Icom IC 706MKIIG ham radio demonstration

This is the well known Icom IC-706MKIIG all-mode ham transceiver. It is basically a "ham shack in a cigar box"; covering everything from 160 meters to 70 centimeters. The receiver goes all the way down to 30kHz, So it also covers the AM broadcast band as well as the FM broadcast band. This particular one is like new, and has the CR-282 high stability master oscillator installed. It also has the FL-102 AM crystal filter installed, which gives the radio excellent selectivity on AM as well. Enjoy the video of this very innovative Icom ham transceiver!

[@wv1swlamatswl523]

I'm not a ham operator yet, but have been a listener for a very long time. I just was gifted one of these radios by a friend. From what I see here, quite an impressive radio. Need to make my license, but I would enjoy just tuning and listening too.

[@c.hundley9714]

These radios still hold their own.

[@donsilva4441]

Btw, that radio is super clean, like it just came out if the box. Nice !

[@harrycaraway2990]

I am looking at purchasing a nice used unit from another HAM operator. I need a high quality portable all-band unit. I am looking to retire and do natural disaster support for agencies/organization using my diesel quad cab truck pickup with dual batteries for power. Great demonstration - you covered all of the key features. Thank you for taking the time to share this knowledge.

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Thanks - glad you liked it. Cheers.

[@scan253]

Nice radio. Looks very compact to use either as a base or mobile.

[@fplum1]

I am waiting (very impatiently I might add) for my 706 to come in. I am old school used to boat anchors with dip and tune. So I am not that familiar with menu driven radios. I am currently using a Yaesu 817 like the one in your video and I have learned the fundamental menu functions. Your video has shown me the the radio is simple to use. It is the best video I've seen so far ( haven't seen them all yet). I do wish you had spent some time demonstrating cw. I operate cw 97.8% of the time. I will disagree with you on one point. I am going QRO because my location is not qrp friendly. If circumstances were different it would be QRP to the grave. Tnx 73 de WB5HQO.

[@Laborkei]

I still have mine, use it for POTA... Best Radio I have ever had.

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

POTA - plural of POTUS? 🙂

[@MichaelLitty]

Nice demo. This is my first HF rig. I love it. I'm thinking about getting some filters to go with it. Hoping to pick them up at the next regional hamfest.

[@Marty48034]

Cool. Thanks. I just ordered a used one on eBay. Hoping it all works!!

[@BitsofSkin]

Hahaa, he has it modded for 11m but skipped by and said "ahh, general band" heheee Nice video man.

[@palomarjack7090]

Yeah, I saw that two. Sort of, just sort of makes sense if you don't want to have to hang a second radio under your dash, but still not legal.

[@robertrockwell7581]

​@@palomarjack7090 true but as he stated he modded it too get the 60 meter band and 11 meters comes with the mod.

[@davidhunt3161]

Thankyou for an enjoyable demonstration of your transmitter. R6 S6 :-)

[@raymanicaros2734]

Very Good pal. I have one. Have not used it since I brought it. But that's about to change an going in my car ray

[@anonymous_friend]

Thanks for the demo. I just got this radio, and also have its competitor a Yaesu 857D. It seems to be very difficult to come across a reasonably priced tcxo and filters for either radio. I'm curious though which antenna port does the AM broadcast use?

[@kayradiogeekned5415]

a tip for the noise problem unplug all the power adapters in your room and cheap wacky LED lights or CFL lights get some high-quality LEDs or use halogen bulbs

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

If I run the radio from a 12V battery, and subsequently throw the AC main breakers to OFF (meaning the whole house is without power), the noise is still there, unchanged. The noise is not generated in my house. It comes from the 10kV above-ground wiring that runs through the street. It is the collective noise from all residential homes connected to it in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, here in the US we are to cheap to put 10kV AC cables under the ground. That's why I have this problem.

[@johncliff5417]

Hi there. I had not noticed before that the mic socket is under the front right side on that radio. it seems to be an unusual idea to have put it there. ?.

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Yes. Probably because the designers ran out of space on the front. Actually, there is a second microphone connector on the rear apron (the same RJ45 socket) so you can plug in the microphone there as well.

