I have an Icom 7300. Should I upgrade to an FTDX10?
- One disappointment I have with the 7300 is only one SO-239 and no RX ant input, but it's understandable at the $1,000 price point. For $1700 I'd expect the FTDX10 to at least have an RX input or two SO-239's. It doesn't, and I see that as a major point against the Yaesu.
- The 7300's filter choices are much better. The Yaesu uses analog roofers and the choices are few. To get a 300 kHz filter it's optional and you have to pay extra, open the rig and install it. With the 7300 I can have 50, 100, 200, 300, etc bandwidths with a turn of a knob.
- Also on filters: I am very skeptical that any analog roofer at 300 kHz will be as good or better than a DSP filter in a non-hybrid SDR. In crowded band conditions analog filters create audio mush and ringing that raises the noise floor. I could be wrong, maybe Yaesu has a 300 kHz filter that is as clean as the 7300's digital filters. We'll see.
- The Yaesu's 107 dB narrow dynamic range vs. the 7300's 97 db: in the real world, how often will this make a difference? Both numbers are considered contest grade performance. I'm not sure that's reason enough alone to fork out $800 or $900 on a trade-in.
Lastly, one criticism I have for both: it's 2020 and we still don't have ethernet RJ-45's standard on rigs? No USB 3.0? Icom's CI-V port with a single wire is horribly outdated, slow and prone to data collisions. And the Yaesu gives us an RS-232 ... in 2020? Just my opinion, but with the increasing popularity of remote operations all rigs should have ethernet (or wireless) connectivity and be IP-addressable.
The FTDX10 looks to be a fine rig but I'm not seeing a compelling reason to trade in my 7300 for one, at least not yet.
Jim K6OK