ICOM IC-7000 Review By Phil Salas AD5X
ICOMs new IC-7000 has more features/cubic inch than any other compact transceiver on the market. Introduction Like many of you, Ive been following the introduction of the ICOM IC-7000 over the past year. Ive owned an IC-706MKIIG since 1999, and it has served me extremely well over these past seven years both in mobile and portable applications. I have also owned an IC-703 for over a year, and have been well-pleased with this transceiver as well. So when I was asked if Id be interested in reviewing the IC-7000, I jumped at the chance. Not only so I could have a chance to evaluate this new transceiver, but also so I could answer two questions: First how does the receiver of the IC-7000 compare to the receivers of the IC-706MKIIG and the IC-703 under the same band conditions? And second is it time for me to upgrade my IC-706MKIIG to an IC-7000? First Look Right out of the box you can see the more modern, 21st century look of the IC-7000. When compared to the IC-703 and IC-706MKIIG, the IC-7000 has more subtly rounded corners, and flat panel buttons as opposed to the normal looking protruding buttons of the earlier transceivers. Also, the size of the IC-7000 main tuning knob has been increased slightly. Along with the tuning dial diameter increase, ICOM increased the number of buttons on the front panel from 14 to 17 yet the front panel looks less cluttered than the IC-706MKIIG or IC-703. When I began setting-up the three radios so I could begin my evaluation, I also saw that the IC-7000 is shorter than the other radios (9 overall length including knobs and heatsink).
The IC-7000 on the left (notice the fan) and the longer IC-703 on the right!
But the really attention grabbing physical fea ture of the IC-7000 is that incredible color display. And man oh man what a display! While the display is just 2.5 -inches diagonally, it provides a HUGE amount of information. It is really something to be able to meter Power output, ALC, Compression, and SWR along with frequency , S-meter and heat-sink temperature all at the same time! ICOMs use of text, figures and colors make the information easy to see. And for mobile operation, select the large text font mode for even easier to read basic frequency information. You can select a black, white, or blue background. My preference is the default black background. Unfortunately, my photos dont give justice to the display. You need to see this in person!

Normal Font

Expanded Font
But to make things even better, the IC-7000 has a composite video output for driving an external video monitor. This is really nice for home station use.
Normal text on 13 LCD monitor
Expanded text, if desired
I had heard complaints that the external display output did not look all that good. If that was the case in early IC-7000 transceivers, it is certainly not the case now. I think that the external display quality is excellent. First - A Few Basic Tests While the numbers game has been done in oth er publications, I did want to make a few measurements prior to actually starting operational and on -the-air evaluations. I focused on 160-6 meters, as I am primarily an HF operator. For details of the IC -7000 operation in the VHF/UHF bands, refer to the excellent review by Steve Hicks N5AC in the Winter 2006 issue of CQ VHF Magazine. My test set-up is shown in Photo G, and a close-up of the three transceivers is shown in Photo H.

Authors Test Set-up

Close-up of the three transceivers
First, I measured the typical current requirements of the IC-7000. The receiver current drain, specd at 1.6 amps max at normal volume, measured just 1.3-amps at normal volume. The transmitter current measurements at 100-watts output into a MFJ-267 Wattmeter/Dummy Load (160-6 meters) are displayed in Table 1 (spec is 22 amps max): Table 1: Transmitter current requirements at 100 watts output power 160M 80M 40M 30M 20M 17M 15M 12M 10M 6M 18.4A 16.8A 19.7A 16.2A 19.6A 19.3A 17.0A 20.0A 18.6A 19.5A The transmit power can be varied continuously from 2 -100 watts from 160-6 meters. For those of us who may also be interested in using this radio for QRP and/or HF Pack operation, I measured IC-7000 transmit current requirements at 5.3 amps at 2-watts output, and 5.8 amps at 5-watts output. Next, I checked the SWR point where the IC-7000 starts turning down power (SWR protection). I did this by putting an external Diamond SX-1000 SWR meter in series with a MFJ-902 antenna tuner and the dummy load//wattmeter. I tuned the MFJ-902 for a 1:1 match into the dummy load, and then varied the tuners inductor and capacitors as necessary until I could just barely see the output power decrease. Then I measured the SWR into the detuned antenna tuner. I found that the IC-7000 would consistently begin turning down power at an SWR between 2:1 and 2.5:1 from 160-6 meters. Finally, I checked the receiver S9 meter sensitivity and S -meter tracking from S-9 to S-1 (dB below S-9). My test equipment consisted of a Tektronix 191 RF generator, a Hitachi V-355 oscilloscope, and a pair of MFJ -762 step attenuators. While there is a certain amount of inaccuracy due to the coarse bar-graph display on the IC-7000, I switched in attenuation just above and below the desired reading to center my measurements. This should make the measurements fairly accurate. The results are shown in Table 2: Table 2: S9 Receiver Sensitivity and S -Meter Tracking Band S-9 level __S7_ __S5_ __S3_ __S1_ 160M 70V -10dB -20dB -32dB -44dB 20M 70V -10dB -20dB -32dB -44dB 6M 50V -10dB -20dB -32dB -44dB These results are pretty good! Tracking is about 5-6 dB/S-unit (the standard is 6 dB/Sunit). And the S-9 meter reading is at or close to the standard of 50V.

