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IC-9700 USB Serial Backend Setup (macOS)

This guide shows how to control the IC-9700 dual-receiver transceiver via USB serial CI-V + USB audio devices or LAN network connection.

Why Use the Serial Backend?

  • No network required — direct USB connection (alternative to LAN)
  • Lower latency — no UDP/network overhead
  • Simpler setup — no IP config, username, or password
  • Field operation — works with battery-powered USB
  • Dual-receiver control — both MAIN and SUB receivers simultaneously

IC-9700 Special Features

The IC-9700 is the only supported radio with dual independent receivers:

Feature IC-7610 IC-705 IC-7300 IC-9700
Receivers 2 1 1 2 ✨
LAN Backend ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Serial Backend ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
CI-V Address 0x80 0xA4 0x94 0xA2

Hardware Requirements

  • IC-9700 satellite/VHF/UHF transceiver
  • USB cable (Micro-USB or native USB depending on model variant)
  • Ethernet (RJ-45) for LAN backend OR Micro-USB for serial backend
  • macOS computer (tested on Ventura+ arm64/Intel)

Radio Configuration

Serial Backend (USB)

Critical Setup Step

On the IC-9700, navigate to Menu → Set → Connectors → CI-V → CI-V USB Port and set it to Link to [CI-V], NOT [REMOTE].

  • Link to [CI-V] — serial CI-V commands work (required for icom-lan serial backend)
  • [REMOTE] — RS-BA1 mode, serial CI-V is blocked

LAN Backend (Ethernet)

The IC-9700 supports LAN operation:

  1. Connect Ethernet to a network with your computer
  2. Obtain IC-9700's IP address from the radio's menu or by scanning your network
  3. Create LAN radio with IP address (see LAN backend section below)
Setting Value Why
CI-V USB Port Link to [CI-V] ✅ Required for serial
CI-V USB Baud Rate 115200 Recommended for scope/waterfall
CI-V Address 0xA2 (IC-9700 default) Library auto-detects from profile
USB Audio TX Enabled Allows TX via USB audio
USB Audio RX Enabled Exports RX audio to computer
Dual Watch Enabled (optional) Monitor both MAIN and SUB

Baud Rate

  • 115200 baud is recommended for scope/waterfall capability
  • Lower baud rates (19200, 9600) work for basic control but scope is disabled
  • CI-V baud rate must match between radio and library configuration

Dual-Receiver Considerations

When using both receivers: - MAIN and SUB can be on different frequencies - Each receiver has independent controls (AF/RF/mode/etc.) - Audio from both receivers can be simultaneously RX - Library enforces receiver-aware operations via receiver parameter

macOS Setup: Serial Backend

1. Install icom-lan

pip install icom-lan[serial]

2. Connect USB and Verify Devices

Plug in the USB cable:

ls /dev/cu.usbserial-* | head -5
# Output example: /dev/cu.usbserial-A602RVBV

Verify audio devices:

python -c "from icom_lan.usb_audio_resolve import list_usb_audio_devices; import json; print(json.dumps(list_usb_audio_devices(), indent=2))"

You should see IC-9700 input (RX) and output (TX) audio devices.

3. Connect via Python (Serial)

import asyncio
from icom_lan import IcomRadio

async def main():
    # Create serial radio for IC-9700
    radio = IcomRadio(
        backend="serial",
        model="IC-9700",
        device="/dev/cu.usbserial-A602RVBV"
    )

    async with radio:
        # MAIN receiver operations (default)
        freq_main = await radio.get_frequency(receiver=0)
        print(f"MAIN Frequency: {freq_main / 1e6:.6f} MHz")

        # SUB receiver operations
        freq_sub = await radio.get_frequency(receiver=1)
        print(f"SUB Frequency: {freq_sub / 1e6:.6f} MHz")

        # Set frequencies independently
        await radio.set_frequency(144_100_000, receiver=0)  # MAIN
        await radio.set_frequency(144_200_000, receiver=1)  # SUB

        # Monitor both receivers
        for _ in range(5):
            main_s = await radio.get_s_meter(receiver=0)
            sub_s = await radio.get_s_meter(receiver=1)
            print(f"MAIN S-meter: {main_s}  SUB S-meter: {sub_s}")
            await asyncio.sleep(1)

asyncio.run(main())

4. CLI Usage (Serial)

# Check connection
icom-lan --backend serial --model IC-9700 --device /dev/cu.usbserial-A602RVBV status

# MAIN receiver (default)
icom-lan --backend serial --model IC-9700 --device /dev/cu.usbserial-A602RVBV freq 144100000

# SUB receiver
icom-lan --backend serial --model IC-9700 --device /dev/cu.usbserial-A602RVBV \
    --receiver 1 freq 144200000

