Yesterday, I got a phone call from HRO in Atlanta. I cashed in my reservation and placed an order for an Icom IC-7300 MK2. The MK2 has recently beed FCC certified so it will not be too much longer until they start shipping.
Many of you know, I have been a long proponent for the IC-7300. I had one since 2016 and only recently sold it to get the new MK2. I still believe it is one of the best bang for the buck radios out there. It is still the one radio I recommend to folks looking for their first HF radio. In fact in my region Army MARS, it is by far the most popular radio. The MK2 is an improved version of the original. Some of the features are USB-C connectivity with dual usb (+audio) ports, HDMI, lower power consumption, reduced heat generation, CW decode, and better receive performance. All for $1499 USD. That’s a very reasonable price.
I have been busy. I have shifted my radio focus to Army MARS and SHARES so that is where I am spending a lot of my time. Besides radio, I enjoy shooting sports and I delve into emergency preparedness. I would not call myself a doomsday prepper, more of a concerned citizen for my family, friends, and neighbors. I am in the process of setting up a GMRS repeater on my property for my neighbors to use. I still like to get out and take my radios to the field. Even though the things I do now, are mostly base related activities, I am an NCS on several nets, I still maintain skills and equipment for field operations. I have been there and done that; I have seen what a lack of preparation and experience does during an actual field operation. It is not pretty.
If any of you are interested in emergency prep, let me know. I can do some articles on it and maybe even some YouTube videos. I am retired and not young so that will reflect how I do things. One of the hardest adaptations I have had to make is convincing my mind which still thinks like its 30, that it is living in a late 60’s body. Let me know what you think, leave a comment and until then 73 de Scott
This past weekend was the Support Your Parks on the Air Weekend. My local radio club, the West Georgia Amateur Radio Society (WGARS – https://wgars.com) operated from Cheaha State Park which is the tallest point in Alabama. While there I spent some time with a new ham and we got on the subject of CW paddles. He asked for a recommendation and at the time I didn’t really have a good answer. On the way home from the event I thought about it and if I was to make a recommendation today, it would be a Begali Simplex Begali Simplex Paddle. Currently they cost about $163 USD and are built to last a lifetime. I am a fan of their paddles and own 5. Begali paddles are built like tanks with the precision of a Ferrari. Their customer service is bar none.
While at the park, I set up my IC-705/AH-705 with a Chameleon Delta Loop. The 705 is a fun and very capable radio. The paddles I used were made by Modern Morse. These are very nice paddles and well built. However, during the operation, I was having trouble adapting to them. I made a lot of mistakes. It just didn’t feel right. I decided to check the paddle force or the amount of pressure it took to depress the paddles. I had been holding off getting a dynamometer but pulled the plug and I am glad I did. I first measured a set of paddles that I use well which were my Begali Expedition. They measured about 25 grams of force. As I went through my other paddles I discovered a wide range of forces between them. Some as high as 50+ grams.
One by one, I got them all adjusted to 25 grams and switching between paddles has become much easier. Why didn’t I do this sooner? I got the gauge from amazon Amazon – Dynamometer.
QSK vs Semi-Break in. In CW, QSK means the the radio quickly switches between transmit and receive so you can hear dits and dahs from another station in between your characters and words you are sending. Some people love QSK, some people hate it. I like it because a good operator can send a dit at the right time to make you stop and listen for them. An example might be you calling CQ too fast and a well placed dit will get you to pause long enough to allow the other station to send their call and start a QSO or exchange. Some radios have noisy relays and QSK makes too much of a racket. Adding a little delay to make it semi-break in will cut down the chatter.
QSL. I no longer send out QSL cards. Life has gotten rather busy and I find myself not being able to keep up with QSL cards. I am usually very diligent about updating LOTW. Thanks to everyone who visits my blog and YouTube channel. I hope you are enjoying this fall weather as much as I am. 73 de Scott
My Ic-7100 rides with me in the truck. I have it hooked up to an AH-730 and a 102″ whip. I also have a 60′ wire with insulators and an alligator clip on one end. I can attach this to the whip and make a very effective NVIS/medium range antenna.
