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Author Topic: IC-7300 vs Yaesu FTDX10  (Read 1331 times)

G8FXC

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Re: IC-7300 vs Yaesu FTDX10
« Reply #30 on: July 23, 2022, 06:57:59 AM »


Running on the same antrnna as the IC-7300, the noise floor is no lower, but the enhanced filtering and noise reduction work together to extract readable signals far better.

Martin (G8FXC)

Congrats on the new radio…enjoy it! A question:

If the noise floor on the 101D is no lower than the 7300, then if you A/B the two radios on the same antenna, set both filters at, say, 500 Hz for CW, and both NR’s off, can you definitively say that you can hear and copy signals on the 101D that you can’t also hear and copy on the 7300?

Bob K7JQ
Well, as I said above, I traded in the 7300 to help pay for the 101D, so I cannot do any more A/B comparisons. I can, however, report on my experiences doing the A/B comparison between the 7610 and 101D in the showroom of the main dealer. My first observation was that the 7610 RX is little, if any, better than the 7300 RX. Blindfolded, I would have been hard pressed to guess which I was listening to.

I would also observe that the 101D has the quieter receiver - it's a criticism that is often levelled at the 7300 that there's a lot of hiss in the audio output. Some describe this as unacceptably high - for me it was never a deal-killer and I didn't really believe it until I had spent a fairly long time listening on the 101D. It's not enough to make the difference between copying and not copying a very weak signal, but is must contribute to the very weak signal handling capability of the radio.

But ultimately, with the NR off are there signals that I can hear and copy on the 101D but not on the 7300? I don't believe that there are, but I'm not in a position to test in real life. If I'm allowed to use the DNR and full filtering capabilities of the two radios, then I'm pretty confident that I could find signals that are at the limit of the capabilities of the 101D and impossible to copy on the 7300. Add to that the ease with which the 101D supports the addition of a low noise RX-only antenna and the difference is very significant.

Now, I would not want anyone to misinterpret my comments - I'm not one of those that take a highly polarised view of Yaesu vs. Icom. I had the 7300 for several years and it served me very well. I would still have it now and would still be happy with it if my accountant had not told me to "go out and spend some money". The 7300 is an excellent value radio that is easy to use and delivers a level of performance that will completely satisfy a lot of hams. The FTdx10D is currently the closest competition for the 7300 and it is also an excellent radio. Based on my recent experience, I think the FTdx10D has the edge over the 7300 for RX performance in a high noise urban environment. I would not have upgraded from the 7300 to the FTdx10D - the difference in performance would not have been enough to justify the cost of the transaction. When I was told to "spend some money", I went along to Mr. Lynch looking for a dual RX radio with some improved filtering. I expected to come away with the IC-7610, but came to the conclusion that I would just be getting two 7300s in a single box whereas the FTdx101D gave me two FTdx10Ds in a single box with some pretty good antenna switching.

Martin (G8FXC)
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K7JQ

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Re: IC-7300 vs Yaesu FTDX10
« Reply #31 on: July 23, 2022, 07:26:48 AM »

Martin G8FXC,

Thanks for the explanation. The reason I asked is because when I was contemplating upgrading my 7300 to a 7610, I had the opportunity to extensively A/B both radios at a friend’s shack…same antenna and RX settings. Outside of maybe hearing a little lower noise floor on the 7610, I honestly couldn’t copy any signals on the 7610 that I also couldn’t copy the same on the 7300, even with the 7610’s APF engaged on CW.

I don’t really need two receivers in one box, nor most of the other bells and whistles the 7610 has, so I kept the 7300 and bought another one so I could operate SO2R in contests, vs only being able to do SO2V with the 7610 (only one transmitter).

I’ve never owned a Yaesu radio, but apparently you find the FTDX101-101D to be a distinct RX difference over a 7610 from your comparison, basically with its better NR, filtering capabilities, and antenna switching.

Again, good luck and have fun with the new radio!

73, Bob K7JQ
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