Using the IC-7000 Right out of the box, you can just plug in your microphone, dial in your operating frequency, and start operating SSB. Since many functions have their own front panel buttons (such as noise blanker, noise reduction, and manual and automatic notch filtering), you dont have to go into menus to enable them. But if you want to operate other modes, you need to read the manual. And if you want to get all you can out of this transceiver, you definitely need to read the manual. If you have an IC-706MKIIG or an IC-703, youll find m any similarities in the IC -7000 menu system. However, there are still plenty of differences since so many more features have been added to the IC -7000. First of all, since the IC-7000 is all DSP-based youll find that all the filtering you will ever need is built-in. There are three default filter widths per mode, and two filter shape factors for each SSB and CW filter width. And these filter characteristics are easily changed. The IC-7000 also has a 4-bank memory keyer and a voice recorder which can even play back recorded messages on the air. The IC-7000 even has a transmit monitor so you can hear how you sound. And then, of course, you have speech processing, split operation, band-stacking registers, direct frequency entry with the microphone, e tc, etc, etc. So read the manual to at least get a feel for where information is when you need it. In my case, I started out on CW since that is my preferred mode of operation. Without referring to the manual, I was able to turn-on break-in, set the break-in time delay, and start operating at the default speed of 20 WPM with a paddle. However, I had to refer to the manual to change the keyer speed - which is not quite as convenient as on the IC 706MKIIG/IC-703. On the earlier radios, you push and hold the DISPLAY key for about -second. Assuming that CW speed is selected, you change the speed with the main tuning dial and then tap the DISPLAY button to return you to the previous menu/display setting. With the IC-7000, you first tap the AF SET button to get into set mode. Then punch QS for the Quick-Set menu. Assuming that CW speed is selected, change the CW speed with the main tuning dial, and then push the MENU/GRP key twice to return you to your selected display. So in the earlier radios, chan ging CW speed required two presses of the same key to get in and out of the speed setting screen. For the IC-7000, you require four presses of three different keys to get in and out of the speed setting screen. After a little practice though, I was able to do this without giving it much thought. Something ICOM really does well is to base the CW break -in time on a fixed number of dits. This is great, since the break-in time changes proportionately with CW speed. Ive always really liked this feature. I normally operate semi -break-in unless Im trying to nail that DX station in a pile-up. Then I switch to full break-in. The default filters for CW are 1200 Hz, 500 Hz, and 250 Hz. I think these are perfect, but they are all changeable if you prefer different filter widths. Just a tap on the FIL softkey in Menu M3 cycles through the three filters. When I really need to dig out a weak signal, I leave the 250 Hz bandwidth alone, but then turn on the two manual notch filters and set them just above and below the desired signal - which is extremely easy to do by

