[ICOM] Icom 7000 opinions wanted

[John Geiger]

How is the Icom 7000 as a DXing and contesting rig?  I
am not as concerned about the ergonomics as the actual
performance.  I see comments like "its receiver is as
good as the 756PROIII" and I am a bit skeptical.  I am
not sure you can but something in a box 1/3 the size,
at half the price, add 2 more bands, and not have
something suffer.

How does it do in the base station setup?  I tried an
Icom 706MKIIG in a base station setup and it was
unusable in a contest as the receiver got clobbered.

How does the NB on the 7000 work on line noise and
other crud like that, and how quiet is the receiver? 
I tried an Icom 746 out here and its receiver was way
too noisy on the low bands.  It was seeing a S7 noise
level on 40 where the FT920 setting right next to it
was seeing a noise level of S1-both with the preamps
off, and same filter width.

Overall, would an Icom 7000 work for HF and VHF casual
contesting from both a home and portable/mobile setup?

73s John AA5JG

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