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

Thu, 27 Feb 2003 07:38:42 +0800

Hi Wayne,

I would be grateful if you could elaborate further about the short comings
of IC756 original.  I shall be pleased to learn about it.

73

Johnny VR2XMC
----- Original Message -----
From: "A N Other" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 7:05 AM
Subject: Re: [Icom] IC-746PRO vs IC-756PRO

> 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
>
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