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Reviews For: ICOM IC-7300

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : ICOM IC-7300
Reviews: 409MSRP: 1,499
Description:
This new HF plus 6 meter 100 watt transceiver hosts new capabilities and technologies for its class. Instead of the conventional superheterodyne system, a direct RF sampling approach is used. The brilliant TFT touch screen
provides complete operational status including a stunning
real-time spectrum display with waterfall plus a useful
audio scope display. There is a built-in tuner. Other
features include: Voice memory, 15 Band Pass Filters,
CW/RTTY memory keyer functions, RTTY decode, SD card
slot, USB for CI-V and audio I/O, digital noise reduction and 101 memories. Only 9.45 x 3.75 x 9.37 inches (240x95x238mm). Supplied with HM-219 hand mic, DC power cord and fuses.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icom.co.jp/world/products/amateur/hf/ic-7300usa/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
124.24094.6
GM1SXX Rating: 2019-09-13
I'm Lovin' it. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm not much of a fan of comparison websites such as EHAM .... but...
Well folks, I haven't had so much fun in ages since I treated myself to a shiny new ICOM IC-7300. Since it's regarded by some as an 'entry level' radio, I expected to find some limitations with this radio but thus far, and I've used it a lot, made quite a few contacts and I've found absolutely nothing to make me unhappy. On the contrary, I think it's a great little radio. I have it connected to the shack PC via USB and CI-V cables and running the excellent Airlink Express software. The radio has been in use every day since it arrived and I keep discovering new things it can do. It's what I'd call a 'compact radio' typical of ICOM radios but it's built like the proverbial brick shithouse, It's constructed on a diecast ally chassis fitted into a good thick two-part steel case. The front panel and control knobs seem to be the only things made of plastic. Internally, the radio is modular being built on various PCB's connected by small ribbon connectors. It's a little gem.all made from stuff some folks call 'fairy dust' components.

I'm working on a few accessories for it including a handheld unit to drive the voice keyer system via buttons rather than the touchscreen, simly for convenience. My only 'tweak' to the radio was to bin the factory fitted fan for an incredibly quiet alternative. Makes a big difference to user comfort does a totally silent cooling fan. I reckon ICOM made a very poor design choice in using that noisy fan! I absolutely love the brick wall software filtering.... awesome if you are used to using narrow xtal filters that always ring! On the subject of ADC overload, that will only happen if you are stupid about using the preamp. Yes, you can overload the ADC, but of course it would be *your* fault/stupidity if you do!. It is not the problem some people make it out to be. Having said that, this is not a radio for field-day use alongside nearby transmitters. The front end filtering is just too wide.

The best radio for field day is probably an FT102 or other hybrid radio with a sharp preselector type front end! Horses for courses! You can't have everything for a measly 1200 quid!

I really do like this radio but it can catch you out. So many features are user-configurable and it's entirely possible to mess things up by applying inappropriate settings. The solution to this is simple.... you can back up all the settings onto SDCARD so they can be restored to your particular settings. I first saved the factory settings as 'factory' then after getting things working nicely in datamodes...RTTY, PSK etc, I saved the new settings as 'datamodes' so no matter if I screw up... I can backtrack to settings that work. It's not rocket science, just common sense.A cheap little standard SDCARD is your friend.

One thing I was worrled about was damaging the touchscreen surface over time so I bought a handful of cheap plastic screen protectors. These cost peanuts and work great. Came from a German EBayer. They have no effect on the operation of the touch sensors. and because of this, I reckon the touchscreen consists of an X/Y matrix of resisttive lines on top of the LCD. It works great.

Ergonomics. Often ignored by designers, ergonomics are as vital to some users, myself included' as functionality. When the 7300 arrived, I dived straight in, just ignoring the manual. ICOM did a fabulous job! pah! Who needs manuals anyway? I worked out most things withought it, but I had one big problem.... how to adjust the TX power! Turned out that's one of the jobs the MULTI knob does. Not a big deal, but I did RTFM for that one. The shame of it! I love the ergonomics. ICOM got it close to perfect with this radio. I've never had a modern ICOM, only a really old one, but the 7300 is incredibly well thought out.

"And my mind got to ramblin', like wild geese in the West'.

A line from a song.... In short, if you fancy an IC-7300 but you are not really sure, my advice is 'go buy one'. My other most recent radio was the KX2 from Elecraft and it is at the other end of the spectrum.... great radio with terrible ergonomics. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice. When it come to the 7300, in the words of a fast nosh chain... 'I'm Lovin' it'. Seriously.