[@HearGear]

This radio does 11 meters to .. right ?

[@DonzLockz]

If you do the Mars mod diode removal it will.

[@DonzLockz]

Great video, thanks. :)

[@rogerrcd1332]

😂😂....Daryl Hall & John Oates.....I can go for that

[@chrisa2351]

When your tuning it it sounds like R2D2

[@srinivasansalem1090]

I am VU2SSC. Beautiful rig.

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Thanks. I have never worked a ham from India. Maybe one day :-)

[@robertrockwell7581]

after seeing this radio i either want this or the Yeasu 991a.

[@mickrooke6653]

Which way did you jump? I'm having the same dilemma.

[@robertrockwell7581]

@@mickrooke6653 have not bought anything yet. all i have right now is a hand held Yeasu ft65r. thanks.

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

I actually recommend the IC-7100. It is a fabulous radio, it is what I replaced this 706 with. I need to make a video of it one of these days. It is SDR based, meaning you can make any filter bandwidth you want without having to buy filters. It also has a touch screen, and can handle all HF+VHF+UHF bands just like the IC-706MKIIG. And easily set for MARS/CAP operation. Last but not least, it has DSTAR built-in. Not the IC-7000 was the successor of the 706, the IC-7100 really is the successor of the 706. Cheers.

[@HM-ih4rx]

started with 703

[@gvvq-pi5ml]

Hi. friend of mine has one of these and it appears the freq counter is about 10 kcs off, any ideas anyone, he hasn't got clarifier in or split button. from Fred g4vvq in England.

[@kayradiogeekned5415]

how do you read on this one is it 20000.26 megahertz or just 20 point something megahertz

[@kb9oak749]

I just picked one up.

[@gvvq-pi5ml]

I thought that was awhile back you have propagation on 10mts hi...from G4vvq.

[@scottgoodrich5825]

g4vvq1983 Yeah, I haven’t heard anything on 10 in a hell of a long time. W2LTD

[@ElimelecMedina]

hi sir... what video camera are you using? bc quality of this video is incredible

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Just a cheap Sony (DSC-WX70)

[@RayCorkran]

Great demo video

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Thanks!

[@ruudsjardin3626]

Ray Corkran i

[@UpdisamedMuuse12-ev2ql]

Taararkan waxay ahaayeen tijaabooyinkii isgaadh siinta calamiga ah so looga kaftoomo fariimaa ama qofkastiba uhelo dantiisoo fudud

[@gregdelgado812]

Hello I’m not sure if you still have this radio this is quite an old video I did not know the FL102 fitted right into the 706 is that true...Or does it have to be modded

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

A slight mod is needed on the main PCB. It is a long time ago that I did this and I do not have the radio any more, but you should still be able to find details about this mod on the web. The IC-706MkIIG is an excellent radio, but the designers went out for lunch on this AM (and FM) filter issue. The stock AM and FM filter is wide as a barn door with also a lousy shape factor. Applying the FL102 in combination with the mod fixes all that. Cheers.

[@gregdelgado812]

@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP Thanks so much for your reply I did find the mod online thank you again have a great day!!

[@alexkk6zly262]

Hello, I just got my ham tec license in Dec 2015. I was wondering what kind of low cost antenna can you, or should you use for this type of radio?

[@williamdavies1649]

Congrats on getting your ticket! It depends whether you want all bands or just one?

[@williamdavies1649]

I use a G5RV which does all bands but I've also built a few dipoles which is easy

[@edyraharjo]

Haloo im from Indonesia, my call sign YD9XBT, nice to first watching your youtube channel.. QSL 73 🙂

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Hello! good day to you too. Thanks for watching my channel. Cheers.

[@edyraharjo]

@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP yes sir, you are welcome..😊 next watching to other your video 👍

[@abdullahalzahmoul570]

I like this radio its for sale? I want it with the filters 😉

[@radioman6489]

Is there anything in the menu that can help the brightness of the LCD display? Thanks

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Item 4 in the radio's settings menu (called "back light") allows you to set the brightness. See page 50 of the IC-706MKIIG user manual. You can download that manual from the Icom website. Hope this helps.

