If you change memory banks, the radio always returns to the preset frequency. This receiver does not have a VFO! That's right - NO VFO! It only has tunable memories. Missing from a receiver of this caliber (and price) are bandwidth/notch/DSP/filters and other tuning niceties. The radio has good sensitivity, and fair selectivity. My feeling is that this receiver was built by a another company for Icom. Looking at the construction and circuitry, it does not even closely resemble Icom manufacturing. This is a weird Icom radio - not in the tradition of other Icom products through the years. I bought the Icom with the intention of replacing the Drake, since it has extended VHF/UHF capability, while the Drake is confined to low and high band VHF only. Overall, this is a great receiver and it will be for me for many years! Good points: high sensitivity, good selectivity on SSB/CW and narrow FM, no birdies, no overload suffering, three antenna connectors on the back, very simple to use, good IF shift, very low frequency image level.īad points: poor selectivity on wide FM (230 kHz, not suitable for FM and TV DX), no miracolous noise blanker, no VFO but memories as VFO, low deflection of the S-meter.Īfter opportune comparison also with IC-R9000, the IC-R8500 is almost similar but with very lower price. Selectivity and sensitivity is the same than dedicated transceivers (like TR751, FT290, etcetera). Over 30 MHz it is perfect, no birdies, no frequency image. I have make comparison with IC-R7000 and IC-R7100 and my IC-R8500 is the winner! Behaviour on 0/30 MHz is not poor like I believed before test. I have purchased it two years ago as used.

Icom ic r8500 review