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Reviews For: Icom IC-703

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

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-703
Reviews: 181MSRP: 400.00
Description:
QRP HF and 6 Meter all mode radio. Comes standard with Antenna Tuner, DSP, Keyer, Memory Keyer, Power Conservasion system.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/703/default.a
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001814.3
KJ4DX Rating: 2008-11-03
Can't find anything wrong with it .... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned and run this rig thru its paces now for 9 months. I bring it on business trips. I run a yo-yo antena from one wall of my hotel room to the other. Then tune it up and operate !! I sit there and pull in quite a number of DX stations and stateside contacts. It has never even blipped and has given 100% satisfaction... and I'm ornery and hard-to-please.
KC8HXO Rating: 2008-09-14
Still a 5, folks! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had mine for over 2 years now. Early model, non-plus. No failures of any kind. (I had updates done under warranty, and I guess they work.) I never run it over 5 watts, and always on battery at under 13 volts. Maybe that is why mine hasn't failed??? I would buy another, if this one died. Guess that says it all.

Greg, KC8HXO
WN4DW Rating: 2008-08-24
Best QRP rig going Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this rig on ebay for less than 400 bucks including shipping. When it arrived I opened it up and checked to see if the mods had been done and found they hadn't. I did the mods. Very easy. I've now owned the rig for about two years. All this time during the solar low and I've worked VK's, ZL's, and even vp6dx with 5 watts. It got me the QRP DXCC award.
Just what is not to like about this rig?
You have one and want to shoot, shoot it over to me. I love this little rig.
ZS1JHG Rating: 2008-08-24
Great QRP Radio Time Owned: N.A.
A great radio for QRP/Portable use. I built mine into plywood box with 7amp/h battery.Use at 5 watt QRP level. The combination of super built in tuner and low battery drain plus remote face plate with mic attachment is unmatched. For portable use I attach the faceplate to a wooden clipboard and radio ,antenna battery all fit into my backpack.For the outdoor fun this is the
radio to own. Have used a FT817,display VERY small,no tuner and finals blew.Thumbs up to the
Icom 703.
N7CAV Rating: 2008-08-23
BFC Club - Failure... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It still earns a 1/5 because the RX is still working. Transmitters blew... at ten watts?!

This radio is a failure. It's going to eat some hollowpoints tomorrow at dawn.

ICOM - You have failed me and many, many others...

If you buy this raido after reading so much evidence on how faulty it is - you are a failure.
OZ1CQQ Rating: 2008-08-17
Very good tranceiver Time Owned: N.A.
I have had many radioes. I have worked many contries. This radio is perfect for listening, with a very good receiver and very good DSP. 10 watt is ok for me.
KD3JF Rating: 2008-06-19
Great Radio Time Owned: N.A.
I have had the 703 Plus for 2 months and it is a jewel. The receiver is wonderful and much better than the 706MKIIG for which I am thankful. The tuner is very good. All I do is hit the Mike button and it automatically tunes the rig.

I am not a CW only operator although I do CW 90% of the time. I get on 75 meters in the evening and have no problem working the round tables with 10 watts on SSB. I frequently go to Fort McHenry on Saturdays and use the MP1 vertical. With my KX1 and 2.5 watts out on 20 meters I rarely was able to work anyone on CW. With the 10 watts on CW I can work just about anyone I can hear.
Paul Gates, KD3JF
W4KG Rating: 2008-06-14
Nice Rig Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This rig rates a 5! Icom has a winner and I only wish I had this one first.
I run mine with a Diamond BB7V vertical from my portable shack. The QSO's that I have made were from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Most contacts don't believe that it is just a small 10 W rig.
On the CW end of things all the adjustments are what you expect from Icom. The Menu options and ease of use are first rate. If you are just getting into HF and want to have fun with QRP, this is the rig for you. The first contacts from the QTH were on a MFJ 40/80 M dipole at 60', the first night the ionosphere gods were working in my favor and I worked several states, Canada, South America & the Caribbean Islands on phone and CW.
G4PNF Rating: 2008-03-10
going to be a keeper! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Here are my initial impressions of this rig after a month of use. The more I use this little beauty the more I love it. I purchased mine second hand but ‘as new ‘ from a UK dealer and installed the Inrad 250 Hz filter (which even with UK customs etc works out considerably cheaper than the Icom equivalent) and this has turned it into a seriously good CW rig. For portable operation I made up a battery pack using 10 high capacity nimh AA batteries and (given the impressive low current drain of this rig) this has given me quite a decent period of operation with 5 watts RF output. It is very impressive the way the 703 can handle such a range of voltage. It needs something a bit more robust to give 10 watts for any reasonable length of time but I have had loads of cw contacts on 5 watts using a simple long wire antenna. The CW performance is excellent and monitoring the keyed RF out with an external RX confirms this. The SSB audio reports I have received are also excellent using the standard mike. I had an FT 817 for a little while and though comparisons between such different beasts are a bit unfair, to me the 703 seems to be in a different league, this is a ‘proper’ radio and a delight to use. The menu system is relatively simple and making the normal adjustments becomes fairly intuitive after a little while. The IC 703 has the feel of a quality bit of kit. I think it is definitely going to be a keeper!
AB7DP Rating: 2008-01-26
Great QRP Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am still practicing my CW but I am amazed at what I can work with only 10 Watts on SSB with the IC-703 Plus ! I especially like this radio because of the built-in DSP, Speech Processing, Antenna Tuner, easy to ready display, and that it has 10 Watts output. It integrates well with other other components such as microphones and the LC-156 pack lets me take it outside when the weather is nice and operate portable with a NiHM 13.8 Volt Battery.