| K7LZR |
Rating:  |
2022-01-06 | |
| Wonderful vintage transceiver |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
This radio is a true pleasure to use. The unit which I have was advertised as a parts-or-repair unit and so I took a chance and bought it.
After some serious troubleshooting, repair & alignment, I emerged with a nicely working IC-745 :).
I've certainly had my share of newer, digital everything rigs and they all worked fine. But the IC-745 is very much a refreshing step back from today's staggering array of choices, menus & touch screens. The IC-745 was released in 1983, some 38 years ago as of this writing, and so it has none of those things.
What it does offer is very good transmit & receive performance, along with easy and intuitive operation. The receiver is quiet and sensitive. Selectivity is good, and can be made even better with optional filters. The rig also offers general coverage receive from 100khz to 30mhz, which was not common at the time. Transmit is stable and powerful, and I always get unsolicited good audio reports.
The IC-745 also has some noteworthy features - 1) Truly variable AGC using a continuously variable control rather than simply switching between predefined time constants as is usually the case. 2) Separate RX antenna port and RX antenna output port. Not only is a separate RX antenna port provided, but also a connection to the antenna in RX only. Extreme versatility for use with a separate RX antenna and/or a 2nd receiver. 3) A separate LF (Low Frequency) antenna input which is automatically activated when the radio is tuned to 1600khz and below. For MW and LF users, this is a fantastic feature as it allows use of a dedicated antenna for those frequencies.
These are features which are not found on most of today's rigs.
And unlike most of today's radios which all look alike, the IC-745 is an attractive piece of equipment. It has character. The large analog meter is beautiful, and the fluorescent frequency display is bright and clear. Controls are clearly labeled and look very nice. Overall, it gives the impression of a serious piece of equipment with a nice, sort of militaristic look.
Build quality is excellent, as with most sets of the time from Icom, Kenwood & Yaesu. Circuit boards are top-notch quality, and components are very well marked. Service information is also excellent, and most of the internal parts are still available either new or new-old-stock. I feel confident that I can repair most any issue with this radio. Its a nice feeling. If something goes poof in my newer rigs, I must send them out for repair.
To sum, I think that the IC-745 is still a great transceiver even today, and as I said earlier, a pleasure to use. If you find one and it is working or repairable, I think that you will like it too :).
|
|
| N4UE |
Rating: |
2019-06-20 | |
| Wonderful old rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
OK, I admit to being an Icom 'fanboy', although I have LOTS of other brand radios.
I recently updated my main operating position and my Icom 761 and 745 had to go into storage,
I bought my 745 new, back 'in the day' and it has been an excellent performer.
Sure it doesn't have all the eye candy of the new radios like my TS-890, but how much do you need to communicate?
My first surprise concerning how good the 745 receiver was came when I hand carried a new (the week it was announced) 756PRO back from Tokyo.
At times, my QTH has horrible powerline RFI noise. I found the NB on the PRO to be completely ineffective, however, the older 745 and 761 could eliminate the noise 100%. wth?
I 'heard' the NB in the PROII and PROIII were improved.
The 745 is a excellent radio for new hams and I was kinda sad to see it put into storage....
ron
N4UE |
|
| SV9DRU |
Rating: |
2018-09-14 | |
| Factory mistakes uncovered |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Very nice rig, provided 2 AGC mistakes are corrected. I have recently discovered and solved them, transforming the radio from a "noisy" or better tiring RX to one with excellent intelligibility audio.
I feel (and the ARRL data show it) the Rx is better than the one in the IC-751A due to lower synthesizer noise. This was achieved by deriving the 2nd LO from a crystal oscillator circuit instead of indirect synthesis.
Its design is directly derived from the one in the IC-740, with its well recognized excellent Rx performance.
The trade off from this design though, is the overall frequency stability, which depends on 3 different sources being in sync i.e. the 1st LO, the 2nd LO and the BFO crystals ! Not a simple task.
Another issue with the frequency stability, not easily solved, is its dependence on the PA fan cycling on-off during TX.
Covering the 1st and 2nd LO crystals with a thermally insulating material helps a lot but does not ameliorate the problem.
In my experience, changing the 2nd LO trimmer with a lower value one while substituting the parallel NPO cap with a higher value, just made things worse. It seems that the inherent negative temperature coefficient of a higher value (ceramic) trimmer is needed, in order to offset the temp. induced crystal frequency excursions.
Putting the frequency stability issue aside, after the proper AGC mods (fixes), the radio can show its true virtues !
I have prepared a detailed article with the description of the above mentioned mods and service tips. It has been submitted to eham (not yet published), but can also be sent to anyone interested upon request (sv9dru@hotmail.com).
73 to all and keep those soldering irons warm!
