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so ive had this thing for about three weeks now and figured id share some impressions since i spent a lot of time reading posts like this before buying. came from an old TS-590SG which i actually really liked but the 7300 was just hard to ignore at that price point, especially with the built in waterfall and the SDR front end and all that. first thing — the touchscreen is way more useful than i expected. i was kind of skeptical because i figured id just ignore it but honestly i use it constantly to click around on signals when im just casually spinning the dial. the spectrum scope is responsive enough that it doesnt feel like an afterthought like some older implementation…

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July 10Jul 10

so ive had the IC-7300 for about three years now and honestly its been a great radio, no complaints really, but lately ive been doing more CW contesting and i keep running into situations where i wish i had tighter roofing filters. the 7300 does ok but the DSP can only do so much when there's a pileup next door running 100 watts and i'm trying to pull out a weak station 200hz away. been looking at the IC-7610 mostly because of the dual watch and the supposedly better front end, also looked at the Elecraft K4 but that's a pretty big jump in price and im not sure my operating justifies it. someone at the club also mentioned the FTDX10 but i havent heard much about how it ac…

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July 9Jul 9

so after about two years of running an old TS-480SAT that i got off a silent key estate sale, i finally picked up an IC-7300 last month. been meaning to post about this for a while but life gets in the way. anyway the short version is i love it but there were a couple things that kind of caught me off guard coming from older gear. the waterfall is obviously the thing everyone talks about and yeah its genuinely useful for finding activity, not just a gimmick like i kind of assumed before i had one. but the thing that actually surprised me more was how much i had to mess with the ALC settings before it stopped looking ugly on my neighbors SDR monitor. i was running a little…

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July 8Jul 8

so i've been running an old Kenwood TS-570 for like 8 years and it's been totally fine but i kept seeing people talk about the 7300 and eventually i just caved and bought one used off QRZ classifieds. paid about 950 for it which i think was fair given it came with the original box and looked barely touched. anyway couple weeks in and i have some thoughts. the waterfall display is genuinely useful and not just a gimmick like i expected it to be — i actually find myself hunting for signals visually now which i never did before. the receiver feels a bit different from the Kenwood, not sure if better or worse exactly, just different. maybe slightly quieter on 40m but that cou…

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July 8Jul 8

so ive had this thing for about three weeks now and figured id share some impressions since i was on the fence for a long time before buying. came from an old TS-570 which honestly served me well for years but the display was dying and i figured it was time to move on rather than track down parts. the 7300 is just... a lot. the waterfall alone is worth it if youve never had a panadapter before. i keep finding signals i wouldve totally scrolled past on the old rig. the touchscreen took some getting used to and i still accidentally bump things when im not paying attention but overall the interface is pretty logical once you spend a few evenings with it. RF performance seems…

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July 7Jul 7

so ive had my TS-590SG for going on 7 years now and its been a solid radio, no complaints really. but i keep looking at the IC-7300 and wondering if i should just make the switch. my shack is pretty basic, just the kenwood into a LDG tuner and a dipole up about 35 feet, nothing fancy. i do mostly SSB on 40 and 20, occasional 10 when the band cooperates. the thing is i dont really have a good reason to replace it. the 590 works fine. but every time i see the 7300s waterfall display i get a little jealous. is that a dumb reason to spend 700 bucks or whatever the difference would be after selling the kenwood? im not doing any digital modes or contesting, just ragchewing most…

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July 6Jul 6

so after about two years of running an old Kenwood TS-440 that i inherited from my uncle i finally ordered an IC-7300 last week and it just showed up yesterday. been reading the manual but honestly the thing is kind of overwhelming compared to what im used to. the 440 was dead simple, you knew where everything was. anyway my main thing right now is i have a G5RV up about 30 feet fed with some old ladder line into a manual tuner and i know the 7300 has a built in tuner but i dont think itll handle the impedance swing on ladder line right? so im assuming i still use the external tuner and just bypass the internal one. also wondering if anyone has opinions on the scope, like…

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July 4Jul 4

so ive been running my old IC-746 for probably 12 years now, great radio, never really had issues with it but the lack of a real panadapter and the whole having to bolt on an SDR just to see whats happening on the band was getting old. finally grabbed a used 7300 off a guy local to me, paid $850 which i think was fair given the condition. first thing i noticed is just how different the waterfall feels compared to running SDRuno alongside the old rig. its all integrated and snappy, scrolling through 40m at night and actually seeing where the activity is without tabbing between windows is kind of a game changer honestly. the touch screen took maybe a day to get used to, i k…

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July 3Jul 3

After connecting my new SPE Expert 1.3K-FA to my IC-7300, I'm experiencing consistent overdrive warnings even with the radio set to 10 watts output. The amp meter spikes to full power momentarily on PTT before settling back to normal levels. I'm hearing about the infamous IC-7300 ALC overshoot problem - is this what's causing my amplifier protection to trigger? Looking for practical solutions beyond just running the radio barefoot at 100W.

