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write your own review of the Icom IC-746PRO.
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KK8ZZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 28, 2009 11:02
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Field Day shows it's Quality
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I used both the IC-7200 (which I really respect) and the IC-746PRO at home on Field Day 2009, as I'm selling one or the other. While both were very satisfactory, at my age the large display and intuitive controls on the 746PRO were hard to beat. The one I have has been carefully modified for the IC151 problem and heat sink issues and works fine. This is the one I'll be keeping !
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KB9NPH
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 21, 2009 18:39
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Great Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Ive had mine in use since the spring of 06. It's never failed and I had made the purchase even after reading the many negative reviews. Should it fail, I'll send it in for repair. I get very good audio and signal reports. I'm aware of the heat failure issue but for the money it can't be beat. Great receiver and many ask if I've got an amp, which I do not. If needed I buy another with out hesitation. 73's KB9NPH
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W0WLS
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 20, 2009 17:00
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Mixed Feelings
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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When I purchased my 746 I was aware that it had design flaws but had not researched the matter in depth. After receiving the radio I found it very easy to set up and operate. Most menu settings were set and forget so buried menu functions weren't a big deal for me. I found the receive to be very sensitive almost to sensitive. PSK31 is a dream on this rig. On a crowded band you can narrow the filter to just about a trace width. I racked up a lot of DX with PSK. I never used anything but a stock mic on this radio and always got good audio reports. When I bought my radio the incentives were just to good to pass up. Free PS, $200 off and $50 factory rebate. The 746 is a 756 without the band scope. Now heres the catch 22. The IC151 over heating issue. ICOM has danced all around this to prevent bad PR if you ask me. They claim that the IC151 issue was static related which may have been true but research shows that recent IC151 failures are heat related because the VCC stays energized at all times. This is a very small IC with very little heat sink ability which in my opinion leads to premature failure. The IC151 is basically the same circuit as the 756 but in the 756 the VCC is only hot during transmit. ICOM pulled a short cut on the board design and it came back to bite them on the butt. ICOM claims that the design flaw was fixed with protection diodes. Diodes do nothing for heat related failure. I had my 746 for over 12 months and never had an issue but I always kept a backup rig because I knew one that it would crap out on me. My nerves finally got the best of me and I traded the radio for a 9 year old Yaesu Mk V. IMHO I think the 746Pro is the best radio for the dollar, if you're a gambler.
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KE7DZW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 11, 2009 23:36
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Abused
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have committed evry sin you can imagine against this radio including leaving it in transmit at 75w for over 4 hours. When you plug in phones be carefull not to hit the transmit button and then get involved in another project. It is easy to do. Transmit audio is better than my 757 GX but don't kid yourself that the 746 Pro is superior in overall performance. Had I known how good my 757 gx was I might not have bought the 746 pro. Both are excellent radios.Face it. The physucs of radio have not changed. A good radio design is a good design. Icom 746 Pro is a keeper that is priced right.
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W5JET
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 11, 2009 19:51
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Great radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is my second 746 Pro.. I sold the first one and visited the dark side for a while but quickly wised up. When I got my second 746 pro (November 2005) I think I finally realized just how sensitive and this receiver is. To see for yourself how good this receiver is, you should visit one of the vendors that sells several different brands of radios. It's the only way to do meaningful A/B comparisons. I used AES in Las Vegas. btw, it has a great noise blanker and the notch filter is superb.
As for the audio, I frequently get comments on my great audio. I tried one of the Heil mics for a while but found the stock mic seems to give me the best reports.
Btw, getting to use this radio on 2 mtrs is just a bonus. It's the reason I picked the 746 in the first place.
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K3DAV
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 5, 2009 22:35
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GREAT RADIO
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I heard of people who had problems with Icom 706MKIIG's, yet I owned 2 of them for years and had no problems of any kind. This made me an Icom fan.
I recently got the 746PRO. So far I am very impressed. The large bright display is a plus. I can read it from across the room. The display has Signal, Power, and SWR meters all displayed at the same time. Another plus. Almost every function is on the display and easy to see and understand.
The IF-DSP, NB, Rec BW filters, and notch filters are all continuously adjustable. The IF-DSP actually works very well. I really like the seperate TX and REC audio bass and treble controls.
I especially like the layout of the buttons and control knobs. They are big enough, grouped well, and not crowding each other. And they all have a professional feel to your fingers. Solid but easy to use. There are very few menus as most of the radio's features have their own controls on the face. The front panel design is pleasing to look at. Professional looking.
