Living with the Icom IC 718 HF transceiver.
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 гру 2023
- My HF Transceiver in my 2nd shack is the Icom IC718. For many years this was Icom's basic no frills radio. Identical in appearance to the R75 Receiver.
The 718 has enabled me to work 87 DXCC entities with a very compromised antenna. What do I think of this radio? Here are my thoughts. - Наука та технологія
I have an IC-718 that I bought brand new in the summer of 2023. I absolutely love it. I didn't want to spend the money on a 7300, nor did I want all the bells and whistles that come with one. I work primarily 20 and 40 meters with a 58' EFRW, with a 9:1 balun and it works flawlessly. My farthest QSO so far has been 4100 miles at 100W. No mods done. I added an mAT-180H tuner and replaced the standard hand mic with an SM-30 desk mic. I also added an external speaker which immensely improved the audio. I get great signal reports all day long. The 718 is a fantastic radio and I doubt that I'll ever replace it. 73
I bought a used ic-718 a couple of years ago and am just now getting into using it more. It came with a DSP unit that doesn’t act the same way as the one in your radio. When I press the button for noise reduction I get a significant drop in noise. It is nothing like the drop in volume you are getting.
The RF/SQL knob can be set in the Initial Settings to be squelch in AM mode and RF for SSB/CW/RTTY. That is the “automatic” option. Default is RF/SQL.
I’m not sure that I love this radio, but it does more than I thought it would. I am still going through the manual that I got online.
I use mine for portable outings with my club where less experienced operators will be using it. Simple to use, no complex controls, works well for what it is.
I did install the optional filter FL222, purchased used off eBay since it does not seem to be in production any longer.
My first rig was the 718, bought new in 2013. I also looked at the FT-450 back then. But I found that people's brains tend to be wired for taking quickly to either Icom or Yaesu menu logic. Mine is apparently Icom. Over the years, the 718 has driven a 260ft horiz loop, a HyEnd 5 band EF, and now a ladder line doublet, all barefoot 100w max. It's a no-frills workhorse, and I love it. Got me WAS, WAC, WPX, and DXCC. Max QRB has been a little over 11,000 miles. If you are a power contester on voice or CW, you might want more features. The MARS/CAP mod was easy to do myself. I put a Heil iCM mic on it and get excellent audio quality reports with audio gain set to 70. It also drives an external Icom speaker that has high and low pass filtering options, which improves sound. Have since added an IC-7000, which is also an excellent little rig. But for digital work with some basic phone, not a thing wrong with the 718. My only gripe is the sensitivity / linearity of the volume knob. Bought a second one used to service my radio BBS, and it has run 7x24x365 for several years without a hitch. Also have a pair of the same IT-100 tuners. Those are also workhorses.
Reminds me of my Icom 7200, no FM, RF Gain/squelch control but it has the digital processing included and a single USB to computer for digital modes. I have the same LDG tuner that works a treat. Thanks for the video.
You are welcome thanks for your comments
I have an IC718 that I have had for 20 years. it's a great cw rig. I have worked over 100 countries and 2000 contacts of FT8. It's a great rig.
I have an IC-718 as a second HF radio in my shack. I like the simplicity of the radio and it seems to pick up dx stations as well as my IC-7300. I like tuning through the bands without the waterfall display and just seeing who's out there.
I am the same way. I have/had several Yaesu FTdx10's, Yaesu FT-991A's, Yaesu FT819's, Yaesu FT-897D's, Kenwood TS-520S's, Icom-7300's, Icom IC-728's and on and on.... But when I sit down at my radio desk I instantly go to my IC-718. It is the most fun radio I have ever owned. It's built like a tank, dependable and has just enough controls to accomplish what I want to do. Including cleaning up the receive. An experienced HAM can utilize the controls to isolate a CW signal, adjust tone of the receive audio and quiet the receiver to a very useable result. I have done it myself. I have heard many people complain about their radios being crap. 9 out of 10 do not realize it is them not knowing the controls and how to set the radio. NOT the radios fault! Take the time to read the manual front to back and you'll be amazed what your "CRAP" radio can do! 73!
I got my technician license in 1988, and because of the 13 wpm code requirement, I waited until 2009 to upgrade to general. I immediately bought a new Icom IC-718. It was the simplest HF radio I could find. But not simple enough. It took me almost 6 months to figure everything out. I absolutely hate menus. Why does an HF radio need to be programmed? The answer is, it doesn't. I wound up buying a beautiful Yaesu FT-DX 560 tube radio that looked brand new, but didn't work. But everything was there, and it was simple. I completely rebuilt it, and it works great. And I learned a lot about real radios in the process. It took me about the same time to rebuild the Yaesu as it did to figure out the Icom. And it's a lot more enjoyable to use. It's a real radio. Nothing digital. To me digital means fake. It's nothing but a bunch of ones and zeros. The Yaesu 560 puts out 250 watts on SSB, compared to the 100 watts of the 718. And the audio output is equally impressive. I didn't get the original speakers, so I used a set of car stereo speakers instead. They were designed for lots of power, and the 560 got the best out of them. The booming audio from the 560 makes the 718 sound like a pocket transistor radio. Since the 560 weighs over 40 pounds, I still use the 718 for portable use. I wish someone would make a radio similar to the old tube radios, at least on the outside.
I agree with you. I am new to hf which for now I starting with my trusty President HR2510 for 10 meters just so I can get the hang of it on how to operate on the HAM bands. I've made contacts with more than 50 countries with it with just 20 watts and a rotary dipole at 20 feet and my mic is a Turner Super Sidekick. Works really great. For now I'm just waiting for the capacitor kits so I can recap two of my father inlaws Icom IC-735. It used to work, but since it was in storage for 16 years since he passed, and I just got it recently, it just turns ON and nothing. Just like a dead rig. I've asked around and all said that there's a big chance that'll get back alive again " I hope ", once it's been recapped. I really am hoping for the best because, aside from I hate modern digitallized radios, this 735's have a lot of good reviews. I love radios that you have all you need in the front panel to operate it. Now, once the menu board bogs down, you're done.
I had the the ICOM 718 for about a year. It was fitted with the DSP board. I did find the noise reduction useful but with any noise cancelling, use to much and it destroys the audio quality. Totally agree with your comments. This was the reasons I sold mine.
Happy New Year. David M0DUU
Use the sq. for receiving AM CB. Many thanks for the Video.
Turn on the dimmer on the 718 and you won't wash out the dial what's the light.
Can I ask you to try it with an external speaker. I don't mean an expensive one, I literally mean any old external speaker, even maybe one off a stereo. Maybe a pair of computer speakers even that needed power. It is almost like Icom was so sold on the idea of selling speakers that the decided to put a terrible one inside.
To be honest i don't find the built in speaker to be a problem. The noisy receiver is the issue I have with this radio.
It's crazy that they made such a bad radio for so long
@@KevinOReillyswli use my 718 with ATT Button. Receiver is extremely sensitive .So attenuator is useful for noise