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so ive been running an old TS-590SG for about four years now and honestly it was a great radio, no real complaints, but i kept seeing people rave about the 7300 and the price dropped enough that i figured why not. picked one up used in pretty clean condition and been running it for maybe three weeks now. first thing i noticed is the waterfall display is just... way more useful than i expected. i always thought it was kind of a gimmick when i saw screenshots but actually having it in front of you while youre tuning around 40m at night is a different experience. you can just see where the activity is without scanning around forever. that part sold me fast. the receiver feel…
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so ive had the 7300 for about three weeks now coming from an old ft-450d that i ran for like 6 years and honestly the difference is kind of hard to put into words. the waterfall alone is worth the upgrade if you do any kind of band hunting because youre actually seeing whats happening instead of just tuning blind and hoping something pops up in your headphones. real talk though the learning curve on the menus is a little rough at first, icom's menu system is just kind of its own thing and i kept accidentally changing stuff i didn't mean to. took me a solid weekend of messing around before i stopped feeling lost. the audio out of the box on receive was a little harsh to me…
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so ive been running an old FT-450D for about four years now and always kind of wanted to upgrade but never really had a good reason to. anyway the 450D developed some weird issue where the finals were getting hot way faster than they should and i figured instead of sinking money into a repair i'd just move up. looked at the 7300 forever, read every thread on here, watched probably too many youtube videos, and finally just ordered one. first thing i noticed is the waterfall is actually useful, like i know everyone says that but coming from no panadapter at all it genuinely changes how you operate. found a pileup on 17m the other day just by watching the display which i wou…
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so ive been running an old FT-450D for about 4 years now and honestly it served me well but i kept hearing everyone talk about the 7300 and its waterfall display and i finally just bought one last month. figured id share some thoughts since i spent forever reading threads like this before i bought it. first off the real-time spectrum scope is just as useful as people say, maybe more. i was skeptical because like how much do you really need to see the band visually when you can just spin the dial, but turns out it changes how you operate completely. i find myself just watching 40m for a few minutes and i can see exactly where activity is piling up before i even touch the t…
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so ive had the 7300 for about three weeks now and figured id post something since i spent so long reading other peoples impressions before buying. background: i was running an old Kenwood TS-440S for years, like genuinely years, and the 7300 is just a completely different world in terms of what you're looking at on the screen. the waterfall alone has changed how i operate, i catch signals i would have just tuned past before. the built in tuner is fine for stuff thats already pretty close to resonance but dont expect miracles with a badly matched antenna, it gave up on my 40m dipole when i had it trimmed wrong and i had to go back to my LDG external. not a dealbreaker but …
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so ive been sitting on this decision for like two months now and i keep going back and forth. currently running an old FT-450D that i picked up used a few years ago and it's been solid but i want to upgrade and get something with a proper panadapter and better DSP filtering cause i do a fair bit of RTTY and some SSB contesting on weekends. the IC-7300 is obviously the crowd favorite and i get why, the real-time spectrum scope is genuinely useful and not just a gimmick. but the 991A does VHF/UHF all in one box which would clean up the shack considerably since i have a separate 2m rig sitting on the desk just eating space. price difference in my area is about $200-250 depen…
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Dealing with persistent RF issues in my HF setup and looking for troubleshooting advice. I have all equipment bonded to a copper bus bar with short flat braid, proper single-point ground to exterior rod, and ferrite chokes on coax at the entry panel. Still getting RF on microphone and some digital hash from the PC speakers when transmitting on 40m. When setting up your ham radio station, it's essential to manage common-mode currents (CMCs) effectively—not by relying on a so-called "RF ground," which is a myth—but by properly placing chokes and minimizing current loops through your shack. Misplaced grounding connections and improper choke locations are common causes of RF …
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so ive had this thing for maybe three weeks now and figured id write up some impressions since i spent a lot of time reading threads like this before i bought it. came from an old TS-430S that i inherited from a silent key uncle so this is kind of a big jump for me in terms of how modern rigs work. first thing that hit me was just how good the waterfall is for actually finding signals. i know everyone says this but seriously it changes how you operate. i spent the first two nights just watching the 40m band breathe, which sounds dumb but i never really visualized propagation like that before. found a couple stations calling CQ that i never wouldve tuned across manually. t…
