My Thoughts and Review of the Icom IC-7300 - The Best HF/6m Ham Radio! 

Got a Icom IC-7300 you want to use on digital? Watch an easy setup video here - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mxJlrZRCf_I.html

This is an excellent presentation with no annoying background music or "fancy" lights! Very informative. Thank you! Yes, looking at this rig for purchase.

Agree .. zero regrets on my 7300. Use it for FT4/FT8 .. 24/7 and works perfectly.

I have the 7300for a wile now. love it. still learning new tricks with it. using on 10 and 6 meter repeaters. does PL tones and off set. easy digital modes with bult in sound card. I can save settings to SD card. The SWR graph is nice. i tuned a end fed antenna with it. forgot analyzer and was doing portable . runs very nice on LiFePO4 12.8V battery. 20 Ah has great run time. my 50 Ah runs for days ! and learned a trick with bult in tuner. was using a 9:1 random wire . was just on the edge of auto tune working on some bands. remembered a video and re watched it. put 7300 in emergency mode. this drops power 50% and extends the range of tuner past 3:1. it worked. made many contacts . bands were good at the time. I normally run 50% power or less anyways . the fan does not run much . runs a lot on FT8 . easy to hook up amp to it. PTT and ALC done. the only thing is screen gets glair from sun but simply move a tad . I had to make up mic cable for my single ear boom head set. was easy and use foot switch. I can type and talk at the same time. helps with a pile up. for me a separate VHF/UHF is the way I went. 73's

I think I've decided to get the 7300 as my first HF. Just have to save up more...💰💰💰👍🍻📻🤓

I have had my IC-7300 for about four years, and I love it. It is my main station HF + 6 meter radio and I also take it on field days. I bought an FT-991A to get a full power UHF/VHF C4FM capable radio but I rarely use the HF bands on that radio. I have always had ICOM radios and their human interface is so easy to figure out. My FT-991A Operator Manual is already dog eared from trying to learn how to use that bloody radio and I finally just gave up doing HF and digital on that radio. Argggg!

Just got my technician’s license and going for general Sept 3rd. Right now I have a Yaesu VX-6R. Just getting started but looking for an HF radio. Trying to decide between the IC-7300 or the Yaesu 991A. Both look like they would work. Since I just started 2 months ago looking for an easy to use radio. The IC-7300 looks pretty good based on your review. Of course I have a long wash to go, no antennas power supplies etc. would like digital modes in future. No pc Mac based which seems to be a little more limited. I do have some old pcs that might work, but first just want to get on the air with voice then add on. I’m 72 years old and haven’t done any ham work in the past but started out in ground radio in the air force and worked radio for NASA on Guam trucking Skylab before moving to computers the rest of my career. Noe time to add another hobby. Thanks for the good review. KQ4BYF mike

I've bought my 7300 late 2016 and I still love this radio. It's so intuitive to use and I frequently receive positive feedback on my audio. I also appreciate that the waterfall diagram is very smooth and the refreshing rate beats a lot of other radios out there. The 7300 has for me at least become a benchmark. I think it's hard to get a more radio for that price. 73 de Kevin, VK4KK

One of the classics!

On the subject of remote operation, while it is no doubt it is a tiny proportion of operators that use RO and Windows dominates the market it would be nice if Icom were to release a server software to run on a Raspberry Pi. Pi's are already the backbone in many Allstar repeaters so would be up to the task and could be powered up permanently since power consumption is minimal and Pi's are cheap. The official RS-BA1 software is a bit clunky and better alternatives exist. The AMU (ATU sic) of the 7300 is competitive in matching range with other internal matching radios. Being internal to the radio imposes some severe compromises if the radio is to remain a reasonable size. High SWR at the rig means the matching circuit components would have to be far more robust, increasing the size of the toroids and caps. So it could be argued limiting the matching range encourages good antenna selection and installation practice. The one use case where this 3:1 strategy falls over is for emergency comms, but again do like the Scouts say and "Be Prepared", have a portable antenna ready to go if emergency usage is foreseen. I suspect may operators do not understand just what a matching unit does. ATU is poor name since none of these devices actually tunes the antenna to resonance nor improves it's efficiency it merely transforms the presented impedance to close to 50 ohms to keep the radio happy. It should be remembered having the matching unit at the radio end of the transmission line does nothing for common mode currents and lost power in the coax and matching unit, which can be significant. The limited 3:1 matching range is IMHO best suited to broadening the usable bandwidth of lower frequency HF antennas 80 and 40 being the prime candidates. Higher in frequency than this and matching is really not required if the antenna is resonant on the band and presents something close to 50 ohms, which is of course the gold standard for any antenna installation.

