Hey all,

In another thread, "what out of production radio would you want", the Icom 706 gets high marks.  I'm seeing several for sale on various forums and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger (keying the mic?).  Anyway, If you've got a 706 or a 703, chime in and tell me what you like, what you hate, and if this is a practical idea.  I'm a General license holder and am working on my extra very slowly.   I like the capabilities of the series as an "all in one" package but I'd never be able to justify the cost of a comparable current production radio.

Thanks,

ka
KN4DEC

@BigDaddy0004 was a 703 user... I shoulda bought that rig

I have never owned either radio.

However, at one time, practically every ham I knew owned an IC-706 (and I know a lot of hams).  And a majority of people I worked on the air were using an IC-706.

That radio was HUGELY popular.  Certainly one of the most popular radios ever made.

That says something about it.

I LOVED my IC-706mkllg

should have never sold it

older ones have finals that are no longer replaceable...so watch your SWR

Something I always thought was sort of funny for some reason;

Apparently, there was more than one version of the IC-706. And if someone had the MKIIG, they ALWAYS mentioned it. I don’t care if the guy was struggling along at a shaky 5 words per minute on a straight key: they would, absolutely EVERY time say, MKIIG.

I think that when you bought one, you had to swear a solemn oath, on the soul of your mother to never, ever, under any circumstance, say the words IC-706 without adding MkIIG at the end; so help you God.
I am not sure if this obligation carries over to future buyers of used gear or not.

I think @Foxxz has a 706.

That generation of icoms is kinda finicky with input voltage and the audio input for digital modes needs attenuated.

The 703 was a cool radio too and with the popularity of the 817 and KX line have no idea why icom killed it.

I don't have that one. But the drive levels of the other icoms I have did need some tuning

that’s because it was the new cool version

Keep in mind the 703 is not an all in one radio.  It's only 160-10 for the 703 and 160-6 for the 703+.  I have a 703 and traded off my FT-817 once I got my hands on it.  The receiver in these is excellent and better than that of the 706.  I also have a 706 (original) that I pieced back together.  It doesn't get much use, but the original 706 was the first HF rig I ever operated back in Field Day 1996, so it's more of a nostalgic purpose.

I personally use an IC-7100 (which I traded for the FT-817.  That is an all in one rig, and can be found for a reasonable price.  I think it's a much better rig than any of the 706 versions, though not quite as portable with the detached head.

Personally, I normally prefer to keep VHF/UHF separate from HF anyway.  Two very different use cases for me.  In fact, I don't even hook up a VHF/UHF antenna to my 7100.

I bought my MKIIG new back in 2008. Still going after 10 years and no complaints from me.

I did do the "fan mod" which keeps the cooling fan running at a low speed constantly. It keeps

the rig cool and I can't even hear the fan running so ++ good.

Not to hijack the thread, but where did the IC-7000 fit into the lineup.
I did own one of those.
It seems to someone like me that doesn't know anything to be a very similar radio.

It's another "all in one" radio. And it also was quite a popular rig. I liked mine. It was never my main rig, but I used it quite a bit and now I kind of regret selling it because it would make a great mobile rig.

That was my first HF radio, and I loved it.  I still blame "Capt Orange Box" for setting the hook, but that was the start of my other BRD.

Never owned either rig but have worked a bunch of them on CW. Both sound great from my end.

The 703 is(was?) popular with the SOTA crowd.

Owned both. Both are great radios. The 706 I had was a bit of a pain for digital, and
had a touch of drift that would be noticable in very narrow band (talking 10-20 Hz)
digital modes.

I never had any issues with the 703, but keep in mind that there's an awful lot of
relays in the tuner and that's a mechanical part that can fail. I always got a bit
of a kick hearing it chatter away as if figured out the tuning solution.

One thing Icom got really right with the 703 is the RX current draw. Probably one
of the best low-current recievers ever made. That of course translates to longer
battery life in the field.

Owned the IC-703- great radio and was amazed what 10 watts could do on a decent wire dipole.
Excellent RX low power portable.

Think I paid around $520.00 for it around 2009 and sold it about a year ago for $650.00 to fund a Collins S-line.

Still use my old 706, mainly just for cruising around the bands. Honestly the Yaesu's 857/897 are better rigs IMO. I never use the 6 or 2m functionality on my 706, but I do on the yaesus. Go figure... Honestly all in one can be a big deal or a total non issue. I mainly use the fact the radio is multimode when I use my 817 in the back country, or if I'm field portable with the 897. When I'm at home I just use a HT...

I wanted a 703 for a while, but from everything I read, its not really better than an 817, aside from the 10W thing, which isn't enough to make a difference on HF.

Had a IC 706 MkII, great mobile, got great reports of "Broadcast Quality" SSB. As a fixed station the receiver was so hot it overloaded on my dipole and I got signal artifacts up and down the band especially on CW.
73,
Rob

I have the m2g version.  I use it once or twice a year for field work.  It seems to work fine.

If you're gonna do it, get a MkIIG. Don't bother with the QRP 703 or the other models. I love mine. Easy menus, versitile do all radio in one box.

I still have the mk2g. Tough little radio. I only use it mobile. I'm in the process of installing it in my third pickup.
The only things it doesn't have are digital voice and easy programmability. There is no provision for loading memories from a computer. I've considered getting the latest, greatest from Icom or Yaesu, but i need to be more active on the radio. It's been awhile.

How will you be using it? On a desk, mobile, portable/battery power?

I have a ic706mkII and it works well across the board with an LDG IT-100. I've managed WAS on FT8 with it, and is small enough to take portable for field day, camping etc. I would buy another one.

I don't know anything about the radio but I suggest you delete your call from your post.

I have a MKII (not the G!) and I like it. It was the first real radio I bought. I am not an avid ham, so it works pretty well for the few times a month I actually get a hankerin' to get on the air. I use it a lot for the digital modes, and I think it does pretty well.

I used to have a 706, not mkII. It was a "bullet proof" radio. I bought it well used and well abused by a truck driver who had it mounted on his semi dash for many years. Case was packed full of dirt and had lots of dents. The radio functioned just fine. It was permanently mounted in several of my vehicles. It never gave me any problems. I recently gave it to someone who needed a radio.
Here is my opinion: A 706 does make an excellent mobile rig. There are much better choices in the price category if you want a base/portable radio. Same about IC-703 as a portable choice. A 703 is a cool radio but a Yaesu FT-857d is a much better choice for a portable rig, with better features, more output power, better receiver and an excellent VHF/UHF section. Add a tiny 150W MFJ manual tuner (or any other auto-tuner) and 857 will dance circles around a 703. I like the Yaesu ergonomics and it's intuitive menu structure. For some reason, the multi-level menus in IC-706, 703 (as well as IC-7000) are too confusing and hard to remember. User manual was always in the glove compartment, LOL. It took me 10 minutes to learn the menus in the 857d and I never needed a manual ever since.

Keep in mind that parts for the IC-706 series are getting harder to obtain. Finals for the 706 and some earlier 706mkII are "unobtanium", If I remember correctly.