watching the manual notch screen (just press and hold MN to display). This really makes the signal seem to pop out of the noise floor!
The two notches are easy to set. NF1 is just below, and NF2 is just above center. CW operation was smooth and easy, using either semi - and full-break-in. I normally operate by first turning off break-in to zero-beat a station with a string of dits. As part of this operation, it is easy to determine if my keying speed needs to be changed. Then I turn on break-in, select a filter based on band conditions, and transmit. Next I went to SSB. The first thing youll notice is that the IC-7000 microphone is a little more imposing than the mics of the earlier IC -706MKIIG/703 radios, though the mic is really not that much larger. The more imposing IC -7000 mic is a result of all the extra things you can do with it - such as direct frequency entry, band stacking registers, filter selection, and many of the things t hat are normally done through the display menus.
IC-706MKIIG mic (left) vs IC-7000 mic (right) I first checked the mic gain by looking at ALC, and then compression level. Both were perfect for my voice. When transmitting into my MFJ -267 peak reading wattmeter/dummy load, I really couldnt see any difference with the compressor on or off since the peak power stays the same. However, when I set the power meter to read
normal power, I could see a difference. With the compressor off, normal talking caused the meter needle to hover around the 10-watt mark. When I turned on the compressor, the needle would hover around the 20 -watt mark. I verified this with both the MFJ-267 and a Diamond SX-1000 meter. So it would appear that the compressor doubles your average power. On the air reports were excellent. I was told that the audio sounds great, or has good fidelity, or sounds natural. When I ran tests with and without the compressor, I was told that my signal level increased by up to an S -unit by some folks. Others told me they didnt see any S-meter change, but my voice was more punchy and easier to understand. On SSB the three default receive filters are 3000 Hz, 2400 Hz, and 1800 Hz. I normally operated with the 2400 Hz filter, but there were several times when the 1800 Hz filter really helped normally on crowded 40-meter band conditions, and once on 6 meters when there was a great opening and the band was wall-to-wall signals. With the 1800 Hz filter, you do lose some fidelity, but the selectivity improvement often makes a receive signal comfortable to copy under high adjacent channel QRM conditions. In all cases, the bandwidth and filter shape are extremely easy to change to suit your needs. And at any time, you can just press the DEF key to return to the default filter settings.

Hold F-1 and adjust BW with the main tuning knob My last operational testing effort involved using the IC -7000 with my external amplifier. I have an Ameritron ALS-600 amplifier with an ARB -704 Amplifier Interface unit. I was happy to see that ICOM kept the accessory socket the same as on the IC-706MKIIG. So I just plugged the same ARB-704 ICOM interface cable into the IC-7000. Everything worked fine in SSB. The IC-7000 ALC setting on the ALS-600 was the same as on the IC-706MKIIG as well. The only issue was that when using CW, I would normally shorten or lose my first dit during break-in. I never really had this problem with the IC-706MKIIG. Since the HSEND output of the IC -7000 enables the amplifi er, I figured that the HSEND-to-RF Output delay must be shorter on the IC-7000 than on the IC706MKIIG. So I connected my oscilloscope to the RF output and triggered it with the HSEND output. I found that on the IC -706MKIIG, RF output starts at 13 milliseconds after HSEND goes low, and full RF output occurs at 15.5ms. On the IC -7000, the RF output begins at 8 ms after HSEND goes low, and full output occurs at 11 ms. I measured the ALS-600 relay enable time at 13 ms. Since typical open -frame amplifier
relays take 10-20 ms to engage, you may need to use an external foot switch connected to the IC-7000 HSEND input/output to manually enable the IC -7000 transmitter (leave BRK off) when operating CW with a relay-switched external amplifier. I know that this isnt an issue when using an ICOM PW1 amplifier. But in my opinion, it is easier to justify the purchase of a PW1 if you have an IC-756PRO3 or IC-7800. Receiver Comparison Testing This is the part of my testing that I was really looking forward to comparing the receivers of the IC-7000, IC-706MKIIG, and IC-703 under real band conditions. The three transceivers were all connected through RF switches so any receiver could be switched on -line at any time. My IC-706MKIIG is equipped with the standard 2.4 KHz SSB filter, and both 1.9 KHz and 250 Hz optional filters. And my IC-703 is equipped with its standard 2.3 KHz filter, and the optional 250 Hz filter. This gave me the opportunity to compare all three radios with their 250 Hz filters and standard wide filters (2.3/2.4 KHz), and the IC-7000 and IC-706MKIIG with their narrow 1.8/1.9 KHz SSB filters. My listening tests spanned several weeks, and I tried to concentrate on times when the band was crowded (80 and 40 meters after dark, and 20 meters in the early evening). The first thing I observed is that under normal un -crowded low noise band conditions, I really couldnt tell any difference between the three receivers. All sounded great. But it was under crowded and noisy conditions where the IC -7000 stood head-and-shoulders above the other transceivers. First, the DSP noise reduction in the IC-7000 is significantly better than in the other two radios. I immediately noted far less of a hollow-echoey sound on the IC-7000 for the same apparent amount of noise reduction in the three radios. I have a lot of impulse noise at night, and I found that the noise blanker on the IC-7000 did a great job of removing it. The IC-7000 noise blanker actually performs much like the noise blanker on the IC -703, which is much better than that on the IC-706MKIIG. I also had occasional problems with front-end overload on the IC-706MKIIG on 40 meters at night. This problem was never apparent on either the IC-703 or the IC-7000. But it is the IC-7000 IF DSP filtering where the IC-7000 really shines. The IF DSP filtering is an integral part of the AGC control loops. Therefore, any interfering signal reduced or removed from the filter pass-band is also removed from the AGC, so there is no pumping of the AGC. I found that the Sharp settings on the SSB and CW filter shapes are noticeably sharper than any of the corresponding filter shapes on the IC 706MKIIG/703. This was particularly useful when I used the IF-Shift to cut out interference above or below a desired si gnal. I found the combination of Sharp filter setting and IF-Shift particularly useful for SSB operation, where I was frequently able to turn a nasty interfering adjacent channel SSB signal into a minimally bothersome amount of interference. And then, of course, the filter bandwidths on the IC-7000 are easily adjusted to optimize them for your particular band conditions. I used this feature more on CW though, as narrowing the SSB filter more than 1.8 KHz really hurt signal readability. However, as I mentioned earlier, I found the twin manual notch filters to be outstanding