I just ordered mine today. Can’t wait.

One aspect of the 7300 I enjoy is, that i's compact. Since it does have a built-in tuner and sound card all you need to take with you for portable is a decent power supply (or battery and turn the power down) and antenna and you're on the air.

Thanks... Just ordered one of these today! Get it on Saturday 23rd Jan 21... Thanks for the video....

Nice roundup of features on what seems to be a great radio. Thanks for the info HRDX keep up the good work.

Considering buying the 7300, but still studying it over. Thanks for your video.

Ordered the 7300 to replace my week old 718. Cant wait! If i had it to do over id have just bought the 7300 up front. Going the 718 route i had to add stuff to get some of the key features. By the time i got done with extras i could have just gotten the 7300 to begin with.

Just about to do my foundation license in the UK and the 2 radios I've been looking at are the icom ic 7300 and the kenwood ts590sg i know the kenwood is priced higher but what radio would you recommend from the 2

Great review Hayden. Was great to work you on 40 during the RD contest. Your audio sounded great to my mobile station (FT-891). Tim VK5AV.

Hi,good review, well explained, I use the Heil pr40 microphone with pre amp ,seems to make all the difference, thanks from Rotterdam 73...

Just got mine a few days ago, Excellent video for me to get hands on setup...Would like to see more direct touch screen operations than reading about it! But you helped already alot. will watch 10+ more times, Thank you

Welcome to being a proud 'twins' owner. My IC-7300 is now dedicated as my 6m station [sitting proudly next to the IC-9700].... Love it to bits. Relegating the IC-7600 and FT-991A to other uses.

Great review, im currently eyeballing this rig and im particularly interested in its connection as a panadapter with my sdr rspx. Iv recently learned that it will need a seperate RadioAnalog PTRX-7300 board fitted internally to make this happen at a cost of £189. Still well worth the money though by the sounds of it. 👍📡

Thsnks for the excellent overview. My beloved Ten Tec Jupiter is acting up and needs to be replaced. I'm torn between a dx10 for extetnal display and phenomenal noise reduction and the 7300 for ease of operation.

I want to know if it will scan memories on SSB with NO mute or squelch at about 1 second per memory non stop .. just cycling through the memories and is it just 1 button push to start and stop the memory scan. Also has it got automatic duplex offset and one button touch to use a 6 metre repeater. And if a 6 metre repeater is entered into memory does the memory hold all parameters such as tone encode and offset etc. Tnx for the video

Hi I'm thinking about buying a icom 7300 to setup in my caravan , got a codan NGT in the car anyway that was very interesting review and hearing your thoughts on it ...I wonder now in 2023 you still like that radio ,,, or are their better radios on the market for approx around the same price ?

I'm hoping to pick up one tomorrow (or Real Soon Now), it's had positive reviews. Bit concerned about the wimpy battery and some people have replaced it with a CR2032. My soldering skills are not up to it. Perhaps you could use a NUC box or similar as the remote server?

Are any of those software programs you named in the 5:33 mark of this video compatible for Macs as apposed to Window computers?

I have 2 x 7300 transceivers. One for HF and the other for 4m and 6m via a switch, plus an IC-9700. Magic.

I am currently debating between the IC-7300 and the Yaesu FT-710. I do love some of the new features on the Yaesu, but I have always loved the way the Icoms work. They are very intuitive. My Yaesus always seem to have little quirks when programming and using.

Nice Review....thanks & 73

hello, a query which equipment is better the Icom Ic 7300 or the Yaesu ftdx 3000, since I want to buy a new equipment and I don't know which one to choose, knowing that the audio of the yaesu is a little better than the icom, but there is some difference senior, thank you, Alexis CA1LCF, 73

Great review Hayden. I've been trying to decide on this rig or the Yaesu FTDX3000. Really helpful.

Appreciate your detailed overview of the radio. I am considering purchasing one in the near future. 73 Steve AA4SH

I just bought a xeigu g90. Should I take back and get the icom 7300???? Thank you

there is a wide gap in price between the 7300 and the 7610, I wish there was a mid priced version with an extra antenna port and maybe a slightly bigger display and a few more knobs ...though the 7300 is rock solid the 7610 has had issues with failing displays and heat sinks falling off

Nice kit 👍

Boy have they come down in price. Now with coupon about 1,000 dollars here in the U.S. Great deal !!!

Looking to buy this radio after I get my Tech rating (US). Good review, glad I found this!

