Icom IC-718 HF Radio Overview & CB Mod Info 

As a kid back in the 60s in Florida, I got a Johnson Messenger 100 for Christmas and it was awesome. I literally threw a random wire up on top of the roof with a rock and my very first skip contact was a mobile CBer in Alaska! We used to send QSL cards to each other back then--I got one from the Alaskan guy with the handle 'Fisherman'. Hello out there Fisherman if you're still around! That little radio put out about 4 watts AM and this was before the Citizens Band was allowed use of SSB and was only allowed 23 channels. Learning to make the best homemade antenna and tweak that little radio for maximum output taught me a lot and lead to me later becoming a licensed Ham and ultimately a fully licensed ship's radio/radar operator--even to repairing the radio communications system at the US MIA Det-2 in Ha Noi, SRV. Learning that Joe Walsh--one of my favorite guitar players from the Eagles--was a licensed Ham gave me even more incentive. Though I don't condone breaking the law, because there are many valid reasons for most of the FCC regulations (mostly protecting our already limited amateur bands so we can enjoy our hobby), I personally have no problem with CBers being allowed to use 100 watts--just as long as they stay on 11m. But ironically, many Hams I know, like me, operate QRP (low power) to help advance the art, study propagation characteristics, experiment with data modes and satellites, talk with the International Space Station, work to help improve radio communications technology, and regularly talk all over the world on 3 to 5 watts. We enjoy it! As for this video by CB Radio Magazine--who the hell do you think you are fooling? LOL! Instead, why not encourage people to do a small amount of study and become fully licensed amateurs instead of lamely encouraging some to break the law? You don't even have to know Morse Code anymore, and the amateur community always welcomes new members! I guess maybe if you did, there'd be less people interested in reading 'CB Radio Magazine' you wacky little cretins. Am I right? LOL!!!

Cracks me up with everyone saying how illegal this, maybe in the states but there is a whole other world out there and besides when you open this radio up to all the bands it basically becomes a IC-78 which is great for boats and a fairly popular radio out in the mid and southern pacific.

I haven't read all the comments, but the "tune" 5:20 is not for additional bands. It's to use an external antenna tuner.

wow so much hate from the ham people posting on here. Im a ham myself but I have no problem with cb guys cuz I get it, its fun. I was there once too!

I know someone who has a modified ham radio for use on CB, and never has transmitted on any ham bands, and doesn't use excessive power, and they're doing fine. They say that it *is* quite interesting to listen to ham conversations and to marvel at the diversity the band has to offer. I say as long as you follow the rules and if you want to TX on the ham bands, then just get a license. The world of radios is a fascinating one.

Thank you so much for the reply and the information. Take care buddy.

Why is everyone getting upset about this video.Some user may want legal access to non ham freq's,ie 60m band,air cadets,radio engineers for commercial export uses in some parts of world. If you buy a commercial hf radio generally its unlocked anyway from 1-30mhz tx&rx ! not illegal so why no one making a fuss about that? and funny Icom do have a commercial version of this set,just a different front panel and internally no different. chill out everyone ,give the guy a break.

Nice video thank you for the time you took to present this radio

Next on my list, thanks for the video.

SSB mode on this radio is greatly improved with an INRAD 2100hz filter. It makes a huge difference. Has to be soldered in, costs $170, but worth every penny.

I remember in the 70S everyone of us Irish boy were running on anything up to 100 watts, weren't on the ham frequencies so didn't bother them, now you nearly have to use a ham rig to get decent tx so much Wi-Fi interference and to be told a lot of cbers are have to move with the times, I like my free banding, have a mirage mx 25 looking to expand as I know it'll carry ok, anybody out there who can help an old Irish guy expand his horizons would be great help, 73,S to all keep the info coming great stuff.

After the mod can you have the chose yce to pic LSB or USB in 11 meters.?

This is the only ham radio that factor has kept an active new marble for over 20 years i've had mine for about that long

Is there a mod for where the power swings backwards on 11 meters , my friend has one that works but power output is lower

My ICOM 718 is not recieving or transmitting. But display is there & all other functions are working. How to fix the problem. I am a doctor & have no idea of servicing ICOM 718. Rig was really good. I used to operate the rig with SMPS.

