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write your own review of the ICOM IC-735.
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KC9IVU
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 23, 2009 19:06
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Was I surprised
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I got this little radio in June of this year. I'd upgraded to General in April and was looking for something affordable and lacking many of the bells and whistles that are standard on current transceivers. I wanted something simple to get my feet wet in HF.
Boy was I surprised at this radio. It's a fantastic little rig. Filters are great and it's gone everything I've asked it to do. SSB, CW, PSK31, RTTY, it's done all of these things without so much as a whimper. I would seriously recommend this to any ham new to HF, as it doesn't have the plethora of buttons and knobs many newer ones do, but still gets the job done. I eventually plan on replacing it with something newer, but it will either stay in my shack or go to another ham I mentored when he gets into HF.
Again, fantastic radio!
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DF6WM
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 8, 2009 06:05
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Still going strong
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Have mine since 1986, together with the AT 150 and the PS55 with 270Hz CW filter. Just recently fitted a new "little door".
It is still wonderfull to use and I really love the sound of the receiver
Sorry guys, but this "line" is not for sale.
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KD0BEP
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 21, 2009 13:58
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Solid
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought this rig used from the local ham radio store where I work. The guy who brought it in said he only used it once and I belived him because there were no scratches and the door was in tact. I have used it as my first HF and it has helped me with some DX. No real fancy filters but this block has one of the best recievers you can find! I would even say it out preforms most of the modern rigs i use at work like the FT-950 or ic-756proIII but ofcoarse it cant compete in any other category because of its age. These are definately a great little base rig for the beginner
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GM4LBE
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 25, 2009 07:49
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A great rig.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had flawless service from my IC-735 bought 21 years ago. ! I also bought the Icom PS-55 power supply and have got good reports when using the IC-HM12 mic----as supplied with the rig. I may try a Heil Sound iCM mic which seems to be very good for the "older" Icom rigs. I have no wish for complicated menus and little used bells and whistles.
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KC2OYZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 25, 2009 07:08
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Just works
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Bought one eBay a few months ago for $400 when I was having trouble with my regular rig - it has a 2.3 ssb filter and I put an HM-36 on it. Took about 1 minute to learn how to use the radio and it always works very very well and puts out more than 100 watts - I often make more contacts and get better reports with the 735 than I do with several higher end Yaesus - and the notch is very very good. No frills, no muss, no fuss and it works. A keeper for me.
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KC2SIZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 31, 2009 06:51
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Fun to use, workhorse transceiver
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I really lucked out. I rolled the dice and picked up an IC-735 on eBay. It arrived in good condition. The frequency display was off by about 100 hz, but it was easy enough to fix that. Otherwise it had no problems and it even had the little plastic door still intact. For the past year I've found the IC-735 to be a very reliable radio that is fun and easy to use. I actually find myself using it more often than a couple of other, much newer radios. I have no complaints and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this radio to someone who was looking to pick up a used rig. I don't plan on selling mine though!
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DH4SC
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 25, 2009 15:53
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Great classic radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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-great receiver
-great transmitter
-great features
-rugged design and easy to use
If you find one in good conditions - buy it.
The is one of the top ten classic radios ever made!
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SIERRAHOTEL
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 24, 2008 16:07
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When it worked, it was very good!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I'm going to give the 735 4 stars, because most of the ones I've seen over the years don't have the problems mine did. When mine worked, it was fine, a nice performing rig for the price.
Mine was fine, until the waranty was just past expiring, and then one day, there was a sudden drop in TX power. Instead of 100, the thing was putting out about 1 watt. I opened it up and started looking around, and what I saw shocked me! I saw bad solder joints all over the place, and many more that didn't look too good. I spent about an hour hitting the bad joints, and back came the power! Then one day, the fan stopped working, and after several sessions with the iron, it came back to life. During the time it was dead, I installed a phone jack on the back, setup so I could plug a wall wart into it and run the fan manually. I have seen another 735 with the same issue, fixed the same way, by redoing solder joints.
Over the next couple of years, I lost almost all receive sensitivity several times, all releated to bad joints that seemed to just appear out of nowhere. I used a jeweler's loupe to check the PC boards the last couple of times, and saw numberous joints with partial cracks in them that needed to be resoldered. I finally got tired of messing with it, and sold the 735 and bought a Kenwood TS-450SAT, and had zero problems with it.
A friend owns a 735 since it was first available, and the only thing ever done to it was replace the mike plug, one of the pins broke after like 20 years. Other than the volume pot being a little scratchy, his is still great. My 735 and his were only about 200 serial numbers apart. I guess I just got a dud..
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KD0BVK
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 14, 2008 20:10
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Particularly nice for a starter rig
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I must have been lucky because I bought one used that surprisingly cranked out 300w peak on 20m SSB. Perhaps someone gave it a little tlc, I don't know. Shouldn't have sold it, it was a powerhouse.
The 735 is a very good rig to get started with, it's tolerant of mistakes and pretty simple to understand.
It has sufficient filtering capability built in if you're clever with the pbt and other controls to run digital modes without too much qrm.
This is a well engineered rig all around and one you probably want to keep around the shack even after you upgrade to a fancier new rig (ts-2000) like I did.
73
ai1p
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OZ1DTF
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 21, 2008 08:33
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Great rig!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I purchased my IC-735 second hand in 1995 and so far no problems. I have checked the receiver (by swithing the antenna) against my FT-1000 and it is hard to notice any major difference. Now the IC-735 is used at my (ham) rental place together with a THP HL-1.5KFX linear which is a perfect companion (that's another story). I like the simple "user interface". I have the optional built-in keyer but a separate keyer is recommended. Unlike many other "collectors items" this is a classic which is far from retirement state. Well done ICOM!
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