Icom IC-7700 initial impressions.

Your first impression when the deliveryman brings it is it's HUGE - a
giant box weighing in packed at 37kgs/80 lbs. It is double boxed and
extremely well packed. It takes two of you to unpack it and get it in
place in the shack. Setting up may be difficult for anyone not
familiar with the Icom 756 PRO range, as it has a huge 216 page
instruction manual and takes some time to go through it and get
familiar with all the functions and numerous "bell's and whistles".
However, if you already owned a 756PRO series you will find setting up
much easier as many of the functions follow the same format.

I am a listener only and focus mainly on the LF and MW bands.
I have had it for several days now and feel more familiar with it and
have given it a really good thrash in some productive quiet early
morning pre-dawn sessions.
It is very quiet compared to the already quite quiet 756PROIII that I
have next to it connected for direct A/B comparisons through a SP20
speaker and common antenna.
A major advantage for me is that the 7700 will engage both pre-amp 1
and 2 in both LF and MW bands, whereas this is not possible on the
756. In addition pre-amp 1 is supremely quiet and can be engaged with
confidence in nearly all situations. This results in the possibility
to render audible some very faint stations that are not audible on the
756. In addition pre-amp 2 can also be engaged usefully on MW and LF,
even though the instruction manual recommend it's use only above 20
Mhz.

The action of the filters on the 7700 is superb, as when selecting a 2
Khz setting and engaging the 3 Khz roofing filter. Working the
difficult 9/10 Khz MW splits is a breeze and gives results appreciably
better than the 756PRO.

Using the pre-amps and the tight filters I was able to render several
very weak Brazilians audible that the 756 couldn't get. Plus on LF I
found the ASN Ascension Isl. NDB beacon, extremely faint but readable
with a 50 Hz filter and pre-amp 1 on. You could hear it faintly on the
756, but could not really render it readable.

The NR noise reduction feature on both radio's seems to be the same,
but the NB noise blanker is a dream on the 7700, as it is adjustable
for both width and depth. On the 756 the NB will only zap the
infrequent ignition noise you get today, but the 7700 will in addition
zap all sorts of suburban electrical pulses = lovely feature.

The 7 inch scope is lovely, much clearer and larger than the 756 and
covers a much greater span - 5 khz to 500 khz in several steps.

So I am very happy with the 7700 and it seems a very worthwhile
upgrade and money well spent. Don't misunderstand me, the 756PROIII is
a very good radio, it is just that the 7700 is superb and a marked
improvement.
__________________________________________________ _____

Of course if you only listen to the AM SW bands then you will probably
do very well with a setup like Burr has, but if you want to do serious
Trans Atlantic and Trans Pacific MW DX then you need a top line
receiver.

John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
Icom IC-7700, Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
Drake SW8. ERGO software
Sony 7600D, GE SRIII, Redsun RP2100
BW XCR 30, Sangean 803A.
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro Mk II, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop.
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx

On Apr 23, 4:10*pm, Bart Bailey wrote:
In

posted on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:06:43 -0700 (PDT),
wrote: Begin *

A major advantage for me is that the 7700 will engage both pre-amp 1
and 2 in both LF and MW bands, whereas this is not possible on the
756.

Although I haven't done the MW mods on mine,
I thought they allowed for pre-amp activation?

Hi Bart,
The 756PROIII has done sterling work for me in the last three and a
half years. The MW mod removes the factory attenuation that is there
below 1600 Khz nicely, but alas, the mod to do the pre-amp enable for
the Pro3 has not been published and is a whole different and quite
involved mod. So the pre-amps cannot be enabled on the Pro3 below 1600
Khz.

John Plimmer, Montagu, South Africa.

On Apr 23, 2:06*am, wrote:
Icom IC-7700 initial impressions.

Your first impression when the deliveryman brings it is it's HUGE - a
giant box weighing in packed at 37kgs/80 lbs. It is double boxed and
extremely well packed. It takes two of you to unpack it and get it in
place in the shack. Setting up may be difficult for anyone not
familiar with the Icom 756 PRO range, as it has a huge 216 page
instruction manual and takes some time to go through it and get
familiar with all the functions and numerous "bell's and whistles".
However, if you already owned a 756PRO series you will find setting up
much easier as many of the functions follow the same format.

