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

Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:14:06 -0800 (PST)

HI Wayne,

SO what was wrong with the original 756?

Also, I think the specs here are somewhat misleading. 
Look at the specs for the Omni 6+.  Pretty low, until
you see the 5khz specs, then they look good.  The
756PROII specs are way below the original 756 specs,
but everyone seems to think that the 7567PROII has a
fantastic receiver.  THere must be more to the
story...

73s John NE0P

--- A N Other <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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
> 
> ----
> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan W6OLD,
> [email protected]
> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.315 MHz
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