I have been doing a lot of listening and experimenting with
the Icom 7000 so that when I begin making contacts, I'll be
familiar enough with the radio to make adjustments on the fly
without having to screw things up.  Lately, I have been testing
the Digital Signal Processing feature in conjunction with the
crystal filtering and tuneable twin pass band filters.  I keep
wondering if it is my imagination if what I am hearing is due to
the sensitivity of the radio or band conditions.  Let me explain.
I have used this same R7 I have current hooked up to the Icom 7000
for many years and on three different radios.  I have never heard,
nor worked, Europe on 40 meters using this vertical.  I could hear
them faintly but they were not workable.  I never heard New
Zealand at 9:30 in the evening.  I never heard Japan at 9:30 in
the evening.  I never ever heard Europe at my sunset hour but I
am, in fact, hearing all these places with the 7000 transceiver
now.  I have line noise that goes from S2 to S9 on 40 meters and,
of course, this is the biggest disadvantage with any vertical.
They love pulling in all the noise they can find.  Anyhow, using
the DSP and the tuneable crystal filtering, not to mention the
various levels of other switchable filters you can pull in and out
on the fly, I have been able to copy signals literally in the mud,
I mean, totally unable to be copied in the noise, to Q5 copy once
the filtering and DSP are brought into play.  Tightening down on
the crystal filters helps shift the line noise to low or high
sounds but the DSP actually diminishes the noise to below the
signal level of the station, unless he is just too weak to copy at
all in the first place.  I am suggesting that I hear a signal
mixed into the line noise with an S4 reading, for example, on the
signal strength meter, but I am unable to copy the signal in the
mud.  Switch in filtering, snapping on the DSP, and only tuning
slightly, lowers the noise to S0 and the desired signal to an S2
that is perfectly copyiable.  You can even then tighten down on
the tuneable crystal filter a little more and bring the
readability of the signal up more.  As I said, the areas of the
world I have never heard with this vertical before, I am now
hearing and on a regular nightly bases.  Since I am well
acquainted with the receiving capabilities of the R7 vertical I
have had for many years, I know it isn't just band conditions
because out here, band conditions ain't that hot yet.
Furthermore, I know the propagation of 40 meters when I had the 2
element beam.  Then I heard ZL and VK at 9 PM at night and could
work them.  Then I would hear Japan as early as 9 and 10 PM, weak,
but I heard them, and worked them, but never with this vertical at
these times and this includes hearing and working Europe at sunset
my local time.  I'm very interested to see how much better my 40
meter rotary dipole is going to work at 50 feet compared to the
vertical.  I already know what to expect from past experiences of
doing this; the difference will be amazing.  At the same time, I
am now convinced of the superb receiving ability, sensitivity and
selectivity, of the Icom 7000 receiver.

Phil.
K0NX