K3WWP's QRP Rigs

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K3WWP - Reviews of QRP Rigs

This review of the IC-705 transceiver was written by Charles Ahlgren, KW6G.

I purchased an early 2021 Christmas present for myself shortly after Thanksgiving… It was an Icom IC-705 with the optional AH-705 outboard antenna tuner…I have had the rig for about a month now and thoroughly enjoy it; operating mostly QRP CW on the HF bands...I have had the Elecraft KX3/PX3/KXPA100 & a KX2 now for several years....I purchased the 705 because I really wanted an all mode QRP rig that would do VHF / UHF as well, so I bought the 705 because of its all mode capability and portability...So, based on my limited experience with the rig and on some comments from my fellow QRPers I would like to offer the following observations on this rig:

The IC-705 is my 7th Icom HF transceiver since 2001...I have obviously been very satisfied with these radios...OK, so with that said, here are the Pros & Cons as I see it.

Pros:

1. 160 - 70 cm all mode is a lot of radio in such a small package.

2. Great receiver...Really pulls in the signals...Nice filtering, DSP, etc.

3. IC-705 menu system is similar to the IC-7300 & IC-7610, those who own one of these rigs (as I do) will find the learning curve for this new radio particularly steep.

4. Icom radio architecture is great, easy to operate and move around from band to band and frequency, mode, etc.

5. Nice QSK - very little if any noise on changing over from transmit to receive and vice versa.

6. Nice scope / waterfall -- even though it is by necessity kind of small.

7. Built in speaker is very good for its size, much better than the one in the KX3.

8. Snap in batteries is a big plus for portability

Cons:

1. No external PS offered by Icom?? Outside of hooking up the supplied power cord to a dedicated 13.8 V supply, you need to remove the battery and charge it in an optional rapid charger or plug the radio into a USB port on your PC...I think that is very cumbersome if you are traveling...For $60 I bought an aftermarket PS from HRO that is the size of a laptop ps....It has the proper plug on it and works great...Now, I just charge the battery on the rig while it is on at my desk.

2. Similarly to #1, the initial battery charge was a challenge with the wimpy pigtail they give you for the rig...Needed to rig it up to a 13.8V PS...I thought that was a big letdown for a radio with a $1300 +/- price tag.

3. Side panels are recessed about 1-inch behind the front of the radio which makes it ergonomically ‘challenging’ when you have to plug in your PS, cw paddle, speaker/mic, or the antenna coax connector…The usb ports and SD card slots are equally as hard to navigate...Not sure who thought of that one, but it could be a lot better with very little effort.

4. No on board CW decoder...Kenwood and Elecraft are both providing this feature in their radios now..It's really handy, especially when you are trying to write in the log, etc during a QSO or contest...However, it's not a substitute for a good pair of ears and it can be easily worked around by running a pc or android based decoder program...No different than RTTY...But the rig decodes that, so what's the problem, Icom??

5. Lack of an easy ground connection...I think this one is another issue that could have been easily fixed at no extra cost...I used a #10 wire lug with a hole sized for a 5/16" screw mounted with the screw that holds the speaker/mic restraint bracket on the left side of the rig...Easy fix, and just the right size for an alligator clip lead...My Elecraft KX3 has the same issue, but my KX2 has a jack for a mini alligator plug....Evidently Elecraft learned from the KX3 experience and dealt with it for the KX2.

6. No internal ATU....But Icom has really fixed this problem with the AH-705..It will tune up to a 10:1 SWR so it's on par with the ones that Elecraft offers...You just need to carry around another box...But you do that with the KX3/PX3 to get the spectrum scope capability, but the number of hook up cables for the Icom is way less than the Elecraft which translates to a big plus for the portable operator...I have yet to use the AH-705 and will need to get some wire in the coming weeks to try it out...But I expect good results.

7. No Audio Peak Filter (APF)…I find this feature particularly helpful when trying to pull weak CW signals out of the mud…I use it all the time on the KX3 and the IC-7610…The KX2 has it as well.

8. Finally, I wish you could adjust the vertical scale on the spectrum scope to help see signals better…The PX3 has this feature, and it is really nice to have.

Now, a word about the manuals...They give you a basic manual in the box, but expect you to download the ‘advanced’ manual...Again, not a big deal and consistent with other Icom radios of late. It's over 200 pages long so you better have access to a laser jet printer if you want a hard copy...I tried reading it on my iPad and setting up the radio...I had a hard time scrolling back and forth through the pages I needed to read and reread…I gave up and bought a copy of "The Radio Today Guide for the IC-705", about $15 on Amazon…Good book, but it did not go far enough…You still needed some of the info in the advanced manual....So, I ordered a printed copy (after market) on eBay for $30...It's a great resource and a good investment….It goes into more detail about operating the keyer, spectrum scope, using the GPS function, connecting the radio your WiFi for remote operation, and memory management…The Radio Today guide gives you lots of ideas on how to set the menus to get maximum benefit…So, both resources were helpful for different reasons.

For those who are interested, an extensive technical review of the IC-705 appears in the February 2021 issue of QST. The AH-705 review appears in the September 2021 issue.

Bottom line -- I am thoroughly satisfied with the IC-705...Even though it has some cons to deal with, but none of them are showstoppers, IMHO....It's still a great little radio that I will have some fun with during the cold and wet winter days ahead.

So there you have it, my 2 cents worth on the IC-705.

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