I am a listener only and focus mainly on the LF and MW bands.
I have had it for several days now and feel more familiar with it and
have given it a really good thrash in some productive quiet early
morning pre-dawn sessions.
It is very quiet compared to the already quite quiet 756PROIII that I
have next to it connected for direct A/B comparisons through a SP20
speaker and common antenna.
A major advantage for me is that the 7700 will engage both pre-amp 1
and 2 in both LF and MW bands, whereas this is not possible on the
756. In addition pre-amp 1 is supremely quiet and can be engaged with
confidence in nearly all situations. This results in the possibility
to render audible some very faint stations that are not audible on the
756. In addition pre-amp 2 can also be engaged usefully on MW and LF,
even though the instruction manual recommend it's use only above 20
Mhz.

The action of the filters on the 7700 is superb, as when selecting a 2
Khz setting and engaging the 3 Khz roofing filter. Working the
difficult 9/10 Khz MW splits is a breeze and gives results appreciably
better than the 756PRO.

Using the pre-amps and the tight filters I was able to render several
very weak Brazilians audible that the 756 couldn't get. Plus on LF I
found the ASN Ascension Isl. NDB beacon, extremely faint but readable
with a 50 Hz filter and pre-amp 1 on. You could hear it faintly on the
756, but could not really render it readable.

The NR noise reduction feature on both radio's seems to be the same,
but the NB noise blanker is a dream on the 7700, as it is adjustable
for both width and depth. On the 756 the NB will only zap the
infrequent ignition noise you get today, but the 7700 will in addition
zap all sorts of suburban electrical pulses = lovely feature.

The 7 inch scope is lovely, much clearer *and larger than the 756 and
covers a much greater span - 5 khz to 500 khz in several steps.

So I am very happy with the 7700 and it seems a very worthwhile
upgrade and money well spent. Don't misunderstand me, the 756PROIII is
a very good radio, it is just that the 7700 is superb and a marked
improvement.
__________________________________________________ _____

Of course if you only listen to the AM SW bands then you will probably
do very well with a setup like Burr has, but if you want to do serious
Trans Atlantic and Trans Pacific MW DX then you need a top line
receiver.

John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
Icom IC-7700, Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
Drake SW8. ERGO software
Sony 7600D, GE SRIII, Redsun RP2100
BW XCR 30, Sangean 803A.
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro Mk II, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop.http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx

JP - Enjoy your new Super-Receiver; and let us know
of any new finds out there on the Air Waves. ~ RHF

Greetings John..

Two things..

1) "I am a listener only and focus mainly on the LF and MW
bands."

Keeping in mind that:

"The ICOM IC-7700 was designed from the start to be the ultimate
contest transceiver."

Reference:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0277.html

At $6300 USD, probably more elsewhere with applicable taxes and
tariffs, there sure should be a less expensive alternative for
merely SWL! However, with BOTH a IC-756PRO III + IC-7700 merely
for SWL, little doubt some have more of a budget than others!

In any event, with THAT serious of a radio collection.

2) Consider:

Megahertz is defined as MHz, kilohertz as kHz and hertz as Hz. It
is, in fact, ALWAYS a capital "H" to pay homage to Mr. Heinrich
Hertz. The first letter of that last name IS capitalized and
always has been.
Consider: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/hertz.htm
or,
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.c...214263,00.html
or, http://tf.nist.gov/timefreq/general/glossary.htm (click on
"M" or "J-K" - these folks should know the difference)

Further proof? Take a look at www.fcc.gov and note their
frequency references. In addition, simply take a look at a stereo
dial, clock radio or even your transistor radio and notice how
the manufacturers abbreviate frequency.

