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icom ic-718
- Thread starter spooky
- Start date
For AM use turn the Speech Processor ON. Go to sideband, adjust Mic Gain percentage in the Menu and talk. Adjust mic gain until you're reaching 100% on the ALC Scale on the meter. That should be the maximum audio level for clean modulation. Switch back to AM and you should be good.
I use an Astron SS-25M with my IC-718. You want at least a solid 20 amps capacity if you are going to use the full 100 watt output. Astron and Alinco make pretty good power supplies. Mine is a switcher, but with such great filtering that there is no detectable noise on the output.
I used to use a deep cycle RV battery and small charger or solar array, which also worked pretty well. I still use this for portable operations, like Field Day. I bought the IC-718 specifically for portable use, and it is a very capable rig.
Tuning the IC-718 for distortion-free AM is the same on any band. Select ALC as the meter function. Go to the "Mic Gain" and speak normally into the microphone. Adjust so that the ALC doesn't peak past the ALC zone, which is about 60% of the way up the meter. You can do this in AM mode. The "COMP" speech compressor does seem to keep the average power a bit higher, but I haven't seen it make as much difference in straight AM as in SSB. It doesn't help at all in FM.
That should give you a good starting point, and then you can tweak it in based onpreference and signal reports.
You might want to set the Squelch/RF Gain selction while you are in the menu to SQ (squelch only) or AT (auto). In auto it selects squelch only AM, Squelch/RF Gain for SSB.
Dave_W6DPS
Use the stock microphone and if you're using it as a base remove some or most of the wadding they stick inside in front of the microphone element and your audio will sound a lot better.
Set microphone gain to around 40 and you should have plenty of audio on SSB.
On AM I'd say just have a Cobra 29 handy, the 718 will do okay but still won't sound like a loud CB and it's a waste of time to try to make a 718 sound like that anyway.
Set microphone gain to around 40 and you should have plenty of audio on SSB.
On AM I'd say just have a Cobra 29 handy, the 718 will do okay but still won't sound like a loud CB and it's a waste of time to try to make a 718 sound like that anyway.
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
i'm looking forward to your comments on the 718 when you post your review of it up
CBradiomagazine.com - The only online CB Radio magazine in the world!
Its been my observation that the 718 I used to own would sound best on AM when I adjusted the amount of dead key/'carrier' and the modulation/'mic gain' correctly. That is to say, when is saw four times as much peak power as I did dead key power. THEN, I turned the compressor on. Worked OK; but it took a little fussing to get there.
The mic has a really thick pad inside the mic in front of the element. About as thick as a cigarette filter. If you take it out carefully and put the mic back together, this stock mic will work much better. Icom really overdid the amount of screen/filter they put in there.
And remember: this isn't a CB!
The mic has a really thick pad inside the mic in front of the element. About as thick as a cigarette filter. If you take it out carefully and put the mic back together, this stock mic will work much better. Icom really overdid the amount of screen/filter they put in there.
And remember: this isn't a CB!
I wonder if the reason why the compressor doesnt work on FM mode is because there is NO FM MODE on the ic-718?
Hmmmmm......
I set the stock mic with compressor on at 25 with the compressor on, and 70 with the compressor off for AM.
The ALC METER is almost useless on alot of ICOM rigs. On the 718, it dead keys 80% of the scale. If you look carefully, you can set it so the ALC doesnt respond any further. If it moves at all, you are clipping.
Also, the NB stinks on the 718, especially on AM.
Id love the rig for the price if only the NB worked on electrical noise in the city.
This rig is much better for ssb.
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I try to like the 718, but the preset AGC just turns me off. SSB is set to fast and tires the ear quickly.
Yep.
There is a mod for that.
Had one of these radios - OK for a beginner.
CW guys seem to like them.
Too easy to get spoiled with a radio that has a nice adjustable AGC.
Usually set mine real slow for DX.
My opinion it is a great SSB rig bus sucks on AM. Sounds best with factory microphone or 575 M6 on AM. And do not crank up the modulation. It works but not my number 1 choice for AM.