KN4YZY

The spectrum scope is the reason a lot of us bought the IC-7300. It shows you the whole band at a glance, so you can see where the activity is, spot a weak signal you’d never find by spinning the dial, and find a clear spot before you call CQ. Most folks leave it on the default settings, though. Today we’ll go through the handful of keys that make it really useful.

Level: Beginner  |  Time: About 15 minutes  |  Note: Key names below come from the IC-7300 manual. Later firmware updates added extra options in the scope settings, so your SCOPE SET screen may show more items than older radios.

What You’ll Need

• Your IC-7300 hooked up to an HF antenna
• A screen protector for the IC-7300 (optional, but you’ll be touching that screen a lot)

Step 1: Open the Full Scope Screen

A quick push of M.SCOPE turns the small Mini scope on or off. Hold M.SCOPE for about a second to open the full SPECTRUM SCOPE screen. That’s the one we want. The keys we’ll use are along the bottom of the screen.

Step 2: Pick Center or Fixed Mode

Touch CENT/FIX to switch between the two modes:

• Center mode keeps your operating frequency in the middle of the screen. The picture scrolls as you tune. I like this for tuning around and chasing a signal.
• Fixed mode shows a set slice of the band that doesn’t move. Your frequency marker moves across it as you tune. This is great for FT8 or a busy contest band, because you can watch the same stretch all day.

Step 3: Set the Width

In Center mode, touch SPAN to choose how wide the view is. The choices run from ±2.5 kHz up to ±500 kHz. For SSB phone I usually sit around ±25 kHz. Wider shows more of the band, but signals get squeezed together.

In Fixed mode, the SPAN key is replaced by EDGE. Touch it to step through the edge settings for that band. The manual says you can store three sets of upper and lower edges for each ham band, and you set those numbers on the SCOPE SET screen (hold EXPD/SET for about a second to get there).

Step 4: Adjust the Reference Level

If the waterfall looks like a solid blue sheet, or the whole screen is lit up with noise, the reference level needs a tweak. Touch REF and turn the MAIN DIAL. The aim is a dark background with signals standing out clearly. You’ll find yourself changing this from band to band, since the noise level on 80 meters is very different from 10 meters.

Step 5: Speed, Hold and Marker

• SPEED picks the sweep speed: fast, mid or slow. Slower makes the waterfall scroll more slowly, which helps with weak or slow signals.
• HOLD freezes the picture so you can study it. “HOLD” shows on the screen while it’s on. Touch it again to let it run.
• MARKER chooses which markers you see. The RX marker shows where you’re listening and the TX marker shows where you’ll transmit. That’s handy when you’re working split.
• EXPD/SET (a quick touch) makes the scope bigger on the screen.

Step 6: Touch to Tune

This is the fun part. Touch near a signal on the scope or waterfall, and that area pops up zoomed in. Now touch the signal itself in the zoomed window and the radio tunes right to it. Touch outside the zoom window to close it. In Center mode the signal you picked moves to the middle of the screen. In Fixed mode the marker jumps to it.

Gotchas

• Touch-tuning SSB lands you close, not perfect. Expect to touch up with the main dial until the voice sounds natural.
• One REF setting won’t suit every band. If a band looks dead on the scope, try raising the reference level before you give up on it.
• Forgetting HOLD is on. If the scope stops moving, look for “HOLD” on the screen before you assume the band closed.

Your Turn

Are you a Center mode or a Fixed mode operator? Tell me your favorite span and REF settings in the comments. And if there’s an IC-7300 question you’ve been wanting to ask, put it in the comments too. It might become a future How-To post.

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