Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: ICOM IC-746PRO

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
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
RUSS324 Rating: 2007-09-15
Great Value! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought my 746 PRO new in Feburary. I have really enjoyed using it. No problems so far. Reciever is great and DSP filtering is awesome. NR and notch do a great job. You have to take a little time to get used to playing with filters and NR and notch and Twin PBT. sure is fun to fiddle to get the weak signal in. I absoutley enjoy using this radio. Based on my positive experience with this radio I just purchased a new 756 PRO 3. A friend asked if I was going to sell my 746 PRO. My answer was NO! I enjoy both radios and would highly recommend either one.
N9GRG Rating: 2007-09-15
Outstanding all-around performer - replaced my K2s Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I really love this radio. It's performance is outstanding and very versatile. I use it for CW and PSK modes and it's perfect marriage for that. The ergonomics are very good and all the necessary functions are right there on the front panel. I had two K2s for CW work but found this radio beat them - the receive was just as good but the ergonomics and features far exceeded the K2. I ended up selling the K2s

The IF DSP cannot be beat - I can easily filter down to 50hz with sharp skirts within seconds and tackle QRM & QRN with ease.

The internal tuner works very well and is completely silent (no rattle of relays clicking!)

I'm not a 2m heavy but it's very nice to have it in the radio.

Also, it's a great Shortwave & AM broadcast radio - the AM coupled with DSP noise reduction features make it pleasant indeed. Also, you can adjust the receive bass and treble - why don't all rigs do that? Don't forget that you can adjust TX bass and treble.

For the money I think it's the best deal out there. You get a great radio and a good power supply for only $1500.
KT0DD Rating: 2007-09-08
pretty fair...but lacking... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It's HF capabilities are good and 6N2 are nice, but why not include 70cm? I think this rig would beat the Kenwood TS 2000 if it only had 70 cm for sattelite work. Other than that, a good rig...sold mine for a IC706 mk2g for the 70 cm function. 73
GEIIM Rating: 2007-09-08
BEST VALUE! Don't buy less or you're wasting your money! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
As a relatively new HAM (3 years now) I’ve been told from numerous sources that we really don’t need all those “fancy” features found in the newer high-end radios and that a good receiver is the key (your can’t work’em if you can’t hear’em). After all, the HAMs before us worked the world on radios that never had those features and so in the end it’s the skills of the operator that makes the radio work well. (To some extent this is true, but in the end I’ve learned that a finely sharpened stone hatchet still doesn’t work as well as a finely sharpened steel hatchet! Please read on…)

Because of this I always felt that I should not get lured by hype and features but look for the best value – after all it’s the operator who makes the radio work well right? I’ve tried the rigs by Yaesu (FT-817, 857D, 897D), Icom (IC-718, 703+), Kenwood (TS-570D) and the Elecraft(K1, KX1, K2 -three K2s actually). While they all had their place none of them worked well for me. The IC-746Pro is a radio in a completely different league and well worth the extra money. I wish I never wasted my money or time on those other radios. Oh well, live and learn.

In comparisons with the other radios I have, the IC-746Pro wins hands-down in usability, ergonomics, features and performance (yes, even against the K2s). The IC-746Pro has specs that are very near the K2 and even surpass in some areas but the difference comes in the ability to use the filters, IF-based DSP and ergonomics to quickly and effective fight QRM and QRN. The other radios from Yaesu and the low-end Icoms do a good to a great job of receiving and the K2 does an outstanding job, but the IC-746Pro surpasses them all because it’s a sensitive radio on par with the K2 with great ergonomics and powerful features that make hearing the signal from the noise possible whereas the others let you hear both signal and noise but don’t give you the tools you need to dig out & separate the signal from the noise.

For digital work I don’t think there is a better radio than the IC-746Pro. With the IF-DSP I can adjust the filters and fine-tune them to 50hz within a second and have the station I’m receiving be the only signal in the passband and blocking out ALL nearby stations. I’ve dug out 1/2 watt stations on 20m that were 1500 miles away that barely made a signal over the noise level and still carried on a ragchew QSO while nearby stations were booming in loudly 100hz away! That was impossible with the other radios I’ve owned, but the IC-746Pro made it easy even with the AGC turned on. This simply could not be done on any other radio I have even though I bought the tightest best filters I could for each of them.

When using the wide filter on a radio it’s inevitable that one station will come through so strong that all the weaker DX stations disappear due to AGC levels adjusting. Even turning off AGC doesn’t solve the problem as the receiver can get overloaded and you see ghost signals throughout the waterfall. With the IC-746Pro all I have to do is turn on the manual notch filter, adjust it over the offending station and voila! the strong station is completely and utterly gone while the weak signals are all there again. I no longer get frustrated by strong signals when searching for calling DX stations with the wide filter on.

On CW this radio is excellent as well. It does use a relay for T-R switching and I wish it would use diode switching like the K2 (so the K2 wins in this area) but it’s very quiet and a soft click. Even though the K2 has better T-R switching for QSK, I still prefer the IC-746Pro over the K2 due to the better filtering and better controls. I can adjust RIT, CW speed, DSP filtering, Notch, CW Pitch & TX offset instantly and CW playback is easier in my opinion. Don’t forget the ability to easily separate out the signal from the noise that the K2 cannot do.

Then there’s the Scope function on the Ic-746Pro that allows me to see what’s going on in the band and find calling stations easier. The receive does mute though when the scope is scanning. The IC-756ProIII has the IC-746Pro beat in this area due to its second receiver (and I’ll probably be buying that radio next) but none of my other radios (except the IC-703) even have this option.