# Monitor both
icom-lan --backend serial --model IC-9700 --device /dev/cu.usbserial-A602RVBV meters

5. Web UI (Serial)

icom-lan web --backend serial --model IC-9700 --device /dev/cu.usbserial-A602RVBV
# Open http://localhost:8000
# Use MAIN/SUB selector in web UI

macOS Setup: LAN Backend

The IC-9700 supports direct LAN connection (Ethernet):

1. Network Configuration

# Discover IC-9700 on your network
icom-lan discover --timeout 5

# Output:
# Found: IC-9700 at 192.168.1.100

2. Connect via Python (LAN)

import asyncio
from icom_lan import IcomRadio

async def main():
    # Create LAN radio for IC-9700
    radio = IcomRadio(
        backend="lan",
        host="192.168.1.100",
        model="IC-9700",
        username="radio",
        password="password"  # From radio network settings
    )

    async with radio:
        # LAN operations are identical to serial
        main_freq = await radio.get_frequency(receiver=0)
        sub_freq = await radio.get_frequency(receiver=1)
        print(f"MAIN: {main_freq / 1e6:.6f} MHz  SUB: {sub_freq / 1e6:.6f} MHz")

asyncio.run(main())

3. CLI Usage (LAN)

icom-lan --backend lan --host 192.168.1.100 status
icom-lan --backend lan --host 192.168.1.100 freq 144100000

Dual-Receiver Operations

Independent Frequency Control

async with radio:
    # Set MAIN and SUB to different frequencies simultaneously
    await radio.set_frequency(144_100_000, receiver=0)  # MAIN: 144.1 MHz
    await radio.set_frequency(144_200_000, receiver=1)  # SUB:  144.2 MHz

    # Read both
    main = await radio.get_frequency(receiver=0)
    sub = await radio.get_frequency(receiver=1)
    print(f"MAIN: {main}  SUB: {sub}")

Independent Mode Control

async with radio:
    await radio.set_mode("USB", receiver=0)   # MAIN: USB
    await radio.set_mode("CW", receiver=1)    # SUB:  CW

    main_mode, _ = await radio.get_mode(receiver=0)
    sub_mode, _ = await radio.get_mode(receiver=1)
    print(f"MAIN: {main_mode}  SUB: {sub_mode}")

Dual Audio RX

async def on_main_audio(data: bytes, sample_rate: int):
    print(f"MAIN RX: {len(data)} bytes")

async def on_sub_audio(data: bytes, sample_rate: int):
    print(f"SUB RX: {len(data)} bytes")

async with radio:
    # Both receivers streaming simultaneously
    radio.start_audio_rx(callback=on_main_audio, receiver=0)
    radio.start_audio_rx(callback=on_sub_audio, receiver=1)

    await asyncio.sleep(10)

    radio.stop_audio_rx(receiver=0)
    radio.stop_audio_rx(receiver=1)

Supported Features

Feature MAIN RX SUB RX Status
Frequency ✅ ✅ Independent control
Mode ✅ ✅ Independent control
Power ✅ N/A MAIN only (radio limitation)
Scope/Waterfall ✅ ✅ (SUB) Both receivers, switchable
Audio RX ✅ ✅ Simultaneous dual audio
Meters ✅ ✅ Per-receiver S-meter
Filters ✅ ✅ Independent per receiver
DSP ✅ ✅ Per-receiver settings
Dual Watch ✅ (setting) ✅ (setting) Library compatible

Troubleshooting

Receiver=1 Operations Fail

CommandError: does not support receiver=1

Cause: Using receiver=1 on a single-receiver radio (IC-705, IC-7300).

Solution: Only IC-9700 (and IC-7610) support dual receivers. Check model in use.

"Device not found"

ConnectionError: failed to open serial port /dev/cu.usbserial-XXXXX

Solution: Verify USB cable and check /dev/cu.usbserial-* listing.

Low Baud Rate Warning (Serial)

Solution: Set CI-V USB Baud Rate to 115200 in radio menu.

LAN Connection Timeout

ConnectionError: failed to connect to 192.168.1.100

Solution: 1. Verify IP address with icom-lan discover 2. Check network connectivity: ping 192.168.1.100 3. Verify radio network settings (username/password)

Performance Notes

  • Dual-receiver switching: ~200ms per receiver (web UI smoothing applied)
  • Dual audio RX: ~10-20ms latency per receiver
  • Scope data rate: ~50 Hz at 115200 baud

See Also