Values are estimates from recent comparable sales — condition, accessories, and included extras vary. Always compare before buying.
Selling your Icom IC-9700? Run its Rig Check → Answer the questions a sharp buyer will ask and get a condition report for your listing — a fully answered report lets a truly nice radio demand a good price.
Median sold price per month, trailing 1 months. Roughly flat over the period.
Based on classifieds listings marked SOLD — asking prices sellers marked as sold, not confirmed sale prices. Refreshed daily from our deal-scan comp checks.
| Date sold | Item | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual sold records for this model are still being compiled — the fair-value estimate above is based on 8 recent sales. | |||
No live below-market deals on this model right now — the good ones sell fast. Get the daily digest and you’ll see the next one before anyone else.
The Icom IC-9700 is the default answer to 'what is the VHF/UHF all-mode box?' -- 2 meters, 70 centimeters, and 1.2 GHz, all modes including D-STAR, with a touchscreen, spectrum scope, and satellite features (full duplex, Doppler correction, 99 satellite memories) that made it the satellite operators' favorite overnight. Weak-signal VHF contesters swear its receiver digs signals out of the noise that older rigs left behind. Now the honest part, because every 9700 conversation eventually gets here: thermal drift. The master clock sits where the PA cooling fan blows warm air across it, so extended transmitting -- especially on 1.2 GHz digital modes -- can walk the frequency around. Firmware updates added a re-disciplining feature that helped a lot, and the 10 MHz reference input lets you drive it from a GPSDO, but the folk fix tells the story: an aftermarket solderless GPS board exists precisely because enough owners wanted sub-Hz stability. Also know: there is no internal GPS (position data comes from your phone), no internal antenna tuner, and digital-satellite folks grumble about the missing 9600-baud packet output. Buying used, key the transmitter on all three bands -- the 1.2 GHz finals are the expensive risk -- warm it up and check drift against a known signal, and test every corner of the touchscreen. A cool-running, low-drift 9700 is the VHF/UHF station in a box.
The radio's master clock is not temperature-compensated, and it sits in the path of warm air from the cooling fan. Transmit for a while, especially at high power, and the frequency can wander -- noticeable on 1.2 GHz and on narrow digital modes. Icom improved it with firmware that periodically re-locks the clock, and you can feed it a 10 MHz GPS reference. For FM repeater use you will never notice it; for EME or 1.2 GHz digital work, budget the fix.
Beautifully -- it is arguably the best satellite base radio made. Full duplex in satellite mode, normal and reverse tracking across 99 satellite memories, smooth Doppler correction, and computer control for tracking software. Two caveats: there is no V/V or U/U operation (main and sub must be different bands), and there is no 9600-baud packet output, which annoys some digital-satellite operators. For SSB, CW, and FM birds, it is the gold standard.
Transmit on all three bands -- 2m, 70cm, and especially 1.2 GHz, where the finals are the costly failure point. Warm it up for 15 minutes and check frequency drift against a known beacon or signal. Test every corner of the touchscreen for dead spots, confirm the scope and waterfall render cleanly, and verify the USB, CI-V, and SD card slot all work. Ask how it was used: heavy satellite or EME transmit duty at full power ages the PA faster than casual FM.
Join the daily digest — one email a day when new below-market bargains are posted, including the Icom IC-9700. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.