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Reviews For: ICOM IC-756PRO

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

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Review Summary For : ICOM IC-756PRO
Reviews: 146MSRP: 3500
Description:
ICOM IC-756Pro Transceiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com/amateur/hf/#IC-756PRO
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001464.8
ANOINTED Rating: 2000-07-03
re nuffsaid Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
If the wj has "worse" phase noise than a jrc 525,how can the 756 not win out?
Try a modified 765.Who needs radios with tv's?
KE2WG Rating: 2000-07-02
Walks with the real radios Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After 4 months with this rig, I have changed my mind from my initial lukewarm impressions of this set. I tend to go over board with receivers. Owned the Watkins-Johnson 1000A, the Collins 2050, etc. Just for the record, the PRO is the ONLY set I've had in the in the shack, that gave the WJ a run for the roses, with the toughest & weakest dx signals. SSB mode of course. 90% plus of the time, the PRO was able to dig them out, like, kind & quality the venerable WJ. (a $4 Kilobuck receiver used by those outfits that have three letter designations) By the way, my WJ was manufactured by Waktins-Johnson in Nov 99, one of the last production 1000A's made, and had all of the improvements etc, over the plain 1000. Anyway, somebody with a real radio, had to do this comparison. I ended up keeping the PRO and selling off the WJ. Go figure. I state this, to perhaps put to rest the thoughts & discourse that the PRO is not a capable receiver. nuff said.
K3PTQ Rating: 2000-07-02
Best HF rig I have owned Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After 40 years of amateur radio, one has gone through an unlimited number of rigs - but for HF this transceiver is the most versatile and comfortable unit to use - really nothing has been missed, from DSP to the scope - I am primarily on phone, and sorry to hear about the CW complaints, but have heard similar gripes from CW ops over the years about most every rig - this unit really has everything - great work Icom = 5x5
Doc Croll, K3PTQ
W8LX Rating: 2000-07-01
How to get rid of the clicks Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I took my 756PRO to field day this year for the acid test, and ran it as the main CW rig in a 2A operation. The PRO peacefully co-existed with the other station and I have NO problems with clicks. Why? I've learned a lot about this radio over the past month of ownership - It's not idiot proof. You can create some rather lousy filters, especially for narrow cw. If you're running the default cw filters (they suck) or create narrow ones directly from the menu, the skirts of the resultant filter resemble the physique of Olive Oyl and you get clicks, hollow ringing, and all of the ugly sounds folks are complaining about. However, if you start with a wider filter and then narrow it down with the twin PBT, the gentle skirts are more like analog filters. For example, my 150 Hz CW filter started out life at 600 Hz. With a little practice, you can even create filters that have enough blowby to simulate an unmodified R-4C.
K3KZ Rating: 2000-06-29
Very nice gear...not perfect, but neither am I. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
How thankful I am that my operating requirements are apparently so low that I continue to have a wonderful time with this radio. The receive tailoring features are superb on both ssb AND on cw. However, if I keep on reading reviews, I may come to realize that I actually am not very happy with it after all........whatever......
Have fun & 73 to all.
KE5C Rating: 2000-06-29
Not ready for CW Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The last two reviews intrigued me. Both are CW related, and neither reviewer yet owned the rig. One gave it a 5 while trying to explain away the awful CW clicks, the other was to the point and gave it a 1. Well, I fit perfectly into this club - I used a 756PRO for two hours during CQ WPX CW, but I don't own one. My friend who does is a phone operator and likes pretty displays. He loves the rig, well, except for the fact it needs an external relay to key his amplifier. And the fact that he can't get the computer interface to work. On the other hand, I am much more interested in how the radio sounds, and on CW, it sounds, well, unusual at best in comparison to the TenTec Omni 6 and the Yaesu FT1000D. The ICOM website says it all - a while after the rig was on the market, an "Advanced Operating Guide" appeared on the web to answer 10 questions, including "Why can I sometimes hear clicks from nearby CW transmitters?" I don't care *why* I am hearing key clicks, I just *do not want* to hear them, so fix it, don't explain it. Something else really strange happened - I thought the band was quiet until I went home and turned on the Omni. Strong signals in that 15 khz DSP passband must be smoothering the weaker ones. I have to agree with the recommendation, if you're a CW operator, get an Omni or a 1000D/MP instead.
WK2T Rating: 2000-06-28
Ouch that hurt Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got a chance to operate the 756 pro under Field day conditions over the weekend. We tested it out in our CW tent. Useless, save your money and buy a Yeasu 1000MP.

The DSP filters are not ready for contesting prime time. The cw audio sounded like key clicks.

One operator couldn't even stand to use it.
K3MOV Rating: 2000-06-19
ICOM 756 PRO v. YAESU 1000 MP Mk V ? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I heard a QSO the other day in which a ham made reference to a website which detailed an extensive comparison between these two rigs. Unfortunately, I missed the full site address. Can avyone help? I gave both rigs a "5" rating here only because I have heard so much good about each. I have operated neither.
N6BZY Rating: 2000-04-15
A great radio with all the bells and whistles you Time Owned: unknown months.
I just upgraded from the Yaesu FT-990. This is a tremendous radio with a lot of features and technology. After 3 days of intense use and functional tests I have not found anything that I did not like. There is a lot to learn about the radio so take the time to read the manual thoroughly. One word of caution - If you are going to use the new PRYME PMC-100 Microphone you will encounter problems when you operate the radio with the speech compressor on. The PMC-100 has a compressor already built in so the two operating at once can create some distortion and an increase in background noise pickup. Overall the radio is a great value for the money.
K8UPR Rating: 2000-04-09
Worth the wait! Time Owned: unknown months.
Finally took delivery of my new PRO this past Friday. I thought long and hard about trading in my IC-746 (which I still think is the best rig out there for the money), but now I know I made the right decision. What a radio! Super quiet and the filter options are fantastic. I still have not explored all the features available in the past 2 days, but so far couldn't be more pleased with the performance. My first contact was a YC in Indonesia on 10 CW which was a new country for me....probably coincidence, but sure made my day! The display is much improved from the old 756 which I have also owned. Also glad to have the "Dual Watch" feature back again...once you have used it, it's hard to do without. Been hamming for almost 40 years, and have owned many different rigs, but have never been this excited about a new radio! Great job ICOM!