Tag Archives: IC-705

Participate in our Icom IC-705 Blind Receiver Test #1

I’ve been asked by a number of readers to do a blind audio/receiver test of the new Icom IC-705 transceiver. I’m happy to say I’ve started the process today.

Instead of publishing one long survey with multiple types of recordings (AM, SSB, CW, etc.) as I’ve done in the past, I’ve decided to create a post for each test. This will make the process of completing the survey much easier. Additionally, it won’t require that you respond to each test in order to submit your pick.

Test #1: 40 meters SSB

In this first test we’ll listen to the IC-705, and two other radios, tuned to a weak 40 meter station in lower sideband (LSB) mode. Specifically, this is ham radio operator W3JPH activating Shikellamy State Park in Pennsylvania for the Parks On The Air program. I like this test because it includes a weak station calling CQ and both weak and strong stations replying. There are also adjacent signals which (in some recordings) bleed over into the audio. Each recording is roughly the same length (5 minutes).

I’ve done my best to match these radios in terms of audio and receiver settings, but it’s certainly not perfect–these are essentially real world, not laboratory conditions.

Notes:

  • All radios are using the same antenna via my ELAD ASA15 Antenna Splitter Amplifier
  • All radios are set to the same bandwidth: 2.4 kHz
  • I’ve tried to match AGC settings on all radios
  • All three radios have different audio EQ characteristics–not all are fully adjustable
  • All three have separate recording devices and are not matched perfectly in terms of audio levels. In other words, you may need to adjust your volume a bit to compare.

My advice would be to focus on aspects like signal intelligibility, selectivity and signal to noise.

Please listen to each recording, then kindly answer and submit the survey below. Thank you!

Radio A

Radio B

Radio C

Survey

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Shortwave listening in the field with the Icom IC-705 transceiver

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Yesterday, I took the new Icom IC-705 to the field for another Parks On the Air (POTA) activation. My goal at this particular activation was to make a couple of posts for QRPer.com: first, to test the new mAT-705 ATU on loan from Vibroplex, and secondly, make a short video about full break-in CW operation.

I also wanted to do a little shortwave listening after completing the activation. I had no idea what propagation would be like, but thought I’d tune around below the 20 meter band where the antenna was currently resonant.

I deployed the CHA Emcomm III Portable random wire antenna which, I must say, is a superb shortwave listening antenna for the field.

Since you can’t see the antenna in the first photo below, I marked up the second one. The blue line represents the 73′ radiator, and the green line the counterpoise:
Here’s the short video I made around the 22 meter band:

I had planned to make a few audio recordings via the built-in digital recorder but I left my MicroSD card at home. No worries, though, as I plan to make some recordings for readers to compare in the coming days if time allows.

If you have any questions about the IC-705, feel free to ask in comments.

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Reading an interval signal in the waterfall

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I’ve been doing a lot of SWLing with the new Icom IC-705. I suppose I’ve not much to post here other than to simply say: I think Radio Exterior de España‘s interval signal looks brilliant on the ‘705 waterfall. I captured this at the end of their scheduled broadcast around 22:02 UTC today.

Of course, the audio was pretty nice, too. Their interval signal is unmistakable:

I’ll admit: I’m loving the native recording capabilities of the IC-705. This came straight off of the MicroSD card. Bandwidth was set to 9 kHz.

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Taking the Icom IC-705 to the field for a battery endurance test

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I recently posted results from my listening endurance test with the new Icom IC-705 QRP general coverage transceiver. I’ve been on a mission to see just how long the supplied BP-272 Li-ion battery pack can hold up with a full charge in real-world conditions.

Thursday, I took the IC-705 to the field and activated a park using only the charged battery pack. After nearly 2 hours of constant operation (calling CQ and working stations) the BP-272 still had nearly 40% of its capacity.

That’s better than I expected, especially knowing the BP-272 is the slim, lower capacity battery pack.

I have to admit: that was a particularly fun activation because propagation finally gave me a break and I worked stations from the Azores to Oregon on a mere five watts of power.

Click here to read my full field report at QRPer.com.