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July 1Jul 1

so ive been running an old TS-480SAT for years and always told myself i didnt need to upgrade, the 480 is a solid rig and i still think that, but i kept reading about the 7300's waterfall and how much it changes the way you operate and i finally caved during a sale at HRO last month first thing i noticed is how much real estate the spectrum scope takes up in terms of your attention — like i catch myself just watching signals move across the display instead of actually working them, which is kind of a problem but also genuinely useful when you're hunting a DX station and trying to find where the pile is splitting audio out of the box was a little harsh to my ears on SSB, s…

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June 30Jun 30

so ive had this thing running for about three weeks now and figured id share some impressions since i spent way too long reading threads like this before i bought it. came from an old TS-450S that i inherited from a silent key uncle, which was a fine radio but the ergonomics were starting to drive me nuts and the filters were just not cutting it on a crowded 40m band. the waterfall display is genuinely useful and not just a gimmick like i expected — i actually caught a weak DX station i would have completely scrolled past just scanning by ear. the built in tuner handles my end fed okay most of the time but it does give up on anything worse than like 3:1 which isnt great. …

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June 29Jun 29

so ive had my 7300 for about 3 years now and honestly its a fantastic radio, no complaints really, but ive been doing more serious contesting lately and starting to mess around with SO2R ideas and i keep running into the walls of what a single mid-range radio can do. not saying the 7300 is bad, its just... i dunno, i feel like ive kind of maxed out what im gonna learn from it. been looking pretty hard at the IC-7610 mostly because of the dual watch and the two independent receivers on the same band which would help a lot when im trying to work split or monitor a second frequency without a second radio. but the 7610 is a pretty significant jump in price and i keep second g…

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June 29Jun 29

so ive been running an old kenwood ts-450s for like 12 years and honestly its still working fine but the waterfall envy finally got to me. been watching guys on youtube and at the club swap shows pulling up signals on the 7300 and it just looks... effortless compared to what im doing. i tune around blind basically, maybe with the pan adapter i cobbled together on the ts-450 but its clunky and not really integrated. anyway i had the 7300 basically in my cart last night and then i started reading about the 7610 and now im just confused again. the price jump is significant, like 600-700 bucks more depending where you find it, and im not really a contester or anything. mostly…

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June 29Jun 29

so ive been running an old TS-450S for like 12 years and it still works fine honestly but the thing is huge and the filters are getting weird and i keep reading about how the 7300 changed everything when it came out. i know its been out a while now but prices are finally where i can justify it to my wife without a whole conversation about it. my main concern is the panadapter stuff — like is it actually useful day to day or is it one of those things you play with for a week and then ignore. also the 450 has a really good receiver in its own right and i dont want to feel like i traded sideways just because the new radio has a touchscreen. anyone actually compare these two …

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June 29Jun 29

so ive been running an old TS-480SAT for probably 6 years now and it served me pretty well, no real complaints other than the waterfall being basically nonexistent and the filtering options feeling kinda limited when the bands get crowded. anyway i finally got a decent deal on a used IC-7300 from a guy in the club who was upgrading to a 7610 and figured why not. first thing i noticed is the touchscreen interface takes some getting used to, like i keep accidentally changing things when i just want to scroll the waterfall. probably a me problem. the real time spectrum scope though is just ridiculous compared to what i had before, i can actually see whats happening on the ba…

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June 27Jun 27

so ive been going back and forth on this for like two months now and i cant make up my mind. currently running an old FT-450D which has been solid but i want to step up and these two keep coming up every time i do any research. the 7300 obviously has that waterfall display which looks really nice and i know the SDR architecture gets talked up a lot but ive heard some people say the receiver gets stomped on in contest conditions with a lot of signals nearby. the 590SG on the other hand seems to have a reputation for being a really clean receiver, roofing filters and all that, but the interface feels kind of dated and there's no panadapter built in unless you mess around wi…

