| N2UID |
Rating:      |
2002-08-12 | |
| Excellent overall |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased a used 746 in may of 2001 and have been pleased with almost every thing that the radio does. The things that could be improved would be,,
1. A better antenna tuner and the relay that actvates it. It is very ,very easy to damage when swr goes over 3 to 1. Use an outboard tuner!!
2. Noise limiter is crap!
3. The tiny pots that actuate the mic gain, power output could be larger . They are hard to see their settings.
Other than those gripes it is a great radio. It also has a darned good receiver.
This radio does really pack a lot of bang the buck
If my new TS-2000 is as good or better I'll be as pleased as ever!!!! de N2UID |
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| M0BCV |
Rating:      |
2002-08-09 | |
| Superb!! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I.ve owned my 746 for about 3 years.On hf I can not fault this transceiver.Its especially good on cw,the apf filter really works well. I was dissapointed by the 2 meter performance I found it to be deaf as compaired to my FT-736 ....I might be a bit one sided and I know the FT-736 is a dedicated VHF/UHF transceiver but thats how I found it.6 meters works very well indeed a big plus is haveing 100 watts to play with.My all time favorite transceiver is the FT-1000D by Yaesu If I had the money to get one I would.
Best regards Stuart/M0BCV |
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| N2RTQ |
Rating:      |
2002-08-03 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This radio has been a stout performer in comparison to my FT736r. The 100 watts is more then adequate, and the audio is superb. After talking with Bob Hiel and introducing the Gold Line mic. to the station w/an 8 band equalizer, plus a 5 el. M2 topside, I was good to go. I have no idea what the pro has to offer but if you can pick up the 746 or the pro, which ever your pocket can stand, you will be well ahead of the game. |
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| K3ICH |
Rating:      |
2002-07-08 | |
| Best deal today, a real "sleeper" |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| With used IC-746's going for $800 or less, it has GOT to be the best deal out there! Rx performance is very close to the $3k rigs AND it does 100 watts on two meters as well. I replaced a whole bench full of bricks & misc haywire when I was using the FT-736. If I could only have ONE radio, it'd be an IC-746. A 746 PRO for twice the price? Naw, just doesn't make sense for the incremantal improvements. I have compared the VHF contest Rx performance of the 746 with the FT-847 and FT-736 (overload king of VHF!) and it comes out on top. 432 SSB isn't that important to me now, so I'll settle for 100 watts on HF, 6 & 2, plus tuner in one neat little box. |
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| AF4MH |
Rating:      |
2002-07-07 | |
| Ic-746 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just got a used ic-746 and its working super and it sounds great too, the only downside is no decoder on the cw part, but oh well I guess that is why the ic-746pro has it...
But no problems so far...
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| W4JST |
Rating:      |
2002-06-14 | |
| Great Rig! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Hello,
I bought my 746 used, but it is a fantastic rig! I love this radio very much, I use to have many of the 706 series, but this radio is very nice, Adjustable transmit audio, Monitor function, Antenna Tuner and Large LCD Display!! I very fine rig for the price!!
There is only one thing I have noticed, I heard some hams say they have heard of the lights (like the backlit display) to burn out, well I bought mine used so I don't know how long people left the light on before, but after I had mine about 6 months or so (no telling how old the radio was when I bought it) one time when I turned it on the light didn't come one right away but after a short time it came on and has done great!
I heard some complaints about the menus on the 706's the menus didnt bother me that much, the 746 has some menus but a lot less then the 706's, for Power Adjustment, Mic gain, CW Speed, Tone etc. there are knobs which I like better, I like knobs and buttons over menus.
A very very fine rig, 160-10 Meters 100WATTS ALL MODE, 100W 6M ALL MODE, 100WATTS EVEN ON 2METERS! ALL MODE!!
I love my 746!
73 Aaron W4JST
W4JST@arrl.net |
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| W5EI |
Rating:      |
2002-06-04 | |
| A keeper! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Although purchased used, this rig has served me very well. It is used mostly for CW. After having it a few months, I installed a 500Hz CW in the 9MHz IF and a 250Hz filter in the 455KHz IF. This rig has great selectivity with the filters, and the DSP also helps a lot. The audio peak filter and noise reduction features work very well (I could almost do without the crystal filters). If you throw in the twin passband tuning, you can handle just about any QRM you might encounter. The receiver is quiet, and the RX and TX audio sound great. For the money, this rig can't be beat. It's nice to have 2 meter all mode capability on hand as well. I tried out a 756 PRO because these rigs are now being closed out at most ham equipment dealers. After working with the IF DSP of the 756 PRO, I decided to stick with my 746. It will probably be in my shack for a long time to come. |
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| N2PET |
Rating:      |
2002-06-04 | |
| 1st time owned |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Picked this rig up used, for a real good price, only had it for about a week, but so far i LOVE it! Really nice in all aspects, the only thing that I think could use a little improvement is the sensitivity on 2mtr receive, other than that it's a great rig! Have owned the Kenwood 570SG,570DG, ft990, ts450,690, 706MK2G,751A,Alinco dx70, TS50 etc,and I like this better than all of these, so far. Will rate it again after about 6mos. I would recommend it to anyone. |
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| KG4HUP |
Rating:      |
2002-05-31 | |
| Nice Rig |
Time Owned: N.A. |
| This is my third Icom I started with IC-725 good simple rig. Next I had to have the IC-706mkIIg really good small do it all rig, which I used mostly as my base unit with SM-20 desk mic. I sold my complete Kenwood station TS440sat-PS50-MC60-SP430-HS5,an bought a I owner IC746 which is the best of all the rigs Ive had so far. It has a great tuner really fast, Easy to read display, DSP works, get good audio reports with the SM-20 mic, I installed the 1.8 narrow filter an have got good results.Its got good receive audio easy on the ears. I got mine used at $900.00 an Ive been really enjoying it. Great price for such a rig!!!! |
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| N8OS |
Rating:      |
2002-05-09 | |
| Great low cost Radio. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I picked up this radio for $700, and I think for the money, that it's the best value out of all the radio's I have owned. The reciever is somewhat compairable to my FT-1000MP, and the addition of 6m and 2m makes this a great all around radio.
PROS:
1. 160-2m is great if you can only afford to get one radio.
2. The reciever is very plesent to listen to. I actually like it better then the 1000MP in that respect. It's also quite sensitive.
3. Very feature filled. DSP, Band Scope, etc.
CONS:
1. I found the DSP useless. It's not nearly as good as the one in the FT-1000MP, or any outboard unit like a TImewave.
2. I like buttons and knobs. This radio is very menu driven. the lack of faceplate space and the big display makes for all menus.
3. Limited Filters. I am used to the Mass of Xtal filters I can put in my MP. :)
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