Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: ICOM IC-756 Pro III

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-756 Pro III
Reviews: 229MSRP: 2700
Description:
IC-756 PRO III HF/50MHz All Mode Transceiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http:// http://www.icomamerica.com/products/amateur/756proIII/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
002294.8
K6ZTA Rating: 2008-01-17
One of the best radios you can buy for under $3K Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just a few comments:
1) QSK (full-breakin) is great, but I do hear in the Rx audio a slight click at the start of each dit or dah, & a little mini-squelch-tail after each dit or dah. Kinda like the agc is having a little trouble keeping up with the on-off-on switching.
2) Wish the spectrum scope's sweep (refresh) was faster so it could keep up with the CW. That would be hard at >35 wpm, but even 20 wpm would be better than it is now.
3) I know this is the 21st century, but after having the Pro III for 2 months, I have a strong desire to tune across the CW bands with a 75A4 just to hear once more the beautiful sounds coming thru that analog chain.
IW1QN Rating: 2008-01-09
Very Good Radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I use the ProIII from September.
I buy ProIII because is a good RTX and a lot Function like DVK (for Contest Operation), RTTY (Decode Rx and TX), ecc.
The Quality of the receiver is very good and also with strong Signal there isn't problem.
Very good in all condition, in Contest, the DigitalVoiceKeyer integrated in the ProIII is very interesting.
Very Good Rtx with a very Good RX.
I' m very satisfied.
IK0YKM Rating: 2008-01-09
Wonderful radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've Icom IC-756PRO III for two weeks now and everything on it works as advertised.
As compared to my Yaesu FT-1000 Mark V and my Yaesu FT-1000D , the radio is much smaller and lighter. It reminds me more of a mobile rig than a base. All the knobs are much smaller than the Mark V’s. The writing on the panel is very small.
Great modulation with the original handle microphon (or desk), selectivity, sensitivity, numerous features that really work. I love the real-time scope, especially for 40 meters. The filtering options are awesome. I'm rating this rig on it's overall performance, not one item like the "S" meter. Great job in RTTY (RX and TX)
The receiver has so good noise properties and the noise rejection really works very well, giving such a comfortable listening experience.
Conclusion, the Pro 3 is a great “little” radio. If you have the money, you will enjoy using the Pro3. It is a marvel of miniaturization. However, I do not think any more to
my old and big FT-1000D...
Very 73’s de Henk IK0YKM
XE1CT Rating: 2007-11-26
Good one Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
HI to all, I used to use an FT-1000MP but since I live in a noisy place I have difficult to enjoy HF. I got the P3 based on the eham reviews and the comments posted on the P3 yahoo group.

Low noise! good!, main reason to move to Icom, now I can enjoy CW without pain in my ears.
I have been using the radio for the last 3 months, did RTTY, SSB and CW contest. The radio performs very well on the contest environment, having the band scope is a plus in any contest.

What I like,
The scope, nice to see the band activity without dialing.
Low RX noise.
Continuous duty, as I always contesting low power I don’t have to worry any more.
Great audio, RX and TX.
NB and NR work better than my last radio; the NB eliminates a noise that the MP didn’t.
Excellent filtering.


What I don’t like,
Some tiny buttons!
You can ear the NB working but you can not see it in the scope, it will be nice to see on the scope when the raspy sound is gone. Scope is useless for weak reception when there is noise.
No PC connection built in, cheaper radios have one.
RTTY operation still needs a PC, yes it does have a memories but you can’t send the others call and pleasantries without a computer.
Low SSB TX power, I use 3 different radios and 2 different meters on this test and the other 2 radios deliver 100 watts but the P3 only 90 watts. The radios were all equal on CW.

The radio fills all my needs.

Sergio, xe1ct.
AE4TO Rating: 2007-11-22
Beautiful inside out!!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Having compared this radio to the direct competitors by actual playing with these radios.I can say that the radio is very sensitive,nice build in filters, can handle big antennas on the low bands, so a strong receiver ,tuner is fast and works on different antennas, able to dig weak signal out of the mud, very good qsk, very good audio, easy to use and a beautiful display. It beats the competitors hands down. If you are looking for a excellent and very capable radio do not look any where else.
K9IUQ Rating: 2007-11-16
The Standard Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I owned the Pro II for several years and really like it. A couple months ago I got a PRO III. There is little difference in performance between the two. Both are excellent radios. While considering buying the Pro III I also considered the FT-2000 and TT Omni-7. I joined both yahoo groups for these radios and did much researching.

