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write your own review of the ICOM IC-735.
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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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K4ROC
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 20, 2008 19:38
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A perfect first (or second) rig!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I purchased this radio from a fellow ham several months ago (nearly perfect condition, door still attached). I didn't have time to get it on the air until about 3 weeks ago. It is my first HF rig, and I'm running it with a LDG Z-100 automatic antenna tuner, a Heil HM-iC Handi-mic, and a G5RV. I can't say enough good things about this radio. I don't have any experience with other HF radios, but this one seems to have a great receiver in it, and I have received great audio reports. The PBT and notch filter definitely do their job! I worked Crete the other night with it, and I cannot tell you how excited I was after that QSO! It's a great radio for someone who is new to HF like myself. 73's!
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W8GP
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Rating: 5/5
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May 11, 2008 08:08
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My standard of comparison
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Most of the other reviews have said it all so I won't repeat all the virtues of this radio.I have owned this radio for almost 20 years and what I can say is that I will never sell this radio, and if it should fail(unlikely!),I will immediately look for another one.I recently acquired a Yaesu FT-950 and I still like the sound of the '735 better! I had to fiddle with the '950 for quite a while to get it to sound even close to the '735.( the '950 is a fine radio and loaded with nice features, but I'll save that for another review)I have been licensed for 38 years and have seen many rigs come and go and this is the only rig that I would truly miss.Under normal( non-contest) conditions, this rig hears as good as anything I've had.( Including the "legendary" Omni 6)Even during contest conditions on 160 meters it will hold its own, mainly due to having a jack for a receive antenna.Using beverages on the low bands helps to mask some of the problems associated with weak receiver dynamics.My only wish would be to have a switchable narrow SSB filter.Overall, this is a simple, do everything rig that is more than suitable for beginning or experienced operators alike.
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