I can forgive INOUE Communications their minor faux-pas in fitting that noisy fan and of course the fix is cheap, so it's 5/5 for me.

Gotta excuse me..... I'm off to play radio
KG5JJ Rating: 2019-09-08
Icom IC-7300 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First new HF purchase for 18 years. Have been using a Kenwood TS-2000 for 18 years with not a glitch. First, the TS-2000 is a 'shack in a box' that does nothing particularly well but does it all. It was kept for VHF/UHF capabilities, instead of selling it for a 7610.

The 7300 is a good radio for its price point. I'm a casual DXer, so a 7610-class radio was not a necessity. The 7610 receivers are incrementally better, but not so much better they forced me to get rid of the TS-2000, to be able to afford it.

Bottom line, the 7300 is a $1,000 radio, nothing more, and nothing less. My expectations going in were not high, and they were certainly met, and exceeded, because of the 7300 receiver, compared to the TS-2000. Digital modes are a breeze. Audio is good on transmit and receive. It's an excellent radio for a casual operator, and it doesn't pretend to be any more than that.
K5AAA Rating: 2019-08-23
Best of the Best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned probably 25 HF radios in my 35 years as a ham. None have even come close to the ease of operation and quality of the rx and to. This is probably the last radio I will ever purchase which my XYL danced with joy! Hihi
K6TLA Rating: 2019-08-14
Verry Satisfied Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading the reviews and hearing numerous 7300's on the air I decided to go for it. I was able to turn an older IC-706MKIIG into the 7300. Not magic, just selling and buying! The first thing that impressed me about the rig was it's excellent transmit audio quality noted in many QSO's with other users. What can I say about features? Everything and anything a contemporary op would want is built in. There are no filters to add because they are already there in DSP. Voice and CW message recording are built in and it interfaces beautifully with HRD and Win4icomsuite. All around it's a great rig for anyone from the newest ham to old timers like me. It's really exciting to contemplate what Icom will do next in building on the technology developed in the 7300.
K7HN Rating: 2019-07-27
Great for the money and what it can do is amazing! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Let me be straight up and say this is a long review and it may help answer the long standing question of “which radio should I buy? The ICOM 7300 or the Yaesu FTDX 3000?

I purchased my first transceiver back in April 2019. It was an ICOM 7300. Let me start off by saying this radio is EASY to use! Absolutely easy. Setting it up isn’t hard, being able to use the touchscreen is a very big convenience, hooking it up to my computer is a snap and overall the radio performed outstanding for me using only a ZS6BKW dipole at 48 feet it was really good. Was able to contact people all the way from the Dominican republic to the island of Saipan on voice and CW many times using fldigi.

I was going to give this radio a 4 because of how loud the radio is with QRM. I would still have mine if it wasn’t so noisy. Sure, you can turn up the noise reduction and go “all the way up to 15” with it. But even with the noise reduction maxed out, it’s still is pretty loud remember, at higher noise reduction levels just like the 3000, it makes signals and challenges if they are “underwater.“ When you have to turn the volume up to maximum to try and hear a DX doesn’t help as it just magnifies the noise and hurts your hearing over time.

As with everything, you get what you pay for.

With the Yaesu 3000 that comes with a triple het receiver with great filters. There’s your main difference. If you want to work DX by the 3000. If you want to do a lot of contesting, I’d buy a couple of 7300s. I like to work DX to see how far I can work.

So I went searching for a quieter radio. I ended up purchasing the Yaesu FTDX 3000 which has much better filtering and is a much quieter rig overall. However, it’s also $400 more expensive too brand new! Then, if you want to record your voice to say call CQ or something, the 3000 doesn’t have that unless you buy the $65 additional chip.

The ICOM already has that feature built-in.

I give this radio a five even with the noise issues because it’s such an exceptional value. You’ll definitely be able to do everything on each band and 6 m that you may want to even with the noise issues because it offers so much at a low price point.

Remember, as with any radio you definitely need a good antenna. And if you’re a new or ham reading this, don’t be afraid of a dipole. Don’t fall for people telling you that a dipole isn’t true “real antenna that works.“ Research them. Find out which one works best for you. I’ve covered half of the earth using voice on 100 watts, in bad conditions.