Ultimately I decided that neither of those radios are in the same league as an Icom Pro II/III. It was an easy decision. There simply is not a better performing radio under USD $3000. Also the Pro series have been proven (and improved) for many years and doesn't not have the growing pains and problems that the Ft-2000 and Omni 7 suffer from.
W4KPA Rating: 2007-11-14
Great Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
There isn't really much to add to the pile of positive reviews this radio has already received. The Pro 3 represented a significant step up the food chain for me, and I haven't been disappointed. The receiver performance is substantially better than anything I've ever owned before, and the operating convenience is just outstanding. The learning curve on it is not nearly as steep as I anticipated. The rig is a lot more intuitive than I expected. I really like the way ICOM keeps a radio in its line up long enough to work out the bugs. This one is worth every penny.
OE6MDF Rating: 2007-11-14
Outstanding performance Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I sold my 2 month old FT2000 with financial lost and replaced it by a PRO3.
OK, Pro3 has no sub receiver, power supply and interface built in, and is more expensive than the FT2000 but the PRO3 works perfect. No bad surprises so far hi.
Very good receiver, great working DSP!
First I was sceptic about the bandscope (how good does it works..), but if you get used to it you will not miss it in future. My mini scope is mostly on.
N1DZ Rating: 2007-11-11
Close to perfect. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio is close to perfect for CW and SSB operation.
My operating style is mostly tuning in search of DX. I enjoy the low bands 40/80/160 and have a good antenna park for those bands. I work both CW and SSB and am very critical of receiver performance. Not just the numbers but also how does it "sound and operate".
The Pro III receiver is outstanding. Transceivers that I tried here in the shack and did not make the cut are the Ten-Tec Omni VII, Orion II and the FT2000. The ProIII is a far better overal transceiver. Period.

What I like about the ProIII.
Simple operation. To fight QRM I generally have to push only one button or turn one knob.
No need to constantly tweak for the best AGC settings or adjust the RF gain constantly. It just works.
The Noise reduction is excellent. The best I have worked with. I always leave it on as it makes the receive noise sound very pleasant w/o affecting readibility. The NR does not sound hollow as on other rigs.
Noise blanker works very well on my local noise.
Great filters. Yes a button works better than a rotary knob. Who needs to cycle through 50 different filters. Really a selection of 3 is sufficient.
Very good AGC. No DSP induced popping or pumping on the lower bands under high QRN levels.
Beautiful display that can be read from all angles.
Bandscope is useful but not as good as the Flexradio SDR-1000.
Small size radio with good size buttons and knobs. Yes I do think that radios need knobs. I have a SDR-1000 which has an outstanding receiver but the mouse interface is just aweful.

The only negative I have is that the average TX output in SSB seems lower than on my non DSP radios.
I might have been overdriving my other radios all those years as I still get through on SSB with the Pro III. The audio reports are very good.
K3AQ Rating: 2007-10-28
Tips on SSB power output Time Owned: N.A.
I really love the Pro3. It is just the slickest radio I have ever owned. I have noticed the lower power output seemingly on SSB though from day one. After many hours of experimenting with different arrangements I think I am finally happy with the average power output and also the audio quality. I found that by using no compression, the voice peaks easily hit the 100w pep range. This also takes a mic with clean and high output. I use a Heil pr20. Many others will do fine as well. Forget about the hc5 or hc4, they don't have the drive for the Pro series. The audio is much better sounding as well without the compression on. Now for what really does the trick. The heil mic is preamped through a W2ihy 8 band eq. This gives the mic more than enough drive and really gives you capability to adjust the mic audio to fit your voice. There are many eq's on the market, so find one you like and give it a try. If you don't have a external eq, adjust the internal settings in the level control menu to your liking. Do yourself a favor and listen to yourself on another reciever in the shack as you make adjustments. Small changes in equalizer settings make huge differences sometimes. It's important to hear yourself on a seperate reciever to hear if you sound natural, otherwise bad audio reports will follow. You will notice that your Pro 3 will sound like a totally different rig. It just opens right up audio wise. Unlike some rigs the Pro 3 is really picky when it comes to getting it to sound like you want it to and also have good punchy audio. But it is possible and when you finally hit the sweet spot, right down your settings and don't forget them. So, turn off that compressor, get a good desk mic, a audio eq/preamp and experiment, experiment, experiment.