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Reviews For: ICOM IC-746

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

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Review Summary For : ICOM IC-746
Reviews: 234MSRP: ICOM IC-746.
Description:
HF+6M+2M Multi-mode transceiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
002344.7
VE7AZC Rating: 2003-02-27
Great Fun! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio is a hoot to operate. It's convenient to have HF, 6 and 2, 100W and the other features like triple band stacking right at your fingertips. The keyer is very good, and the receive sensitivity is equal to my Kenwood 870 in side by side hearing evaluations (no instruments ... just my ears ... ALL preamps off in the 746 and the 870). The DSP noise reduction in the 870 and the 746 aren't really that good. I rarely use them, but when I do I have found that the NR in the 746 is actually a bit better, and it's easily variable on the front panel ... unlike the 870. I use an external speaker for both the 746 and the 870 ... the stock ones are both pretty pathetic. I also like having the keyer plug in the fron panel ... easy to get to, unlike the 870. The controls seem to be rugged enough for base use, the buttons have a positive click when pressed, and the menu system is pretty intuitive.

One minus in the 746 is the low SSB monitor level. Even set at max it is barely hearable in headphones. The audio charactieristics in both transmit and receive are of course better on the 870 than the 746. Even so, the audio is just fine in the 746. I have listened to a lot of fellas who use only the stock hand mike on the 746 and they sound crisp and clear. I use just a small amount of processing and the stock hand mike. It would be nice if they included a DTMF padded mike.

I also don't like that I can't use any mike I want without amplifying it. Most of us have a few mikes laying around that we like to try, but the typical mike output is just too low for this rig. What were they thinking!!! Heil makes a good audio quality high output mike (icM) for this radio which can be acquired for about $85US. Or you can build a litle preamp ... but it just shouldn't be necessary. UGH!

All that being said, it is lots of fun to operate. It's loaded and mostly convenient! The fish finder is just a neat add-on. I am waiting for summer to make some contacts on 6m. I have to agree with the majority of others who have reviewed this radio ... it would be hard to find a better deal. For the money this rig cost me ... it's gets a 5.

Cheers,

H
N9LBW Rating: 2003-02-01
Excellent Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased this radio used and it is a keeper. It has excellent sensitivity and selectivity even without the additional filters. I would recommend this radio as a good used bargain.
Joe Silinonte Rating: 2003-02-01
Big Audio and Excellent Rx.. Time Owned: N.A.
This is one of the best HF transciever ever made by ICOM...Good Audio,Nice Rx and DSP works great..
DK7BY Rating: 2003-01-14
One is not enough. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Got my first IC 746 1998. For independent receiving i got now a second used rig. So i have a 746 Line.

I am using broadband antennas for hf (beverages, matched dipoles with high cut filters), the hardest thing you can do to a hf rig, except rhombus or big quad antennas. I found no cross modulation or other overload effects at both 746´s during normal receiving conditions (no att, no amp). A test with a braun preselector, with build in high level receiving amp. couldn´t emprove any.
KD5NMI Rating: 2003-01-06
Best Bang 4 your Buck ... the Sequel Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought my 746 about a year ago, and is one of the last made before the "ill-fated" Pro came out.

Great AUDIO reports (even with stock hand mic), and the Receiver is AS GOOD as the FT-1000D. Very user friendly, great DSP functions, etc.

The Receiver has "spoiled" me, and I have tried many other rigs and they just don't measure up. Sold the Kenwood TS-570DG, the FT-847, the FT-100D, etc.

I have FINALLY found the Perfect Back-Up Rig for the IC-746 .... I got a SECOND IC-746. You have heard of Kenwood Twins ... I now have ICOM TWINS!!!

