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Reviews For: ICOM IC-756 Pro III

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

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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
KW6T Rating: 2007-10-22
Great Rig Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I work mainly SSB and PSK-31. With my hearing problems, the Pro-III's filters are a godsend. I get excellent audio reports as well.

The band scope: Once you try it, you'll be hooked! Whether you are or are not a fan of Icom, they batted a home run with this rig.
KB3RMX Rating: 2007-10-11
LOW POWER ON AUDIO Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've owned this rig for about 6 months now and in my opinion I have to say that this is the best rig on the market. Filters are great, great audio tx and rx, nice display - everything is nice on this radio, but the power on audio. Seems like I can only get out about 65-75 what out on my audio when I am on ssb. When I whistle into mic I do get 100% power, maybe its my voice. Compressor and alc is set right, but still power is only about 75% on ssb. Digital and cw modes give me a full 100%. Does anyone else have this problem? Well anyway, still a nice rig.
N9GRG Rating: 2007-09-26
An excellent radio - this one's a keeper Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've owned many radios and built a few Elecraft K2s. This radio is by far the best of the bunch. It has excellent receive capabilities, better DSP than the IC-746Pro (another great radio and my 2nd favorite) and great ergonomics. The DSP IF is outstanding. Being a CW and PSK operator, I can easily adjust the filter down to 50hz to block out all QRM and there's very little ringing. The noise reduction really works great and makes the noisy bands tolerable and the weak signals easier to copy.

Many of the other lower-end radios I had were good radios but didn't have that umph needed to do great DX work. The K2s I had were outstanding radios, but not fun or easy to use regularly. The IC-746Pro I had was a outstanding radio that's powerful and compares very closely to the IC-756ProIII, but this radio is the all-around winner for me.

This radio has lots of features that I will not go over here as there are too many. The screen is very nice and, I believe, the future of all radios where power consumpton is not an issue. The spectrum scope is what made this my favorite over the others. With this radio you get outstanding performance, powerful QRM and QRN fighting tools a great, informative screen and a scope to easily search and pounce for that DX signal.

If you can't afford this radio, then get the IC-746Pro but consider it carefully. You'll probably end up with the IC-756ProIII in the end so why not save up and go straight to it?
ZS2VJJ Rating: 2007-09-14
Very good rig Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
IC756PROIII is a beautiful rig from all points of view with the exception of “talking power” that, I believe, is low in the whole IC756 family. A wattmeter’s needle in PEP mode deflects within 40-50 W with a compressor ON. At the same time my IC751A and IC765 produce solid 70-75 W under the same conditions. Of course, these data are given for my particularly voice.

In my PROIII it is very easy to observe why the talking power is low. A Multi-function Digital Meter with P-Hold ON shows full 100 W scale when I whistle into a microphone, but Peak power never reach this 100 W level while talking. During talking 100 W peak power should be achieved that enables taking power of 60-70 W to be obtained.

I have fixed a similar problem in IC706’s and IC718. Unfortunately, I have not identified any possible adjustments to improve talking power in IC756PROIII. I believe that it is a DSP firmware solution only.

