Icom IC-705 Update, antennas & portable power

It is called for, they have a lot to answer for with their vile human and animal abuses, and BTW I have tried their radios and they were so bad that they went in the bin as they were rubbish!

 

I started doing SOTA with my trusty old FT-817 and soon upgraded to KX-2 with built-in tuner. These days I've gone to a MTR4 with resonant antennas. I find I'm progressing to smaller, lighter, simpler setups. When the 705 was first announced I was interested, but now realizing it would be a big, ungainly radio for me. But kudos to ICOM for coming out with a new trail-friendly radio. Hopefully the buzz about the new radio will draw more hams out in the field to enjoy the noise-free environments.

 

Agreed, Jeff! I was thinking the same thing and glad you posted not being deterred from being labeled a "hater" for having the nerve to express an opinion that doesn't parrot the authors' insights.

 

I like the idea, just lugged my 857, ATAS120 and 12ah battery on a 11hr SOTA hike. The 705 would have been nice... Will take a closer look. Thanks for the info.

 

I find it fascinating that we have authoritative feedback on how the IC 705 performs without a single one being used in the field yet by any operator... I wouldn't bet-the-farm on corporate marketing literature or ICOM sponsored wags just yet. Oh, and I am an ICOM/YEASU/ALINCO/BF/RADIODDITY owner... just "keeping it real".

 

Under the table marketing money has been targeted at YouTubers and "influencers" for awhile now. I do not trust any of them because 90 percent of their videos revolve around unboxings and reviews of products that were given to the content creators by the manufacturer or local ham shops. It is all about promotion.

Take away good reviews and future product demos will be withheld. Same thing happens with premier access for movie reviewers. If the critic has too much negativity for a tent pole franchise, don't expect them to be at the next premier. What's worse, many reviewers don't fully disclose the nature of their relationships with the companies who are using them to market their products.

There are always exceptions to this, and a few honest ham YouTube channels do exist, but most of the content from channels like HamRadioConcepts and others simply wouldn't exist without companies giving products to content creators.

 

I will also be interested in a review after somebody making on it a couple of thousand QSO in the field...

 

Great entertaining, informational video. Personally I use a KX3 without the microphone or the 2 meter module. However the giant color display on the ICOM-705 is easy to see because you are looking directly into the screen unlike the KX3 in the tilted position has a lot of glare in or out of the shack. A color display on the KX3 would be fantastic. I don't operate D-Star so that is not an issue with my selection of the KX3. We hams always want everything displayed all at once. I grew up with an on/off switch and #47 pilot lamp and a filament that warmed the shack and crystals. Transceiver never heard of anything like that!!! I'm still a Dick Tracy fan and still make crystal sets for the ham/swl bands. At age 10 I took windings off the coil and eureka!! I listened to Radio Moscow loud and clear in the headphones. My favorite SWL broadcast was Hawaii Calls and Radio Switzerland's music and of course HCJB. The most exciting was actually tuning in Sputnik with my dad's S19R. When I heard about on October 4th or 5th it I found out how to spot it and saw it streak across the northern sky and rushed to the utility room and tuned around 20 MHz on the aluminum dial and there it was loud and clear. That sound still lingers in my memory bank. Everybody thought the Rusky's had an atomic bomb aboard but I knew it was just a one watt transmitter.

Dan, 79, ham 64 years making QRM

 

There will be no wine till it’s time.

 

There are (at least) three glaring omissions which make the 705 a non-starter for me: the aforementioned ATU; dual receive: and audio peak filter (APF). These are standard features in the KX2 that I use every time I turn it on. Maybe not a big deal for phone and digital ops, but I’m 100% CW now and not anxious to take a step backwards in usability just to gain a pretty TV screen on the front panel.

 

Kenwood is getting their butt kicked. How much longer before they’re out?

 

They can always take a franchise from Xiegu and release the TS-90

 

That wasn't an Icom slur - more of a reflection on the times in which we live.

 

Exact-a-mundo times two.



link: http://cjdellatore.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2-dart-arrows-in-bullseye-7504298.jpg

 

I feel it necessary to publicly correct myself. A proper post should have read:

"Very convenient for ICOM, though. Never let a crisis go to waste, eh?"

In the original post, I had confused Elecraft's K4 "sliding" release dates with the Icom 705. For that, I apologize.

Now if Icom fanbois would be kind enough to remove me from their cross, that would allow the Elecraft fanbois to nail me to their's...