Icom made a BIG Boo-Boo when they discontinued this one ... and YOU made a Big Boo-Boo if you didn't get one when you had the chance :-)

73 Austin


----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KD5NMI on 2002-12-03

Incredible Receiver, Very user friendly, 100+ watts out on all bands/all modes, HF+6m+2m, what more can I say ... Keeper!!
K5RWS Rating: 2002-12-04
GREAT RADIO !!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned this IC-746 for about 3 yrs now. I've looked at other radios but just can't find ANY GOOD reason to ge rid of it. The rig I owned before this radio was a TS-570G. The ONLY good thing about that radio was the CW tune function. The IC-746 in every other way is far superior to that radio. The adjacent signal rejection was simply non-existent in the 570, works great in the 746. The DSP in the 746 really works, not in the 570. I have had a chance to compare this 746 side by side with FT-1000MP and TS-870. Both excellent radios, but I just felt the receiver in the 746 was better.
I'm at a loss to figure out what one of the previous reviewers was talking about with the buttons. Mine work just fine and are not loose. I simply have not had any issues with them. Reading his review I have to wonder if he went into the IC-746 expecting it work like a Kenwood.
In short, this is one great radio. This probably falls into the catagory of "ham radio's best kept secrets", little money, LOTS of performance.
KK9ZZ Rating: 2002-11-12
Great value! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my first Icom rig that I bought used. Overall I am pretty impressed. Basic receiver performance is excellent comparing favorably with my 1000MP and TS850. Sensitivity is outstanding and basic selectivity is virtually identical to those two rigs on ssb. While the passband tuning works well it is not as effective as the slope tuning on the TS850 or the width/shift combo on the 1000MP. I did quick and dirty selectivity test by finding a 40+ signal on 40 meters and then tuning up frequency until I could no longer here strong station. The three radios were virtually identical in that respect. Then I tuned 2khz up from the signal and used the various width/shift/slope/passband tuning controls to eliminate the strong signal and that is where the 746 was not quite as good - the slope tuning on the TS850 is just amazing. The digital notch filter works very well on the Icom IC 746. The dsp noise reduction is sometimes helpful, but I really don't use it much (nor on my FT1000MP) - I just don't like the effect they impart on the received signal. There is no bandpass dsp filtering for ssb unfortunately. I like the band buttons that the TS850 lacks. The rig has a real quality feel to it with a nice large sturdy tuning knob. The received audio is great even with the built in speaker. The built in antenna tuner is very quiet compared to my TS850. Someone else complained about fan noise - I did not find it objectionable at all. One thing I really miss is that the memory knob does not double as a vfo fast tune knob like the Yaesu and Kenwood have - so I have to use the tuning knob a lot more. Also there is no way to adjust the tone on a received signal and no noise blanker level adjustment. Complaints aside it is a great rig and a keeper considering all it does, its' performance, and the bands it includes - plus it is just a cool looking radio!
W0CKI Rating: 2002-11-05
It's terrific Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had the 746 since it first came out. In many ways out performs my Yaesu MK V, specficly on receive. My opinion, the best you can buy for the money. Too bad about the experience expressed by the recent owner,I'll buy the Pro version one day. Great job Icom.
Gary, W0CKI
WT4E Rating: 2002-11-05
A+++++ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
All I can say is I have a 746 and it has been one of the better radio's I've owned. I traded in a Yeasu FT-920 for a Kenwood TS-570S and sold the 570 after a month. Sorry reciever for 6 meters and kenwood will tell you that 6 meters is not their best in those radio's and pityful in the new TS2000 and if you do a little research you can find out why. I had the 570D model before the 570S and wished I had the 570D back..But the 746 I believe you want a good ragchew and DX'er it is it...73es
K4CMD Rating: 2002-11-05
Back to Kenwood I go Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well, after owning an IC-746 for a little over a year, I traded mine for a Kenwood TS-570S/G. Why?

Don't get me wrong -- the 746 does what it's supposed to do -- it transmits and receives on the bands specified. But it's the WAY it does it that's exasperating as hell! I thought I'd get used to the following "design idiosyncracies" after a year of use, but nope!