This radio has the same TX and Rec circuit, IF-DSP, Notch filters, bandwidth circuits, and TX & Rec. audio circuits that are found in the 756Pro 2 and 3 radios. The 746PRO offers the same performance as the 756Pro 2 & 3, but without the color screen, and the real time band scope, but adds the 2 meter band with 100 watts.
So far I have found the 746PRO to be a quality built radio with quality features and performance.I have been complimented several times from locals and DX contacts alike on the impressive audio. I use a W2IHY 8 Band EQ with a Heil PR 30 mic.
I am very aware of the issues that many have had with the 746PRO, but of the thousands that were sold, only a little more than 100 have had the problems noted in the forums. Unfortunately, they can't all be perfect. And someone will get a bad product. But for the quality performance and features compared to the price, and considering the good luck I have had with Icom's in the past, I will take my chances with this radio. If it develops any of the known issues, I will send it back to Icom for repair, and continue to use it until it or I completely die of old age.
I highly recommend the 746PRO radio. The 746PRO gives the performance and feel of the more expensive radios. The vast majority of these radios are working out great with no problems. I hope mine will continue to be one of them. It is well worth the $1,700, which of course includes the Icom PS-125, 23 amp Switching power supply. It even looks pretty sitting on my radio bench.
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KB3DIV
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Rating: 1/5
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May 1, 2009 15:23
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Not impressed
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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If you buy one I hope you get a good one.
The reports are true regarding the loss of output power. My father had to send his back to Icom at his expense 3 times during the first year.
I was lucky and got a good one. I sold it and bought a FT 450 AT. In the future I will not buy Icom products due to the experience.
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RA6UAR
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Rating: 0/5
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May 1, 2009 14:42
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unreliable rig
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought my new 746pro in June. Last month TX died on 50% output power. It's now big problem to repair it in my QTH. I know what Icom knew about this problem long time, but do nothing to correct it.
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VE4EAR
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 30, 2009 12:03
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Great Radio !
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned this radio since 2005. Perhaps I have been one of the fortunate but I have had no problems with this radio and it has seen a lot of service. Plenty of contesting, high duty cycle RTTY and so far, no issues.
Recognizing that this is a mid range radio, I have no concerns reccommending this radio to others.
The receiver is excellent. Perhaps not in the K3 or IC7700/7800 class but very capable. Other locals have listened to my rig and claim the receiver sounds better than their mid class Yaesu and Kenwood rigs.
The transmitter has been flawless. I have used it for CW, FSK, PSK and of course SSB.
The layout is straighforward and large display is a plus.
Interfacing with a computer, modem or amplifier couldn't get much easier. I have had no difficulties using the C-IV interface or the voltages available on the ACC socket for automating the shacks band switching.
I have followed the advice of others and have left the display at maximum brightness.
Clearly there was a design weakness around a couple areas. That is the reason for the 4 rating. It certainly does not affect the majority of the radios. No one wants to have a new multi $k radio fail for any reason, but occasionally one will, no matter the model or manufacturer.
The overall impression for this radio is it will be hard to beat in a features/performance for the dollar competition. Easy to use, great performance, small footprint, and easy to interface.
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K2ID
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Rating: 0/5
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Apr 29, 2009 14:41
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BEWARE!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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My 746 Pro went to the shop twice in 4 months when it stopped transmitting. Icom will blame RF or static and takes offense if you suggest it is a recurring problem with their rigs. I sent it in to a company that Icom subcontracts to do repairs in my area. The last time I was told that my rig had a defective board that was used in the production run of my rig that was designed to fix a known problem in the older design. So Icom knew there was a problem and went through the expense to re-design a board and the new board ended up causing even more problems. All the while Icom refused to acknowledge any issues with this model rig. It cost me $140 in shipping to get this thing working. I sold it and the ham who bought it sold it along with the 746 PRO he already owned. Just take a look at how many are for sale on QTH.
Sure the majority of them will work fine but there is a sizable minority that contain defective parts and are just ticking time bombs. Believe the reviews you read here about the no transmit problem. It is real and it struck me twice already. This rig is poorly designed. I have bought 15 rigs in the last two year and after dealing with Icom I have switched from Icom to Yaesu. Never had a problem wtih their rigs and as they showed with the new update to the FT-2000, they will acknowledge problems and fix them at no expense to the hams who bought their rigs.
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