[ICOM] ICOM 756PRO2

Wed Mar 1 11:23:48 EST 2017

John,

     I'm unaware if the original 756 has those problems. One well known 
original 756 problem is the monochrome screen fails and Icom ran out of 
replacements long ago. There was one Dutch ham that was repairing the 
screens if you sent it to him. There was also a problem with some 
putting out a fairly strong 2nd signal close to the operating freq on 
6m. I had a screen go on one of the 756 PROs color screens and it was 
just the PS for the LED screen which was reasonable compared to shipping 
to Tim Moes and back in Watertown SD.

     Phil


On 2/28/2017 9:20 AM, John Geiger wrote:
> Hi Phil,
>
> That is good to know about the PRO series.  Does the 756 original suffer
> the same sensitivity to RF and transmitter problems as a result?  I can't
> say that I have seen a lot of people comment on that issue with the
> original 756.
>
> 73 John AF5CC
>
> On Tue, Feb 28, 2017 at 2:50 AM, Phil Krichbaum <vailphil at sopris.net> wrote:
>
>> 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
>>>
>>>
>> ----
>> 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
>