I really like the 7100 except that I was having RFI problems. I read where the cable between the control head and the radio was not shielded well so I tried some CAT8 ethernet cable. It worked great once and I couldn’t get it to work again. so I switched to plan B. I added some ferrite cores to both ends of the cable and that solved it up to 75 watts. I still get a little RFI interference at 100 watts but I rarely operate above 50 watts mobile/portable so I am good to go.
The other thing I wanted to do was make the radio easier to detach from its tray. I have some desks that I can put over the center console for laptops, notebooks, etc, but they cover up the radio. So off to TSC for some hardware. This is what I came up with.
The knob fits under the tray and makes it easier to unscrew the control head from the tray. I have about 5′ of cable to move the head around, enough for what I want to do. Installed, it looks like this.
I am glad I got the RFI problem sorted and made the head easier to remove. I also have another cable so I can now get the control head outside of the truck and on a folding table if that’s what I want to do.
Marching to the beat of a different drummer.
I know I do a few things differently. Many POTA activators use small QRP radios or compact radios like the FT-891 when they activate. That’s not me. I have always had a foot in the EmComm world and I enjoy working weak signals. There’s an art to catching the weak ones and it takes a good ear. It also takes skill in operating your radio. I like to have the controls I use most easy to get at like I find on radios like the IC-7300, and TS-590sg. I also like to operate low power, not QRP. I mostly find myself in the 20-35 watt range. Even at home, I am usually at 50 watts. Low power gives me enough oomph to make the contact and still makes it a challenge. Through most of my amateur radio career, I have been involved in EmComm. I use FunComm events like POTA to keep my EmComm skills sharp and my radios and antennas in good working order. Not using your EmComm gear until the “Big One” hits often brings unwelcome surprises. I know I am getting a little long in the tooth for some EmComm but old habits die hard. 73 de Scott
Today was a bit of an emotional day. I sold my beloved IC-7300. I bought the radio in 2016 and I have taken it on many a trip. It has always been a solid, reliable radio. It was and still is the radio I recommend to anyone looking for a first or even second radio. Even though it is an older design, it holds its own when compared to more modern radios. It has a lower noise floor and in A/B comparisons, whatever I hear on one radio, I can hear on this radio. I have compared it with an IC-7610, FTDX10, and a FT-710. I usually test in a CW contest environment, probably the toughest out there. The secret is the ergonomics. All the controls I use are easy to get to and easy to use. The radio went to a follow club member so it is staying in the family. It will be missed – for a while.
I have reserved a spot with HRO for an IC-7300 MK2. They will be shipping by the end of the year. What drew me to the MK2 was a lower noise floor, cooler running, and reduced power consumption. The IC-7300 has a pretty low number (around 850 mA) and the new one is even lower.
Screenshot
Another interest is Dual Comm port. According to Icom, it can run two separate apps on two separate com ports for the radio. I think that’s pretty cool. They took the IC-7300, listened to its user base and then made a better radio. I like that about Icom.
I can’t wait to get my hands on the MK2. I hope it will be here by Winter Field Day. In the meantime, I still have my TS-590sg and IC-7200 for field duty. I must be patient, I must be patient. 73 de Scott
I have a stable of radios. I like radios. I have spent the past couple of years going through radios and finding the ones I like to use. I think I am getting close. In the shack, I like my IC-7610 and TS-890. They are big and all the controls I use are easy to get to. There performance is top notch. I am content.
QRP radios. This has been my greatest controversy. When I retired, I thought I was going to do a lot of QRP with little radios and maybe even do some SOTA. It didn’t turn out that way. I found myself using big radios at low power. They are easy to use and because of their heatsinks, they never overheat at low power. I did keep one little radio the IC-705, of all the little radios I had, the 705 was the one I grabbed the most.