when used in CW to provide additional filtering in extremely crowded or weak signal conditions. All in all, the IC-7000 IF DSP filtering, noise reduction, and noise blanker make the receiver a real performer. These turn difficult copy into comfortable copy something that is much more difficult or impossible to do on the IC -706MKIIG/703, especially when band conditions are not optimal. Possible Improvements This is really quite a radio. However there are just a few things that Id like to see changed. I suspect that these could just be firmware upgrades to the existing product. For CW operation, I would like to see the commonly used CW functions on the same menu. As an example, putting BRK, , FIL, and SPEED all on the M3 menu would be very nice. AGC (currently on the M3 menu) can be moved to where FIL was on the M1 menu. These changes would really make the IC -7000 a great CW radio. Then Id like to see the HSEND-to-RF Output delay fixed at 20 milliseconds. This would ensure that you wouldnt have any CW break-in issues with virtually any relay enabled external amplifier. Finally, the IC-7000 has a speech synthesizer built -in, which works very well. I really like hearing the mode-change announced, as well as frequency and S -meter reading when desired. So why not have a menu option which enables the speech synthesizer to read out any menu button push? I think this would be great for mobile operation, helping you keep your eyes on the road. I also have several blind ham friends who like the IC 706MKIIG/703 because they can find their way through the menus by listening to differences in the menu beeps. Obviously, having the speech synthesizer announce the button presses would be really nice for them. Thats the end of my wish list. Not too major, but maybe enough to make a great transceiver even better. Conclusion Ill have to say that this is one incredible transceiver and there is much more to it than I can cover in the review space available. The features, size, power, display and over -all capability are absolutely amazing. For a new ham starting out with no equipment, I think this would make a great first rig, which could then be relegated to permanent mobile or portable use when a full -size transceiver is purchased at a later date. Yes, it is pricey. But you get what you pay for. Years ago when I worked for Collins Radio, we had a saying that may be appropriate here: Go first class and save! So, is it time for me to upgrade from my IC-706MKIIG to the IC-7000? Ill answer this question with a second question - Is anyone interested in buying an IC -706MKIIG that is in great condition?

