Hi

I am considering the purchase at some point, of a 746, PRO or original
746.
I know the pro has all the filters as standard, but I have heard some
mixed comments, that the older 746 overall is better?? Is the
receiver sensitivity + noise floor on HF about the same with each rig,
or have some found this not to be the case? Also I've heard some talk
about the 746pro, sharing the same, or similar receiver
characteristics as the 756 pro?

I know the 2m performance is not the best with either radio, but id be
primarily be using the radio on HF. I am leaning toward the original,
but am welcome to comments, and advice.

Thank You

Zach K7LTF

"K7LTF Zach" wrote in message
m...
Hi

I am considering the purchase at some point, of a 746, PRO or original
746.
I know the pro has all the filters as standard, but I have heard some
mixed comments, that the older 746 overall is better?? Is the
receiver sensitivity + noise floor on HF about the same with each rig,
or have some found this not to be the case? Also I've heard some talk
about the 746pro, sharing the same, or similar receiver
characteristics as the 756 pro?

I know the 2m performance is not the best with either radio, but id be
primarily be using the radio on HF. I am leaning toward the original,
but am welcome to comments, and advice.


Hello Zach:

I'd scrap both radios. My suggestion to you is buy a Kenwood 2000 (if you
are looking for a combination radio). The Icom 746 line are nothing more
than 706MkI's in a big case. These radio's bleed intermod, the auto tuners
are vulnerable to relay overload (if used by a lid), and the audio (when
using a desk mic) sounds like a Cobra 29 on Channel 19 with a D-104 driving
a Texas Star Sweet Sixteen...............Breaker Breaker good buddy.....

These radios are great novice radios but if you're going to invest your hard
earned money in an H.F. rig, buy one that is bullet proof. (or buy a real
nice H.F. rig like and a separate cheepy 2M rig).

My opinion.

73 de Paul

I disagree with the previous comment. I've owned both and in fact got rid
of the Kenwood 2000. It overloaded badly on strong signals (HF) where the
IC-746Pro front end was not affected in the least. The filters are superior
as well as the noise reduction. I also have a 756Pro and the 746Pro is very
close in performance, less the spectrum analyzer. The 746Pro is superior to
the 746, which I also owned, once gain due to the filters and DSP. I have
not noticed any intermod, tuner problems or similarity to the 706 (which I
have also owned). I'll leave the CB comment alone...unjustified. Just make
certain that you purchase a unit that has the transmit mod performed and the
freq encoder updated (you may need to return it to Icom for these mods).
Icom has been exceptionally cooperative with the mods and has in fact even
performed this service under warranty to those who were not the original
owners. Icom has proven they stand behind their products.

Good luck,

Mitch
w2msk

"K7LTF Zach" wrote in message
m...
Hi

I am considering the purchase at some point, of a 746, PRO or original
746.
I know the pro has all the filters as standard, but I have heard some
mixed comments, that the older 746 overall is better?? Is the
receiver sensitivity + noise floor on HF about the same with each rig,
or have some found this not to be the case? Also I've heard some talk
about the 746pro, sharing the same, or similar receiver
characteristics as the 756 pro?

I know the 2m performance is not the best with either radio, but id be
primarily be using the radio on HF. I am leaning toward the original,
but am welcome to comments, and advice.

Thank You

Zach K7LTF

I had a 746 Pro for about a month , then I bought an FT-1000MP Mark V
Field , It blows it away hands down...

N4ATS

K7LTF Zach wrote:
Hi

I am considering the purchase at some point, of a 746, PRO or original
746.
I know the pro has all the filters as standard, but I have heard some
mixed comments, that the older 746 overall is better?? Is the
receiver sensitivity + noise floor on HF about the same with each rig,
or have some found this not to be the case? Also I've heard some talk
about the 746pro, sharing the same, or similar receiver
characteristics as the 756 pro?

I know the 2m performance is not the best with either radio, but id be
primarily be using the radio on HF. I am leaning toward the original,
but am welcome to comments, and advice.

Thank You

Zach K7LTF

I dunno. I will tell you one thing based on me owning a 746 (not pro) and a
756Pro (not ProII).

The receiver of the 746 is more sensitive than my 756Pro when on
10-Meters....I do alot of 10 Meter operation. When you turn on preamp 2 on
the 746, it will beat the 756Pro (no matter which of its preamps are
switched on) to the tune of several dB. I can dig a weak signal up with the
746 better than my 756Pro time after time. Why the difference? Dunno. One
more thing to consider is the fact that on the 746 with all that preamp gain
switched in (preamp 2), the receiver is more noisier than my
756 Pro.

Bottom line: I would guess that the HF preamp on the 746 has about 6dB more
gain on 10-Meters
than the 756Pro preamps.

One more item: I installed the W2ENY 6KHz AM filter into the 746 and I also
bought the rather expensive 3.3KHz SSB filter for the '46. That gives me
three options of selectivity on AM: 3.3, 6.0 and 9.0 (guess what....same as
the 756PRO!).....and SSB selectivity options of the standard 2.8 and
3.3KHZ (which is what I use most in the PRO).

Also: The 746 being a pure analog radio (in the I.F.) does not exhibit the
"fuzzy audio" on transmit or receive that the 756PRO (and probably the
PROII) has. My 756PRO also has that adjacent-channel low frequency
thump-thump DSP bleedover described in the reviews (QST, I think?).

The 746 is probably one of the best deals going now in used equipment:
$750-$900 Check a dealer like Burghardt, they will probably sell you a
clean used 746....if you don't like it within a couple of weeks, they may
allow full credit trade up to PRO.