Field radios. I went through a bunch of radios here too. I kept my IC-7300 which I bought new and has stayed with me over the years. I may sell it off for the new IC-7300MK2. I recently acquired a TS-590sg which went with me on my recent POTA activation at Black Rock Mountain State Park.
It was definitely a fun radio and I look forward to using it more in the future. Yesterday, an IC-7200 was delivered by UPS. The was a trade I had in the works. I always wanted an IC-7200. It’s a basic radio that has a military vibe to it. Being a Veteran, it appealed to me. The radio came with the rails and the MARS mod was already done. The radio is pristine. Power draw at idle is about 1 amp and at 20 watts it draws about 8 amps. Lowering the power level does not overly change the amp draw. Above 20 watts and the amp draw increases. Twenty watts is the happy medium. Here in the shack I had it turned on and was able to work N0SA. I have a set of his SOTA paddles from his last run before he retired. They are fun to use. I plan on taking the 7200 on my next POTA adventure.
During the past couple of years after making many POTA activations, Field Days (winter and summer), Army MARS, and SHARES I was able to shape how I operate. Some of it was a surprise as I was led in a different direction than when I started. I guess when it comes to radios, I may march to the beat of a different drummer. I prefer big radios (IC-7300 size) over little radios. I like that the controls are easier to get to and they don’t overheat. In the field I usually run around 20-35 watts. Most of the time I am in my micro-camper so I am not carrying the radios very far. I may have to lug them 50 feet to a picnic table. I recently bought one of those folding wagons so weight is no problem.
Another surprise was my use of FT8. Band conditions on many of my outings was poor. If it wasn’t for FT8, I may not have had a valid activation. Plus, I discovered I could work a lot of DX while in a park using FT8.
Yaesu’s. I don’t have any Yaesu’s. I have tried to like them, but they are just not for me. I had an FTDX10 for about 18 months, a FT-710 for about a year total, and a FTX1 for a couple of months. To me they are kind of quirky. The Icom’s and the Kenwood’s are solid performers and the ergonomics are superior. I know how to make them dance and sing. I know there are those who love Yaesu and I get it. To each his own. Find the radios that suit you best and enjoy them as I have. The journey is half the fun. 73 de Scott
One of the things I was concerned about the FTX1 was how to protect its face while in transit. The Yaesu side rails which are not yet available are too large. They make the radio too bulky. Icom, when they made the IC-705 available also released a STL file so we could make our own covers which I did. Actually, I modified the file and my son printed it on his 3D printer.
The other day, I decided to check to see if someone had made a STL file for a FTX1 cover. They did! I downloaded the file and sent it to my son who printed it out for me (19 hours). The file was unmodified and fit the FTX1 to a tee. The file can be found here: Yaesu FTX1 3D Cover
I will wrap a silicone rubber band around it to keep the radio secure in the cover. The cover weighs 6.5 oz and the whole weighs just over 4 lbs without the rubber band. For comparison, My IC-705 with cover weighs in at just under 3 lbs.
Another annoyance or at least a distraction is during CW transmit. On the FTX1 the frequency readout flashes in time to CW along with the xmit light above the main dial. It is rather bright. I shot a YouTube video showing the difference between the FTX1 and the IC-705.
Where does this leave me. Well, for one thing wondering what Yaesu was thinking. I’m not giving up on the radio, hopefully as time goes by, Yaesu will work out some of the kinks. I am a bit annoyed that Yaesu is using us as beta testers. I would expect that from a company like Xeigu which sells their radios for less than half the price of the FTX1. The FTX1 is supposed to be a premium radio at a premium price. Come on Yaesu, you can do better. I think Yaesu had an opportunity and missed the mark. As I said in a prior post, I have been very busy this summer. Hopefully soon, I will get the FTX1 out in the field. So far, as of today if I had to choose between the FTX1 and the IC-705, I would still choose the IC-705 for a QRP radio. For a full size radio, I would take the IC-7300 or the FT-710 over the FTX1 Optima. Of course, your mileage may vary. Thanks for stopping by. 72 de Scott
It’s been a busy summer for me. I had a lot of to-do and honey-do things to take care of. My wife’s best friends husband was killed in a car crash and she drove to Louisiana and helped with the arrangements. She was gone 10 days. That left me home with our special needs daughter. Not much me time.
