ICOM IC-703 review

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Page 1

ICOM, which

began

the

/VHF/UHF-in-one-radio revolution with

the

its

operat

1C-

706

, has

low-power

g while hiking.

now

1C-

CQ Reviews:

ioined the take-it-onywhere

703

, which even has

The

QRP

ICOM

its

own

QRP

optional backpack

category with

Editor K4TWJ has our review.

IC-703

for

Portable/QRP

BY DAVE INGRAM : K4TWJ

COM

newIC·

these versatile little transceivers on the air during the

weeks and month s ahead. They are small. lightweight,ener -

gy efficient, loaded with features, and reasonably priced to

boo

point of view!

703 is that it looks ju makes sense, as

framewith thesamephysical design/layoutasan le -70B, even uses the same menu set. It differs

more battery-efficient circuitry, and enhanced/lower noise

t. That, d

Anunderstandably naturalreactionwhenfirstseeing an IC-

s entered t

703,

ear

world

and

fri

we will surely

end

is built on the same

s, is a winning combination from

stlike

ICOM's world-fam ous IC-

QRP

hear

in a big way with

x 6Z x

from

and

70G.

7.6~

an IC-

more of

70S

the

any

That

main-

and

with

Facts and Figures

The IC-703 may be small in size, but it is loaded forbig-time

radio action with all-mode operation on 1S0-10 meters

IC-703 "Plus" version includes S meters) and full sho reception from 300 kHz to 30 MHz. It sports

five 'scratch pad" memories, dual VFOs, three scan anadjustablespeechcompressorand noiseblanker,

IF Shift

adjusted. The receiver sectionseems to have a slightedge in high sensitivity and its overall gain can also be stepped up 10dB ordown 20

dB with the panel-selectable

Transceiver

rtw

101

with a pop-up display of the IF response curve when

and

low noise floor compared to an IC-

preamp or attenuator. The

memories,

mode

arr

(the

ave

.and

70S

receiver, a built-in automatic antenna tuner. and a maximum outputof 10 watts.Thetransceiver's microprocessorhas also been changed such that it monitors and controls battery-cur-

rent consumption of various ci

fie

ldoperating t

ing! Our enthusiasm may be starting to out-pace our discussion, so let's step back and start with an overview of this little delight's general specs and assets.

941

e-mail: <k4twj@cq-amateur-radio.com>

Scenic View Drive, Birmingham, AL 35210

ime.

Thefeatures?Wow,this little rigisamaz-

uits to ensure maximum in-

oto1-

mance

is fighter in w

ation w

30 • co • Decem ber 2003

ICO

and

h a built-in aut

QRPe

eight

s new IC-703 is

r's dream. It looks like an IC-70B,

and

battery

specially desig

-efficie

atic

sma

ante

circuitry.

ll in

ned

nna

ze, big in

for portable tuner, DSP,

perfor

but

oper-

and

Photo 2- The rear

tru

heat

sink, so the transceiv

nsi

nel

car

ryi

ngbag

the

JC-703

can

is flat without a pro-

ckpa ck.

rat

VisitOur

while

Web Site

Page 2

rig's out-of-the-box selectivity of 2.4 kHz

on SSB and CW also seems fine to me, although some folks may prefer to add

ICOM'soptional FL-52N 500 Hzfilter for

CW work. Personally. I find using the

wider SSB bandwidth and adjusting the

IF Shift quite adequate for dodging any

difficult-to-ignore QRMon both SSBand

CW, and it lets me keep an ear on adjacent frequency activ ities at the same time. Additional "specs" on the IC-703,

incidentally. may be found at <http :// www

index.htrnb- .

.icom

.co

.jp

/world

/info

lic-703

Particularly notable is the IC-703's

ability to

ranging from

ope

rate with i

volt

age

15 volts. When the volt-

age is between 11 and 15 volts, power output is adjustable up to 10 watt s.

Whe n the input the IC-703's microprocessor re

ops below

duces

volts,

outputto 5 watts and begins con trolling current to various stages to reduce overall current battery life, Does it work? Yes, in

demands

and extend

deed

. At 9.6 volts , receive current is a scant 300 ma and transmit current is only 2

amps

-noticea

bly lower than the 1.8

amp receive/10- 20 amp transmit de-

mands of most compact transceivers.

Special Features and Frills

ICOM's new IC-703 also hasa lot for it in the 'fancy features and spiffy

frills" department. such as ic antenna tuner,

keyer with mem-

automat-

ory. high-stability TCXO (temperaturecompensated crystal oscillat

ing

). plus

bandsco pe and SWR plotting function,

The built-in automatic antenna tuner

is really coo l. It is a digital unit that uses latching relays for tuning. It only matches coax-fed antennas, but it hasa quite

wide impedance matching r

ge and tames high SWRswith no problem. The big benefitof latching-typerelaysisthey

hold their settings without

any

"keep alive" current drai n after tuning. In fact. the tuner will continue "holding its tune" even if all external power to the radio is

removed, an always-apprecia ted asset

when camping or operating portable.

