[Icom] IC-746PRO vs IC-756PRO

[A N Other]

At 01:22 PM 2/26/03 -0600, you wrote:
>Thinking about selling my original 756 and buying a new 746PRO. The price is
>very low now and they are throwing in the power supply. Curious as to how
>much difference there is between the 746PRO and 756PRO performance wise.
>I could pick up a used 756PRO for about the same money. Anybody compared
>these two rigs side by side? Also does anyone know if the band scope on the
>746PRO is a continuous display or does it work like my 706 and make one scan
>of the band with the audio muted? Thanks.
>Paul, N5PS

The band scope works like the 706 band scope. The 746PRO will make a crude 
SWR plot for you on the screen tho.

I owned an original 756 and I was shocked that Icom could produce such a 
thing. It never made the grade in my eyes. I had a late model TS850 at the 
time also. I kept the 850 and sold off the 756. My only regret was not 
unloading the thing faster. There were a number of issues that, to be kind, 
suggested to me that the original 756 was pushed out too soon and in an 
unrefined state.

Today, I still have the 850 and there is a 746PRO sitting beside it. I 
passed on the original 756PRO simply because Icom lost my trust through the 
experience with the original 756. I bought the 746PRO because I wanted to 
play 2M weak signal, and I wanted to have real IF DSP and 100 watts to do 
it with.  It does that very well, BTW. I don't miss the bandscope (much), 
but I sure do miss the S Meter. The little stalk controls along the bottom 
feel just as cheap as they did on the 756. The 746PRO is very SWR 
sensitive. You'll be using the coupler a lot.

I'm quite satisfied with my 746PRO. The MONITOR is anemic and the S Meter 
doesn't seem "quite right", but everything other than that *works* and 
works well. The noise blanker is OK - better than the 756 and 706 blanker, 
but still inferior by far from the 740 or 751A blanker. For those that 
believe its normal for an effective blanker to trash a receiver, I invite 
you to try a Drake R4C.

I have no owner knowledge about the 756PRO. An opinion? You trade off 
746PRO 2M (and VHF monitoring) for a more feature rich and expensive HF 
radio. For many, the bandscope is a big attraction. The 756PRO seems to be 
held in high regard by most.

I chose the 746PRO over the 756PRO at the time because it had PRO II level 
DSP, a better working noise blanker (well, at least they rediscovered how 
to make it adjustable, at least) and I wanted a 2M IF DSP weak signal 
radio. Some folks have slammed the 746PRO for 2M sensitivity, but for weak 
signal, that isn't much of an issue. The sensitivity is set by the mast 
head amp.

What I do not understand tho is the 746PRO has a BDR of around 123 dB and 
the 756PRO II is almost 10 dB inferior. Actually, this specification on the 
756PRO II is approaching the level of an FT817 or about matches the IC740, 
yet no one has complained. For sure, 115 dB of BDR is out of keeping of a 
radio in the 756PRO II price class.

In raw receiver specs, the 746PRO betters or equals the 756PROany 
everywhere except for 3rd order intercept. Generally you run out of BDR 
before you start to get to 3rd order intercept, assuming the 3rd order is 
above 0. Point? The 746PRO is not inferior in any way to the 756PRO II, at 
least in rough profile. You'll have to start digging to find a major 
difference in capability. I'm sure there is. Yes, the 756PRO (and II) is 
more feature rich, but the 746PRO has the essentials well covered.

The 746PRO is no slouch and will serve you well. It doesn't have the draw 
and appeal of the 756PROany. The 756PROany (obviously) offers much more in 
creature comforts, and it has a real S Meter - an increasingly hard to find 
item these days. The PRO II has refined the 756PRO in a number of subtle ways.

746PRO or used 756PRO? If you are at that level, I'd suggest you wait for 
Dayton and see what deals can be had on a 746PRO or a 756PRO II. If the 
rumored IC785 ever appears at Dayton guys will be unloading their PRO IIs. 
Dayton is not quite 80 days from now. If you've had your 756 since 
original, another 80 days is no time at all. Even if you don't go to 
Dayton, many dealers have Dayton-like prices that week. You can pick up a 
plain 756PRO anytime. Come Dayton, circumstances could put you in 756PRO II 
territory for hardly much more money.

Maybe.






Wayne
VE3CE