Icon 746 Pro

[wa8rti]

Have had it just a week but so far I'm very happy with it. I was worried that perhaps the selectivity would not match my expectations. #As a novice in 1964-65 I had a Drake 2B receiver with the q multiplier. It could slice the novice #cw bands so thin that you heard only a single signal (unless someone transmitted dead on top of your contact). The 746Pro filters can be dialed down on the fly and in the narrowest position you can get down to a 50 Hz slice. #Much better than I had hoped for. #The only antenna I have up at the moment is a 2 meter quarter wave ground plane and I've worked the local repeaters and have gotten good reports on the audio. #The only disappointment so far is the band scan function. When you activate the scan, the receiver is silenced until the the scan is complete and the audio returns. Each scan has to be activated by pushing a button. You therefore don't have a real time picture of the band. #Years ago I built a Heathkit panoramic adaptor that picked a signal off the transceiver IF and you got a real time view of band activity as you dialed up and down the band. The 746 scan function is OK for spotting activity #but the way the Heathkit worked was better.

Got a G5RV up about a month ago and have worked about 20 countries. The internal tuner has found a match for the G5 on everything from 160 to 10 meters. Still haven't gotten the 6 meter yagi or the 2 meter quad up yet. I have heard a lot of 6 meter E skip but couldn't work anyone since the tuner couldn't find a match.

So the conclusion at this point is I'm very happy with my new rig.

[ai4ep]

Are you disappointed in the fact that ---

---the audio is muted when scanning

---it only scans once

---it does not do it like the other rig

I think it can be set ( menu option ) to constantly scan until you push the button to stop it from scanning.

If it made noise through the speaker while scanning, you would hear bits and pieces of noise, voices, cw, etc...so I like it to be quiet ( I have a 746 not the PRO model )

I dont have the Heathkit to use a reference like you do, so I cant answer all you mentioned.

Since I got my 746 ( used of course ) I have wondered and been asked by other amateurs ---what IS the difference between the " non - pro " 746 and the " pro 746 " ?

I guess it is in the filter / receiver, but I really do not know...the large scope in the middle may be part of it, knobs in different places ( or menu options ). But to me it dont matter, I like mine for the NR, and the small button by the 2 " itty - bitty " knobs across part of the bottom, which is the " pre-amp 1, pre-amp 2, normal, -20 db attenuater " button. I leave it on " - 20 db attenuator " a lot, since I dont like the background noise. But to each their own.

How long have you owned your PRO model and your likes / dislikes about it ? I have owned mine for about 4 - 5 weeks ( good month ) but not in day-to-day operation.

73

AI4EP (Robert)

[W4HAY]

Hey, stick a piece of wire in the HF antenna jack and do some SWLing! I think you'll like it.

Just put mine on the air 2 days ago, upgrading from an IC-746 w/500 Hz CW filter. Took a few hours to 'get to know it', but then found the improved performance impressive. The programmable filters are wonderful! This is one case where reading the manual will be especially helpful -- some features are not all that obvious.

Haven't had a chance to play with the internal RTTY decoder -- can't find any RTTY!

Did find the switching power supply they're giving away with it to be noisy, so kept the trusty ol' Astron analog in service. The switcher will be handy on the workbench. The $250 discount/rebate combo functions perfectly, though!

Edited to add:
I use an 80 meter trap dipole (w/ one set of 40 meter traps in the W3DZZ configuration) and the internal antenna tuner will match it across all bands, including WARC and the upper end of 75.

And on MW, by playing with the filters and PBT, I can finally listen to the Grand Ol' Opry on WSM without the sidebands from the across-the-hill local 10 Khz away that likes to drive it's VU meter against the pegs splattering all over the place!