The CW keyer is adjustable in both

speedand paddle-leve rselections,plus

ithasthree 50-character memoriesthat

aredandy for "push-button contesting. Justprogramthememories .tapthebut-

tons , fill in callsigns during QSOs. and experience contesting supreme!

Altho ugh a high-stability TCXO is

optional in most tra nsceivers, IC

included it at the factory it in the IC-703.

Apparently , ICOM is anticipating many folks will use the little rigs for back-

packing or operating in other areas of possibly extreme temperatures. A

www

.cq-amateur-radio.com

December 2003 • CO •

Page 3

transce iver

det

TCXO,as

s its overall freq

ity from "cold turn on."

you

may

uencysta

know

bil-

Theon-boar

cessing) h band tune-up

ste

noise

cti

,and li

carriers

mode is

d OSP (digital signal pro-

two

modes

minimize "

adjust

any OSP,it tend sto introduce a strange watery near

maximum

in noisebl

noise

and

noise,this nals out

Do you like to

anker

its OSP reducing

dou

the mud surprisingly well.

. Wi

minim izing intermittent

ble

ickly ch

tion pulls

: It

n reduce

tones"or

SSB

. The

und when

le in t 5

the IC-703

constant

weak

eckac

noise-

built-

sig-

tion on

Profes!>ional

quahty ste-

ucn

s let you

keep an eye on cnncal

weather ccoot-

ucos. Add

sonware

just $495.Or go wireless for $59

Order

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ablo A

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Design

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InstJouments

.Hayward.

_.davisnet.com

And

Your

orProduction

Manufacture

Requirements

Oua

ntlt

catalog

ies

800-522-2253

This

Built

Especially when It

ordering

• Specials

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, Cross reieeerce Iibr;uy to all

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• Experts in

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•

0tM

combinatl()fl of reqlllfements

• Extensive inven lory components including anenuetcrs.

terminat>ollS and dividers.

, No

mlM1\Jm

ou,

aclapters can

Number

Save

could

non-slandard

spadalty. Virtually

suppl,

order,

Your

make It a

iilg "tIard to

satlsty

passIve RFiM;crowave

May

Life

comes

connectONl.

maJOf

gel

virtually any

between

..,

lot

any

- RF

Not

easier!

SMA, N.

senes.

545

different bands whe n pressed for time or

when IC-703 helpful

check

a vis

below quen

One

703

range . You just menu -select steps

analyzed, then tap the

first switching on you r rig? The

bandscope

here

and

l di

. You just set the range

punch

lay of signals above and

tuned/center/

it up, and it

function is

gives

disp

layed fre-

. Nice!

espec

SWR

measurement and range to be

ially neat feature

plott

ing

over

a selected G2

the IC-

, set the

mic's PTT switch

quite

you

a few times while watching the IC-703 step SWR across the range . It is a especially

for determining reso

2:1

Using

Whether ous

through frequencies

when

mobil

ing-and

SWR

basis,the

bandwidth of an antenna.

the

used

IC·703

on a casual

IC-703 is a

and

graph

kil1er

it is ideal

nt frequency and

most

cont

delight-

inu-

ful little rig to operate . In fact, there is a

natu ral t low

power

end

and handleslikean IC·706)andcall station heard just like you ning

any

100 watttran

that positive mindset

cial for

tions ali

operating

you truly believe you (well,

most

Attitude a

The

IC-703's receiver is really qood.

It is sensi tive but

interrnod.

many

economy-clas

ency to forg

that it runs

(probably because it looks

any

when

sce

iver. Yes,and

n prove benefi·

run-

rking in-co untry and OX sta -

, especially if

sawy

back it up. Then if

can

it) with

con

fidence are everyth ing!

not

and

/or

AGC

s rigs.

noisy from static,

you

work

ORP,

pumping

The

have

the

the world you

can!

built-in

Photo 3- Rhonda Comer, KG4FVL.

show

s us the c

onc

ept

operating

pedestrian mobile with the IC-703. The

rig

is enclosed in its

opt

ional LC-f56

backpack. fined with a W6MMA multiband Mp·1 mini-antenna ,

with

a Heil "Traveler" headset with

and

mated

boom mic.

toT/R delivers a very clean, clear output

nal. style and listen in between your transmitted dashes-to upsand

dentally, is a 6 to 10 commu

During the first few days of using the

IC-703 (actually

minutesinthe morn ingand evening ),

worked

meters meters. and meters. after

Europe, areas The

that

and hide t

fr gun

ve jest?

lay

lag.

The

IC-703

, h

ever,

siq-

The

ability

hear

operate

on-frequency activity

full break -in

dots

other

callers in pile-

and

time your calls pertectly-e-inci-

advantage in

nicating!

ickly grabbi ng 15 or

VK3BVM

, 5RBFU

G3HWS

The

day

OX successcontinued day

and

South

whi

mob

little rig pro

I had

disconnect its

ante

even

America,a

ved

and

OM3SEZ

R1PO

/FO

-Tahiti on 17

included working

ribbean

ile with a 6 foot

ch a romper

power

nna

coax to stop it

wh cab

working OXand blowingthose "big

s" right

off

the

bands.Wo

uld Dr.

ip.

automat champ and even remem

n~mj\L

back ban

Ilr

...

