[ICOM] ICOM 756PRO2

Tue Feb 28 03:50:04 EST 2017

John,

     I picked up a K3 along with a Microham Digi Keyer about 2 years ago 
which makes up for the lack of the K3's ability to send decent CW over 
about 32 WPM. (fixed in the K3S). In some big pileups with a fast CW 
operator on the other end I'll call them at 40 to 50 WPM using the F 
keys and it does work. The other fix is too replace the SYN board in 
each RX with the newer ones but there is another workaround that doesn't 
cost about $800! I still have the older SYN boards and no problem with 
high speed sending now.

     Another PROIII problem is the half ass split dual RX where I was 
getting bleed thru from strong callers near my split calling freq which 
would cover up a weak DX on the other RX freq I was trying to work. I 
had it fixed but it doesn't stay fixed for long. Another thing Icom 
doesn't feel is a problem? The same for the poor front end protection. I 
use beverage RX antennas and run them thru a separate DXpedition II 
available from DX Engineering. The RX Ant connector on the PROIII is not 
disconnected from the RX when you TX so you do not want to use it for 
beverages unless you use a separate relay to disconnect the RX antennas. 
On the K3 you can hear a relay clicking to save the RX when strong RF is 
coming in the RX antennas. We did one contest multi TX at the 100w level 
where there was a 2nd rig and my antennas are on 8 acres and spread out 
quite a bit with 9 towers and the front end went again on the PROIII. It 
blows some FETs in the tuner which only cost pennies each but expensive 
to have fixed as I'm unable to do it. There is an after market "Rig 
Saver" that one should also install.

     The K3 learning curve is not trivial and I'm still learning over 2 
years later!

     The K3S solves these problems and lots of K3 owners have switched 
to it and you can likely get a decent deal on a used K3 now. I also use 
the K3 as my main rig on 6m and for 2m EME. I can't believe they didn't 
have a fix for the CW sending issue much sooner. I had a K2 and no issue 
with fast CW. The K2 100 with the digital filters is also a quite good 
RX but needs more separate controls.

     Phil N0KE

     73 Phil

     Phil N0KE DM69em


On 2/27/2017 4:55 PM, John Geiger wrote:
> Hi Phil,
> That is good information to have.  As one who was strongly thinking about
> building their "final" station around a PRO3 or maybe a PRO2, I might be
> rethinking that decision. What did you end up using as the main rig instead?
>
> 73 John AF5CC
>
> On Mon, Feb 27, 2017 at 5:00 PM, Phil Krichbaum <vailphil at sopris.net> wrote:
>
>> Steve,
>>
>>      I can relate to this! I'd had a 756PROII that got wiped out when a
>> spike came in the neutral side of the power line during lightening season
>> and and wiped out a hard drive, TV set, answering machine, water well relay
>> etc. It was on the Icom power supply I still use today on my 756PROIII some
>> 8 years later! There was nothing wrong with the Icom PS that came with the
>> rig. When the 756PROII got wiped out it was not connected to an antenna but
>> was connected to said Icom PS that was plugged in the AC mains.
>>
>>      I ordered a 756PROIII but didn't put it in service right away after it
>> arrived. A month or so later on a clear cold winter night I finally got it
>> out of the box and hooked it up. In the next hour I had a couple of CW QSOs
>> at 5w and  and one a 100w and all of a sudden there was no power out! The
>> winter night sky was clear and there was no wind or blowing snow. Icom
>> would not honor the warranty at first saying "I'd operated it out of
>> warranty conditions" and finally agreed to fix it. From that day forward
>> I'd make sure the PROIII PS was disconnected from the AC mains anytime I
>> left the house and no antenna was connected to it to the PROIII. It seems
>> to me these rigs are poorly designed for front end protection and they do
>> not do well in a multi transmitter contest situation even if the other rigs
>> are at 100w!. The repair involved replacing some FETS in the tuner. The
>> PROIII is no longer my main HF rig and I use another rig that is able to
>> handle a multiop multi rig contest situation.
>>
>>      Phil N0KE
>>
>>
>> On 2/27/2017 12:57 PM, Steve via Icom wrote:
>>
>>>      About 4 months ago, I bought an ICOM 756Pro2 that looked in great
>>> condition.  Since purchasing this radio I have mainly used it for  dialing
>>> up the freqs & just listening on all the bands - no transmitting.
>>>   Recently I decided to check out the transmitter - hooked up the MFJ 969
>>> Tuner to check out the tranny & antenna ..  dialed up the HF freqs - hit
>>> the Mic to transmit -- The 756Pro2 screen shows a real nice spike during
>>> transmission - the red TX light turns on --- indicating that I'm
>>> transmitting ..... BUT -- there is no needle activity on the Tuner ..
>>> Unable to check the output power as there is NO "Po" light on the 756Pro2
>>> (however, when I click the same button to SWR, the green light comes on) ..
>>> Next step is to check the Tuner --  hooked the Tuner up to my VHF/UHF
>>> Tribander to check functionality ... it has needle movement on the
>>> Reflected Power but not on the Forward (most likely of low watts on
>>> Tribander) ...
>>> So, I'm appealing to all the ICOM 756Pro2  Techies out there for H E L P
>>>   73
>>> ----
>>> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
>>> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
>>> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
>>> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>>
>> ----
>> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
>> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
>> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
>> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
> ----
> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>