Does anyone have a opinion on the IC 746 Pro

[Daniel_Boone]

IC-746PRO HF/50MHz/144MHz All Mode Transceiver - Features - Icom America

Good / Bad / Ugly

What is your opinion and why?

If a person had the money - would it be a good first radio to buy?

 

[AK9R]

I'm happy with mine. It was purchased late in the production run, so, hopefully, most of the bugs have been squashed. The two issues are the dimmer circuit for the LCD backlight and the driver circuit for the power amplifier. Do a Google search for 746Pro and IC-151 to see what others are saying. In spite of that, I know of people who use their 746Pro everyday without any problems. I don't use mine very much, but it works great when I do use it.

The IC-746Pro was discontinued in late 2009. I bought mine new in March 2010 for $1300. Miraculously, at least one U.S. dealer got access to some 746Pro's that were "found" in a warehouse in late 2010 and put them on sale for $2000. That was just before Icom announced the IC-7410 which replaced the 746Pro in their line-up.

 

[ranger821]

Check it out on Eham reviews. I know of 3 guys here locally that like it. I run a Kenwood 480HX. Nice Rig. I purchased mine from a ham buddy I knew from back in the 70's that had it for about 6 months and was getting out of the HF side of ham radio. It had maybe 15 hours of running time. Make sure the radio is up to snuff. I am worried when buying gear when I do not know the person I am buying it from. Save your pennies and get a new one!!!!!!

 

[Daniel_Boone]

I'm happy with mine. It was purchased late in the production run, so, hopefully, most of the bugs have been squashed. The two issues are the dimmer circuit for the LCD backlight and the driver circuit for the power amplifier. Do a Google search for 746Pro and IC-151 to see what others are saying. In spite of that, I know of people who use their 746Pro everyday without any problems. I don't use mine very much, but it works great when I do use it.

The IC-746Pro was discontinued in late 2009. I bought mine new in March 2010 for $1300. Miraculously, at least one U.S. dealer got access to some 746Pro's that were "found" in a warehouse in late 2010 and put them on sale for $2000. That was just before Icom announced the IC-7410 which replaced the 746Pro in their line-up.

Wow guy, $1300.00 sounds like a heck of a deal - considering that the retail list price on that unit was about $2600.00 according to a internet search that I did.
Where could I find a deal like that?
73's

 

[Daniel_Boone]

Check it out on Eham reviews. I know of 3 guys here locally that like it. I run a Kenwood 480HX. Nice Rig. I purchased mine from a ham buddy I knew from back in the 70's that had it for about 6 months and was getting out of the HF side of ham radio. It had maybe 15 hours of running time. Make sure the radio is up to snuff. I am worried when buying gear when I do not know the person I am buying it from. Save your pennies and get a new one!!!!!!

Thanks for the link and the advice.

I am also old school and have learned that when there is a problem - EBAY is the worst place to buy anything. I have a race car and bought stuff in the past and usually got screwed royally - and so I quit visiting those places and just bought everything off the shelf.

With getting back into radio - I would rather just keep it as a hobby and start small, then to go whole hog all at once and run out of money and then be left with a box full of stuff that doesn't work.

 

[AK9R]

I bought mine from Amateur Electronic Supply (AES Home page) in March 2010 for $1300 new. I see they are now listing them for $1700. Some of that price difference is US$ vs. JPY exchange rate fluctuation. Some of that price difference is demand driven.

The IC-7410, which replaces the IC-746Pro (though the 7410 doesn't have 2m), is on AES's web site for $2000. It's supposed to have a better receiver and better DSP than the 746Pro.

 

[Daniel_Boone]

The locals here all talks morning and night on the 2 meter band - so that wouldn't be a good radio for me.

I despise cell phones - so having a radio that will work on 2 meters would be like having a telephone that I wouldn't have to pay for - other then the electricity and the license.

Just for the sake of asking - what would make a good antenna to use for the 2 meter band?
Any good suggestions that you could make for a good efficient antenna that is economical?

I have noticed that as the sun comes up and the atmosphere is charged that the weaker stations tends to drop out in the morning and comes back in the evening once the sun goes down.