I am a (happy) Yaesu FT-817 owner. I've thought about
buying an Icom 703. '703 owners, how do you like 'em?
Anyone who owns or has owned both, can you compare the
'703 to the '817 from your own personal experience? I
like the idea of a built-in ATU, although the LDG Z-11
that I use with the '817 certainly performs very well
and it can load end-fed wires (something the '703 ATU
isn't supposed to be capable of). Let's hear the good
and the bad about the '703.

Let's try to confine this to just the question I ask,
and not let it degenerate into a "my rig's better than
your rig, and your opinion is wrong" session.

73/72,
Dean K5DH/QRP

Hi Dean and all other readers in the group !
Some comments from the other side of the pond...

I own an IC-703 about 5 months, never owned a FT-817.
However i had the opportunity to play with a FT-817 twice during fieldday. I
liked the receiver of the FT-817 but do not care for the small diplay, the
menus and handling of the unit. I know one OM who ran into trouble with the
finals of the FT-817 due to unstable power supply and the service of Yaesu
here in Europe has some bad reputation.
Those were the reasons to wait for the IC-703 instead getting a FT-817 for
QRP operation. I got the IC-703 about five months ago and i am very pleased
with it. The receiver is nice, i like it better than the IC-706MkIIG i have
here in my shack as well. I use the IC-703 with the MP-1 portable antenna
or with a GP (Fritzel GPA-50) when in the shack at home. I got some
unsoliticed comments about the nice modulation when operating SSB with the
stock mike of the IC-703, however i mostly do CW with the radio, the
optional, narrow filter FL-53A is great in this mode, especially on 40m.
The menues/handling are almost similar to the IC-706, the large display
helps a lot. The IC-703 has many options to configure it to low power
consumption, that helps a lot while being portable. Doing QRPP is fun as
well, the power output is adjustable in 0,1 watts steps down to 0,1 watts
minimum output.
The ATU does fine with the 1:3 SWR of my 40m dipole at home, when being
portable i "tune" the MP-1 antenna, so i do not use the ATU there.
I removed the tension latch of the VFO knob, gives a much smoother feeling,
with the latch the knob always feels a little "scratchy".

I had to claim warranty, since the keyer played crazy at 30m due to the
radio being much too sensitive about stray HF. More about this in message
and details about the solution of
the problem in , ICOM (Europe) fixed
the problem and it never occured again.
There were no other problems with the IC-703 yet, i really enjoy the radio
doing QRP portable/mobile and at home.

73s, thomas [DF1HX]
--
Thomas Krull [DF1HX]
gpg (GnuPG) 1.2 0x01EC2546

Hi Dean and all other readers in the group !
Some comments from the other side of the pond...

I own an IC-703 about 5 months, never owned a FT-817.
However i had the opportunity to play with a FT-817 twice during fieldday. I
liked the receiver of the FT-817 but do not care for the small diplay, the
menus and handling of the unit. I know one OM who ran into trouble with the
finals of the FT-817 due to unstable power supply and the service of Yaesu
here in Europe has some bad reputation.
Those were the reasons to wait for the IC-703 instead getting a FT-817 for
QRP operation. I got the IC-703 about five months ago and i am very pleased
with it. The receiver is nice, i like it better than the IC-706MkIIG i have
here in my shack as well. I use the IC-703 with the MP-1 portable antenna
or with a GP (Fritzel GPA-50) when in the shack at home. I got some
unsoliticed comments about the nice modulation when operating SSB with the
stock mike of the IC-703, however i mostly do CW with the radio, the
optional, narrow filter FL-53A is great in this mode, especially on 40m.
The menues/handling are almost similar to the IC-706, the large display
helps a lot. The IC-703 has many options to configure it to low power
consumption, that helps a lot while being portable. Doing QRPP is fun as
well, the power output is adjustable in 0,1 watts steps down to 0,1 watts
minimum output.
The ATU does fine with the 1:3 SWR of my 40m dipole at home, when being
portable i "tune" the MP-1 antenna, so i do not use the ATU there.
I removed the tension latch of the VFO knob, gives a much smoother feeling,
with the latch the knob always feels a little "scratchy".