IRST LOOK

CONSUMER RADIOS AND ELECTRONICS
The Receiving Side of the Icom IC-7000

By Jim Clarke, NR2G

he IC-7000 is a mobile amateur radio transceiver covering 30 kHz to 199.999 MHz, and 400 to 470 MHz in AM, FM, WFM, USB, LSB, CW, and RTTY modes. things I like over the ProIII, and some things I dont like as much as the ProIII. That may seem logical to many, but, typically, as you go down in the tiers of a radio manufacturers product line, the majority of features are downgraded, with the rest staying the same, not being upgraded; thats where I see the difference in the 7000. No, the 7000 doesnt perform as well as the ProIII, but they have made some excellent improvements in feature operation that I found a pleasant surprise. Its encouraging to see continued improvements in operator interfaces as manufacturers deal with an increasing number of features and options that are implemented through the radios software. Its not enough to just add more and more, while providing switches and knobs to enable, disable, and adjust it requires an understanding of how these features will be used and designing their controls accordingly. teur radio manufacturers include a mechanism for providing friction and hence resistance to its rotation, Icom has embellished on the idea by providing a lever (to the right of the knob) that has four positions: minimum, medium, maximum, and detented. The first three positions provide progressively increased degrees of resistance to smooth rotation, and the fourth switches from smooth to detented rotation. While tuning through the shortwave broadcast bands, I preferred the detented setting, as it allowed me to move quickly, stopping precisely on each 5 kHz channel to listen for an English language station. The front-panel can be disconnected from the radio, allowing remote operation from up to either 11 or 16 feet away, depending on which optional cable is purchased.
First Thoughts and Impressions
In the May 2005 issue of MT, where I reviewed the Icom IC-746Pro, I made reference to an animated discussion where I tried to hold the position that the number of people purchasing amateur radio transceivers just to be used as communications receivers was very small, or non-existent. While I dont believe we can accurately quantify either of our positions, I think the stage is certainly being set for such a paradigm to take form. While doing this review, I did a quick check of the communications receivers that are offered those over $900 and found that most of them are many years old; the majority of these receivers have little or no DSP (digital signal processing) capabilities. I dont see the big players such as Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, etc., coming out with new communications receivers anytime soon. However, their amateur transceivers have excellent receivers with flexible DSP filtering and many bells and whistles that actually help signal reception, as opposed to just providing knobs to twiddle. Thankfully, these new features are starting to trickle down from the big rigs into the smaller mobile rigs, and hopefully soon, into portable rigs. Case in point: the new Icom IC-7000. After experiencing the performance of my IC756ProIII for a year, I was anxious to see how the new 7000 would stack up. Because Icom touted the ProIII as containing many of the performance producing components used in the nearly $11 thousand dollar IC-7800, I was curious to see how much of the ProIII would make it into the less-expensive 7000. What I found was that the 7000 has some

Tuning

Ergonomics
The 7000 measures in at about 6.5W X 2.25H X 7D, with a nice 2.5 (diagonal) color LCD front-panel display. The front panel is also occupied by two pairs of concentric knobs, a 1.75 diameter tuning knob with a spinning finger dimple, 14 flush-faced buttons, and three discreet buttons. There is a small speaker in the top cover and a bottom-front fold-down bail-wire providing about 1 of front-panel tilt. The rear panel holds two antenna jacks one for HF/50 MHz, and the other for 144/430/440 MHz as well as microphone, power, external speaker, and others. Icom decided to place four fixed-use function buttons on each side of the display, with a menu-key defined row of four buttons at the bottom. I think they could have gone one step further and allowed the user to define which functions are assigned to those buttons, depending on which menu-key group is selected. I believe some additional comments on the tuning knob are in order. While many of the ama-

While the 7000 doesnt have a numeric keypad on the front-panel for frequency entry, there is one on the microphone kind of a remote keypad. The front panel does have a button, though, that switches between fast or slow tuning rates. The slow tuning rate is a function of what the user has set for the step size, and the fast is 1 MHz. There are four scanning options available: programmed scan, memory scan, selected-memory scan, and priority watch. Programmed scan sweeps from one defined frequency to another, or visa versa. Memory scan checks all memories, while selected-memory scan checks only those specified by the user. Priority watch checks for signals on an operator-designated memory channel. Scan initiation can be set for a squelch-open condition, or squelch-closed condition; resuming scan after a signal is detected can be enabled or disabled.

Filtering

This is one of the things that I love most about the 7000 the DSP filters. No more determining which filters you want to order, or how many the radio can hold Icom has included 41 passband widths for SSB, 32 for RTTY, 50 for AM, 3 for FM, and 1 for WFM! Combine these bandwidths with twin passband tuning and there shouldnt be many, if any, situations where one of the combinations wont give you the desired signal rejection youre

MONITORING TIMES

October 2006
Sensitivity (Pre-amp: ON)
.. 0.5-1.8MHz. 1.8-29.9MHz. 50-54MHz. 144/440MHz SSB/CW.. 0.15V. 0.12V. 0.11V AM. 4.0V.. 2.0V.. 1.0V.. 1.0V FM.. 0.5V(28-29.7).. 0.25V. 0.18V WFM.. . 10.0V (76-108MHz) SSB/CW, AM : 10dB S/N, FM, WFM : 12dB SINAD
better to, say, 1300 MHz now that would be a nice little mobile.

