| K0XD |
Rating:  |
2004-11-08 | |
| BACK TO ICOM FOR 2ND TIME |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| BOUGHT 12/03, TO ICOM WITH TX OUT 2/04, USED SPARINGLY UNTIL 10/04, TX OUT AGAIN=BACK TO ICOM AGAIN. |
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| WA8MEA |
Rating:      |
2004-11-02 | |
| No problems...knock on wood... |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I just couldn't resist the price of this: $399 and shipping paid by Gigaparts. I knew about the driver situation before purchasing. I'm using it mainly for a receiver and to take on trips. I must say, it's worth the price just for the receiver section alone! I've used it a few times on transmit with no problems. I use a dipole for 160 and use the built-in tuner for other bands. Fun to play with all of the bells & whistles. I just hope she holds up without experiencing the traditional problems I've been hearing about. But again, I'm not using it as my main rig. Just for receive and periodic vacations. So she's not being overworked by any means.... |
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| KF9Z |
Rating:   |
2004-11-02 | |
| Potentially a GREAT radio but too many problems |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| While I like the radio very much (such as the GREAT RX and super DSP) it has far more problems than the radio is worth. I had two fail with in the first 30 days. AES made a half-hearted try at fixing the situation before sending me a new (or re-packaged more likely) radio. It failed out of the box. If Icom could get the bugs out it would be a solid 5. It has a VERY GOOD antenna tuner and the DSP is better than most any other radio costing 3x the price. I want to like the radio and do to a large extent. I just cannot close my eyes to the myriad problem |
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| WA2EHL |
Rating:      |
2004-11-02 | |
| Excellent! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Bought the IC-703 on Oct.29,2004 serial number 1801598.Checked out receive capabilities and bias voltage before transmitting.Set it to 0.5 volts after keying up for 30 seconds.Was about .56 or so initially.No other mods have been done as I am ssb only.Antenna tuner is fantastic! Better than the Icom 746 pro tuner and receive is as good if not a little better.Worked 24 countries during the recent cq dx worldwide contest and have several other qso's abroad on 17 and 20 with 5x5 and 5x7 reports.Great transmit audio with stock mike.Ten watts into a dipole antenna did the job for me and the price was right.DSP functions great and plenty of receive audio in the shack.Using a PS -125 supply with lots and lots of reserve! |
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| AD5X |
Rating:      |
2004-10-18 | |
| Great Radio! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I couldn't pass up the close-out price on the IC-703. Plus I have an IC-706MKIIG and I figured that the learning curve would be quick (it was). I received the IC-703 Friday, and used it heavily over the weekend (including this morning before work). 10-watts was sure plenty to make lots of contacts on 40, 30, and 20 meters. I even worked several stations using 5-watts with no problems. Overall, I found the IC-703 to be very easy and fun to operate. I particularly like the internal auto-tuner and memory keyer.
I’ve had an FT-817 over three years, so I thought I’d make some comparisons between the two radios. The current drains I list below are measured on my particular radios.
1) FT-817 covers 6/2/440 mhz.
- IC-703 is HF only
2) FT-817 is smaller than the IC-703
- Including all projections and feet, the FT-817 has half the volume of the IC-703. FT-817: 83 cu in vs IC-703: 167 cu in
3) FT-817 has internal batteries.
4) FT-817 has TONS of 3rd party options available (www.w4rt.com & others).
- BUT many of these are built-in standards in the IC-703.
5) IC-703 includes an internal automatic antenna tuner, DSP, and speech compressor.
- FT-817 does not, but internal DSP and speech compressor are available from 3rd parties (more $s). LDG and SGC make small external auto-tuners that are popular for the FT-817 (again, more $s).
6) IC-703 draws lower receive current than the FT-817 when on batteries.
- Batteries with display off/on: FT-817: 400/432 ma. IC-703: 305/560 ma
7) IC-703 draws lower transmit current than the FT-817 at 5 watts.
- FT-817: 1.9 amps. IC-703: 1.7 amps.
8) IC-703 puts out 10 watts for input voltages greater than 11.5 volts (IC-703 draws 2.4 amps @ 10 watts).
9) IC-703 has a built-in memory keyer.
10)IC-703 has a much larger display.
11)IC-703 has a voice synthesizer option (Great for mobile or those with visual impairments).
My only complaint is that it was kind of a pain to solder in the optional filter (I went with a 250 hz CW filter). But since the board was out, I went ahead and did the key-jack mod (though not sure it was needed).
My serial number is 1801817 and neither of the two service bulletins had been implemented (PA driver bias and key-jack). I checked the bias voltage and found it to be 0.55V at 13.8 volts input, and 0.48 volts at 9V input. Seemed fine so I left it alone.
I have two 9.6volt 3000mah NiMH RC battery sticks (two batteries plus fast charger for ~$55 from www.batteryspace.com) that give me quite a bit of operating time. I'd originally bought these for my FT-817, but they last even longer on the IC-703.
Also, the MFJ-4103 tiny switcher I use with my FT-817 works great with the IC-703. My MFJ-4103 is very quiet, and the 2.89 amp max output runs my IC-703 at the full 10- watts. I modified the MFJ-4103 AC cord by cutting it down to about 6-inches in length (don't need a 6-foot cord since the output DC cable on the MFJ-4103 is long). This makes for a very compact 13.8V power supply. I also cut-off the 5.1mm DC connector on the MFJ-4103 and replaced it with a PowerPole connector.
