General Category > Amateur Radio

Equipment Recommendations?

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Elf36:
People (Myself included) tend to look on Ebay for radios, but don't forget QTH.com- classifieds. There are is a lot of equipment for sale on that website. It tends to be an older crowd that doesn't do Ebay. It's also great because it's all ham op's and in my opinion more trusted. Some of the equipment you see elsewhere is from estate sales etc and the sellers do not know how to test properly.

NJQA:

--- Quote from: RobRich on January 01, 2022, 2102 UTC ---
The Icom IC-718 is popular for the price, and AFAIK, its receiver side is similar to the popular R-75.


--- End quote ---

This topic was covered on HFU before.  The R75 is a triple conversion receiver, the IC-718 is double conversion.  The R75 had a little more control over AGC, but still had problems on SSB/CW.  Proper use of your RF gain control helps a lot…which is why it is there <G>.  Token noted on the Radioreference.com site that the circuit board layouts are quite different.

https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?topic=59595.0

https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/ic-718-transceiver-ic-r75-receiver-circuitry.368407/

If I was saving up for a rig, I would wait until I had enough to buy a IC-7300.  I don’t think there is another radio on the market that gives you the bang for the buck that the IC-7300 offers and in sheer numbers sold, it may well be the most popular ham rig ever.  Radios like the IC-7100 or FT-991A also give you VHF/UHF which is something to consider if that is important to you, but for HF the IC-7300 is better.  The IC-7300 comes with DSP filters whereas the IC-718 requires you to buy additional filters.  The IC-718 is an older design than the IC-7300, which *might* mean that the IC-7300 will be supported longer, but these days who knows?  A brand new IC-7300 is going to cost you around $1000 - more expensive than the IC-718, but more likely to be the radio you will still be using years in the future.  You will likely outgrow the IC-718 if you stay in the hobby.

Elf36:
Yes, the 7300 is a great rig from what I've read. It is insane how many have been sold. I can't tell you how many people on HF are using them. I don't remember a transceiver being so popular. Icom is making millions of these rigs. It reminds me of when the 706 came out years ago.

RobRich:
Do not think I ever seriously looked at the circuit design if the 718, thus suspecting it would be similar to the R75. Not kicking it being a double conversion circuit, as there are decent double conversion designs, but I would have suspected and hoped for triple conversion like the R75.

While not exactly entry-level affordable, I agree the 7300 has a great price-to-features ratio, especially if on sale with rebates available.

If one does not mind lots of menus, the Yaesu FT-891 would be another great entry-level HF+6 rig to consider. Users seem to like its receiver, too. I do know it is triple conversion with a decent roofing filter and IF DSP. Even has as small bandscope, though I heard it is more of an afterthought or neat gadget than being seriously useful. Still, lots of features for a $650 rig IMO.

Josh:
I'd head straight for a 7300, get it new on sale as the capitalists are trying to sell used ones for almost as much as new. Then all you need is a dipole, a psu, a pc, and off you go. So much capability and you miss out on the fun of bad caps, misalignment, stressed components, etc malaise of the typical used rig. I would say try a G90 but 20 watts isn't sufficient for newbs.

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