73!
W2ATO Rating: 2007-09-01
Exactly as advertised. Time Owned: N.A.
I owne both the IC-756Pro III and the IC-7800.
I have no fault to find with either one.
The Pro III does not lack sensitivity on any band and the band display is excellent.
K8OCN Rating: 2007-09-01
I am happy with mine Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have been getting active again, change in my work now allows me to work from home 90% of the time so my office is also my shack.
I still have not got my tower and beam up but purchased a ICOM 756 Pro III only my second NEW HF rig in my 30 years of hamming, I still have my original Icom 735 I purchased new (I normally buy used on eBay).
I am not a expert so I am only giving my experience, take it for what its worth. I have fell in love with 6 meters on this rig. We have a local group of guys that have just gotten 10 meter SSB privileges and they are on every night. Its hard to judge a rig on receive when operating DX because there is the variation of the band conditions but with the local group its all ground wave. My 756ProIII is easier to be able to hear the guys way out than my Icom 746 Pro or the Yaesu 897D.
Normal operation like on 80 meters SSB at night the filters really help me out. The bigest reason I purchased this (to me) expensive rig is those filters, I have a hard time understanding what is being heard in the noise on SSB and I have been very pleased with the rig and it was worth every penny. If you have better hearing the filters may not be as important to you but for me it is worth it!
I also like that the transmitter is rated at 100% duty cycle, important to guys like me that are a little long winded and run PSK31, I dont have to worry anymore about transmitting to long on the digital modes.
Don't get me wrong, I like my Yaesu's I have purchased used but I find the Icoms easer to use with less operations via menus and more direct buttons that I don't have to dig through a menu to tweek something.
All in all I think this rig is a good value and I can only hope it gives me as good and long of service as I have enjoyed from my Icom 735. I paid just under 1000$ for the 735 at Dayton in the early 90's in todays money (every 7 years stuff doubles) that 735 would me 3000$ and I only paid 2699 and this rig has a LOG more than the 735 did.
What I have noticed is the electronics prices have came down and the antenna prices are way up but that for another post I guess.
73's Delbert McCord KA8OCN
VK3MDD Rating: 2007-09-01
highly recommended Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Since 1989 ive owned at least a dozen different hf transceivers. My two favorite radios are the 1000mp V and the pro 3. Admittably these 2 are the most expensive. I also felt that for value for money the ic746 is also a good performer,but not in the same class. The pro3 has all the features i want, is easy to use, and is excellent on rx and tx. It pays to tailor it to your requirements via its easy menu system. Im a ssb dx man mainly. The real time spectrum scope is extremely useful,and the dsp noise filtering gives this radio an edge over other transceivers that dont have these features.Good quality ,intuitive menu,super quick atu, & just a great all round radio. I should of bought one earlier!
G4WKH Rating: 2007-08-17
very good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It does everything its supposed to do very well but it is more suited to a left-hander
WA7SCH Rating: 2007-08-15
Worth the Upgrade Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Just upgraded from a Pro II to a Pro III.
I have been a Pro II user for a couple of years and before that an IC 761 user for many.

I noticed right away how the pro III seemed quieter then the II and also the filters seem to work a bit better. Where I really noticed it though is when a nearby ham came on and I couldn't here his key clicks in the receiver. He's about a mile away and we both have KW's. The Pro III makes him disappear where the II just couldn't quite do it. I never really noticed him with the 761.

In short, having had the rig for a bit, it is a little complicated but I do love that screen. Wish I could afford a 7800 but not this year and so, this will probably do me well for a while.
TF3JB Rating: 2007-08-13
The ICOM IC-756PROIII: a highly recommended transceiver Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I recently purchased a new IC-756PROIII transceiver. This is my first ICOM radio although I’ve been licensed over 33 years (and during which time I’ve mostly owned Yaesu equipment). Consequently, it took me a while to decide on the PROIII, in particular since I had set out to begin with to buy an FT 2000. Nevertheless, after extensive research as well as having the opportunity to try these transceivers out in person (on a business trip to Germany), I finally made up my mind to go for the PROIII.

I have now used the PROIII for about 3 months and am happy to report that I am extremely pleased. It works very well and is a joy to operate. Somehow it feels like the Icom people have a different philosophy towards design of their equipment. This translates into operating ease, smoothness, and a sense of quality, which means that operating the PROIII is easy and effortless. I like how each and every knob’s function is well thought out and also that there are no layers of menus to get lost in. The layout of the front panel is elegant and the real time spectrum display is awesome! In my opinion, the display adds a new dimension to operating pleasure.

The receiver is sensitive and selective as well as very quiet (with a low noise floor). The two RF preamplifiers are indispensable (e.g. on 17 meters and above). The general passband tuning is one of a kind and the twin PBT feature works very well. This is also the first time I’ve had a noise blanker that really works (and is adjustable). The notch is also extremely useful, i.e. both the “auto” and the “manual” functions. I also like that the AGC time constants are user adjustable.

The PROIII is a dream machine on CW. The QSK function is excellent: soft, efficient and hardly noticeable. However, I do not use the internal keyer; I still use my sturdy ETM 4-C external squeeze keyer. For microphone I use the Heil PRO 40 along with the W2IHY duo, i.e. the 8 Band Equalizer and the EQplus; and I get excellent reports on the audio quality, using the wide bandwidth (i.e. 100 – 2900 Hz). For external speakers, I chose the Palstar SP 30 (yes – I have two, one to each side of the transceiver) since the Icom SP 23 does not get good reviews here on eHam.net and I felt the SP 20 was too expensive.

For conclusion, I wish to say that I consider the PROIII to be of excellent value for the money. Admittedly it is rather expensive, but so are transceivers in this class. I’m glad that I decided to buy one. The best thing is that with Icom you get what you pay for. I can recommend the PROIII to all hams.

73 de TF2JB.