New Product Showcase
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Ruminations, mumbling,
opinions, and good stuff
By Chris Garon, K1SI |
Icom IC-706MkII
Improvements and additions
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Icom has just improved upon the IC-706
which by the way I think is the best thing to
come out of Icom since the IC-02AT. I’ve
sold what seems like thousands of this unit
and have only seen two radios come back
defective for reasons other than user caused
problems. No frozen VFO knob here!
So, what’s the difference ‘tween old ‘n new?
- Enhanced .03 - 200 MHz RX
- Space for two optional filters
- Optional tone squelch
- 20 watts on 2 meters
- Cross-band duplex (for you Satellite guys)
- Band stacking register which memorizes preamp & attenuator settings, as well as frequency and mode
- Larger internal speaker
- Enhanced TX audio
- Quieter cooling fan
In addition to the revisions listed above, they
also changed some menu items. One of the
several menu changes that comes to mind, is
the new menu item which lets the user lock
out certain modes on each band. This
makes it easier to change modes because you
don’t not have to toggle through those that
you never use on that band. For example, I
can’t remember having ever used AM or
FM on 20 meters, and have never heard
WS1E on HF SSB ever! Another thing I
wish my “old” 706 did, is band change with
the UP/DOWN keys to the right of the VFO
knob. The MkII does this. On the original
706, the TS key had to be pushed several
times to change the tuning speed to facilitate
band changes.
Here are a few of my opinions and
observations. The broadband preamp is no
better in the new 706. I am using a Icom
EM-91 avionic noise canceling mic which
appears to working very well. It drives the
radio much better than the supplied mic and
sounds very well. This is a real radio, not a
toy! I work 9K2GS in Kuwait regularly on
20 SSB with no problem and have been
having a blast working all kinds of DX. In
a pinch the UP/DOWN buttons on the mic
can be used as an electronic keyer. It takes
some getting used to, but it works, I worked
Henry, K1CII with it on 80. For you RTTY
folks the IC-706 has a direct FSK
connection on the rear panel. I am now on
RTTY from the Crown Victoria and it works
great! My first RTTY contact was
GI3YSW in Belfast Ireland. My hat’s off to
Icom...good job guys!
List price for the IC706MkII is $1599 and
typical selling price is $1300. This may
seem expensive to some people, but is
actually a great deal for what you get. The
price for a 90 watt 6 meter only all mode
radio is now over $900.
73 es gud DX de Chris K1SI
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