Many people look at the price alone when buying a radio. Many people get wrapped around the specs of a radio as the deciding factor in buying a radio. I did both and I wish I would’ve tried the IC-746Pro sooner and save a lot of time and money.

So my advice to you – buy the IC-746Pro. It’s the best rig for the new HAM who is learning, it’s the best value for experienced HAM who needs better tools for battling QRM & QRN. Don’t settle for less than what the IC-746Pro offers or you’ll waste your money as I have.

One final note, I’ve sold off ALL the other radios, all of them. The IC-746Pro replaced them all and I couldn’t be more pleased.


KC8YTY Rating: 2007-08-15
Good radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my 746pro for about 3.5 years,
it's a great radio. it's a good all around purpose radio
AA6VO Rating: 2007-07-31
Love it! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine for several years and never a problem. Love the DSP and the great display. I have a thing against menu driven radios and this one is easy to operate because menu selections are rarely required. Never a problem with the output transistors even after several (hard) Field Day uses.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by AA6VO on 2005-03-14

I've had lots of radios and this one is an outstanding performer in all respects. I even have an older s/n but haven't needed or bothered to take it in for the free mod. The DSP is top quality as is the performance overall.
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by AA6VO on 2004-06-08

I've had mine over a year (S/N 03...) and not a problem. I love the DSP and filters. I've had Kenwoods and Yaesu's over the years, but this one is the easiest to operate and sensitivity and selectivity are great. Tried RTTY for the first time and the tuning was sooooo easy. Recommend to all.
KO4CH Rating: 2007-07-29
Great sounding radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well here is my two cents worth on this fine radio.
I have had mine for almost two years now and was afraid to write a review too soon because of the bad publicity on the display and the chip that goes out on the driver transistors.
I am happy to report that none of this has happened.
I to was concerned of these problems before buying this radio, so I called the Icom service department and they said that per ratio of 746 sales, this radio is not in their department any more than others. They also assured me that if their is any particular problem with any of their models, regardless of their age, it will be fixed for free. Now I ask all those who have given this fine radio a poor rating because of two common problems, Have you really judged this radio fairly?
It has great xmit and receive audio. Has built in if dsp filtering, tx and rx equalizer,does all bands and modes, superb on most all features and does not cost an arm and a leg to own. What more can a ham want?
I have owned, MKV field, Kenwood 2000, TS-480 and other models, Yaesu 857d, Jupiter and Pegasus plus other Icom's and I can truthfully say that I have not had any better than this one.
If you are in the market for a good radio, don't let the bad reports on the display and ic chip break down discourage you. Icom is aware of past failures and have corrected them.
73 to all,
Jerry Koch (KO4CH)
N9TA Rating: 2007-07-15
What else could you want?? Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I'm pretty picky about giving a rig a 5...if I could, I'd give the 746Pro a 4 and a half. Each operator has his own interests...and for mine this radio works well. Probably 90 percent of the time my 746Pro is powered up I'm listening to short wave. For SWLing you can't get a better ham rig....and I can say that because I've owned a BUNCH of radios over the last 10 years. The other 10 percent of the time I'm pounding brass (CW).(See cons) I owned an original IC-746 which I had stuffed with "real" filters....it wasn't even in the same league with the Pro. The Pro's receiver is awesome...kinda like going from a TS-2000 to a TS-850 RX...the TS-2000 is a good do-all rig as long as you don't put it up on a side by side comparison with something like a TS-850. I have done side by side checks with my TS-850, IC-746Pro, and Elecraft K2 (with the same antenna) and the IC-746Pro WINS because of the recovered audio. I can hear the same signal on all the rigs....but I can "hear more" of the signal on the Pro.

Pros: Excellent "sound" (Both RX and TX).
Excellent Receiver...has a REAL rx folks!
HF,6M,2M VERY good on all bands.

Cons: 2M SWR foldback VERY aggressive. I use a
GP-9 vertical and at 145Mhz and below the
rig folds back to 40% power at 1.6:1 SWR.
Rig begins to cut back IMMEDIATELY AT
1.5:1...as I said AGGRESSIVE!!

RX/TX relay clickity clacks on CW...not
as bad as some rigs I've had, but still,
why can't Icom do a better job with this??
If it weren't for clickity clack, I'd have
given the rig a perfect 5.

I've had NO problems thus far, and I would buy the rig again...in fact, knowing what I know now...I'd have bought the rig SOONER!!
KI4SIQ Rating: 2007-06-11
Nervous Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought this rig despite all of the reported trouble here and reported on the yahoo group. So far it has worked great and I have gotten very nice audio reports on SSB. At first I did not like the sound of the DSP audio but I now have grown to like it after comparing it to a conventional receiver. I find the menu system of this radio really intuative and easy to use.

I like the fact that it has 2meter capability but as a new HAM made a mistake in thinking that it would eliminate the need for a 2m FM radio in the shack. I will be buying a 2meter FM mobile rig so I can monitor the local repeater while I work HF.

So I'm nervous that this radio will end up having a backlight problem as so many others have reported. I also do not like the little pots at the bottom of the radio...it just seems like the RF-power, mike gain, CW tone, etc could easily break when moving the radio or transporting it to the field. If I have problems then I will lower the great score.
AD5WC Rating: 2007-04-23
good radio-but Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great radio, no problems with the rig. I never used all the fuctions,didn't need them. I think the rig is over rated and over priced. Just didn't like the 746pro, sold it.