Cheers,
Mr. Mentor



wrote in message
...
| Icom IC-7700 initial impressions.
|
| Your first impression when the deliveryman brings it is it's
HUGE - a
| giant box weighing in packed at 37kgs/80 lbs. It is double
boxed and
| extremely well packed. It takes two of you to unpack it and get
it in
| place in the shack. Setting up may be difficult for anyone not
| familiar with the Icom 756 PRO range, as it has a huge 216 page
| instruction manual and takes some time to go through it and get
| familiar with all the functions and numerous "bell's and
whistles".
| However, if you already owned a 756PRO series you will find
setting up
| much easier as many of the functions follow the same format.
|
| I am a listener only and focus mainly on the LF and MW bands.
| I have had it for several days now and feel more familiar with
it and
| have given it a really good thrash in some productive quiet
early
| morning pre-dawn sessions.
| It is very quiet compared to the already quite quiet 756PROIII
that I
| have next to it connected for direct A/B comparisons through a
SP20
| speaker and common antenna.
| A major advantage for me is that the 7700 will engage both
pre-amp 1
| and 2 in both LF and MW bands, whereas this is not possible on
the
| 756. In addition pre-amp 1 is supremely quiet and can be
engaged with
| confidence in nearly all situations. This results in the
possibility
| to render audible some very faint stations that are not audible
on the
| 756. In addition pre-amp 2 can also be engaged usefully on MW
and LF,
| even though the instruction manual recommend it's use only
above 20
| Mhz.
|
| The action of the filters on the 7700 is superb, as when
selecting a 2
| Khz setting and engaging the 3 Khz roofing filter. Working the
| difficult 9/10 Khz MW splits is a breeze and gives results
appreciably
| better than the 756PRO.
|
| Using the pre-amps and the tight filters I was able to render
several
| very weak Brazilians audible that the 756 couldn't get. Plus on
LF I
| found the ASN Ascension Isl. NDB beacon, extremely faint but
readable
| with a 50 Hz filter and pre-amp 1 on. You could hear it faintly
on the
| 756, but could not really render it readable.
|
| The NR noise reduction feature on both radio's seems to be the
same,
| but the NB noise blanker is a dream on the 7700, as it is
adjustable
| for both width and depth. On the 756 the NB will only zap the
| infrequent ignition noise you get today, but the 7700 will in
addition
| zap all sorts of suburban electrical pulses = lovely feature.
|
| The 7 inch scope is lovely, much clearer and larger than the
756 and
| covers a much greater span - 5 khz to 500 khz in several steps.
|
| So I am very happy with the 7700 and it seems a very worthwhile
| upgrade and money well spent. Don't misunderstand me, the
756PROIII is
| a very good radio, it is just that the 7700 is superb and a
marked
| improvement.
| __________________________________________________ _____
|
| Of course if you only listen to the AM SW bands then you will
probably
| do very well with a setup like Burr has, but if you want to do
serious
| Trans Atlantic and Trans Pacific MW DX then you need a top line
| receiver.
|
| John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
| South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
| Icom IC-7700, Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
| Drake SW8. ERGO software
| Sony 7600D, GE SRIII, Redsun RP2100
| BW XCR 30, Sangean 803A.
| Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro Mk II, Datong AD-270
| Kiwa MW Loop.
| http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx
|
|

On Apr 25, 12:56*am, "dBc" wrote:
* * * SNIP * * *
- Greetings John..
-
- 2) *Consider:
-
- Megahertz is defined as MHz, kilohertz as kHz and hertz
- as Hz. It is, in fact, ALWAYS a capital "H" to pay homage
- to Mr. Heinrich Hertz. The first letter of that last name IS
- capitalized and always has been.
- Consider : http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/hertz.htm
- or, http://searchnetworking.techtarget.c...sid7_gci214263,....
- or, http://tf.nist.gov/timefreq/general/glossary.htm
- (click on "M" or "J-K" - these folks should know the difference)

- = Rewrite = -
Megahertz is defined as MHz, kilohertz as kHz and hertz as Hz.

It is, in fact, ALWAYS a capital "H" with a small 'z' to pay
homage to Mr. Heinrich Hertz.
[ Which is a contraction of 'Hertz' to "Hz" ]

"The Hertz" (Symbol : Hz) {Cycles-per-Second}
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MHz

The first letter of that last name IS capitalized and always has
been.
Consider : http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/hertz.htm

or,

MHZ could stand for "Multi Headed Zebra"

iane ~ RHF {pomkia}


Further proof? Take a look atwww.fcc.govand note their
frequency references. In addition, simply take a look at a stereo
dial, clock radio or even your transistor radio and notice how
the manufacturers abbreviate frequency.

Cheers,
Mr. Mentor

* * * SNIP * * *

Sorry for adding more didactic crap, but...

I'm surprised that Mr. Mentor didn't point out that Hz ‚ c.
Because Hz = cps.
[But I'm old enough to prefer kc, even tho' it's less specific]

-j

In article , dBc
wrote:

Greetings..

Regarding:
"That's why I always use the terms kcs (kilocycles), "

I believe it's probably about time to come into modern times and
standards. It really doesn't matter what Mr. Hertz's ethnicity
was, what does matter is what he discovered as the rest of the
world has notably recognized.

At least the number of "old timers" that are currently using the
"kilocycles" term along with "Mickey-mikes" for capacitance are
dying and being buried with those old and now bad habits.

Cheers,
Mr. Mentor



"Bart Bailey" wrote in message
...
| In
|

| posted on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:21:57 -0700 (PDT), RHF wrote:
Begin
|
| snipped a bunch of didactic about MHz, kHz and Hz
|
| That's why I always use the terms kcs (kilocycles),
| been that way since my first SWL days in the late 40s.
| Why should I worry about some dead German
| when it's more interesting to listen to live ones on Deutsche
Welle?