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write your own review of the Icom IC-718.
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W5WSS
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 25, 2010 07:55
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Front end seems too hot.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The rig works fine. On receive SSB the signal to noise ratio is not the greatest with more noise than most would like mixed in with the signal. Although honestly I have not installed any of Icom's optional ssb filters. Has anyone experienced a better signal to noise ratio with Icom's filters and if so which one? W5WSS email foralwaysblessed@aol.com thanks 73
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K0JMS
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 18, 2010 18:30
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Great radio!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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As a new Ham, I like the simplicity of the radio controls. It is pretty intuitive and just a good radio that works well!
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KC0QNX
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 17, 2010 05:20
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Great Simple No Frills Rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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No issues. I never expected it to perform like a 2-3000. radio either. You have to be realistic here folks. It's a solid performer for not a lot of money. No, not an internal tuner but you knew that up front didn't you. It's receiver is better than some I have had but I'm sure if your checkbooks in good shape, you could do better, but you'll pay for it too. I get great audio reports with mine. I run barefoot but likely will do the 200w mod. Hey, I would love a new Ten Tec or K3 or another high test rig but for Joe six-pack & me, as we are still raising kids and paying the mortgage,this rig is fantastic.
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KJ4KKI
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Rating: 3/5
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Jan 9, 2010 23:16
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Question on Comparing Radios
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I'm shopping for a 1st HF base. I had my mind on the Yaesu FT-450 (3-50MHz, DSP, Antenna Tuner). Our local Red Cross disaster office is putting Icom 718 radios (3-30MHz, DSP, no tuner) in the office, hospitals, EMS, etc. for emergency ops. We already have Yaesu VHF radios. The cost of the Icom is very appealing, but it doesn't go to 6 meters, and has no antenna tuner. There is a $250 price difference between them. With a long wire antenna, I am going to have to use some sort of tuner, and the extra frequency is nice. Can somebody please give some input here? It'd be appreciated. Thanks, Steve
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KY4JLB
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 7, 2010 16:39
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KY4JLB
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just purchased a IC-718 w/dsp used about week ago. Have been comparing it to My IC-746Pro and not much difference in receive. Audio on TX is getting same reports as the IC-746Pro both using Icom SM-20 mikes. Simple to use. Going to purchase a 2.8 SSB filter. As for the turner I am using a MFJ-945E. The 718 is a keeper!
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AB4VV
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Rating: 3/5
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Jan 7, 2010 08:04
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Neat Litte Rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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A friend of mine asked me to try out his 718 and I said OK. I found it to be quite sensitive and needless to say very easy to operate. It seems to have a very stable final section. My friend had set the transmit output to 200 Watts! I told him that I did not want to smoke his rig and he said that he had been running the rig at this power for almost one year! That is more power output than the Icom IC-7700 I had! Actually I was afraid of running the 7700 past 100 watts because of the reported final failures.
But this little 718 showed no signs of stress when running SSB at 200 watts out. If the rig were mine I would turn it back to about 100 watts.
Downside of the rig is the AGC. It is way to fast, and dk.mods does have a fix for the too fast AGC. Also the selectivity is to narrow. Sounds like the rig has a 2.1Khz filter in it. Much too pinched up. If it were my rig I would try and get at least a 2.4 bandwidth.
AB4VV
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KI4OYF
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 3, 2009 19:03
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Fine Radio In My Book
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Being new to amateur radio and HF I purchaswed a IC-718 in 2007 as a HF rig under the advise of a friend. I have not been more satisified with the purchase.
I only have used SSB and not CW so i cant say anything about the CW filters in general.
The receive is good from what I can tell not a single problem with the receive or transmit of the 718 if I could hear them I could make contact with them. I have worked several states with the rig and several countries on less that 100 watts.
The antenna I used was a window type of antenna made by B&W that covered 40 to 2 meters. I use to be in a apartment so I was limited to what type of antenna I could use. The 718 may be a beginners rig in the eyes of some but for the price and performance I dont think it can be beat. I cant wait to get it back on the air at my new home then I might be able to say more but for the time being all I can say is "Icom Keep Producing Radios Like The 718" and I would fully recomend to anyone going to buy a first rig or a radio to use period you cant go wrong with the Icom 718.
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YO7MGG
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 3, 2009 04:44
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Best Radio for his price
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The Icom IC-718 is the best transceiver for his price.The receiver is good, i work some DX station with 100W and i received good reports. The only bad think is the biggest price of the optionals (DSP and FILTERS). I think that is a stupid to compare a transceiver how cost less than 1000$, with transceiver that cost thousands of dollars.I have working in the contest with FT-950, TS-430S and FT-897D, all the rig is great but i like the sound and the simplify in use of IC-718.
So the conclusion is that ICOM IC-718 is the best radio for his price.
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HFRF
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Rating: 3/5
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Nov 28, 2009 08:23
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mediocre
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This radio does nothing well. Its a very average radio. For the price, what did you expect. I hated the yellow background display which seems popular with Icom engineers. If you want to add a filter the radio gets pricey. There is no internal tuner option either.
The receiver is very average. Not good but not bad. Transmitter audio is decent. Agc sucks. Receiver can overload quickly.
When the radio first came out it was probably a decent deal. But now, this radio is very dated. For a few extra bucks more, you can do much better.
If this radio appeals to you, keep looking around and you should see better deals.
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N2WJW
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 28, 2009 07:50
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Great bargain
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Im a big fan of this little radio, had three of them so far since they first came out and all have served me well, very reliable. This radio cant be beat for the money, does it all and very well, good SSB rig, good CW rig and very good for listening to broadcast stations. I have read many comments about this rig's "noisy receiver", I say its just a sensitive receiver with lots of gain. Something else I have found comparing rigs is that other rigs seem to attenuate the high frequencies in the audio giving it the impression of a quieter receiver while the 718 has a wider audio range giving it a pleseant audio. AGC pumps a little on strong stations, back off on the gain a little. I have compared this radio to others in the used market in the $600 and under range, I would say they all have slight differences but I always come back to the 718, not a perfect radio but very good for the money and besides, is there a perfect radio?. Being a cw operator I like the cw reverse, the different settings for the auto keyer, like weight, speed, etc cant be beat and I use this rig almost daily on CW and the 500hz filter works as it should, I have worked plenty of DX with this rig. The few times I have used it on SSB I've gotten very good audio reports and receive has good fidelity. Preamp works well for the higher frequencies. I see some of these rigs on the used market now for $400 to $450 depending on condition.
I think its a great bargain for those that do not want to spend lots of money on a radio and do not need tons of bells and whistles.
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