IC-746

ICOM
IC-746

Specifications

Prices

The ICOM IC-746 amateur-radio transceiver covers 160-10 meters plus 6 and 2 meters, 100 Watts of output is available on all bands: HF, 50 MHz and 144 MHz. The die-cast aluminum chassis and a large cooling fan help to stabilize the Power Amplifier circuit, providing 100% full duty cycle operation. Features: Wide display with 1 Hz readout, Spectrum scope, Twin PBT, selectable APF, Digital noise reduction, automatic Notch filter, two stage RF preamplifier, 6/12/18 dB RF attenuator, CTCSS encode/decode, CW electronic keyer, CW Full break-in, 102 alphanumeric memory channels, Bar-graph meter displays ALC / power output / SWR simultaneously, built-in Automatic antenna tuner that operates on the HF/50 MHz bands, Three separate antenna inputs for HF / 50 MHz / 144 MHz. Ideated in Japan, year of introduction 1998.

Reference market : amateur-radio

IC-746 specifications

General

Frequency coverage
Receive	0.0300 ~ 60.0000 MHz 108.0000 ~ 174.0000 MHz
Transmit	1.8000 ~ 1.9990 MHz [1] 3.5000 ~ 3.9990 MHz [1] 7.0000 ~ 7.3000 MHz [1] 10.1000 ~ 10.1500 MHz 14.0000 ~ 14.3500 MHz 18.0680 ~ 18.1680 MHz 21.0000 ~ 21.4500 MHz 24.8900 ~ 24.9900 MHz 28.0000 ~ 28.7000 MHz 50.0000 ~ 54.0000 MHz [1] 144.0000 ~ 148.0000 MHz [1]
Mode
CW / RTTY / LSB / USB / AM / FM
Tuning step
1 / 10 / 50 / 100 Hz / 1 / 5 / 9 / 10 / 12.5 / 20 / 25 kHz

Receiver

Sensitivity
CW / RTTY / SSB	0.16 uV (1.8~30 MHz, 10dB S/N, pre ON) 0.13 uV (50~54 MHz, 10dB S/N, pre ON) 0.11 uV (144~148 MHz, 10dB S/N, pre ON)
AM	13 uV (0.5~1.8 MHz, 10dB S/N) 2.0 uV (1.8~30 MHz, 10dB S/N, pre ON) 1.0 uV (50~54 MHz, 10dB S/N, pre ON) 1.0 uV (144~148 MHz, 10dB S/N, pre ON)
FM	0.5 uV (28~30 MHz, 12 dB SINAD, pre ON) 0.25 uV (50~54 MHz, 12 dB SINAD, pre ON) 0.18 uV (144~148 MHz, 12 dB SINAD, pre ON)
Selectivity [2][3]
CW / RTTY / SSB	>2.1 KHz (-6dB) <4.0 KHz (-60dB)
AM / FM-N	>9.0 KHz (-6dB) <20.0 KHz (-40dB)
FM	>12.0 KHz (-6dB) <30.0 KHz (-50dB)
RF preamplifiers
Preamp-1	10 dB (1.8~54 MHz)
Preamp-2	16 dB (21~60 MHz)
Preamp	? dB (VHF band)
RF attenuator
6 / 12 / 18 dB
Spurious and image rejection
>70 dB (HF / 50 MHz) [4] >60 dB (144 MHz)
PBT (Passband Tuning) [5]
±1.29 kHz (in 15 Hz steps) ±258 Hz (in 3 Hz steps)
Notch filter
Automatic	Yes
NB (Noise Blanker)
Yes
RIT (Receiver Incremental Tuning)
±9.999 kHz
AGC (Automatic Gain Control)
Fast, slow, off
Frequency stability
±7 ppm max from 1' to 60' after power on. ±1 ppm/hr max with temperature +25°C after 60' power on. ±5 ppm max with temperature from 0°C to +50°C. ±0.5 ppm with temperature from -30°C to +60°C [6]
IF (Intermediate Frequency)
1°	69.010 MHz
2°	9.010 MHz
3°	455 kHz
Squelch sensitivity
CW / RTTY / SSB	<5.6 uV
FM	<1.0 uV
CW features
APF filter (BW = 80/160/320 Hz) Pitch control (300~900 Hz in 3 Hz steps)
FSK features
RTTY reverse mode