Brilliant Mobile rig 👌😎

I moved also from the Yaesu FT-991 to the Icom IC-7300 and am extremely happy I did

What is your thoughts on the Ftdx10

I was thinking of buying the IC-7300 until the new Yaesu FTdx-10 came out. Sherwood ranks it 3rd on receiver performance. 73 Joe

I’m serious considering buying one as a shortwave receiver

Nice review mate. Hope to work you soon on HF on CW…

Looking to get one. But checking that an end fed half wave wire will have little noise in my garden before I splash the cash

Hayden are you planning to use your GPS disciplined OCXO on shelf as the ext. reference for your new 7300?

Fantastic synopsis Hayden, thank you. Playing with the idea of updating the 'ol faithful Kenwood TS2000 which has served well for decades, and the 7300 is what immediately came to mind to fill the HF requirement. I agree with you - the sound is just spot on. To me, it's all about delivery of the audio in both directions, everything else is secondary, but nice to hear that Icom appear to have largely gotten the user interface, the features and functionality in a sweet spot too. It does indeed seem excellent value for money, especially considering how much they manage to cram into the compact case. Lots of features & functions that were considered 'high end' or options in the past are now included as standard, very pleasing to see. It's going to be an agonising choice to update for me personally, I'm very happy with the TS2000 even today, but gosh, the 7300 is looking awfully attractive... thanks for your review, really well done.

Thanks for the review. Bummer to find out out single ant socket, poor i-ATU coverage, clunky remote etc after the event!

I ordered one today !

I also love my 7300 and also have the 9700. Now you mentioned that you can use all the bands by using your auto tuner but didn't say anything about 80 meters. So do you use an external tuner for that band? Thanks for the video. 73 Clark KG7LOI

i was hoping that you were going to tell us as to why you changed from the 991a? i am tossing up between the 7300, 991a and the ft3000dx. its a hard choise.

Can the ICOM 7300 be a mobile transceiver? I'm really interested in purchasing this radio!

I am thinking about purchasing one of these when my IC 718 bites the dust. I've had that radio for 10 years and it is still purring like a kitten. The 3:1 tuner is great. If your antenna isn't matching at least a 3:1, the antenna isn't going to be functional and efficient anyway. The RF will be absorbed into the tuner. My HF antenna has 1.5:1 on the entire bands from 75 meters to 10 meters. I currently use a manual tuner to round it off but a tuner isn't meant to compensate for a huge mismatch. It's meant to round off the edges. The small size of it compared to the TS 590SG Kenwood is a huge plus for me. I can easily take it with me where I go. Overall from seeing the radio in action at field day and watching great videos like this one, I think it would be a good replacement for my 718. I've been a ham for 31 years, and it seems like a great radio for many years to come. Thanks for the great review!

Thank you for the excellent review. Makes a challenge to justify the 7300 when my old 746Pro has three (3) antenna inputs (inc. 2m). Of course the waterfall and ready-to-serve digital connection are appealing. I could see the 746Pro dedicated to 6m and HF backup... What else would you suggest as a compelling argument? 73 VK2FALF

Thank you from the US.

I was a hardcore Yaesu owner for many years, but the IC-7300 really changed my mind. I bought an IC-7300 several months ago and I have not been disappointed. Great Radio.....Great Technology very intuitive interface. Have my eyes on the IC-9700 now, the wife gave me the go-ahead will drop the trigger soon. Good video, keep them coming. 73' de AC8JT

Loved my 7300, so much in fact, I sold it to buy a 7610, which is just more of the same.

Also wish it had two antenna sockets and the inbuilt remote server, but can't knock it for the price! Only radio I bought new! I use it on 6&4m and i'm adding a transverter for 2m. The Yaesu FT-991 has a poor transmitter, so if you have any near neighbours they will be loving your 7300 too.

Most of the down-sides you mentioned are included in the IC-7610 (same radio generation as IC-7300, but one size larger). If I had to guess, I'd say that the Icom pushed high initial cost for IC-7300, in order to quickly recuperate FPGA development costs (previous generation, like 7100/7200 already had the DSP filters just like in IC-7300), and to try to up-sell customers onto the IC-7610. One other down-side on IC-7300, which was fixed in IC-9700 is only one serial port over USB. This can create issues in scenarios where one port needs to be used for data transfer (regular CI-V), and another port to key the radio in RTTY or CW (say RTS to key the radio up, and DTR to switch between symbols). Instead, on IC-7300, the remote port needs to be used in that situation, which requires one more cable and a bit more hassle to get things to work.

Got both the 7300/9700 so I am well covered from 160M - 23Cms, including 70Mhz, & 40Mhz...and for the price, it's a no brainer...

