[1000mp] IC-746 PRO A/B Test Results

Sun, 29 Jun 2003 23:20:51 -0500

Just traded my original 756PRO for a nearly new 746PRO, Earl. Still have the
PRO2, of course.

I am not surprised at your findings. The 746PRO is probably the best
performing radio on the market today in its price class and nips at the
heels of much more expensive rigs. I can find virtually no performance
differences between my 7646PRO and PRO2. Different feature set, of course,
but comparable if not equal "performance."

Thanks for hanging in there amongst the naysayers and sharing the results of
your tests. I am a retired electrical  engineer with a fair grasp of the
scientific method. While your tests fail to meet many of the criteria of
conventional objective comparison testing, they meet your needs squarely and
provide the answers you seek.

I think that all parties concerned - and unconcerned! - need to to just
"cool it" and quit rushing to the defense of their favorite radio just
because it happens to NOT be at the top of your list. There is not a single
"bad" radio listed there, although one is so new and untried as to be
questionable at present.

73/72, George
Amateur Radio W5YR -  the Yellow Rose of Texas
Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13QE
"In the 57th year and it just keeps getting better!"
<mailto:[email protected]>

----- Original Message -----
From: "CRLL" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2003 9:12 PM
Subject: Re: [1000mp] IC-746 PRO A/B Test Results

> Not to turn this into the Icom site but a) thanks Earl, very interesting,
> keep us updated and b) this rig was certainly appealing to me until I saw
> the transmitter 'numbers'.... I don't remember for sure for the 3rd order
> products we're around (only) 22dB down.... totally unacceptable for a
> 'modern' HF rig.
>
>
> my 2 cents...
>
> Jason, ve7ag
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>;
> <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
> Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2003 2:14 PM
> Subject: [1000mp] IC-746 PRO A/B Test Results
>
>
> > A local ham loaned me his new Icom IC-746 PRO for the weekend for the
A/B
> > tests. The other Icom transceivers I've tested (IC-775DSP and IC756)
> > ranked low on the list, therfore I wasn't expecting much from the 746
> > PRO.  Much to my surprise, the receiver does an extremely good job of
> > digging weak signals out of the noise on both 160m and 10m.
> >
> > It was an extremely close race and I spent the good part of two days and
> > one night before making a decision:
> >
> > The IC-746 PRO is now #1 on the list!
> >
> > The receiver performed best on the weak test signals with its controls
> > set as follows:
> >
> > Mode: CW
> > DSP bandwidth: 50 Hz
> > Preamp #2 on
> >
> > The controls on the FT-1000MP comparison receiver were set as follows:
> >
> > Mode: CW
> > Xtal filter BW: 250/125 Hz
> > DSP BW: 60 Hz
> > Preamp: Tuned
> >
> > The 746 PRO's NR made no difference whether it was on or off at narrow
> > BWs.  At wide BW's (SSB), it worked quite well.  These same results are
> > true on the only three receivers that included DSP NR (the others are
the
> > Orion and FT-1000MP), so perhaps this is the norm for NR effectivity
when
> > using narrow BWs.
> >
> > The IC-746 PRO IMDDR3 and BDR test results from the ARRL lab are not as
> > good as a number of receivers they've tested, but my tests are done when
> > there are no nearby strong signals on the band.  The sole purpose of my
> > tests is to determine how well a receiver can dig weak CW signals from
> > the noise.
> >
> > Within the nexr two weeks I'll be A/Bing an Icom IC-756 PRO II.
> >
> >
> > Here is the updated list of receivers checked so far at K6SE, in order
> > from best to worst:
> >
> >  1) Icom IC-746 PRO
> >  2) Yaesu FT-1000MP (with INRAD mod)
> >  2) Elecraft K2 (tied for 2nd place)
> >  2) Yaesu FT-1000D
> >  5) Kenwood TS-830S
> >  5) Kenwood TS-870S (tied with the TS-830S)
> >  7) Yaesu FT-1000MP (without the INRAD mod)
> >  8) Yaesu FT-757
> >  9) Icom IC-775DSP
> > 10) Ten-Tec Omni VI+
> > 11) Icom IC-756
> > 12) Ten-Tec Orion
> >
> > As more radios are A/B tested, I'll update the list.
> >
> > 73, de Earl, K6SE
> >
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