Pat WB9GKZ

Pat WB9GKZ
"K7LTF Zach" wrote in message
m...
Hi

I am considering the purchase at some point, of a 746, PRO or original
746.
I know the pro has all the filters as standard, but I have heard some
mixed comments, that the older 746 overall is better?? Is the
receiver sensitivity + noise floor on HF about the same with each rig,
or have some found this not to be the case? Also I've heard some talk
about the 746pro, sharing the same, or similar receiver
characteristics as the 756 pro?

I know the 2m performance is not the best with either radio, but id be
primarily be using the radio on HF. I am leaning toward the original,
but am welcome to comments, and advice.

Thank You

Zach K7LTF

All the bells and whistles are nice, but when it comes to performance, I
have not found anything that beats my good ol' TS-130S. A top notch antenna
system will do a lot more for you than all the bells and whistles on a radio
ever could.
I do have a TS-440S/AT in my service truck, but thats only for the
auto-tuner..... and the 440 performs just as well as the 130 in the truck or
the shack.

sigh I suppose if you got a lot more $$$ than you know what to do with,
you can buy the latest and greatest toys.

"K7LTF Zach" wrote in message
m...
Hi

I am considering the purchase at some point, of a 746, PRO or original
746.
I know the pro has all the filters as standard, but I have heard some
mixed comments, that the older 746 overall is better?? Is the
receiver sensitivity + noise floor on HF about the same with each rig,
or have some found this not to be the case? Also I've heard some talk
about the 746pro, sharing the same, or similar receiver
characteristics as the 756 pro?

I know the 2m performance is not the best with either radio, but id be
primarily be using the radio on HF. I am leaning toward the original,
but am welcome to comments, and advice.

Thank You

Zach K7LTF

I had a 746 Pro for about a month , then I bought an FT-1000MP Mark V
Field , It blows it away hands down...


For several hundred dollars more, it should!


Ed WB6SAT

And of course, the TS-2000 which Paul recommends is undoubtedly the
ugliest radio ever made. :-)

--
Bill, W6WRT

Hi Bill,

The only people that say this are those who have never owned one and are
going by pictures in the magazine, me included until I got one. It's a
nice looking radio, (in my opinion) and performs very well. I have
compared it with my Icom 775, Kenwood 870, 950SDX and Yaesu FT900. For
the money if I had only one radio to perform many functions, the TS-2000
would be it. It does HF, VHF, UHF including 1.2 gig (option), SSB, FM,
AM, packet, RTTY, CW and yes you can track your favorite bird.

It does come with a .5 PPM tcxo which you would have to pay extra for
with other radios.

It might be ugly to some, but it's a hell of a radio when you look at
all the things it can do.

Having said all that, I have had strong information that the Icom
IC-746PRO is also one hell of a buy and a very good radio.


73

Dale, K9VUJ
--

I'd scrap both radios. My suggestion to you is buy a Kenwood 2000 (if
you are looking for a combination radio). The Icom 746 line are
nothing more than 706MkI's in a big case. These radio's bleed
intermod, the auto tuners are vulnerable to relay overload (if used
by a lid), and the audio (when using a desk mic) sounds like a Cobra
29 on Channel 19 with a D-104 driving a Texas Star Sweet
Sixteen...............Breaker Breaker good buddy.....

These radios are great novice radios but if you're going to invest
your hard earned money in an H.F. rig, buy one that is bullet proof.
(or buy a real nice H.F. rig like and a separate cheepy 2M rig).



Just retired my FT-857 and got a new 746 Pro. I couldn't be happier.
The receiver filtering options are fantantic and work as well as claimed.
Consequently, the Rx is now able to dig out stuff I could not copy with
the older Yaesu. I've had nothing but superior reports on my Tx audio,
too, bye the way... with the stock hand mic.

No regrets!

Ed WB6SAT

Sold my Yaesu FT1000MP Mark V on E-Bay in September, and bought a 746PRO a
couple of weeks ago. I wanted a "all in one box" wonder radio because I am
running out of desk space.

The 746PRO is a great radio. Can't get over not having to buy all those
expensive filters. The DSP is great, the receiver has so many options and
features that adjusting it's sound to your ears is a piece of cake. Clean, clear
audio on SSB as well, but I use it mostly for CW. Great keyer, break in works
very well. No intermod at all except on MW .... a little from the 50 KW
blowtorch 20 miles away.

The display is very very nice...probably the main reason I bought it in the
first place. The 756Pro was just too much money for what it is.

At $1329 shipped with the PS25 supply from AES, it's a great value, and I
couldn't be happier with it ! Do I miss the Mark V? Heck NO! The Mark V is just
too damn complicated for a casual ham..... and way tooooo big on the desk.

And I agree....the TS2000 is ugly as hell. But Kenwood did a much better job on
the 480...

My 2 cents,
Nick KZ9P

I started with nothing. I still have most of it




On 15 Nov 2003 00:04:25 -0800, (K7LTF Zach) wrote:

Hi

I am considering the purchase at some point, of a 746, PRO or original
746.
I know the pro has all the filters as standard, but I have heard some
mixed comments, that the older 746 overall is better?? Is the
receiver sensitivity + noise floor on HF about the same with each rig,
or have some found this not to be the case? Also I've heard some talk
about the 746pro, sharing the same, or similar receiver
characteristics as the 756 pro?

I know the 2m performance is not the best with either radio, but id be
primarily be using the radio on HF. I am leaning toward the original,
but am welcome to comments, and advice.

Thank You

Zach K7LTF