Today I cruised over to the Yaesu website to see if there was an update for the FTx1 and there was. I was home alone and took the opportunity to update the firmware. Since I had the radio on my desk I decided to make a few CW contacts and give my new paddles from Modern Morse a try. I hooked up the FTX1 to my 270′ OCF dipole and fired up Hamrs Pro on the computer. It’s been a while since I operated and I was a little shaky, but hey, this is for fun right. I made about half a dozen contacts before I had to move on to other things. It was fun and felt good to get on the air again with CW. I am hoping to take a mini rove within the next month or two.
The radio did fine. It hears well. Probably on par with my IC-705 and KX2.The CW relays are a little loud and the screen flashes in cadence with the CW being sent. It takes a little getting used to, it can be distracting. The menus are still a little quirky, I prefer the ergonomics of my Icoms, but again it’s not a deal breaker.
The paddles are great, they are a little pricey, but I had no trouble using them. I held the paddles in my left hand and sent with my right. The action is nice and smooth. I have large hands and this paddle is larger than my N0SA SOTA paddles; they are easier to hold.
The FTX1’s audio is good once you get it adjusted. Up the treble quite a bit, up the Mid a little and take a lot out of the bass. There is plenty of volume even for us hard of hearing types.
I have some advice about computers. I mainly use Apple products for most of my computer work. I have a couple of Windows machines I use for Amateur Radio. I always hear people complaining about Windows automatically updating at an inopportune time. The solution is easy. You pick a time during the week and update manually when you or the machine are not busy. I update mine about once a week or before an event like a POTA activation or Field Day. I also don’t fiddle with the OS much. My machines run extremely well. Let them do their job.
It is hot, hot, hot here in Georgia. The heat along with the humidity can make things miserable. My eastern European blood has a low tolerance for the heat so I get my outside work done in the mornings. Everyone be careful in this heat, this time of year it can reach dangerous levels. Y’all stay safe and 72 de Scott
Dear Yaesu, What has happened? Have you forgotten us? I don’t understand your thinking when it comes to the FTX1. The FT-817 and its variants sold well for over 20 years. It is still a cherished radio and has a strong following. The FTX1 is an okay radio. It would appear to compete with the IC-705 and as I have said, it doesn’t really compare. In the realm of QRP radios the IC-705 is still better then the FTX1.
I think many of us were hoping for an improved FT-817/FT-818. The FT-817 had a nice form factor and only weighed ~2.5 lbs with a battery and antenna. The FTX1 is clunky and weighs ~4 pounds without an antenna. I still haven’t figured out the best way to carry it.
What would be a nice QRP radio? My suggestion is taking the form factor of the FT-891 and making it a 10 watt radio (20 might even be better). Replace the the 100 watt finals with a battery or a decent antenna tuner (10:1 matching?). You could even go so far as make it an SDR radio. Make a nice pouch with a shoulder strap to carry it. Most people who run QRP don’t have a need for a waterfall. Instead use the USB port to send the signal to a a tablet/cell phone/laptop to view the waterfall there. You can also allow connectivity to a tablet/cell phone/laptop for digital modes and logging. That might put you on top again.
I don’t understand the Optima option. ~$1,900. Right now, I can get a FT-710 for $955. That would leave almost $1,000 for another radio or two. The FT-710 is a better radio. I have an FT-710 and I think it is one of your better efforts. I recently used it for Field day and it did very well. I have an FTX1 and I’m keeping it for a while to see what you do with it.
