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Reviews For: ICOM IC-746PRO

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

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Review Summary For : ICOM IC-746PRO
Reviews: 304MSRP: 1,870 (Street)
Description:
All mode HF+SIX+TWO base tranceiver, 32 bit if DSP, 100 watts all bands,digital if filter (51 types),SSB/CW Synchronous Tuning, Lots more....
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com/amateur/hf/index.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
123044.1
N3WJ Rating: 2008-08-03
Reliable workhorse Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Having followed the recent rash of bad reviews about this rig I figured it was time to give a contrarian view. I have to echo the comments of Tom, N3ZC. I bought my 746Pro new 4 years ago and it has been a steady, reliable workhorse. I have had no issues with the rig at all and have really enjoyed using it. In fact, based on how much I liked the 746Pro, I just purchased a ProIII since I am comfortable with the Icom menus and ergonomics. I obtained the ProIII not because of anything wrong with the 746Pro, I just wanted that display and bandscope (awesome) and the Dual-watch. For the combination of price, features, and ease of use, I don’t think much can beat the 746Pro.

73s...Warren N3WJ
N3ZC Rating: 2008-08-03
Work's fine Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine for a couple years, and the only problem I've had is the external speaker jack on the back stopped working recently. Other than that, it's been a really great rig. No, I'm not the type op to run it to death..just an average hobby-type Ham, but I'd buy another one (unless I hit the lottery and bought a 7800 ;-D )

73'.. Tom N3ZC

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N3ZC on 2008-04-06

Had mine about 2 years..only problem (recently)..the external speaker jack in the back went South..but I STILL give it a 5!...Other than that..no problems whatsoever..no display light problems, etc..just lot's of contacts made & the radio has never failed..(and, has a great receiver in it..as others have probably mentioned...)..Would I buy another?..Yes indeed!

73' Tom N3ZC
N5SM Rating: 2008-08-03
Bad news Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Well I have had my IC-746 pro for six months. I
purchased it in January of 08. This is the third
of August and the finals went today. I was told
that Icom had the problem with the finals fixed.
I was told wrong. It probably has less than ten
hours operating time on it, due to the fact that I have a K2 that I prefer to operate over it.
If you buy one, you can expect to be sending it to Icom for repair in less than six months. That will not happen to me again!
KB3OJM Rating: 2008-07-23
Poor system Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Went in to HRO to pick up a ProIII and they suggested the 746pro to save a few bucks. had the radio 3 hours before packing it back up. very poor sound quality, everyone sounds like they are etting marshmellows. to hear anything at a decent level I had to turn the vol all the way up. the radio didn't seem to be getting out. I was asked several times if I was QRP, made sure the power was up all the way. connected the radio to my amp to see if there was any improvement . wow there was not even enough power to drive the amp. looks like I am pushing out 15 watts. comparied it to my Icom 7000 side by side same antenna. at one point after having it on for 10 minutes the screen went blank. had to cycle power to get the display back the 746 looks good but not worth the price, I would compair it to the IC-718 for sound quality bad day. before taking it back I called Icom just to make sure that the setting were correct and they said the problem is know and that the radio is for new hams as a starter set. at $1500 a starter set. Hmmm after reading many reviews after I orderd the radio I had a feeling that it was not up to standards. my thoughts are to go with the 7000 or pro III skip this error prone rig altogether.
K0UA Rating: 2008-07-10
good while it lasted Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
after owning the rig for several months, I gave up and traded it for a 756proIII. the radio worked well, and I loved it. BUT, when the driver FET's gave out,(common problem easily fixed with replacement) and the 15 meter "tuner disease" (apparently rare problem)could not be fixed. I gave up.. Do your own research, this radio has several engineering problems. Yes they can be fixed, and several web sites are devoted to this, but the failures are not due to abuse! as the previous poster says. They are engineering defects, and they are not all corrected in the latest models.


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Earlier 5-star review posted by K0UA on 2008-02-09

Swapped a Kenwood 940 for this rig, the 940 was a great old rig, but can't compare to the features of this radio. I use it a lot for digital, and the ability to narrow your bandwidth on the fly is great. 100 watts out on vhf is great. I got this radio used from Burghardt, looked like new, and they did the ic151 mod before they sent it out. Great people to work with. This radio has so many features, I couldn't begin to go into all of them and they all seem to work well! it is a real bargin in my opinion
S50DX Rating: 2008-07-10
Problem with TX Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Got new rig and used it on SSB and RTTY.
After 10 month it left me with 0W from 160-2m!

It has great receiver but the worst final stage!

The repair has cost me big mony then I have replaced it with 756PRO.
No problems since then. I should bought 756PRO the first time!
KN4LF Rating: 2008-07-09
Outstanding Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned my IC-746 Pro for ten months and it has performed flawlessly. Mine has gotten allot high duty cycle RTTY and PSK31 digital operation every day and has performed with no failures.

I get excellent audio reports on transmit and the rig has an excellent receiver with great IF DSP. The rig is very easy to operate, very intuitive. The antenna tuner has a wide ranging antenna matching capability. 6 and 2 meter operation is real nice also.

I think many of the failures reported by other rig owners is due to improper use or abuse.

Not much else to say.

PLRC Rating: 2008-07-04
Excellent Rig. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this rig used two years ago and have compared it with my Yaesu MkV and it is definitely in the same league on receive. Overall, a great radio. I have not experienced any problems with it. I have used it on Field Day on two occasions, using the optional AH-4 external tuner and long long wire (1000 feet). The first year on 80M SSB we made 500 contacts and this year on 40M SSB we logged 763 contacts, and could have made 1000 if we had worked at it harder. Receive/filters sort out the noise/QRM and pulls out the weak ones. Am looking now for 746 Pro III to complement my Yaesu.
AA1ZO Rating: 2008-06-24
Best value out there! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned this radio for about 9 months. I have used it often without any problems. Where are you going to get a 100 watt radio that operates 160-2 meters and all mode with a power supply thrown in to boot? The antenna tuner works great as well. All of the menus are intuitive and the display is very clear and easy to understand. I have had good audio reports with this one as well. My favorite mode is AM on 75 meters. Although this radio will never sound like a broadcash station, I'm told that the audio on AM is still good. The receiver is also excellent. I would buy this radio again in a heart beat.
KD4NYC Rating: 2008-06-23
Dead transmitter Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The Radio stopped transmitting after 4 months. I guess I'm one of the suckers that thought the problem was fixed.