The simple answer in my opinion to the “which radio should I buy the 3000 or the 7300?“ Comes down to a simple question… Do you want the better quality receiver? And yes, I’ve seen Sherwood’s review on this but I’m telling you from my ears which are pretty good from 40 years of working DXD 3000 close to 7300 away and yes, I’ve seen Sherwood‘s review on this but I’m telling you from my ears which are pretty good from 40 years of working DX, The 3000 is simply a much better receiver. You can hear the difference right away.

The ICOM 7300 is kind of like a Corvette versus a Ferrari. Really pretty to look at but lacking features that could help make it better. No I’m not saying that my Yaesu is a “Ferrari.“ But what I am saying is compared to the 7300 there’s no comparison on the RX side.

The 7300 is a very “good looking“ radio with a great screen which is the first thing you notice and the one thing you remember about it… Also, it’s easy to use…

I would buy three of them before I would buy a 7610. Why not? You’d have three rigs for the price of one. That’s how well priced for 7300 is! And no, I’m not a big proponent of the 9700 even with two receivers. You have to remember, the 9700’s second receiver doesn’t do HF.

New Hams, BE CAREFUL OF YOU TUBE VIDEOS WHEN IT COMES TO SOUND QUALITY. YouTube videos are helpful but they don’t come close when showing the long standing question of “which radio is better between the 7300 and the 3000.” The Yaesu is simply the better one and I’ve had both rigs. Now, wouldI buy another 3000 for contesting? No.

Here’s why:

The easiest way to describe the difference is I could never use voice and work Japan and Australia I’ve worked both on voice now with the Yaesu in the first week in similar band conditions from my Oregon QTH. You can’t work what you cant hear.

And, this STILL doesn’t make me a “Yaesu Fanboy.”

For contesting, I’d have no problem buying another one to have as another rig to use for contest weekends. I would use the 3000 for DX and the 7300 for stronger signals. I won’t part with my 3000 for a while but I definitely wouldn’t be against purchasing another 7300 because It’s just too easy to work stronger signals AND SEE THEM not to.

Well done ICOM.

AA1QG Rating: 2019-07-07
Versatile radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Best buy for most people.

However, for FT8 work the bit limited D/A converter cannot handle very strong signals in the passband without creating issues. Had to revert to an analog radio to operate when neighbours are on FT8 on same band.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by AA1QG on 2016-07-24

Have IC 7600, Ts 590 and KX 3 line. I prefer the 7300 for the reasons others have stated.
It is very robust, use it on 6m digital at 100w, hardly gets lukewarm.

Of course it is not perfect:
- single antenna connector only
- no internal PSK or CW decode
- s-meter varies with preamp in and out
- no APF in CW mode


But still a fantastic buy!

KC0VOE Rating: 2019-06-26
Awesome Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had tons of radios over the years including high end stuff like the FTDX5000 and this little 7300 is my fav. Nothing will ever be perfect but this thing is a joy to operate, sounds good, receives good and is just a fun radio.
KK4JJM Rating: 2019-06-25
Great Radio-Not for Field Day Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have truly enjoyed the IC-7300 but have had Field Day issues with it. It overloads if in the presence (same antenna area)of the same band. We had 3 stations operating. Phone, CW and Digital. We only had one filter per band total. When 2 rigs had to work 20 meters, the OVF light was lit on the 7300 unless the gain was so low that almost nothing could be heard. I brought out my backup Kenwood TS-830S and used it the rest of field day with no issues. We had 1 Vertical antenna and 2 horizontal antennas (rotated 90 degrees from each other and not crossing). Great radio. Just not the best for Field Day.
K7AAT Rating: 2019-06-24
Great for Field Day Use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Operated Field Day with three Icom IC-7300 radios. All worked great. Antenna separation varied from 50' to 200' separation. We did use individual bandpass filters with absolutely no degradation to weak signals although we may well have not needed them. ( Probably wouldn't need filters if using transceivers costing 3X more ). New operators easily adapted to the menu and controls. Worked great in all modes , digital, SSB, and CW.
K0IZ Rating: 2019-06-24
Not for Field Day or Multi Operations Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
We just finished operating Field Day, using four IC7300's. Major front end (A/D) overloads when CW and Phone both on 20 meters. OVL indicator activates constantly. Turning down RF Gain helped some but not enough. Attenuator cuts gain on signals too much to use. Also only on/off, no step. Switching to Elecraft K3 eliminated problem, so clearly the 7300's were the problem. Antennas were horizontal vs vertical, which should have helped. Also probably 200 feet apart.

Everyone likes to operate this radio but obviously not designed for multi operation.