| KB9FMV |
Rating:      |
2003-07-04 | |
| GREAT RADIO |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have had several Icom 746's and needless to say I have another one! I own several excellent radio's the KENWOOD TS 2000 & TS 850SAT, ICOM 756PRO, ICOM 706 MKIIG, ICOM 746PRO AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST the Icom 746 ! Out of all the radios I have I keep going back to the 746 great receive great twin pass band tuning ! For the money $700 to $900 dollar this is a superb radio ! The dsp is equivelent to the 756 pro ! The audio section is a little bit weak but if you go direct with a beringer its sounds awesome on 75&80&40 meters ! Well enough said ! Great radio and if you can get one at a good price grab it!!!!!!!! |
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| DF1AS |
Rating:      |
2003-07-04 | |
| * * * * ' |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
There's not much to add here. I agree with most of the previous reviewers.
The 2m part is not as good as e.g. compared to the IC-910. Sensitivity is a bit weak and worse, there's some intermod problem with radio stations in my neighborhood. Maybe due to the wide RX range (118 ... 174 MHz) and fixed filters.
Using a selective pre-amp on 2m cures the problem completely. Then, the 746 works even excelent on VHF.
Great CW operation using BOTH available 250 Hz filters (9 MHz AND 455 kHz) makes the passband even smaller with the dual-shift function. A wonderful feature for harsh band conditions.
Tuning range of the antenna tuner could be better but I've no problems with it.
4.5 of 5, rounded up ... |
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| K0RGR |
Rating:      |
2003-07-02 | |
| Outstanding Rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought my IC-746 (original) used for less than $1,000 and invested in some narrow SSB and CW filters (a combination of ICOM and OEM).
I think the receiver preformance is terrific. It is not a PRO or a 756 PRO. But it is a competitive receiver, nonetheless. I'm very picky about RX but with the optional filters, the very flexible and effective IF shift, and the DSP features, the 746 receiver is very decent, even in contest conditions.
I have found no other significant faults with this radio. It is a very worthy replacement for my venerable ICOM 751, which was the top-of-the-line ICOM rig in its day, and this one cost me less than the 751, to boot! |
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| M0BSW |
Rating:      |
2003-06-29 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Hello,
I've owned my IC746 for 3 years approx, Great radio, it does everything I ask of it.
I use a full audio rack & drive the balanced modulator through the back panel.
I am buying a Kenwood TS870s also, however the IC746 is staying where it belongs here at home.
Paul
M0BSW |
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| N1JAO |
Rating:      |
2003-04-24 | |
| Back in the saddle again! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I owned a 746 a couple of years ago and sold it to buy a Mark V which I still own. I recently picked up a used 746 and it is every bit as good as I remember. The receiver is great- in fact, it sounds every bit as good as my Mark V! The DSP works well, great tuner, and it is just a ball to operate. If you want to have the most fun you can have with a radio (with your clothes on!) pick up one of these; you can’t go wrong, especially for 800 bucks in the used market!
Robert
N1JAO
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N1JAO on 2001-05-31
I have been up and running with the 746 now for a few weeks and wanted to update my review. I sold my 870 in order to buy this rig and what a great decision I made! This blows the 870 away with regards to receiver performance, noise blanker (that works)and 6 and 2 meters to boot! Oh, by the way, the receiver is quadruple conversion, not triple like the previous reviewer stated, just read the manual/ it's in there. Also, the DSP is IF, which makes this the best hf rig on the market right now without exception. I have nothing but good things to say about this gem, and it will be with me for years to come.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N1JAO on 2001-05-15
After studying this rig for a long time, I finally bought one new. I am probably in the minority, but I sold my 870 to buy this rig, and have not regretted it one bit. I never warmed up to the 870 like alot of people seem to have. This review is not to slam the 870, so i will stay on topic. The 746 is great. The audio is very pleasant, and comments on my transmitted audio have been great with just the hand mic. The DSP is superior to the 870. (oops!) The DSP is very effective, and the notch filter works great, the noise filter works,(smirk) and the Twin Passband Tuning is fantastic. Quad receive, excellent band scope, and 6meters plus 2meters make this THE best rig on the market right now bar none! 1300.00 with coupon right now make this also the best buy as well. I LOVE THIS RIG!! Don't stay on the fence as long as I did, buy one before the coupon expires, you will love it! |
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| K8JDC |
Rating:      |
2003-04-15 | |
| Great Radio! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I bought my (used) 746 as my first HF rig. For an HF rig with 10m through 160m plus a full 100W on 6m and 2m, you can't beat it. With current used prices around $800, it is a good deal in comparison to what you get in a new unit (such as a Kenwood TS-570SG with no 2m for $1070 including current $200 rebates). I even installed a mobile setup in my pickup and have operated my 746 mobile using a set of interchangeable Hustler resonators. The 746 worked well in my mobile and had very little added noise that wasn't removed by the NB/NR combination. (Maybe someday, I'll pick up a 706 for mobile use...).
I have zero complaints with this radio. I've been pleased with everything from the tuner to the menus to the internal keyer to the display. The auto tuner has worked well with all of my homebrewed and mobile antennas, including a longwire for 160m.