Final Thoughts

looking for. According to the brochure, its the incorporation of twin DSP chips that provide the horsepower to accomplish the task. See Figure 1 for more filter details. As youre adjusting the filter widths and positions in the passband, the 7000 shows a small graphic to help you see just what those changes are doing to the IF. Another bonus of the advanced DSP used in the IF is the elimination of the typical problems encountered with the AGC, no more pumping or blocking. And speaking of AGC, there are the typical Fast, Medium, Slow, and Manual settings, but the operator also has the ability to modify each of the three levels time constants.

a radio with a small display. How many times have you wished you had a recorder hooked up to your radio when you intercepted a signal youd like to play back later? Well, according to Icom, the 7000 can record up to 25 minutes of incoming audio with the touch of a button. Ever wonder what Hams are sending back and forth using RTTY? Now you have a builtin decoder so you can eavesdrop and have the decoded text print to the screen. Unfortunately, Icom locks the decoder settings at a mark of 2125 Hz, a shift of 170 Hz, and 45 bits per second.
At $1500, this is an expensive mobile, but I would prefer to refer to it as a mini-base. I believe the feature/performance mix to be excellent, with the user interface much better than many Ive seen in the past. There is so much more to this radio than Ive been able to describe here, theres just not enough space. If you want to learn more, go to the Icom website at www.icomamerica.com and download the instruction manual, and give it a read. If youre thinking of getting a new radio to use as just a communications receiver or for Amateur Radio use I think youll find this little radio very worthy of consideration.

How Does It Play?

Other Anti-Interference Tools
On top of the filter flexibility, the 7000 has an automatic notch filter capable of tracking up to three moving tones. If thats not enough, there are two (yes, two) manual notches. The operator can control the frequency of each notch, the width of each notch, and whether or not each of the notches is active. Talk about flexibility! Noise reduction is commonly found in DSP equipped radios, and the 7000 is no exception. With 15 levels of reduction, I found this feature coupled with proper use of the attenuator very useful in reducing background noise caused by summertime lightning storms, as well as the noise commonly heard even on quiet days. If pulse-type noise is your problem, the noise blanker in the 7000 allows a blanking-level adjustment from 1% to 100% and also provides control over the width of the blanking.

Cool Stuff

Something Im certainly not used to seeing on a radio is a video-output jack. Yup, you can go down to your local electronics gadget store, pick up an automobile head-rest monitor, and plug it into the back of the 7000 to increase your display size to whatever you can afford. I personally have not tried it, but I would imagine that, due to the resolution, there is a practical limit to the size of the screen you can employ. However, at least to some point, it should provide an improvement over the small albeit clean and clear front-panel screen. If youre into watching signal activity, youll enjoy the band scope in the 7000 which can be set to display either fixed mode or center mode. In fixed mode, signals within a specified frequency range are displayed; in center mode, signals surrounding the displayed frequency are shown. The band scope does cause some audio disruption, but by changing settings the disruption can be minimized. Icom provides a decent range of flexibility for a band scope on

Well, where do I start? This is a great little radio. The majority of my listening was on HF, but I did take it for a spin on the other bands. Lets start in radios basement, 30 kHz to 500 kHz. I found sensitivity to be quite usable, with all of the usual beacons being heard. The noise blanker worked very well on some local fluorescent-light type interference. Surprisingly, the preamp is available in this frequency range, though I didnt use it. Ive tended in the past to skip too quickly over AM broadcast reception. While Im not a broadcast band DXer, it seems to me the 7000 provides very good performance on the AM band. The 4 uV sensitivity filled the band with signals, and the 9 kHz filter provided excellent audio with virtually no increase in adjacent channel interference. In fact, I could tune to 904 kHz and clearly hear the top-end of one channel, then go up to 906 kHz and clearly hear the low-end of the next-higher channel. I would have to say that this radio is second only to my 756ProIII, at least with respect to the selection of radios that I have had the pleasure of using. Apart from size, I think it may actually be a better value than the 746Pro, which, until now, I had considered to be the best radio for the money on the market today. I love the DSP filter/passband flexibility, and find the noise blanker, noise reduction, and notches very useful tools in the crowded HF bands. The audio is clear, but I did notice what seemed to be a little too much audio on the high side on all bands, not just on HF. Maybe its just me, or the fact that I like using as wide a filter as possible, but there was a high frequency element of the audio that took some getting used to. FM broadcast stations are heard just fine, but this is probably not the radio to be using if you are an audiophile. However, if you are looking for a little background music while youre typing out your article for MT, it certainly fits the bill. Television audio was clearly heard, as well as fire dispatchers, Ham repeaters and so on. Its too bad Icom didnt make this radio receive continuously from 30 kHz to 470 MHz, or even

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