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Author Topic: IC 7300 vs. FT 891  (Read 406 times)

N8TI

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IC 7300 vs. FT 891
« on: May 17, 2021, 09:24:46 AM »

Hello, I wanted to get into portable operations from picnic tables in parks. I don't hike or want to run QRP from the field.
I have an original IC 706 that I got back around 1994 or so, maybe 1995.  It has a serial number of 6xxx, so it was one of the originals.  I put in a narrow CW filter. I run 100% CW, but might want to try SSB someday.

I set up my IC 706, which I have used probably only 10 or 20 times, in my kitchen and feed it to an end fed half wave and it works really well. I really enjoy having a radio set up on the counter as I can now play radio instead of watching TV whenever I have a few minutes free and don't want to go to the radio shack. I have been more active with the IC 706 on the kitchen counter  than I have been for years than with the FT-1000D in the shack. 

I have a FT 891 on order and it supposed to come in a month.  But, I was thinking that since the IC 7300's are now $999, I might be better off having one of those for the kitchen counter and then use my IC 706 for portable.  Once again, portable will be picnic tables and probably only a few hours at a time, so I don't think that using the IC 706 will use up the 16 amp Lifepo4 battery I have at any one sitting. I probably will go out to the parks once every couple of weeks.

So, what do you think?  Should I get the FT 891 for portable and continue to use the IC 706 as a base station, or get the IC 7300 for the kitchen counter and use the IC 706 as portable for CW work?  Is the IC 7300 as nice as everyone says? The FT 891 looks nice too, but fairly complicated to operate and I don't know if it would do much more than my IC 706.
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N2FZ

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Re: IC 7300 vs. FT 891
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2021, 09:52:51 AM »

I have a 706 and I love it.  I have a 7300 but I like the sound from the 706 better on CW.  I have the CW filter in the 706 like you.  I have not done it but in the manual of the 706 they say there are 10 steps of output power you can use so I think you could turn it down all the way to 5 w to save battery power if you want.  I think the 7300 has the same feature too. 

You are right that the 7300 is complicated and I am sure the Yeasu is, just differently.  You just have to spend some time with the book which on the Icom is very good.  After a while you will get the radio set up the way you like it and not use many of the features.  I dont use the memories which I am sure many people do as well as lots of other features.  There are mulitple ways to set up the screen information and you figure out what is useful to you.  I read all the reviews on both radios and got the 7300 because of the review information I got.

When I bought my  7300 I bought a service warrantee.  I am glad I did because there have been lots of comments on Yeasu repair work.   I have had too many computers and electronics go bad in the first year or two so this is a big thing with me. Bill N2FZ
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WB4M

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Re: IC 7300 vs. FT 891
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2021, 10:21:21 AM »

I'd buy an Icom 7300 and take the 706 out portable.  At least with it you could make some VHF/UHF contacts.  I think the 706 is easier to use than the 891 too.
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AF5CC

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Re: IC 7300 vs. FT 891
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2021, 10:49:34 AM »

The 706 original doesn't have UHF on it.  Both the FT891 and 706 have 6 meters so that portion of VHF is covered by each.

73 John AF5CC
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K0CWO

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Re: IC 7300 vs. FT 891
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2021, 11:55:15 AM »

Ditto on the 7300 for the kitchen counter and 706 portable. I’ve had radios from the big three Japanese companies and I prefer the Icom ergonomics over the other two.  The 7300 is not complicated IMO.  Other than the touch screen which is pretty much self explanatory, the functions are similar to the 706.  Maybe even easier for me.  The 706 is a killer little radio.  I still have an IC-7000 but I shouldn’t have sold my 706.  For a thousand bucks the 7300 is hard to beat.

73, k0cwo
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K0UA

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Re: IC 7300 vs. FT 891
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2021, 08:31:56 PM »

I have both the FT891 and the 7300 (I have two of them).  As for ergonomics and ease of operation, I would say the 7300 is easier to operate and more ergonomic for day to day use. For digital modes, it is 7300 all the way, for at least two reasons. One is that the 7300 has a built in modem, so nothing external needed, and the 7300 can operate at the full 100 watts all day every day on FT8 or any digital mode. The FT891 cannot. The cooling system in the 891 is not really able to keep up with any more than about 30 watts of heavy key down modes like psk31 ft8 or rtty. It will operate fine at 100 watts ssb or cw, of course if you talk long enough it kicks in high gear and the fans scream. But it just does not have the cooling system like a 7300 has. You CANNOT overheat a 7300.  Of course the 7300 has a nice color display for spectrum scope and water fall and other information. Apples and oranges there. That said the 891 works well for a mobile or portable rig. Several things about the ergonomics are not great for mobile, but they are not a problem when operating portable. It is smaller and more compact than a 7300 for portable operations. Although I have operated the 7300 portable too. The 7300 is an SDR rig and requires operating the receiver differently than the superhet like the 891. I think the receiver is better on the 7300, but the 891 is not a bad receiver either.
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73  James K0UA
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