Icom IC-705 Update, antennas & portable power

This is THE ICOM. Have you ever seen built-in tuner in portable Icom models? 706, 7000, 7100 etc? Only in old 703...

 

If you NEED a tuner/matcher then there are options, the MAT-10 I have here is 30w, portable handheld atu, internal Li batteries, a really nice unit for $100 ish, but why not use a muti-band resonant antenna?

 

Because there are many types not resonant multiband antennas. As classic G5RV for example

 

Maybe one day, we can see a simple QRP transceiver that doesn't, somehow, always end up costing £1000, simply because that's the price the makers think everybody expects to pay.

 

It is a mistake not to have an ATU built in. The KX3 is awesome because you can put up a wire and counterpoise on the ground and work DX on a battery in the woods. No external extra ATU needed. I think with an internal tuner for HF and 6, this radio would have the potential to be a game changer. The lack of that one key feature will keep people buying elecraft. The low QRP outputs on VHF/UHF will require folks to opt for bricks or amps if they want to use this for weak signal operations (SSB, CW and MSK144/FT8). Many will want bricks or amps if you will use this as a shack in a box. Obviously could be a nice upgrade from TS2000 but then you need to have multiple bricks and amps to have equivalent setup. I think it is a nifty idea but i will wait for the 705a model with the built in tuner.

 

IMO it is marketing...

 

There is one available, The X5105, HF & 6 (although the 705 does HF/6/4/2/70cms), internal 3.8 amp pack, 8 watts opt on mine with 13.8 external vdc, comes with Mic and also has internal Mic so you can use it as a handheld, stacks of features, SSB CW AM FM RTTY PSK, oh and it has an internal tuner, circa £400 > £460 if you hunt around, probably cheaper in the USA,

 

I’ve succumb to the fact that Icom is not going to put a tuner in the 705. While I await my preorder I’ve built one of the Elecraft T1 Antenna Tuners which I will use with this radio. It’s nice and small and is within the specifications of the radio on all HF bands. While there are less expensive small antenna tuner options like the manual 4 State QRP tuner, I suspect the Elecraft is the most on par with the 705 from a technology standpoint. The LDG Z-817 would be a good choice also for about $30 less than the Elecraft T1 Kit.

https://elecraft.com/products/t1-miniature-stand-alone-atu-and-accessories

http://ldgelectronics.com/index.php/products/zero-power/z-817/

 

A mistake for YOU, D-Star is very busy in other areas

 

Good to get in an Icom slur eh ?

 

The game changer for Yeasu was giving away there repeaters for US600 and selling Chinese made handhelds to go with them, same as DMR and MD380, at least ALL Icom Transceivers are Japanese made and the quality is there, I have 14 year old U-82 D-Star HH thats been hammered since I got it, still works like the day I bought it, I have 1 MD380, that I replaced and an MD 390 thats on its way out. Most Fusion repeaters in Australia were sold as analog replacements, just like in the US, very few have C4 enabled Keep it real

 

The stopper for me is NO TUNER...

 

One could buy the IC-705 and augment it with an Elecraft T-1 tuner.

 

It will be interesting to see the radio inside. Perhaps there will be a place for installing a third-party tuner, the board of which will be developed by craftsmen. Like that https://www.mchf.at/

 

If I only had one QRP rig it would be the MTR-3B. All the bells and whistles on a QRP rig seems to go contrary to what QRP is all about...at least to me.

If one desires to operator QRP with all the bells and whistles then why not just turn down the power on a 100W portable rig? Most modern rigs will reduce to 5W easily! That way when you get tired of attempting to work SSB QRP (and that is generally tiresome) you can just crank up the power!