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Icom IC-705: Let’s see how long it’ll receive with supplied BP-272 Li-ion battery pack

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The shortwave radio listener part of me might actually be more excited about the Icom IC-705 than the ham radio operator part of me.

The IC-705 has a number of features for ham radio operators who also enjoy broadcast listening. For example, it sports:

  • a general coverage receiver,
  • good performance specs,
  • notch filtering (both manual and automatic),
  • Icom twin passband filtering,
  • an AM bandwidth filter maximum width of 10 kHz
  • built-in digital recording of both received and transmitted audio,
  • audio treble/bass adjustments,
  • and battery power from Icom HT Li-ion battery packs

The Icom IC-705 ships with an BP-272 Li-ion battery pack and since the announcement last year about the IC-705, I’ve been curious how long the BP-272 could power the IC-705 in receive only.

A real-world RX test

Yesterday morning, I resisted the urge to hunt POTA and SOTA stations with the IC-705 and, instead, spent the day simply listening.

I started the experiment with a fully-charged BP-272 7.4V 1880 mAh battery pack (the pack supplied with the IC-705). At 9:00 in the morning, I unplugged the IC-705 from my 12V power supply and ran the receiver all day on just the battery pack.

I made some practical changes to maximize play time: I turned on the screen saver, turned off GPS, set the LCD backlight auto adjustment to 2%, and set the screen timer to turn off after 1 minute.

I ran the volume somewhere between low and moderate and only raised it to what I would consider very loud a few times to copy weak signals. I listened to AM, SSB, and FM signals across the spectrum, but primarily cruised the HF bands.

Of course, I never transmitted with the IC-705 during this period (saving that for the next test).

I probably could have done more to decrease current drain, but frankly I wanted this to be based on how I’d likely configure the rig for use on an SWL DXpedition.

Results

I unplugged the IC-705 from the 12V power supply at 9:00 local and the radio auto shut down at 16:39 local: a total of 7 hours, 39 minutes.

Honestly? I’m fairly impressed with this number mainly because it’s based on the smaller battery pack. The supplied BP-272 pack has 1880 mAh of capacity. The optional BP-307, on the other hand, has 3150 mAh of capacity.

If I decide to keep the IC-705, I will be very tempted to purchase a ($130 US) BP-307 pack as well.

Next test: How long can the IC-705 last on battery during a POTA activation?

As early as today, I will see just how long the BP-272 pack can operate the IC-705 during a POTA activation. This will be a true challenge on the smaller battery pack since POTA activations require a lot of transmitting (constant CQ calls and exchanges). There’ll be no lack of calling CQ on a day like today when propagation is so incredible poor.

Follow the tag IC-705 for more updates.

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The Icom IC-705 has landed at SWLing Post HQ

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Yesterday, I received my new Icom IC-705 QRP transceiver (along with two FT-60R HTs) from Universal Radio.

I got home pretty late yesterday afternoon so haven’t had a lot of time to put the IC-705 on the air.

I did tune to the Voice of Greece and REE last night and, must say, was pretty impressed with AM mode.

This morning, I also worked two CW stations and one in SSB on the 40 meter band from my home.

Very early days, but I get the impression the IC-705 receiver is top shelf. At least, I like what I’m hearing.

So far, the only negative I’ve mentally noted is the difficulty in propping up this radio for use on a desk. It’s a little awkward. No doubt, a number of 3rd party solutions will soon emerge. I’m personally hoping someone will design a 3D printed stand/cradle.

Indeed, a 3D-printed front panel cover would also be nice because I do worry about the touch screen display being damaged in my backpack. Being a bit of a picky backpack geek, I did not opt for the custom Icom LC-192 backpack (completely subjective: just not my style and not waterproof). The IC-705 can be secured in the LC-192 so that the front panel is well-protected.

The IC-705 backlit display is very easy on the eyes–I hope it’s as easy to read in sunlight outdoors. We’ll soon find out because I’m certainly taking it to the field!

IC-705 Unboxing Photos

By request, here are some “unboxing” photos (click to enlarge):

Follow the tag IC-705 for more updates.