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so ive had this thing for about three weeks now and figured id share some impressions since i spent forever reading threads like this before buying. came from an old TS-590SG which honestly i still miss a little, the 590 just had this feel to it that was hard to explain, really solid rx on crowded bands. anyway the 7300 is impressive in ways i didnt fully expect. the waterfall is obviously the big thing everyone talks about and yeah it changes how you operate, i find myself just watching it and spotting stuff i wouldve totally scrolled past on the 590. but the thing nobody really warned me about is how addictive the touch screen gets and then how annoying it is when your …
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so ive had the 7300 for about 3 years now and honestly its still a great radio, no complaints really, but ive been eyeing the IC-7610 and im trying to figure out if the jump is actually worth it for how i operate or if im just convincing myself i need it most of what i do is casual HF, some contest operating on SSB and a bit of FT8 when the bands are dead. i do have two antennas id occasionally want to use at the same time which is the main thing pulling me toward the 7610 since it has the dual receiver setup. but is that actually useful day to day or is it more of a contest-specific thing the other part is i built out a pretty decent shack over the last year, got the sta…
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so i've been borrowing a friend's old TS-570 whenever i wanted to get on HF which has been fine but also kind of a pain because i have to coordinate with him and drag it over to my place and set everything up and then tear it down again. anyway i finally just bought an IC-7300 last week and i've been messing around with it for a few days now and honestly i kind of can't believe how different the experience is compared to the 570. the real-time spectrum scope alone is worth it for me — i spent like two hours just watching propagation shift on 20m without even making a contact which probably says something about me. the waterfall is just addicting to look at. audio on recei…
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so ive been running an old TS-590SG for a few years now and its a great radio honestly no complaints but im kind of itching to upgrade and these two keep coming up whenever i read around. the IC-7300 is obviously the safer bet, tons of people have it, lots of youtube stuff, price has come down a lot. but the FTDX10 has that roofing filter setup and the RF-direct sampling on the 7300 is impressive but i keep reading mixed things about close-in dynamic range compared to the Yaesu. thing is my shack is pretty basic — dipole on 40m, an end-fed for the upper bands, and im mostly doing SSB and a little FT8 when the bands are boring. not really contesting seriously. would the ro…
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Popular HF/6m radios in the $1k to $1.5k range include the Icom IC-7300, Yaesu FT-710, and Yaesu FT-DX10. I'm setting up my first serious HF base station and getting conflicting advice on receiver performance versus published specs. Some operators report the FT-991A digs weak signals out of noise better than the 7300 in high-signal environments, while the 7300 gets overwhelmed and needs RF gain reduction. Sherwood Engineering rates the IC-7300 receiver higher than the FT-991, but some experienced operators can't tell the difference in real-world conditions. What's your actual operating experience with these rigs?
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so i've been running an old TS-430S for probably longer than i should have, great radio honestly but the age was starting to show and i was tired of fighting with the IF filters and just the general lack of a decent panadapter situation. anyway finally broke down and got an IC-7300 and i've had it on the bench for about three weeks now. first impressions — the waterfall display is just ridiculously useful, i know everyone says this but until you've actually used one for real you don't really get it. tuning around 40m in the evening and being able to just see the whole band laid out like that, spot a signal, click on it, that workflow change alone probably made it worth it…
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so ive been running an old FT-450D for about 4 years now and honestly it served me well but ive had this itch to upgrade for a while. picked up a used IC-7300 last week from a guy in the club and i gotta say the waterfall display alone is worth it for me just to see whats happening on the band before i even key up. but now im reading stuff about how the FT-891 is actually a better rig in some ways and the 7300 is basically just popular because of hype and the pretty screen and now im kinda spiraling a bit. anyone actually done a side by side? or even just used both at different points? my main thing is casual HF, some SSB ragchewing, might try some FT8 eventually. not a c…
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so ive had my old TS-590SG for about four years now and it's been a solid workhorse, no complaints really, but i kept reading about the 7300 and watching those waterfall videos and eventually just ordered one last month. been running it for about three weeks now. first thing — the real time spectrum scope is genuinely useful and not just a gimmick like i thought it might be. i can see propagation changes happening in real time and it's actually changed how i operate a bit, like i'll notice activity opening up on 17m before i'd have even thought to check. that part lived up to the hype. the thing that surprised me though is the touch screen is just... fine. not great. it's…