Hello to all. When i was young i really was into 27 mc or CB. Had several during 7 or 8 years. President Thomas f.e. And that was 40 years ago.😪 Where has time gone ? Lately i was looking at it again. Saw a President Jackson and i was drewling. Brandnew. If you had such a beast back in those days. With this transceiver can you also the 27 mc and communicate with those who use a CB ? Also with truckers and so on ? I can see over time there has been a lot of development. Could you use something as the transceiver your reviewing also for getting data ? When hooked at a pc or a laptop ? Something like a newsserver but then through the air ? F.e. could you cut a movie in several Rar files and then transmit this a data through the air ? And another person then could reveive those Rar files on his or hers computer ? I know if i would buy something like this that i have a lot of learning and catching up to do. And also. I have a bit of prepping mentallity. Can not help that. It is me. It would be great to be able to communicate if everything else we are so used to doesn't function anymore. Crazy times we are living in for sure. Greetings from the Netherlands to you all out there.

It’s 2023 now, I noticed one person stated he got his in 2016(So I am wondering is it the same radio, or in 5 years it has improved a lot). Thanks

Like your review. I just wish the DNR was better. Best Buy for the money for sure though. Nice rig!

Nice

Great video. Not sure this radio was around when I needed a back up radio , so I got the ts 480hx which on cw I absolutely love. Yes filters are extra and a decent psu is required, but with filters and 200w. It's a pile up breaker. My main radio is a old icom 775dsp, 200w and is a dream to use. Thanks for all your interesting videos 73 zl3xdj

I just bought one with hopes of getting my amature license. I'm still balking about taking out and in boxing it.

Gigaparts has the IC7300 on sale for $999.95 right now.

Think twice b4 buying if you live near any kinda am,uhf/VHF transmission towers stations. That kinda transmission will over load the front end of a 7300 super het radio will still work. KC3ONO

Hey bud ! Hayden here too, can you do a video about the Australian license changes if one has not been done yet ? I think ill buy this radio

Just to note, I haven't open the manual on this radio, it's -pretty self intuitive.

What watts that icom 7300 i like it thanks

for me it is a winner. best yet

hello,good video,dont agree on everything,but in the Netherlands the Icom ic 7300 comes with 6 and 4 meters standard,thanks from Rotterdam.

The IC-7300 does not accept a USB keyboard for ragchewing on RTTY or PSK31. The IC-7610 does, though.

Can somebody please tell me when I key up on FM it turns off

Wish I had the money

You can switch it to emergency tune .m0fxb

3 months and your still using the default blue on blue on more blue waterfall options? get in the menu and make that screen pop!

For the life of me I have no idea why the CENT/FIX, SPAN and REF buttons aren't on the same touchscreen page. 🤬 Same with the 9700 and presumably the incoming 705.

THANK YOU.NICE,, DES CREAN,, BELFAST ,, IRELAND

I disagree that the 7300 is the best HF/6m radio. In the same price range, I think the FTdx10 blows it out of the water. Better receiver and much better noise reduction. I’ve had the opportunity to hook them up side by side to the same antenna and it was a clear win for the Yaesu. Still not a huge fan of the Yaesu menu system, but receiver for receiver it wasn’t really close. The Icom 9700 is my 2m/70cm radio of choice.

with the ft991A you don't have to use a computer to us a computer to control the radio, all ya need is a raspberry pi, usb cable and of course internet. #yaesu #ft991A

War da nicht eine Deutscher Text oder verstehe ich so gut Englisch?

Best newb radio lol dx10 crushes the 7300

IC-7300: This is a radio with very weak filters and ineffective RF Gain. The worst drawback of this transceiver is the underdeveloped and therefore useless ALC, which, when using a compressor, limits the power in the SSB to about 70W, so you can only dream about the declared 100W. Considering a lot of tests, the IC-7300 is certainly an impressive piece of equipment, with a large color touchscreen display, but this is where its advantages end. The weak receiving path places the IC-7300 very low and most other transceivers are better, even in relation to devices older than 10 years. Compared to Yaesu, the FT-991A has much better parameters, and referring to the new FTDX-10 model, there is even nothing to compare because they are two separate galaxies. One cannot forget about the audio that sounds very metallic in the full SDR, such as the IC-7300, has a lot of high tones that tire the ears, so I prefer warmer Kenwood or Yaesu audio, but these are just my subjective feelings.

Videotitel in Deutsch, aber Video in Englisch. Was soll das?

HAM hat nichts mit "Schinken" zu tun.Es kommt von Ham-Actor,es ist der Laienschauspieler im Gegensatz zum "Actor",dem Berufsschauspieler. Wir sind ja auch keine Berufsfunker sondern Hobbyfunker. 73 de Klaus DL1RL , OE2KDL

Traitor! Unsub! Unsub!

WE lose your voice and it is hard to hear you clearly.

What watts that icom 7300 i like it thanks