IC-7300 as a SWL receiver

[NJQA]

Recently I was looking at a used Icom R75 receiver that was for sale at Universal Radio.   I realized that while the price was roughly about half the price of a brand new Icom 7300 transceiver, the 7300 had the water fall display and didn’t need any additional hard to find filters.  I have a 7300 I use for day to day ham activities and I am happy with it.

N9EWO recently posted a review of the 7300 as a SWL receiver here:
https://www.qsl.net/n9ewo/ic7300.html

The IC7300, even with its recent price increase, has to be one of the best values in ham/swl radios available.

[ThaDood]

QST even called it a 'Game-changer' when the IC-7300 1st came out. And, everyone that I know that has one, around my area, really seems to love it. But, all around, check out the eham reviews,    https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product?id=12742     I can tell you that the ones that I've heard on-air sounded fantastic, even on just the stock mic. As a stand-alone receiver, well... There are some picky ops out there that opted for the more expensive cousin, the IC-7610. I am eying that new portable QRP unit, the IC-705,   https://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/handheld/705/default.aspx    That looks like a sweet package of a rig. Has is finally met FCC approval, yet? I'm waiting for the reviews, and the glitches, that come from this, since I've been burned by buying the latest early, then find out the problems that come from it. Still, and SDR portable that covers from LW, MW, HF, VHF, and UHF, is a very tempting package to want to have. The transceiver that I'm really looking at, but won't be able to afford anytime soon, is the Kenwood TS-890S,  https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product?id=14060    ,    https://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/ts-890s/      Yeah... I've always loved my Kenwoods, and am not parting with any of them anytime soon. (Me, bias??? Hmmmmmmm, yeah... More like spoiled by them.)

[RobRich]

AFAIK, the IC-705 is approved but delayed for release due to the pandemic.

It is looking like the 705 at launch could cost more than the 7300, especially with current rebates on the later.

Still the 705 very well could become the "better" modern Icom option of the two for those predominately interested in receiving; IMO of course. It has the same size display, sports a much smaller size footprint, supports off-the-shelf li-ion battery packs, and likely is derived from 7300 tech anyway. It also add reception for a good chunk of VHF plus a slice of UHF.

[NJQA]

Those are all very good points.  The IC705 may in fact end up as the best choice as an SWL receiver.  Icom know they have a winner so demand (and prices) will be high for a while.  The IC7300 street price was $1500 when it first came out, eventually hit a low around $800, and is back up to around $1000 today.  While the IC705 seems to be starting out a lot higher in price than was first expected, those who wait may reap significant savings.

At Contest University in 2017, Bob Sherwood said 10,000 IC7300 radios had been sold.  A few years later it had doubled.  Is this the most popular radio ever?  I don’t know.

https://www.contestuniversity.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/NC0B_CTU_2017_Disruptive_Technologies_How_they_Change_our_Hobby.pptx

It’s pretty hard to buy a new radio today that is a poor performer.  The performance differences between the high end radios are pretty much at the point that they can only be seen in laboratory tests.  Even the $100-200 SDR radios deliver more performance than most can use.

I hear you about the problems in buying early ThaDood. Been there too often myself!  Sometimes a firmware change is all that is necessary, but on more than one occasion I have had to send a radio back to the factory to have them install a physical update to the radio. 

We will see if I have sufficient will power to wait long on the IC705...

[mbott]

I use my IC-7300 with Win4IcomSuite paired with the SDRplay RSPduo all the time.

--
Mike

[Ray Lalleu]

It’s pretty hard to buy a new radio today that is a poor performer.  The performance differences between the high end radios are pretty much at the point that they can only be seen in laboratory tests.  Even the $100-200 SDR radios deliver more performance than most can use.

Agree. But it's pretty easy to buy or build an antenna that is a poor performer. The antenna (and the place) is much more important than the receiver, once a receiver has a good frequency reading. Beware, though, to the older synthesized receivers, some had a poor synthesized LO.

[RobRich]

Universal Radio has posted an update about the 705.

"This model has been F.C.C. approved and is scheduled for early Fall 2020. Subject to change."

https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0705.html

[NJQA]

Icom has a long history of announcing radios a year before they are available, but the virus has made this delay exceptionally long.

$1433 list and a street price of $1300 seems high, particularly when you look at what the IC7300 and IC9700 sell for.  When the IC705 was first announced, the guesses on price were on the order of $800.  The Elecraft KX3 is $1200 but lacks 144/440, the panadapter, and DSTAR, so I can see what the Icom marketing department must be thinking.