I had to claim warranty, since the keyer played crazy at 30m due to the
radio being much too sensitive about stray HF. More about this in message
and details about the solution of
the problem in , ICOM (Europe) fixed
the problem and it never occured again.
There were no other problems with the IC-703 yet, i really enjoy the radio
doing QRP portable/mobile and at home.

73s, thomas [DF1HX]
--
Thomas Krull [DF1HX]
gpg (GnuPG) 1.2 0x01EC2546

On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 18:17:32 GMT, K5DH wrote:
I am a (happy) Yaesu FT-817 owner. I've thought about
buying an Icom 703. '703 owners, how do you like 'em?
Anyone who owns or has owned both, can you compare the
'703 to the '817 from your own personal experience? I
like the idea of a built-in ATU, although the LDG Z-11
that I use with the '817 certainly performs very well
and it can load end-fed wires (something the '703 ATU
isn't supposed to be capable of). Let's hear the good
and the bad about the '703.

Let's try to confine this to just the question I ask,
and not let it degenerate into a "my rig's better than
your rig, and your opinion is wrong" session.

- just came back from a week in the mountains with an ft-817
and i'm quite happy with the experience (many phone
contacts at 2,000-4,000 miles, with one 3,800-mile QSO
at .5W!)

- there was a good rundown on the ic703 yahoo groups in the
past few days on a comparison of the rigs and an LDG Z11
tuner

- i like the looks of the 703, and a bigger LCD would be a
bonus (i can't tell, even with my glasses on, what offset
is being displayed for 2M on the ft-817... the '-' or '+'
is *that* small)

- the upshot of the yahoo rundown was that the 703's built-in
tuner doesn't have the matching range of the Z11, but it
is built in!

- another factor is the built-in DSP for the 703
(there is a DSP unit available for the ft-817)

- the 703 has been deemed to have a better receiver

- the 703's controls are larger (i have to admit that the
'dimple' on the ft-817's VFO is a joke unless you're a
QRP munchkin)

- in either case, unless you do a mod, you'll need a balun
for ladder-line or random wire or non-resonant antennas
when used with either unit

- for my money, the ft-817 is a better deal, as it runs for
$559 right now, offers internal battery capability, and
more bands

- realistically, is 8-10W out any better than 5W out? dunno...

- will i get a 703? most likely! i love new toys!

:-)

On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 18:17:32 GMT, K5DH wrote:
I am a (happy) Yaesu FT-817 owner. I've thought about
buying an Icom 703. '703 owners, how do you like 'em?
Anyone who owns or has owned both, can you compare the
'703 to the '817 from your own personal experience? I
like the idea of a built-in ATU, although the LDG Z-11
that I use with the '817 certainly performs very well
and it can load end-fed wires (something the '703 ATU
isn't supposed to be capable of). Let's hear the good
and the bad about the '703.

Let's try to confine this to just the question I ask,
and not let it degenerate into a "my rig's better than
your rig, and your opinion is wrong" session.

- just came back from a week in the mountains with an ft-817
and i'm quite happy with the experience (many phone
contacts at 2,000-4,000 miles, with one 3,800-mile QSO
at .5W!)

- there was a good rundown on the ic703 yahoo groups in the
past few days on a comparison of the rigs and an LDG Z11
tuner

- i like the looks of the 703, and a bigger LCD would be a
bonus (i can't tell, even with my glasses on, what offset
is being displayed for 2M on the ft-817... the '-' or '+'
is *that* small)

- the upshot of the yahoo rundown was that the 703's built-in
tuner doesn't have the matching range of the Z11, but it
is built in!

- another factor is the built-in DSP for the 703
(there is a DSP unit available for the ft-817)

- the 703 has been deemed to have a better receiver

- the 703's controls are larger (i have to admit that the
'dimple' on the ft-817's VFO is a joke unless you're a
QRP munchkin)

- in either case, unless you do a mod, you'll need a balun
for ladder-line or random wire or non-resonant antennas
when used with either unit

- for my money, the ft-817 is a better deal, as it runs for
$559 right now, offers internal battery capability, and
more bands

- realistically, is 8-10W out any better than 5W out? dunno...

- will i get a 703? most likely! i love new toys!

:-)