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so ive been running an old TS-570 for like 8 years and honestly it still works fine but i kept reading about the 7300 and watching youtube videos and i just caved and bought one used off a guy in the next county over. paid $850 which felt high but everything on qrz classifieds was going for more so whatever. anyway first impressions — the waterfall display is genuinely useful and not just a gimmick like i assumed. i was skeptical because i figured id just use it for a week and ignore it but i actually catch signals on it before i even hear them in the passband which is kind of wild. the receiver feels cleaner than the 570 on 40m which is where i spend most of my time, les…
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Finally upgrading from my Technician license setup to General class and need advice on HF transceivers under $1500. Considering the IC-7300 at around $1070, but also seeing good things about the newer Xiegu models and some Yaesu options. Based on more than 120 responses, the usual transceiver suspects led the pack of the most-used rigs for Field Day 2024: Icom IC-7300 HF Plus 50 MHz Transceiver and the Icom IC-7300, available for around $1,069.95, connects to a computer without an external interface. Primary use will be ragchewing on 20m and 40m with some digital modes like FT8. Not interested in contesting at this point. What would you recommend for a solid first HF rig …
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so ive been licensed for about 3 years now mostly just did VHF/UHF stuff with a couple handhelds and a cheap chinese dual band mobile but i finally want to get into HF properly. been saving up and im basically down to either the IC-7300 or the FT-991A and i cannot make up my mind. the 991A is appealing because it does VHF and UHF too so theoretically i could use it for everything in one box, but i keep reading that the HF performance on the 7300 is just better overall especially the waterfall which everyone seems to love. my shack is basically just a desk in the corner of my bedroom so space isnt a huge issue but id rather not have five radios eventually either. i dont re…
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so ive had my IC-7300 for about three years now and honestly it's been a rock solid radio, no complaints really. but lately ive been eyeing the IC-7610 mostly because of the dual receiver setup and the idea of being able to work two bands simultaneously during contests. my shack is pretty basic right now — 7300 into a LDG tuner, into a fan dipole up about 35 feet, ground mounted vertical for 40/80. thing is im not sure if the jump is actually worth the money for how i operate. im not a serious contester, i do a handful of contests a year mostly for fun, work a lot of ragchews on 40m evenings, occasional DX when something interesting pops up on the cluster. so dual receive…
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so ive been lurking here for a while and finally got my general ticket last month. been saving up for a proper HF rig and i keep going back and forth between the FT-991A and the IC-7300. every time i think ive made up my mind i read another thread or watch another youtube video and flip again. the 991A is appealing because it does VHF/UHF too and i dont have a separate radio for that yet, so its kind of an all in one thing. but then everyone seems to rave about the 7300s waterfall and receiver performance. my main interest is going to be SSB and maybe some digital down the road, probably 40 and 20 meters mostly. i dont really care about satellite or anything fancy. is the…
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so ive had my IC-7300 for about 3 years now and honestly its been a great radio, no complaints really, but ive been eyeing the IC-7610 mostly because of the dual watch and the roofing filters. i do a fair bit of contesting and sometimes just casual HF work on 40 and 20, and during busy contest weekends the 7300 starts to feel a little cramped i guess is the word. like adjacent signals bleeding in even when im tweaking the digital filters as much as i can. the thing is the price jump is pretty significant and i already have a decent station otherwise — running into a AL-811H and a hex beam up about 35 feet. so the amp and antenna side of things is solid. its really just th…
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so ive had this thing for about three weeks now coming from an old TS-480SAT that i ran for like six years and honestly the difference is kind of hard to describe. the waterfall alone is worth it for me, i spent the first few days just watching it instead of actually working any stations which my wife thought was hilarious. the real filter adjustments are where i notice it most on CW, being able to notch stuff in real time without fumbling through menus is just night and day from what i was used to. i did have some weirdness early on where the ALC was acting strange on digital modes but i think that was my fault messing with the output settings trying to get it dialed in …
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so ive had my TS-590SG for going on 6 years now and honestly it's been a great radio, no real complaints. but ive been eyeing the IC-7300 for a while just because the waterfall display would be nice and a few guys at the club swear by it. not really sure if theres a meaningful difference in receive performance or if im just GASing at this point. my main thing is i do mostly 40 and 80m SSB, some digital on 20m (ft8 mostly), and occasionally mess around on 160 when the antenna cooperates. the 590 handles all of that fine but i dunno, sometimes i feel like im missing something not having the spectrum display. anyone made a similar switch or gone the other direction? also ope…