Yes, I have a preference for Icom radios, they work better for me. I have had other Yaesu radios namely FTDX10, FTDX3000, FT-950 and years ago an FT-817. I also run a Kenwood. I use what works best for me. I am not necessarily bashing you, I am offering my opinion for your consideration.
Sincerely, Scott KK4Z
Note: right now I am not sure how the FTX1 fits into my lineup. As I said earlier, I think the IC-705 is better (at least for me YMMV). If I need something lighter I have a KX2. For Field Days and bigger events I can bring either an FT-710 or IC-7300. When I purchased this radio I was also looking at a KX3 with KXAT3 and KXFL3. Maybe if the right trade comes along…
Working on the farm. I have been busy on my property. I have 6 acres to take care of and there is always something to do. Right now I have to start getting firewood ready for winter. That means dragging downed trees to the process area, bucking, splitting and stacking. I have a John Deere 3025 tractor to help me out. A problem I was running into was how do I get my gear out to where I am working. The front end loader is okay to carry things until you need it for something else. Besides the steel of the bucket is not good for a chainsaw blade. In the past I would sometimes use my wife’s UTV. That has it’s own set of problems namely, she uses it for her stuff and it stays full. So I decided to build a cargo box for the 3 point hitch on my tractor. I got a carry-all from King Cutter which allows me to use my iMatch quick hitch.
I stopped by my local welder and had a 2″ receiver welded on along with some grab hooks. The finished project looks like this.
I can flip the tailgate up and turn it into a workbench.
I drilled a few holes so I can mount a chainsaw vise to sharpen my chainsaw in the field.
You can see the chainsaw sheath behind the vise. It will hold my 68cc chainsaw with a 27″ bar safely.
I use a 20′ shipping container for my maintenance shed. It’s hasn’t been reorganized since we initially filled it up almost 6 years ago. Another project is to get things in the shop sorted and non-essential stuff moved to one of our other outbuildings. I need to make it more of a workshop and less of a storage shed. There are always projects to work on.
New Paddles I just received a new set of paddles from Modern Morse. I haven’t taken them out to the field yet, but in house testing shows them to be very promising. They are asy to grip, comfortable in the hand and have a very smooth touch. Workmanship is superb. The paddle body and the arms are Ceracoated and the finger pieces appear to be passivated. The arms pivot on 4 small ball bearings and tension is magnetic. There is a switch inside the paddle to switch dit-dah polarity. This is nice for left handers or “booby-footed” right handers. You can now plug and play with any radio. The paddles come in a nice metal case and two hex keys. The smaller key adjusts the tension and contact spacing and the larger one is for the 4 crews that holds the top of the case to the bottom. The paddle mechanism is sealed with a plastic lid. to get to the switch, you have to loosen the four bolts and carefully lift the top off. Be careful as there are tiny washers on the paddle arm pivots. Another nice feature is the paddles come with 4 magnets on the bottom.
The colors have a nice retro feel and are pleasant to look at. They will certainly be easy to find in a pack or on the ground if dropped. The paddles fit nicely in my hand and I have no trouble sending. These are rugged paddles designed for field use. They are made in the USA by a Veteran. The first run is sold out and there will be a pause before the next run is available. You can check the status here https://www.modernmorse.com. These paddles are pricey but if you appreciate the feel of fine workmanship, they are worth it. I am happy with mine.
Final Summer got busy and hot. Hopefully as fall approaches I will have more time to get my radios out in the field. I did manage to make it to Field Day with my club and my FT-710. I thought retirement was for leisure but I have never been busier. So much to do, so little time. 73 de Scott
To some, this part of the test is where the rubber meets the road. For this portion I hooked both radios up to the same antenna and used an A/B switch to go back and forth between the radios. The signal source came from this morning’s CWops CWtest, a weekly one hour sprint. many of the signals are under 500 Hz apart and there are usually weak and strong signals in the mix.
