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Freebander

Registered: 11-2019
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest
Posts: 35
Karma: 1 (+1/-0)
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ICOM IC-7300


Hello Friends,
My guess is that you already know about the IC-7300. But just in case you don't, I thought I'd share a quick review of this fantastic radio. First off, if I had to rate it, it's 5 stars without a doubt. The amount of functionality that's packed into this little radio is astonishing for the price tag. I'm in the US and paid around $1000 for the rig plus a halfway decent switching power supply.

The good points: display is easy to read, it's a matte display so there's no issues with glare from lights behind you. The menus are, in my opinion, intuitive and easy to follow - things are where I expect to find them.

The audio quality reports I've received, even using the supplied hand-mic, are superb. And you are given a built-in EQ that works for both TX and RX for SSB, AM, and FM respectively (different EQ for each mode). You can also select SSB transmit bandwidth of Wide (3khz), Medium (2.4khz - most common choice), and Narrow (about 2khz, I think - only good for cutting through a pileup).

For those of us who like CW, there is a built-in keyer with adjustable speed, and it can also handle bugs and straight keys without issue. When you set your side-tone frequency, it also automatically adjust the transmit frequency so you're zero-beat on the frequency of the other station.

The DSP filters, twin passband tuning, notch, etc.. are superb; I'm able to null out interfering signals pretty easily, especially when using the notch filter in conjunction with the built-in audio scope (which works for both RX and TX audio). Some have said the receive is not as good as it should be, but in my situation, it performs as well or better than most other rigs I've had. I've not been able to compare with more high-end receivers though.

The MARS mod was simple enough - removal of a single diode. The process is explained here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C14wbc5sJY - I will admit that it was a test of my eyes and takes a steady hand. I had to use a magnifier and a very fine-tip soldering iron. My hands aren't quite as steady as they once were, so it was a little challenging to remove that microscopic diode. This will open up transmit for the entire range of the receive, so EC's rejoice!

The radio I received already had general-coverage receive, so there is no need to remove the 2nd diode.

The only bad points I can think of: it'd be nice to have an actual dedicated knob for RF power and mic gain, and an extra SO-239 for a separate receive antenna would have been a nice bonus. But it is a small package, so probably wouldn't be able to fit. The transmit audio is excellent, but bear in mind that this is NOT going to get you the AM audio punch that many older CB radios did; it won't work with a D104, amplified or not. So don't expect it to sound like a Cobra 2000 or FT-101 on AM.

Overall, this radio has brought what used to cost many thousands of dollars into a low-priced, very accessible package. A game-changer, as some have said.

Cheers & 73


Last edited by 2FB059, 15/May/2020, 12:04 am


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I see many sunspots in your future.
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