Your support made the purchase of this IC-705 possible.

Thank you!

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My Icom IC-705 is inbound…sharing my predictions

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I was contacted by Universal Radio yesterday afternoon with  a tracking number for my Icom IC-705. It will arrive by Monday evening.

A number of SWLing Post readers in the US and UK have notified me that their IC-705s have also been shipped and a few have even been received already.

I’m really looking forward to checking out the IC-705. The preliminary reviews (overviews, really) have been pretty positive. I found the IC-7300 to be a fabulous rig and the IC-705 smacks of the ‘7300. The ‘705 even includes more features than the ‘7300 (multi-mode VHF/UHF, D-Star, Wifi, and built-in GPS to name a few) although lacks an internal tuner.

I’ve received more questions about IC-705 and the TX-500 than I have any other radios this year. Both, in many senses, are ground-breaking in their features, (and in the case of the TX-500) form-factor and build.

If I’m being honest, I was more excited about the TX-500 because it simply suits my field operating style better (my full TX-500 review will be in the Oct 2020 issue of TSM).

Since I haven’t received the IC-705 yet and haven’t read any truly detailed reviews or comparisons, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before and share a few of my personal predictions.

Predictions

I’m human and can’t help but form a few expectations/opinions prior to a thorough rig evaluation. That and, having owned a number of their products, I’m very familiar with Icom as a company. I’ll probably regret this later, but here goes…

I suspect:

  • I’ll like the touch screen display more than I think I will. I’m not a big fan of color backlit displays in field radios. I prefer simple high-contrast LCD displays that are readable in full sunlight. I’m hoping Icom will have optimized the IC-705 display for reading outdoors.
  • I’ll be able to operate the radio without referring to the manual because I’m so familiar with the IC-7300.
  • I’ll really miss having a built-in ATU on a rig in this price class. Feels like a missed opportunity, however seeing the inside of the IC-705, there really isn’t a lot of spare room. With that said, I plan to review the mAT-705 ATU compact external tuner and hope it’ll pair nicely.
  • I’ll be disappointed with the amount of run time I’ll get from a fully-charged BP-272 battery pack. I really hope I’m wrong about this one. Icom did some serious engineering on the IC-705 to lower the amount of current needed in receive. We’ll see if that paid off and if it can compare, for example, to the run time I get from the rechargeable battery pack in my Elecraft KX2.
  • I’ll be very pleased with some of its features like CW and Voice memory keying for POTA and SOTA activations.
  • I’ll still find D-Star complicated to use even though, hypothetically, the IC-705 can connect directly to D-Star via WiFi. I hope I stand corrected on this point.
  • I’ll struggle to find the perfect padded pack to house the radio. I’m a bit of a pack geek/snob and don’t really like the Icom LC-192 backpack. I’ve no intention to order it even though it’s designed to work with the radio. So while this doesn’t apply to 99% of my readers, it’s a big deal in my world. 🙂 I’m sure I’ll sort out a solution.
  • I’ll feel some buyer’s remorse when, in 6 months, the IC-705 price drops a couple hundred dollars. That’s okay. I see it as taking a bullet for my readers (and, let’s face it, I love new radio gear). Plus, I’m banking on the notion that the IC-705 will make for a capable QRP EME transceiver.
  • I’ll love the built-in digital recorder for making off-air shortwave broadcast recordings (although I do fear I’ll find the AM audio filter too narrow).

Again, these are completely off-the-top-of-my-head predictions and based on no hands-on time with th IC-705. Next week, I’ll start to see how many of these predictions are correct and how many I totally missed.

I can tell you this: I’m not sure I want to see the invoice from Universal Radio. It includes the IC-705, two Yaesu FT-60R HTs, and some Anderson PowerPole connectors! Although I’ve had the IC-705 on order for ages, I added the HTs and connectors at the last moment because they don’t seem very pricey when you’re already at the $1300 US mark, right–? (Shhhh! The FT-60Rs are a gift for my daughters who take their Technician test this weekend!)

How about you? Do you have an IC-705 on order? What are your predictions and thoughts? Please comment!

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