Old.I*'

NEMAL ELECTRONICS INTERNATIONAL-INC.

12240 N E. 14th AVENUE

IIIUStrJ

CW pleasant. on

NORTH MIAMI. FL 33161

TEL:305-899-0900 .

E-MAIL:

BRASIL: (011) 5535·2368

INFO@

FAX:305--895--8178

NEMALCOM

ob quiete

and

UAL: WWW.NEMAL.COM

32 • CO . December 2003

in or out

if you forget. Both

break-in

ject

, but it ionable. r here, but

antenna

ope

There

eve

tuner

line

ration are

some

does

Some

not

transceivers

some

work s like a

switch

whe

n c

hanging

mi and full

smooth

T/Rrelay noise

are

seem

also

overly

noisier,

n introduce CW chirp

and

are

A Real "Grab 'n Go" Rig

HF walk-an d-talk paredness are hot interests nowaday s, and mate How enclosed with a flat not need

packing,pedest

'n and emergencypre-

the

IC-

703

'shigh s perfectly with so?The

transceiver's ca

rea

have

acoolin

rian

mobiling

, or

ly portable nature

tho

r panel and

Visit O

g fan

pur

is fully

doe

a large

Web Site

its.

Page 4

"work aqainst." In an auto

bile or on a bicycle, the metal frame serves as ever, you need to pull a quarte r-wave length of braid or shield behind you as a counterpoise for the antenn a. Since wave· lengt hs are much lo

within antennatuner is its tune button and walk on!

feet or

agr

not

ound/counterpoise. When walking, how-

nger

re affects SWR. The IC

just helpful here , it is invaluable .

on HF than on 2 meters; everything

·703

's automatic

Just

tap

Conclusion

Ove whe re, do anythin price. wan rigs reduced to 5 watts outp

rall, IC

hear rumors

's new IC

ORP

·703 tr

some

strikes me as one cool "qo any-

ansceiver at a quite affordable

amateurs stilt use their big 100

for serious ORP purs uits

Photo

troller, which

to the transceiv

rear heatsink . The rig and an optional 9.6 volt 2800 maH BP 228 battery pack can thus be stuffed into a carrying bag or backpack for on-the-spot operation anytime and anywhere.

Realizing that fact, ICOM also developed the LC-156 'multi

Rhonda shows us the le -7

is carried in its belt clip

's main body

roller/rig separation cable.

's front

uch a

opt

neVcon-

connected

ional OPC·581

and question if you are really running

DX). Factually speaking, however, nothing brings home the

real radio thrills and excitement of low-power com munications like hitting the bands with a ORP transceiver such roads with a n

Try one (IC-703, not automobile!) in your own shack and see

for yourself!

The IC·703,

under $700 ); the IC-703, (average street price around $750).

ntes ting, and that' s fine (altho ugh folks habituall y

the IC-703 . It is akin to hining the

range of accessories , including the

autom

only, lists for$853.32 (average street price

ile, but it is much less expensive.

plus 6 meters, lists for $919.99

P when catching good

and-new and dedicated

It is complem ented by a

eviously man-

pack" for the IC-703. In addition to holding the IC-703 and BP228 safe and sound, the backpack has mounting loops to hold

a whipantenna,a remov troller, andextra pockets for the microphoneand maybea key. An optional ICOM O front panel is separated from the main body.

Two facts f pedestrian mobiling or walk -and -talk HF'n is how important a counterpoise wire is to a vertical antenna and h SW

quarter wave or shorter mus t have a metal ground plane to

R changes as you move around. Any

pe·58l

people realize until actually getting into

lebelt pouch lor the front panel/con-

cable is used/required when the

rtical that is a

tion

222/1.8 kHz

voice synthesizer, and

sories are availa ble from deal mation, ch

TITAN

MULTI

LC-15 6

eck

<www.icomamerica.com>. •

BAND

multipack

e filter, FL-257/3.3 kHz

VERTICAL

. FL-52A1500 Hz CW filter, FL-

re. Thetransceiver and its acces-

s nationwide . For

e filter, UT

re infor -

-1

onRATETIll'

II \1

12\1

I~~

11\1

lfl \1

30 \1

~ D

llM1

" HZ

"",

CHA

LLENGER

EAGLE

SlinIiId

1RAPS'

$339.00

()ick

VOYAGER

ACC

ESSORIES

Feans

TINNG

As$e1l1bly

Photo

pack

IC-703 fits insi

A close-up look at the optio

with a cover flap turnedback so you can see

de.

It is "grab 'n go"

nal

LC·156

'n at its best!

ltilbackhow

the

EJevaledF~

mAN

...,.

IIlDJHTS

IWlIAL!;J!Ql!L~

EXPA/rI)

FEA11JRES

2S ft. • w.i1h121

A •

114~

Y'l:Ul'

MllONflNG

...

PI'£

llPJ'l(JMS!

www

.cq-amateur-radio .com

December 2003 • CO • 33