Transmitter

Output power
CW / RTTY / SSB / FM	5 ~ 100 W
AM	5 ~ 40 W
Spurious emission
<-50 dBc (HF) <-60 dBc (50 MHz) <-60 dBc (144 MHz)
Carrier suppression (SSB)
>40 dB
Unwanted sideband suppression (SSB)
>50 dB
Microphone
600Ω
XIT (Transmitter Incremental Tuning)
±9.999 kHz
CW features
Full / Semi break-in 4-channel memory keyer 6~60 wpm Keyer

Features

Memory
99 regular memories 2 for scan edge 1 call channel
Display
1 Hz frequency resolution 30-segments signal meter bar Simple band scope
Selective calling
1750 Hz tone CTCSS 50-tones
Transmit/receive offset
±4 MHz (1 kHz steps)
Antenna
2 x SO239 50Ω (HF/50 MHz) SO239 50Ω (144 MHz)
Power supply
13.8 VDC (±15%)
Power consumption
1.8A RX (squelched) 2.0A RX (max audio) 20A TX (max RF power)
Audio power
2W on 8Ω
Audio output
Jack 6.35 mm (headphone) Jack 3.5 mm (4~8Ω external speaker)
Connections
Jack 8-pin (mic) Jack 3.5 mm (CI-V / PC control) Jack 6.35 mm (CW key) RCA (SEND) RCA (ALC) 4-pin socket (AH-4 antenna tuner) 7-pin DIN (ACC2) 8-pin DIN (ACC1 / TNC)

Mechanical and environmental data

Operating temperature
from -10°C to +60°C
Dimensions
287 (W) x 120 (H) x 316.5 (D) mm
Weight
8.9 kg

Depending on version.
Optional 9 MHz IF filters:
FL-100 (500 Hz/–6 dB for CW/RTTY narrow)
FL-101 (250 Hz/–6 dB for CW narrow)
FL-103 (2.8 kHz/–6 dB for SSB wide)
FL-223 (1.9 kHz/–6 dB for SSB narrow)
FL-232 (350 Hz/–6 dB for RTTY/CW narrow).
Optional 455 kHz IF filters:
FL-52A (500 Hz/–6 dB for CW/RTTY narrow)
FL-53A (250 Hz/–6 dB for CW narrow)
FL-96 (2.8 kHz/–6 dB for SSB wide)
FL-222 (1.8 kHz/–6 dB for SSB narrow)
FL-257 (3.3 kHz/–6 dB for SSB wide).
Except IF through on 50 MHz.
Variable range depends on the filter selection.
With optional CR-282 high-stability crystal unit.

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IC-746 / 7400 series :

The ICOM IC-746 HF/VHF rig was first released in 1998, become one of the best value transceivers in the marketplace. The IC-746 PRO upgraded radio, with a new DSP system, was released three years later. Following on the success "746" the "746 Pro" covers 160-10 meters plus 6 and 2 meters all mode, 100 Watts of output is available on all bands. The new Pro version features 32 bit floating point Digital Signal Processor and 24-bit ADC/DAC. There are no more optional 9 MHz or 455 kHz IF filters as the digital circuit allows your to select 51 filter bandwidths. There is even a built-in Baudot RTTY demodulator. The IC-7400 is the "746 Pro" version approved for the European market, similar in specifications but with VHF receive frequency coverage limited to 144-146 MHz.

IC-746 IF filter construction :

ICOM IC-746 9 MHz and 455 kHz IF filter construction.
One 455 kHz optional filter can be installed, two 9 MHz optional filters can be installed

IC-746 installing IF filters :

ICOM IC-746 installing IF filters

IC-746 price

We have collected for your convenience the ICOM IC746 sale price (Euro) and its trend over time. Useful to guarantee a cheaper purchase of this radio and to put it for sale in the second-hand market. Of course offers, accessories, warranty terms and conditions can lead to different figures.

Price	Date	Condition
EUR 340.00 (355USD)	2022-jun	Second Hand Fully functional. The display takes about a minute to warm-up and reach full brightness. Comes with HM-36 hand microphone and power cable
EUR 800.00	2022-jun	Second Hand From Ham store, with 3 months warranty
EUR 810.00 (699GBP)	2021-sep	Second Hand In good condition
EUR 429.90 (489USD)	2017-dec	Second Hand Comes with HM-36 hand mic, DC power cord, original owner's manual

IC-746 review

IK2LQT

7 January 2024

Dimming of the display: the neon lamp tends to burn out due to incorrect power supply coming from a diode. If the neon burns out, the display goes completely dark.
The solution is to replace the neon and related diode in the power circuit for a small cost of no more than 5 euros. Too bad that for this repair it is necessary to dismantle half the radio which costs a lot of difficulty and hours of work.

[End post]

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