[@radioman6489]

@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP Thanks 👍

[@deenunya7735]

What Ant were you using for all the Bands

[@robertrockwell7581]

Dee Nunya he switched too a dummy load for the test. as the antenna he had was only tuned at that time too 15 meters.

[@mistermeanor968]

Good radio just old , the yaesu ft891 is excellent radio and modern

[@coolmixes]

The 706 has more frequencies and bands and as old as it is still a fantastic radio

[@NOXFPV]

Is this radio still worth anything? I have the power supply too.

[@jjsemperfi]

Yes. Are you looking to sell?

[@donsilva4441]

I whistle into mine, I get 110. I talk into it, I get 60. Same with other icom radios I've owned. ALC issue ?

[@seye100]

Same for everyone remember ssb the carrier is suppressed so the reading will be an average if you change to a mode with a carrier cw am fm youll find a consistent reading more near your set power output because it has a consistent carrier.

[@Munky332]

thinking about picking one of these up for PSK31 and other data modes, seems they've been discontinued for awhile now, is there a successor ICOM model, another affordable alternative, or am i basically looking at used market only?

[@patrickwall8517]

There are two successors. The ICOM 7100 and the Icom 9100. The 9100 is a higher end model.

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

I agree with Patrick Wall. The IC-7100 is a great radio, I own one now. I can recommend it. Digital IF filtering, touch screen and lots of other features. It also does not get as hot as the IC-706 (the 706 gets pretty warm even when only used receiving)

[@chilskater]

i still struggled to setup

[@terrysmith5802]

What antenna are you using ??

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

A 24 ft vertical, tuned at the base by a Transworld AT-100 tuner

[@dhansel4835]

What is the difference between a Mark 2 and Mark 2G ?

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

If I'm not mistaken, the MK2 had 20 watts on 70cm, and the MK2G has 50 watts on 70cm. And some minor circuit improvements in general.

[@dhansel4835]

@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP After digging around the MK2 had HF and VHF while the MK 2G has UHF added to it.

[@snoobiedoo6705]

So where does one go to may be purchased one of your radios that you might have for sale

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Usually eBay. But I have nothing right now, sorry, all sold.

[@snoobiedoo6705]

Okay thanks so I need a name to put you under a contacts list so that I could keep a watch out for other things

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

@@snoobiedoo6705 No problem, just subscribe to this channel then you will get an email from KZbin when I put up a new video of a rig. Cheers.

[@raykiii]

Can you monitor one frequency while listening to broadcast radio?

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

No, only one frequency at a time

[@MichaelLitty]

There's a Priority mode (p.44) that will watch a frequency while scanning but I don't know that it works while listening to another frequency. There are two independent VFOs though. You could set VFO-A to an FM frequency and VFO-B to any ham frequency and then manually switch back and forth quickly.

[@warplanner8852]

These are not manufactured anymore. They are/were better than the subsequently released IC-7000 in my opinion. As for power levels, "L" outputs a little under 5 watts and "1" a little over 6 watts. Inasmuchas the final transistors for these radios are not available, I NEVER run my 706 any greater than than level "8" or about 80 watts so as save the finals. Word to the wise.

[@dubravkorajnovic9440]

Tnx fer nice demonstration ! 9a6dr

[@lifegood6083]

What antenna do you have?

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

Right now, nothing any more - got destroyed by hurricane Ian.

[@lifegood6083]

@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP Sadly, what antenna was it before?

[@LifeIsTooShortForQRP]

@@lifegood6083 A home made vertical, 24 ft long with the base at about 20 ft high. Tuned with a Collins 180S-1 coupler from inside the house . The antenna withstood hurricane Irma (a cat-2) without problems a few years ago. Ian, which hit us with almost cat-5 strength, turned out to be too much unfortunately.

[@viviana1719]

I want to learn how to use this radio but even this video is too technical for me....

[@yuryflores5736]

Hola 🇨🇱

[@ConfederceyCSA]

can this radio tune in 27.185 MHz

[@robertrockwell7581]

ConfedercyCSA YES IF YOU DO WHAT IS CALLED A MARS MOD.

[@PY3VV]

USE RTTY OR CW rsrsrsrsrs