The only negative I could really mention is the somewhat flimsy RF power adjustment control. I would like to see a sturdier dial/knob, especially for a control that I use so frequently. One post below mentioned somewhat weak SSB monitoring, but mine is quite strong. I have mine turned down to about 50% and it's plenty strong.
I'm not particularly easy to please and I really like this radio - more than I thought I would, and that doesn't happen to me often.
Congrats to Icom and a job well done. |
|
| VA2DV |
Rating:      |
2003-04-08 | |
| Great and effective |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I own my IC-746 for 3 years now so my review is based on many hours of operation both on DX'ing
and ragchewing.The controls are intuitive and using the rig features is really easy even without the manual.It's a very sensitive and quiet receiver.I live in a noisy environment
and my limited-space antennas does not help at all
since they are close to noise sources.However, i able to dig out the weak ones with the help of
the passband tuning and the DSP.I also add the
1.9 KHz SSB filter for more selectivity under
hard conditions.To my experience,the 6m section is
not bad at all and the 2m is OK.(i dont use it that much...) The noise blanker is effective for
removing local electrical noise from appliances.
The matching speaker does help a bit enhancing the audio of the top speaker but the matching power supply is noisy and generate a lot of birdies.(PS-85) This rig have a very good "quality feel" and you dont have the impression to play with a toy.
The automatic antenna tuner is a plus.I found it
more effective than predicted.
Overall,a almost complete station in a great package with top notch construction.
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|
| VE3UUM |
Rating:     |
2003-03-28 | |
| Some minor points |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is an excellent rig in may ways, the Controls are logical and easy to find except for compression level which is at the back. To get this on the front one must "upgrade" to a 756 series but then the 2m section is lost.
RX is very good on all bands except 2m where it is only good. Both of my mobile FM rigs hear much better on 2m than the 746, at least on FM.
I must admit to one problem that occured twice. The relay that switches the auto tuner from HF to 6m mode has failed twice, both times in the first 90 days of operation. I have read that 100w FM output on 6m may damage this relay? I can't say for sure this is the problem but in the 18 months since my second relay replacement I make sure that 6m is turned back to about 50 watts before tuning and have had no problems.
The radio consumes tremendous current on RX, 2 Amps! and when transmitting on SSB if there is no modulation it still consumes 6 amps...If you wish to run off of a battery for any length of time make sure your battery is BIG.
The power consumption is not a concern for those with power supplies and are not planning on batteries for emergency communication so it may be no big deal for some.
While DSP is nice and perhaps better than on some rigs that I have used, generaly I have never found noise reduction very helpful. This is not, I think, a problem with the 746 but a problem with DSP noise reduction on all rigs. In order to remove noise to the point that it helps, you have then distorted the speech to a point where it is difficult to copy. Luckily the 746 gives Twin Passband tuning and variable rf gain controls which in my opinion are much more useful on noisy 80 and 40 metre bands.
Auto notch filtering is much more helpful but a strong signal can still pump the AGC, AGC can be turned off if needed...watch out for that loud QRMer when you do, especially if you're wearing headphones!
One other thing that would have been nice that my FT-817 can do is that when I change from SSB to CW the 817 automaticaly shifts the frequency so that I can check into a phone net on CW without touching the dial. I must set up the frequencies ahead of time on the 746 in VFO A and VFO B and switch between A and B if I want to switch between SSB and CW.
Despite all of this the 746 is a great rig, and I do recommend it. Just can not give it a 5/5. Of course it has already got lots of those and depending on what you want to do it may be a 5/5 for you. |
|
| KF4DEW |
Rating:      |
2003-03-23 | |
| Pre-amp |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Great radio. Own it for the past 20 months. One thing that could be better is the pre-amp. Not very good. I have a 100 watt brick on another radio, with a pre-amp, it is by far a much better pre-amp. Yes one more thing, it should have a tuner for 2 meter also.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KF4DEW on 2002-05-20
The icom 746 is a great radio. I think the only thing that it needs is a little better pre-amp, like maybe a 25-30 db pre- amp on it and 2 meter antenna tuner. Other than that great radio, great audio to!!!! |
|
| N2IM |
Rating:      |
2003-03-06 | |
| Nice Rig! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought this radio because I was interested in VHF contesting and EME, as well as HF operating and contesting. For a radio that puts 160 - 2 meters in one package with 100 watts and an antenna tuner - it is a great radio! I have my 746 loaded with a 500Hz CW filter and 1.8Khz and 1.9Khz SSB filters, so it makes it very good for contesting. I have used it in my VHF rover in an area where we have two big multiops, and I didn't have any interference problems at all. While I have yet to make an EME contact, this radio has performed well in my other areas of interest. I have compared it next to my 756PRO, and it does well. It is definitely not a 756PRO, but it does what it was designed to do. Even though I know have an IC-756PRO, I am definitely planning on keeping my 746.
For those who are trying to decide between the IC-746 and FT-847, there is no comparison. I have used FT-847s, and the IC-746 does better than it in every aspect. |
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