[Icom] 746 vs. 746Pro

Mon, 31 Mar 2003 12:38:10 -0800

Hi Jeff,

There is simply no comparison between the 746 and the 746Pro. The 746Pro is
an "IC-756Pro II Junior", whilst the IC-746 is a reasonably good analogue
radio.

Here are 6 major differences between the IC-756Pro II and the IC-746Pro
(IC-7400).

1. The IC-756Pro/Pro II has a real-time Spectrum Scope module (actually a
mini-spectrum analyser with 1 kHz RBW @ -6dB) which is completely
independent of the main receiver. The IC-746Pro "borrows" the main receiver
to perform a band sweep
for the spectrum-scope display (non-real-time). The receiver is muted during
the sweep.

2. The IC-756Pro/Pro II has two independent physical 1st local oscillators
(synthesisers), allowing Dual Watch operation (simultaneous reception on two
frequencies in the same band and mode). The IC-746Pro lacks this capability.

3. The IC-756Pro II has a stronger RF front end than the IC-746Pro or the
IC-756Pro.

4. The IC-756Pro and Pro II use the ADI SHARC DSP; the IC-746Pro employs the
TI
DSP. The DSP performance in the two radios is similar, although the 746Pro's
ADC's are a little noisier.

5. The IC-746Pro has 2m capability; the IC-756Pro/Pro II do not.

6. The IC-746Pro has a monochrome dot-matrix type LCD display,
whilst the IC-756Pro and Pro II have a full-colour TFT display.

Some reviewers have stated that the 756Pro2 has somewhat better receiver
"numbers" than the 746Pro. Here is a link to a discussion of this:

http://www.archi.is.tohoku.ac.jp/~ooba/ja7ude/ic7400.htm

Here is a good user review of the IC-746Pro by Matt KK5DR:

http://www.qsl.net/kk5dr/746Pro.htm

So, if AES will give you a half-decent trade-in, I would encourage you to go
for it! They are offering an excellent deal.

Best 73,
Adam, VA7OJ/AB4OJ
North Vancouver, BC, Canada
http://www.qsl.net/ab4oj/
Icom FAQ site:
http://www.qsl.net/icom/

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On
Behalf Of J. Benedict
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2003 11:30
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Icom] 746 vs. 746Pro

Group:

Received a mail from AES this morning and they have a bunch of Icom
stuff on special.  I'll copy the list to the end of this message for
all to see.

They have the 746 Pro on sale for 1449.99 with a PS-125 thrown in the
deal.  I currently have a 746 with as many filters in it as I have
found useful and am wondering if anyone out there could make an
informed comment vis-a-vis 746 vs. 746Pro.  I know there are some
features like an RTTY decoder that might be neat but not neat enough
to take the loss selling the 746 and buying the 746 Pro.

Any comments?

AES Prices to follow.

Jeff KB7AIL
---------------
Take a look at these GREAT ICOM prices from AES:
ICQ7ABC . . $99.99
ICT2HSPORT. $79.99
ICT22A . .  $169.99
ICT7H . . . $159.99
ICT90A  . . $229.99
ICV8. . . . $104.99
ICV8000 . . $159.99
ICW32A  . . $229.99
IC2GXAT/HP  $209.99
IC207H. . . $219.99
IC2100H25N  $129.99
IC2720H . . $339.99
IC706MKIIG  $729.99  + Free RMK706 Remote Kit
IC718   . . $499.99  + Free UT106 DSP Unit
IC746PRO. . $1449.99 + Free PS125 Power Supply
IC756PROII. $2419.99 + Free PS125 Power Supply
IC910H  . . $999.99
PW1 . . . . $4499.99
-------------------

--
Jeffrey E. Benedict                     [email protected]

_______________________________________________________________________
"Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right
time, even usually surpassing knowledge..."
                   - E.J. Potter, "The Minnesota Madman"
_______________________________________________________________________

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