I recorded about 5 minutes of the CWtest switching the radios back and forth approximately every 30 seconds. I made a YouTube video which I will post below. While I was recording I sat directly behind my iPhone so keep that in mind that my comments are from live first hand experience.
Receiver. Before the test, I had both radios turned on and attached to the antenna. When switched to the IC-705, I could hear faint CW signals even though the S-meter or the waterfall were not showing any indication of a signal. When I switched over to the FTX1, I couldn’t hear the signal. generally speaking, I feel that the IC-705 has a slightly lower noise floor than the FTX1. Both radios have good receivers and it would take an experienced ear to make use of the lower noise floor.
Filtering. I set the radios up the same: CW mode, no RF gain, DNR set to 2, filter width set to 250 Hz, and waterfall to 5K on each side. When the test started, I found a weak signal that had a strong signal next to it, approx. 300-500 Hz away. Both radios did a very good job even though both had some filter ringing. The desired signal was still clear and easy to copy. About halfway through, I swapped and found a strong signal with a weak signal nearby. The weak signal was about 300-500 Hz away. this time there was no ringing and the desired signal was easy to copy. Both radios performed about the same.
Audio. The FTX1 has more audio, that’s the best way I can put. It is louder, and sounds more full than the IC-705. To my ear, the audio port design, volume, and frequency response appear to be geared toward SSB and FM. However, the CW signals out of the IC-705 sounded clearer and more distinct. This may due to the smaller speaker acting more like a tweeter making the higher pitched CW signals sound clear. The FTX1’s CW sounded a little muffled. For me, when I operate CW I am usually wearing headphones or earbuds.
Summary. Performance wise, you can’t go wrong with either radio. If you are the audiophile type, the FTDX1 might be a better choice. CW ops might like the IC-705 better. I will post the YouTube video below once I get it uploaded.
This morning I wanted to explore connectivity with the FTX1 and the IC-705. Right off the bat, the IC-705 comes standard with Bluetooth and GPS while the FTX1 requires a separate purchase for each. The Bluetooth unit cost $55 and the GPS cost $70. the IC-705 has one additional feature in that it also acts as a Wifi access point to allow you to control the radio via iPhone/iPad apps like SDR-Control SDR Control Website. With this app I can operate FT8 and CW. It has message memory and logging. The Wifi on the IC-705 is not intended for internet connection.
Getting back to the FTX1, it took a little figuring but I got it running FT8 on my Windows machine. The FTX1 is so new that there isn’t any control configurations out there on apps like WSJT. A little tinkering and I got it to work just fine. Here are the setting I used.
You want to use the enhanced com port. I also ended up using a USB C to USB A cable instead of a USB C to USB C. I was having trouble getting the latter to work and it may have been something on my part to cause it not to work. I will fool with it some more later.
UPDATE: I was able to get the radio to work with a USB C to USB C cable. However, something I missed was while WSJT software will Xmit and Receive, it will not QSY the frequency on the FTX1. I tried this with FT-891, FT-991, and FTDX10 CAT Command sets in WSJT. Usually with Icom’s there is enough compatibility between the radios that the CAT setting from one model will work with another. An example would be the IC-7610, it is pretty cross compatible with the IC-7300 command set. Hopefully this will be addressed soon.
On the IC-705 you can output GPS data through the B port. This can be used for different things, I use it sync the time on my laptop when I am using one. As far as I can see this feature is not planned for the Yaesu.
The Yaesu is still brand new, I had it 2 days and there was already an update. I am sure as the product matures, more features will be added. I like the radio; it has a certain fun factor. If someone asked me today, if I could only have one, I would pick the IC-705. But that is today, tomorrow as the FTX1 is refined, I may change my mind. In between, I plan on having fun with both. 72 de Scott
KK4Z 