|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
|
You can
write your own review of the ICOM IC-746PRO.
|
KD8FTH
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Dec 6, 2011 09:12
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great Rig
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
Been using the 746 Pro for a little better than 4 years now. It has performed wonderfully. I have used it extensively on SSB, 2 meter FM, and digital modes. The receiver is great. It is feature packed. All Icom rigs of late have lil pots that so far is my only complaint.. Hope to use this rig for many many more years. Now you will have to find them used...but they will last..
73
Ron
KD8FTH
|
|
W4YJ
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Oct 2, 2011 18:37
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great Rig but......
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
|
Great audio on recieve and transmit. Easy to operate but...NO noise blanker! It is worthless if you live in a noisy location. Why my old 751A outperforms the noise blanker is a mystery but it does. Otherwise a nice rig.
|
|
KQ4D
|
Rating: 2/5
|
Sep 30, 2011 15:37
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
chip failure
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
After some time my transciever lost transmit. I sent it to an Icom service center and upon return it failed again after only a few weeks. Once again I sent it to the same service center and once again it failed after a few weeks. This time I sent it to an independent service facility and was told updates had not been installed. I sure hope it holds up this time because it's the best transciever I've ever owned for performance.
|
|
K0KS
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Aug 12, 2011 20:16
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
4 Good Years
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
It's been reliable and stable over the years and the poorly designed backlight failed. Keep the backlight bright and save the repair bill.
The receiver is only fair with birdies and spurs and is best when used with a tuner. 160M demands extra RX filtering. RX performance is better with attn or no pre-amp being used. It's not a great DX chasing rig but I'm a net operator and it's just fine. Kenwood's DSP is slightly better in the same price radio. I often get compliments on the transmitted audio quality. It's very clean for PSK-31 use to 50W.
I'm not trading it off yet!
|
|
K2VI
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Mar 23, 2011 17:09
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
top preformance
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
Very quiet receiver with awsome filters. Make sure you run the display full bright or full dim. I do not believe they resolved this issue.I have not had a problem with this rig since i purchased it new in 09.Transmit audio goes wide out to 2.8 and sounds great with an audio technica ATR-30 MIC. No eq needed on this radio.I like this radio a little bit better than my ft-950.
|
|
WZ3O
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Mar 8, 2011 19:36
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Got one .. Again...
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
4.7 ????? but not possible with the E's rating!!!
Only issue is that some 2M repeaters pass tone, particularly with a "good" speaker... SW Matt @ Icom Michigan, said they'll do that, solution is to use internal speaker (which is actually usable on all bands).
Otherwise, I'm glad to have one again. All factory updates done, even have the receipt...
This one's a keeper, especially with contacts made this past weekend during contest (just get on contest weekends to give points & maybe work a "rare one" & did I).
So if you get one with "issues" resolved, jump on it....
PS: I last reviewed in late 09' then sold it...DUH...
|
|
W7MY
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jan 23, 2011 08:05
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Best rig for the bux!
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
I have owned mine for 8 years, it has performed flawlessly for me. I look at the radios today (2011) and I don't see any that provides the price/performance of the 746 PRO.
|
|
K7FDX
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jan 22, 2011 16:56
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good compared to many.
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
In the past two years I have used, for 3 months or more:
FT-840
IC-746
FT-950
IC-746PRO
Of these, the 746PRO is my choice. It's not perfect, and I'd give it a 4+ if possible. The 5 is to be fair and attempt to balance all of the zeros found here.
What I like:
Excellent receiver.
Filtering capabilities.
Manual Notch!!
Compressor.
Antenna Tuner.
The receiver and filters are, IMHO, the best of the rigs I've owned in terms of balance between performance and usability. The FT-950 has more tweaks, and might possibly dig out the weakest signal under marginal conditions a little better. However, it takes much longer, even after becoming accustomed to operating the rig. It's hard to beat the 746PRO's combination of shift-width on one knob along with soft-sharp at the push of a button.
The manual notch filter is incredible and better than that found in the FT-950. Better primarily because it's very intuitive.
The audio compressor does exactly what it should. 6dB means 6dB. Here, the FT-950 shines. The 950's transmitter is a work or art. The other radios on my list above can't compete, the 950 has too many options and is squeaky clean. It also drives an amplifier better. That said, the 746PRO is no slouch and gets the job done nicely. No complaints.
The antenna tuner walks all over the FT-950's and exceeds it specified range.
What I don't like:
Auto Notch:
Not as good as the 746 or the 950.
ALC:
Overshoot problems if not carefully adjusted; it's finicky. Never had an issue with the 840, 746 or 950.
Working Split:
Just not very intuitive. The 950 is better here.
All in all, I don't believe this rig can be beat purchased on the used market for under 1k. For that money, you can find an 020 serial in mint condition, as I did.
|
|
KK8ZZ
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Dec 23, 2010 17:31
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Back Home Again - 746PRO
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
Had to surrender my beloved Flex-3000, but other than the easy connect to the PC, no real difference except for the FLEX waterfall display... this Icom is easy to use, easy to tune, great display for OLD EYES and lots of accessories for easy interfacing.. just gotta love this radio... I've had two, and have come back here for my "retirement rig"... Cheers...Bob KK8ZZ
|
|
AB6SY
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Nov 23, 2010 06:27
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Very Good Allband Rig
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
Even though this rig is now out of production, there are lots of units out there and apparently AES has a batch of new units to sell -- but not at a discount.
This radio came out in 2001-2 and was ahead of the curve at the time. I've found the original QST review in 2002 to be quite accurate and a good review. I have been most impressed with the rig's DSP: it is extremely easy to set up and use, even if the indication of shape and signal are standard and not actual, it's clear what you're doing when you adjust the pass band. When combined with its auto-notch, NB, AGC settings, and noise reduction capabilities, this rig can fine tune most signals extremely well. It doesn't reject adjacent signals quite like the Elecraft, but it's not bad and certainly for its vintage, it is very good.
There is the typical ringing on very narrow CW reception, but it's exceptionally good when used with all the other controls for reception. You can set it all the way down to 50 Hz width, but there it's practically useless.
My only complaints on this rig are the lack of real-time spectrum (you go deaf while the scope scans, so it's not really a panadapter) and the small size and labeling of some fairy important (IMHO) adjustment knobs across the bottom (RF gain, Mic gain, and maybe CW pitch). Labels are under the tiny knobs, and stubby fingers have a little difficulty with them. But, they help keep the rig compact. It would also be nice if the keyer showed the actual wpm (range is 6-60, and you know where you're comfortable). Tone controls on RX and TX are limited to a bass and a treble, so to contour your sound, you'll need an equalizer. After a fair bit of use, the big VFO knob has developed an uneven inertia and even what feels like a detent in one spot. This is something mechanical, and I'll have to have a look, but it has never been a show stopper. Anyway, FWIW, these are what knocked it from a 5 to a 4 for me.
The AT has its limits, but it can usually reel in anything from 3:1 SWR down to 1.5 or less, according to its indicator. The mic gain and compression are very effective, and the monitor gives the operator a good sense of outgoing audio.
I'll probably "upgrade" in the future, but I'll be very reluctant to part with this rig. It does a very nice and dependable job.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
