SMARTPHONE, THE DISPLAY IS NOT CHANGE ABLE BY PINCHING OR ‰ END OF 35 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