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June 26Jun 26

so ive had the 7300 for about three weeks now and figured id write up some thoughts since i spent forever reading posts like this before buying it. came from an old FT-450D which served me well but the waterfall on that thing is basically useless and i was getting jealous watching other people's screens on youtube. first thing i noticed is the receive is noticeably better, especially on 40m at night when its a wall of noise down here. the real-time spectrum scope is just genuinely useful, not a gimmick like i was half expecting. found a few stations i would have totally missed just scanning by ear. the touchscreen takes some getting used to and i keep accidentally changin…

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June 25Jun 25

so ive been running a TS-590SG for about 4 years now and honestly it was a great radio, no real complaints, but i kept hearing people go on and on about the 7300's waterfall display and i finally caved last month when i found a used one locally for a decent price. guy was upgrading to a 7610 so the timing worked out. first impressions — the waterfall is genuinely useful and not just a gimmick like i thought it might be. being able to see activity on a band before you even spin the dial is something i didnt know i was missing. propagation on 40 last weekend was all over the place and i could see the openings happening in real time which was cool. the receiver feels a littl…

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June 25Jun 25

so ive had this thing for about three weeks now and figured id post something since i spent forever reading other peoples impressions before buying. coming from an old ft-857d that i was using as a base which... yeah i know, not ideal but it worked. the waterfall alone was worth it honestly. i know everyone says that and it sounds like marketing speak but when youre actually sitting there tuning around 40m at night and you can just see whats going on across the whole band its genuinely different. found a couple dx stations i would have completely scrolled past before. main thing i wasnt expecting was how much i had to mess with the settings out of the box. the default TX …

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June 24Jun 24

so ive been running an old FT-450D for about four years and honestly it served me well but i kept reading about the 7300 and watching videos and eventually just bought one last month. figured id share some thoughts since there's always people asking about this radio. first thing i noticed was the waterfall. i mean obviously thats what everyone talks about but seeing it in person is different. i was on 40m last night and could actually watch a pileup forming in real time, spotted a station calling CQ before i even heard him come up on the audio. that alone kind of changed how i operate. the receiver is noticeably better than the 450D on crowded bands, i was skeptical about…

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June 24Jun 24

so ive been running an old FT-450D for about four years and honestly it served me well but i kept eyeing the 7300 every time i was on eham or watching youtube videos. finally got one last month from a local ham who was upgrading to an IC-7610 and i have to say the difference is pretty substantial, at least coming from where i was. the real-time spectrum scope is the thing that gets me the most. i knew it was a feature obviously but actually using it during a pileup on 17m last weekend just clicked in a way i didnt expect. being able to see where activity is without spinning the dial is just... yeah. anyway the audio is noticeably cleaner too, my wife actually said somethi…

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June 24Jun 24

Just set up my first HF station (IC-7300, G5RV at 30 feet) and having some odd issues. RF getting into my computer audio when running FT8 - the waterfall gets interference patterns every time I transmit, even at 50W. My shack is on the second floor and I'm using RG-213 feedline with an MFJ lightning arrestor at the entry panel. Station ground is 8-foot copper rod outside the shack window, bonded to the electrical service ground with #6 AWG. Should I be running separate RF ground radials from the shack?Could this be a common mode current issue on the coax shield?Worth investing in a proper RF choke at the radio?

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June 23Jun 23

test

so ive been running a borrowed 590SG for about 8 months now while i saved up for my own rig and i genuinely love the thing. really solid receiver, the noise floor on 40m here is manageable even with all the garbage my neighbors smart meters throw out. but now that im actually shopping i keep second-guessing myself because everyone talks up the IC-7300 like its the second coming and the prices are actually pretty close right now used. main thing i do is mostly SSB ragchewing on 40 and 80, some occasional 20m DX when i get lucky, and ive been wanting to try JS8Call or maybe some FT8 but havent jumped in yet. not really a contester. my antenna situation is a dipole at about …

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June 21Jun 21

so ive been running a little Yaesu FT-450D for about three years now and its been fine honestly, no real complaints, but ive been eyeing the IC-7300 forever and theres one locally for sale, guy wants $850 for it, says its about two years old and he upgraded to a 7610. screen looks clean in the photos and he says the finals are good but obviously i cant verify that just from a picture. my main thing is just HF casual operating, some SSB ragchewing on 40 and 20, occasionally poke around on 17m, nothing crazy. i dont do digital except maybe wspr every now and then just to see how propagation is doing. i know the 7300 has the whole direct sampling SDR thing going on inside an…

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June 20Jun 20