Marinos, sv9dru / ki4gin |
|
| W0RDX |
Rating: |
2018-06-11 | |
| Great Buy Today! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Radio has all the features an op needs today (minus DSP). 160-10, SSB/CW/FM/Digital. Easy to use, great receiver and you can get them today for under $400. If you find one, get one. Don't need to replace the trimmer caps unless you have problems, and using the Piexx board will keep the memories intact at a low cost. |
|
| WB9VKM |
Rating: |
2018-02-25 | |
| Prefered over new rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have a IC730 and IC 7200 to compare to.The 745 is much more sensitive to the others and the reports I get back is it is LOUD,even been accused of running a amp when barefoot.Radio has been gone thru ,the memory board replaced ,trimmer caps replaced and aligned to specs with 110 watts thru a bird. |
|
| N2MDV |
Rating: |
2017-01-11 | |
| A great classic rig! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| After trying out my Bro-in-law's famed IC-R71, I knew that the IC-745 was the R-71 with a TX in it. So, when a friend of mine had his IC-745 up for sale, I jumped on it. This one came with the FM board. Love that big Icom S/RF meter, and still looks great with a white LED behind it now. This rig has pulled out so may tough catches whether it be HAM, utility, number, pirate, or TIS, stations. Yeah, I could hear tough catches with my Kenwood TS-2000X, but with the Icom IC-745 I could enjoyably listen to them. This has also been a great Field Day rig. Just with the stock mic and running barefoot, if you hear them, this rig works them. And the great RX sensitivity is spec'ed with the preamp OFF, unlike the specs of most of today's rigs. (That has always bugged me about today's rigs.) The RX preamp is an extra +20dB and it makes the difference. The minuses of this rig? While it doesn't sound bad, an Icom, sounds like an Icom, sounds like an Icom. You get AM RX, but no AM TX, and not many rigs around 1983 offered that anyway. This rig bottoms out power-wise to 10W. QRP 5W, or less would be nice. And yes, that Volatile RAM CPU has to be dealt with. I went with Piexx, and after getting two boards with the wrong CPU software, the 3rd board came with the JMP's wrong. That, I was able to fix and keep this classic rig rockin'. So, if you go the Piexx Boards way, put their noses to the fire and make sure you get the right software and JMP's correct. Oh!!! Another plus is you use WWV 10MHz to keep your main OSC FREQ correct with this rig in a FREQ procedure. Very nice!!!!!! |
|
| W1XYZ |
Rating: |
2016-11-04 | |
| Superb even today |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've owned my IC-745 since it was new. I have the internal PS, the FM board, nonvolatile memory and the AM transmit mod done. The only problem I have had was a microprocessor failure that required swapping out one IC, which Icom provided for free. It was easy. I've worked over 315 countries with this rig on 10M and find the receiver is tight, easily and quickly optimized via front panel controls and it has an excellent noise blanker. Quick QSY is easy as is fast A=B to split operation. It outperforms the IC-746 on the ham bands with lower noise floor and better selectivity, and the IC-706MKII. If something fails I can easily fix it, since there are mostly discrete components with easy access and well laid out boards. The display is bright and easy to read, and the internal PSU makes no noise, is stiff, and easy to reconfigure to various voltages such as 115 and 230. I believe I will keep this one until the end of ham radio or of me, whichever comes first. |
|
| K5ZG |
Rating: |
2013-07-31 | |
| REALLY NICE RIG |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
HAD ONE WHEN THEY FIRST CAME OUT...LOVED IT AND THEN SOLD IT AND MOVED UP TO IC751A..NOT MUCH DIFF. GOT ANOTHER ONE YRS LATER AND LOVED IT...USED AS IF STRIP ON 6 AND 2 METERS...REALLY GREAT FOR THAT WITH XVERTER...SOLD IT....NOW RUN THE PRO 3 AND SAW USED MINT 745 ON EBAY..GOT IT. PUT IN INRAD FILTERS AND PIEXX MOD...WAS AT KC0HH HOUSE FOR THE CQ 160CW TEST AND USED THIS RIG WITH HIS AMP AND ANTENNA...HAD FORGOTTEN HOW WONDERFUL THE PBT AND IF SHIFT WERE..REALLY TIGHT FILTERS WITH NO BLOWBY LIKE ON THE ORIGINAL 751 (NOT THE A). I REMEMBER PUTTING A 745 IN THE NOISY PICKUP TRUCK AND THE NOISE BLANKER TOOK OUT 20PLUS DB NOISE WITH NO DEGRADED SIGNAL. THINK ILL DO IT AGN. ONLY OTHER BLANKER THAT WAS ANY GOOD WAS THE DRAKE TR4 WITH PNB4 BLANKER. NO DEGREDATION OF SIGNAL. WOULD THINK WITH OUR TECHNOLOGY TODAY SOMEONE WOULD HAVE A REAL BLANKER THAT WOULD WORK AND NOT DEGRADE SIGS.
THERE IS NO ULTIMATE RIG AND FOR 40 YRS PLUS I CHASED IT WITH EFFORT AND LOTS OF MONEY..AM DONE NOW. SLICK LITTLE STRAIT FWD RIG WITH GREAT RX. IM 99%CW BUT FOLKS LIKE EVEN MY HORRIFIC MONOTONE BASE VOICE ON THE 745. |
|
| N6MYA |
Rating: |
2012-12-05 | |
| Excellent radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Bought this radio with the internal power supply for $275.00 at a swap meet. Sold the internal power supply for $150.00. Bought a Piexx RAM board for $59.00. Had the VCO and 2nd LO trimmers replaced with ceramic units and rig aligned for $111.00. Did the 'brown wire mod' and the radio transmits anywhere, including the new 60 meter band. This radio is about the best i have used. Used to have an IC-740 that was excellent, but could not work the new 60 meter band. Used to have a Ten-Tec 'factory' OMNI VI+ with the roofing filter and ALL of the IF filters. This one WAS the best i've ever had, but again, could not work 60 meters.
Love this IC-745 and always get excellent reports with the SM-6 mic. |
|
| XE3LW |
Rating: |
2011-12-17 | |
| Great Rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The 745 was my first Icom Rig.
I had mine with most of the accesories and filters.
Noisy synthesizer. But Very good receiver.
I really loved its military style. |
|