After reading the comments on this video, I now fully understand that cheap switch mode power supplies and plasma televisions have been sanctioned as the final solution.

where can I find one to purchase

Hahahah, No Roger-Beep and NO Echoing function !!! That’s it, I want one of these critters .... quality counts so its worth the big bucks ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️....73s

hello, after the D54 mod is done for 11 meters, will the "mode" allow me to be in LSB, USB, and AM ? (on 10 meters, the radio won't allow me to select LSB). i can see "LSB" on your display when you are on 27.375, 11 meters, CH 37 CB. do you have to do a "reset" or anything special after the mod at first power up ? thanks

Agreed. I use my HT on the lowest power setting (.5w) on the FRS frequencies. Its not like I use it on the FRS frequencies much at all, I usually just scan them..

Which one is preferred by truckers, this type in your video or the CB radios? Could someone please answer that for me? I want to buy one but not sure which one. Thank you.

I want to use this radio as a SSB CB Radio. All the radios out there are this price not near the quality .. worth it .. only question I have is when you started talking about the sound coming in how different it is than say a Ranger or so .. please explain more .. what is it not loud busting through or is it a distorted sound of the voice? I would hate to ruin the radio and not be able to use it for anything .. please if you would give me more info on the sound .. I wish you would of played the sound in this video it would of been GREAT !!!!! do you have another video some where you did that please sir ... !!!

As a ham radio operator I don't care if CBers use ham equipment, provided they stay off the ham bands. I like to work digital modes on 10 meters. It would be very frustrating if CBer's were doing voice on the digital portion of the band. No one, regardless of license class is allowed to do voice on that part of the band. Thankfully I haven't encountered any unlicensed operators on 10. It would be even better if CBers could convince CB makers to put out better quality radios.

I am a ham (General class at 5 WPM) and -I COULD CARE LESS- if ham radios are used on CB!! I flat out dont give damn what CBers do as long as they dont get up on 10 meters....

I use the KPO DX5000 Ham 10 meter radio on CB and will continue to do so. Much better than a standard CB

Icom 718 compared to Alinco Models> SR 8 SR 9's? is icom better of alinco?

Please post more types of this video. Ham, ie, high quality radios that cover 11 meters. I ran a President HR 25-10 for over 1.5 million miles in my truck till the display went blank. No shop has been able to fix it.

Great video

these radios work great on 11 meters on side band but not good on a.m.. also opens it up on 60 meters.

how about 60 meters?

It looks like the IC-78, after mod will it have the same coverage?

I HAVE one of these radios and as it is my main radio worked each day. Do not recommend the MOD as the chance of TX out of band is not good. More so if you have the radio connected to the wrong antenna. Become a HAM as it is more fun and gives you a lot of Interest in Radio

This is an excellent choice radio for CB operations. Although more expensive, these are superior to standard CB gear. The Icom 718 can be purchased for a good price if you take the time to look around. I just purchased the Icom R75 receiver, which looks identical to the 718 but is receive-only. These are excellent radio's though and are well worth the extra bucks if you're serious about radio.

looks like a nice radio.

Have you read the FRS rules for transmitting? The FCC says that you can not use FRS on a HT that has a removable antenna without a GMRS license? Thats why the FRS radios are sold with a fixed antennas.

Fascinating!

Lovely radio

This is a great Ham Radio. Very basic and easy to use. Most CBers who are able to listen to ham radio for any extended period of time will get their ticket or decide it isn't for them. If they are going to run illegal equipment I'd much rather it be quality ham gear. It is better designed, doesn't splatter, and people usually keep the screw drivers out of them. If your a DXer then ham radio is a far more rewarding way to go as you can work the world with a few watts. Run a stock mike on these!

so why do the mod? I use it on the 60 meter band. 5 channels

NO FM UNIT !!!!!!!!!!! WHY ?