I shortened the IC-703 DC power cord significantly. I removed the fuse clips and snipped off the cable from the ends going to the rig. I opened up the large part of the crimps and removed all the wire and insulation. Then I cut the wires from the DC connector to about 6 inches, stripped the ends (about 1/8") and crimped and soldered these back onto the fuse clips. I put PowerPole connectors on the DC input, and if I ever need a longer cable, I have PowerPole extensions.
Anyway, great radio!
Phil - AD5X |
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| G3XBM |
Rating:      |
2004-10-07 | |
| Good rig |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| An excellent all round HF and 6m rig. The internal auto-ATU, DSP and speech processing make it a fine QRP radio. RX performance is on a par with my old FT7 and that is saying something. Worked some nice DX on 6m too this summer into N.Africa and all over Eu with just a small vertical. |
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| K6SBA |
Rating:      |
2004-10-01 | |
| My Favorite Portable/QRP Radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I really enjoy the challenges of operating portable. I own, or have owned, an FT-817, Elecraft K2, FT-897D and the Icom 703. Whenever I pack a bag to go portable, my first choice is now the IC-703. I understand why Icom may want to discontinue the radio in favor of the 703+, however 6-meters is of no interest to me. The receiver features on the 703 are great. The DSP is an excellent AF based DSP. It is not a contest radio (such as the receiver on the K2), but that's not what I do when I am portable. The 703's tuner is very impressive. I use a 12-ft collapsable whip on a tripod, along with eight 10-ft. radial wires and I easily tune everything from 30-m up. If I put my LDG Z-100 tuner in between the radio and the whip, I get full 80-10 coverage.
Almost every modern rig has problems. How about the keyclicks on the MP MKV or the failures with the 746PRO? How easy are these to fix at home? By spending ten minutes (and no money) on the 703, the two "major" problems can be readily fixed. Buy the rig, do the simple mods and don't look back!
It simply amazes me what $400 will buy.
73 de K6SBA
David in Santa Barbara CA |
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| W2DI |
Rating:     |
2004-10-01 | |
| A couple problems but a great radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Yes the '703 has 2 inherent problems... the 'floating' key ground and the reported high number of driver failures. For that reason I cannot give it a 'five.' But the performance of the radio is excellent and the amount of features packed in this little unit is extraordinary. The built-in tuner is amazing and will tune the '703 to antennas you wouldn't expect it to.
Now, both problems are easiy fixed either by Icom, who seem more than willing to modify the rig for you, or by the user, by adjusting a small pot and soldering a wire from the key jack to ground. The information is easily found on user internet group sites and many have purchased the radio, done the mods right out of the box and enjoyed the radio very much.
Is it a good thing to have these problems? No, but many, many other fine radios have had design flaws.
The Yaesu 817 is a great radio, which I owned and enjoyed. But many owners experienced final amp failures. This radio, consistantly gets good reviews despite the problem. Yet, I have never seen a proposed fix posted anywhere to avoid the problem. Many owners have purchased a replacement final unit 'just in case.' And most, as with the '703, never had the unit fail at all.
I've also had a Yaesu VX-7R. Its a beautiful and solidly built radio that you can literally submerge in water. The radio has a wonderful amount of features, but the low audio, due to a waterproof microphone membrane and the very loud CTCSS tones are both troublesome and annoying. You can remove the membrane to get fuller audio but then don't put the radio in a bucket of water. There is really nothing the user can do about the loud tones but Yaesu says they can 'reduce' the levels if you send it to them.
Im' not picking on Yaesu. These are just a couple examples of design errors. I don't like, as I'm sure no one else likes, spending a lot of hard earned money for something that is flawed. But it happens.
I purchased the '703 when it was over 6 bills but I still think it's an excellent radio. Thanks to many skilled and capable amateurs sharing their knowledge, this radio, when fixed, is five stars IMO.
Uninformed comments are jokes, not well intended opinions.
Best to all - Joe, W2DI
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| G4SJP |
Rating:      |
2004-09-29 | |
| Fantastic! but... ? |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Not sure about the rating. As others have remarked, it's not good to have to open the rig up before using it (although for many people probably not even necessary) in order to do the bias voltage check, and the key socket modification. In my case the bias voltage was not overly high but I reduced it slightly nevertheless. The modification to the key socket was trivial and although it should not have to be done, it SHOULD BE well within the capability of any self-respecting ham!
However, with that done, the rig is most certainly worth a 5 rating! It is an absolute joy to use, especially in comparison with the FT817 it has replaced in my portable bag. The transmitted audio sounds excellent and the receiver has the feel of one costing far more. It's a pity that the cw filter is so expensive however.
All in all, I'm delighted with it. It's a shame though that Icom tarnishes its reputation with sloppy quality control and minor design issues. |
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| AC5DF |
Rating:      |
2004-09-28 | |
| I love this radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Had the 703 for about 3 weeks now. Had to turn the bias down. Read about .67.. Turned down to .50 volts. The recieve is fantastic. I have made several nice contacts on it. They cant believe I am only doing 10 watts. Very fun radio. I keep it on my desk in my office. Brought it home.... missed it ... took it back to the office. The built in tuner is very very fast and works great.... I did the mars mod.. "be careful" this stuff is getting smaller every day...73 |
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