756 Pro III vs. 7300 vs. ????

[357]

I have an offer to buy my 756 pro 3 and I was wondering what it would take to replace it.
The 7600 and 7700 are over my budget of $2000CDN.

Is the 7300 as good as the 756?
the 7300 has some pretty wimpy PA transistors and the only thing I'd like about it is to be able to put the waterfall on a big monitor but what about audio quality?

Is it as good as the pro III?

What do you all think?


thanks

 

[sp5it]

From my point of view.
7300 is small. I prefer big radios with lotsa knobs and buttons. Why? Because when I need to change something quickly I hate digging in 4th menu of 5th menu to do it.
7300 have only 1 antenna socket. Big disadvantage for me as for rx only antennas user. Can be modded to add rx antenna socket but...
Mike

 

[Road Squawker]

... and not to mention the issue with the 7300 causing "hot switching" of amplifiers because of incorrect relay design.

 

[2RT307]

I would tap the IF for the Pro III, buy a RSP-1, and use it with SDR Console 3, SDR Uno, or HDSDR for your panadapter. All of which are free programs. You can use Omni-Rig to tie it together so it sync's with the transceiver. The Pro III is still a really great rig, and I (like Mike) prefer a big base station rig as well.
http://vk2dag.com/Docs/IC-756Pro3 -Spectrum Scope SDR Mod.pdf

I have heard both transmit and receive are excellent on the 7300, but even with the SDR and DSP, I think you would be taking a step down.

73,
Brett

 

[oldgeezer]

I bought a Kenwood TS-590SG & an ICOM IC-7300 at same time. The Kenwood has a far superior receiver. I could not make out weak signal SSB that was clear on the Kenwood. The IC-7300 has such a noisy receiver I had to set the noise reduction on 4 to hear average signal strength SSB signals. Below the AM radio dial the IC-7300 is deaf. The Kenwood shines below the AM radio dial. The IC-7610 is good, but costs $3800.

 

[6meter]

I ran an 756 pro 2 for a couple of years and really liked it. I liked the performance, ergonomics, size and layout.
After I got a Flex I let the pro 2 go. Anyhow I've been wanting a smaller size HF rig as a backup that didn't require AC and also for trips. I picked up a 7300 a few weeks back on the $999 deal. So far I really like the 7300.

For what its worth if I owned a Pro3 I would keep it. If I didn't have it and was looking at new radios I would get the 7300 before I would buy a used pro3.

 

[357]

Thanks for the input guys.
How about the FTdx3000D?

I'm really looking at the TTBF option on it as well as the pan adapter output.

 

[oldgeezer]

I never owned a FTDX3000. But per others it is a very quiet receiver & hears very well. Slightly less receiver performance per the specs vs a Kenwood TS-590SG, but I bet you would never hear that difference.

 

[2RT307]

I have the FTdx3000 and love it. The receiver is great, in my opinion. The waterfall display is ok, but not as crisp and clear as the Icom displays. I am using the rsp-1 on the rx out port as a panadapter, and it works fantastic. Prices are very low for this rig now. It is a big radio, too!

73,
Brett