I heard you can connect a massive subwoofer to these for fully sik bass! :P

I would just like to point out that multi band radios that cover 11 meters are not legal in the US. The FCC has that rule in order to keep CBer's off the ham bands. That being said, if you operated a ham radio on 11 meters, you aren't likely to get busted if you behave your self.

Because FM isn't used on most of the bands covered by this radio. Even on 6m FM isn't the primary mode.

Many hams all started on 11m, i did. Guys on 11m are mostly good fun guys who when there young are the life blood of our future..Lets not be slagging anyone off.

I can do this, because the rules don't apply to me???????

I don't see a problem using HF radios on the cb band because they are not splatter boxes and I don't see a problem running a clean 1500 watt amplifier on cb band either us hams are allowed to run legal limit so as long as a cb'er has a clean amp up to 1500 watts I don't see a problem with it and also cb'ers using a hf rig on cb band atleast they will be on frequency.

IF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE AT ALL YOU WILL NEVER HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE FCC USING SSB ON 11 METERS WITH THIS RADIO. THEY SAY ITS ILLEGAL BUT SO IS A 5000 WATT AMP ON CHANNEL 6 EVERYDAY. JUST USE YOUR HEAD NO MORE THEN 95% MOD AND 40 WATTS AND GO FOR IT. 73

Will the same mod work on the ic-75?

can you get a FM module for this radio?

That's how I started as young teenager on a modified Siltronix 1011D

It's perfectly legal here in Britain just as long as you transmit on four what's power cb frequencies, and you don't even need a cb licence any more, they scrapped that year's ago.

this video as you see was put up in 2011 400 my but still on ebay for 6 to 700 dollars and it's a old radio now if i could find one for 400 i would buy it.

It looks like Icom IC R-75 communications receiver in appearance.

Will the ICOM IC-7200 transmit on 11 meters?

amen

Though this transceiver is not type accepted for CB use it would make a fine addition to any radio shack. The FCC would only get involved if the operator did not play well with othes.

Agreed. I have used my HT on FRS frequencies (at required power levels with rubber duck antenna) simply because its much easier to throw one radio and accessories in the glove box than two. That being said I'm not destroying the channels with 100w of power and being rude to other operators on the channels.

Not that anyone who would make this mod would care. I suspect merely having such a modded radio in your possession is against FCC regulations.

If you're just going to listen ( only legal thing thing you can do on 11 meters with this rig) you don't have to modify anything.

Then again it would be useless to use more power than what is permitted for FRS if one hopes to communicate with legal FRS XCVRs

Yeah like someone who thought..hmmm. I'll get a Ham License and buy a radio after. NOT! Whether Hams admit it or not they started on CB Radio First. You don't get the flavor until you get a taste first.

To be honest Just put in CB mods for all the majors Mind you if you are going to transmit over 25, 26 and 27 MHz you will need to dile down the to 12-14 watts and you will be operating within code for use. Reality is you can do mods to yaesu and kenwood aswell, though you will need to conform to CB rules until Govs remove the CB legislation altogether and reinstall them to the ham bands...

"Damage a $400.00 radio" Have you seen what these are retailing for now? You might as well get an FT 891 lol

It looks look the IC 78

HELLO RU-vid??? Are you there good buddy?? Got your ears on RU-vid come on..... What's the matter cbradiomagazine? Run out of Cobra 148F radios to review? Very illegal no matter how you slice it.

😸🚬🍺🍺🍺👍 I'm getting ready to purchase one I'm strictly 27 5 5 5 upper and lower sideband

It is a sacrifice do that to this radio. It's better let this radio original.

And from about 4 to 0 to about six seven zero and I'm back at out

Bottom line: Don't be an idiot and you'll be fine with any gear on 11m. Use legal power limit if possible, monitor your station for bleed-over and stay in the band.

Pix at 2:49 -Pause and view... Look for D54.

Thanks, I thought that was obvious. Who is really going to care if I am keeping it sane?

Food for thought. Even if you modify this radio for 11 meters (which I would advise against doing), you will not sound good on AM which is where the majority of CBers like to operate.. The radio was designed that way. Get yourself a Galaxy 2547 CB radio. They have good AM modulation, and will help keep a CBer out of trouble.