(1) The memory keyer is the most cumbersome, stupidly designed memory keyer I've ever used. If you're a prospective purchaser of a 746, think about how you enter names in your cell phone. Then think about entering an entire CQ call like that. Hey -- here's a far-out idea Icom! Maybe have a "record" function so you can send your message into the keyer? Like every other memory keyer on the planet?

(2) Those squirrely little knobs along the bottom of the front panel, just begging to break. One touch reveals they're nothing but knobless pots held onto circuit boards by pigtails. Very, VERY weak, and they wobble like hell. And their labels are arranged so you can't read them from above. The much larger and more often-used RIT knob on the front panel wobbles too. Come to think of it, the only knob on the front panel that doesn't wobble back and forth is the main tuning knob.

(3) Band keys that have a mind of their own. Pressing the 7 MHz band key sometimes took me to 17 or 12 meters. (This was my SECOND 746 -- the first one that had to go back to HRO often wouldn't go to 80 meters no matter how many times I pressed the dead "3.5" key.)

(4) Irritating, loud (compared to competitors) cooling fan, mounted in the FRONT of the radio, that turns on every single time you key down. Ever heard of a THERMOSTAT, Icom?

(5) CW paddle jack on the front panel. OK, this one's personal, but aesthetic too. A big 1/4-inch phono jack on the front panel. Why? Do we really plug in and unplug our paddles that often? And then again, maybe this is a question of logic too: case in point, where's the straight key jack? On the REAR! At least get consistent, Icom!

(6) Compressor gain control knob on the REAR! Geesh Icom, with all those menu commands and things like squelch and RF gain on the SAME KNOB (not concentric knobs, but one half-turn of the knob brings the RF gain to full and rotating it past 12 o'clock brings up the squelch), why couldn't you find a place to put the compressor gain within reach?

(7) Exasperating "function" keys along the bottom of the display. Well, here's the AGC. Switch it to "fast." Now go to 6 meter FM. Oops, I want the AGC to be "slow" here. Hmmm -- WHERE'D THE AGC FUNCTION GO? Gotta go back to an HF band and select SSB to get the AGC label back on the screen and give me the function back again! I could tolerate this on the front panel of a space-constrained mobile rig, but not on a base station rig whose front panel is larger than most of its competition!

(8) Band-edge "beeps" that tell us when we've hit the European HF band edges. Well, with all those menus, there's got to be a setting to change them to the American band edges, right? RIGHT? Guess what ...

(9) Includes the 2-meter band! Wow! With auto-repeater offset! Cool! Let's program in my local 145.11 repeater! Hmmm, no auto offset! Seems the rig's TWO meter sub bands are set to their European counterparts too!

(10) Menus, Icom, MENUS! To change the variables of some functions, you go to the "SET" command -- and there you get a string of about 30 menu settings you can change for an array of functions. But for other functions, you simply press and hold the function's front-panel key and a menu screen comes up. For still other functions you have to press "M1" or "M2" on the front panel and go hunting. While these all work as designed, the problem is it's HARD AS HELL to remember what's where! There's no sense to it!

Functionally, the rig did just as good a job (well, not as good on AM receive) as the Kenwood 570D I had for four years before getting the 746. Interesting, however, that I found the much-touted IF DSP on the 746 less usable than the AF-based system on the 570. The menu system on the 570 is years ahead of the 746, even though the 746 represents 3 years' newer technology. And comparing the two radios for outright construction quality and quality of materials used, the Kenwood wins hands-down.

I found a guy north of me wanting to swap his year-old TS-570S/G for my IC-746. Did it about a month ago and am extremely pleased for a second time with the TS-570. I strongly encourage anyone going through the exasperating process of choosing between the 746 and the 570 to travel to a dealer where they can sit down and twist knobs and listen. The Kenwood will do everything the Icom will do except for 2 meters, but the Kenwood does it with rock-solid construction, studio-quality audio, and DSP that is much more tailorable to your demands. And a "one-stop" menu system that won't have you pressing buttons all over the front panel and finally giving up and dragging out the owner's manual -- a frequent practice with my 746 even after a year's use.

73 and good luck with YOUR decision!