People use Ham rigs everyday on CB. I don't but, I own CB rigs to talk SSB CB. All of my radio's are stock. Not one of my Ham rigs are modified for CB.

LOL you gotta do that the old fashion way build them yourself. Roger beeps, along with other juvenile sound effects are not unheard of on 10M. Old & new hams alike are unaware of why there is beep heard on amateur radio repeaters and they have no real use on simplex.

As always, you CB idiots are figuring out how to fuck things up

People are always gonna use radios out of their designated band. I just setup a 2m HT for extended TX earlier today (strictly for emergency purposes since that is one of the few ham radios I have that is built better than my VHF LMR's)…finding all the info to do the mod online.

No FM mode? If not useless for CB, nobody uses AM anymore

WHAT ??? WHAT ??? WHAT ??? No Roger Beep, Echo or Talk back ??? Can't be any good ! (Tongue firmly implanted in cheek ! ]

Use that Ham Radio for a freaking CB.

The KPO DX5000 is a low end 10 meter radio made for exports. It is a very far cry from the Icom 718. I would not recommend the KPO DX5000 to anyone as a good ham radio. Yes you can make contacts with it, but under the hood is just a broad banded CB design with poor filtering a wide banded front end. It is a lot like the Ranger series of radios. The very small amount of extra power these radios put out doesn't make much difference on the receiving end. Tweaking and peaking these causes splatter.

.............your point is??????????????

Go for free use of 2 meter and 1 1/4 meter band withl, all will be happy

i used to be in this why do we have to try to dazzle the world with geek speak meters this centimeters that it dose not make sense call it VHF & UHF

its legal, you dont need a license, the fcc is illegal, public airwaves + 1A, lol.

Allowing the radio to transmit on 11m but in return not allow it to transmit on the Ham bands would be a better modification.

Nice ,but illegal conversion .I wont recommended to people that live in USA .The fines are huge and you have to deal with FCC.

7302 USA 465

Wow, this comment thread REALLY makes me want to get my ticket........

why would anyone want to turn this into a cb? I find cb's all the time for next to nothing.

too many adverts

Show people how to break the law, then tell 'em it's illegal.

Bag bob

All the cb'ers i know run more then 100 watts..

I blame the sellers. They sell to anyone regardless if the buyer holds a valid FCC amateur radio license or not. They are the people who should be held responsible by the government and pay the penilties. But I'm sure all those law abiding CB folks out there are turning the power down to 5 watts when they are transmitting on the CB bands..LMAO

It does not matter what band/frequency you TX on you will always get a moron to spoil things, even on any of the amateur radio bands, yes it is far worse on 11 meters they for some reason cant talk with out shouting there foul mouth of. It simply will not change no matter how many people complain about it.

After reading the comments it’s clear we Cbers and ham operators will never get along, but we aren’t ever going away 😂😂😂 might as well make all the bands available to us😜

A couple years ago.... Hams were requesting cheese & crackers to go with thier whine , when the debacle arose over the 'free-banders', CB'rs who used the free or unused spectrum from the end of the 40 channel space , up to the start of the 10-meter band. They bitched & cried to the F.C.C , to which the FCC said in certain words that they (the FCC) don't have the time , nor resources to spend at policing something that isn't hurting people. Yes, it's illegal to transmit in this 'free' band ; article being covered in QST magazine a year or so ago . Rumors have been heard that Icom's venerable 735 , 725 & 718 are radios of choice when it comes to dependability for this endeavor . Again .... These are unconfirmed rumors. Additions to this thread are sure to follow...

It's only good for ssb on cb. It's not AM talking machine lol. 10 4 good buddy. lol

that radio is legal to transmit on 11 meters as long as it's not over 12 watts in the USA

2 meter is so quiet now days. One does not need the FCC to use some 2 meter Freq. So why do WE need the FCC to make anyone get a lic for any 2 meter. Just send in the money and get the lic.. the FCC will be happy and keep the muck out. One day the FCC will wake up on the 2 Meter band, and if you guys want more people on the radio Tell the FCC for a 2 meter lic and call sign just send in the money.