Icom IC-7300 Review - After Two Years

** Update 3/1/2021** With the new firmware upgrade, my biggest two criticisms/wishes for the 7300 have been added and I'm thrilled! In this video when I talk about the scope/waterfall view being able to be improved upon, Icom rocked out the new scope band edges and scroll feature. My only other suggestion for improvement was for presets, and Icom added a place for that too! **

If you are new to Ham Radio and unsure if the Icom 7300 is the right radio to start with, this video is for you. The IC-7300 was my very first radio, and after putting it to work for two full years, I finally decided to give it a review.

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[gregwhite]

Great job on the review - thank you. I'm looking at this as my first HF radio. I appreciate you sharing your experience after 2 years of owning one.

[Craines]

Great review. I’ve been a ham for about six years now and have bought several secondhand rigs during that time. I just ordered a 7300 brand new and am very much looking forward to receiving it.

[roberts]

I am new to the hobby also. This video gives me the confidence that if I purchase a 7300 that I will be able to use and enjoy it. Your videos are well-done and a joy to watch!

[somerville]

Nice review as usual. Easy to follow and understand.

[kootv]

This month I'll be a ham for a year . I got my general ticket last July and this was my first HF rig as well and I can't wait to make contacts on it. I can't say enough about this radio it's brought me lots of joy.
I have the ID 5100 for 2meter and 70cm it's also an amazing performer.

[dannyrhodes]

Just bought one. Thanks for the review. 👍

[larrypicard]

Thanks for the fine review. In my personal opinion the 7300 provides the most bang for the buck of any of the base station rigs out there. Icom, in bringing it to market has to be conscious of how any additional features will impact both the cost and consumer appeal.
Two features that might be considered for the next generation of this rig would be bluetooth functionality and a port for any external display.
To go further, although it might be too much to ask, would be two antenna ports or at least a separate receive-only port.
Each to his own. However, adding VHF/UHF to the radio might add considerable cost for features that some people may not find all that useful. Depending on what features you are looking for, VHF/UHF radios can be had for relatively good prices and come in small packages.
My impression is there are other great and a lot just comes down to personal taste.

[davidmartin]

Great videos! What external power supply do you use for your IC-7300?

[peelarat]

Have my extra license.. love the 7300 excellent radio with many features.

[Patrickjdee]

Thankyou pal, your review is the reason I am now saying yes to a seller, all the best and thank you

[Bass-guitarist]

Great honest review and just what I was looking for Drew, thank you for your efforts making this vid! De m0kty

[scottmiller]

I am also a new ham and am planning on getting a 7300 next month. Thank you for the review, it was helpful in my decision to buy a 7300. What power supply do you use at home and how do you power your 7300 in the field?

[cricket]

Great review, TU for posting ! I just passed the General exam and am looking forward to a 7300 for HF. They are on back order right now, but my name is on the June '22 list. I have a Astron RS-35M-AP coming this week that will feed the 7300 and a soon to follow VHF / UHF. Not sure which, but definitely an Icom fan here. Cheers! 73

[richardallison]

I am a ham of almost 50 years transmitting rf. I have had many hf radios, tube and solid state and from Kenwood to now all Icom. For the price, this is the best radio Icom has produced including the fantastic receiver. I disagree with one thing on this video and a few others. This is not a beginners radio and is not simple to learn overnight. If you want a simple radio, try the Icom IC-718. I have one of these too. The IC-7300 is superior. I have also had Icom 751A and an Icom 756 III Pro. The IC-7300 is better than any of them. I have seen newer ham operators having problems navigating around the radio and some have sent them back to the factory and found they are in perfect working order. The problem is often operator error because they don't understand all the functions of this radio. I can do anything with this radio that I could do with a radio with twice the price. Again, it is a small radio in size but a powerful radio on what it can do. I am not a contester and other radios might be better but for general hf use, this is the best I have used so far. I have one year on this radio and I have the upgrade installed.

[ericdreizen]

I was told by Tim at Yaesu, when discussing my 991A, that combining V/UHF w/ HF WILL result in a compromise, so instead, u might want to consider a IC9700. Separates are better. My original goal was to get the 7300 + the 9700 after getting back in to the hobby after a 16-year absence. I decided on a 991A which performed great, but ultimately replaced it w/ a Yaesu 101MP & an IC 9700. Top of the line on both counts! The best of both worlds. All I can say is, Tim was right!! My main headache now is grounding for use w/ my linear & tuner I just bought. Combo radios are great for what they are, but the diehard HFer will want separates. Quoting a Yaesu engineer, NOT ME! BUT....the 7300's a lotta radio for the money! 73s bud!

[robertmeyer]

nice review. I have the same ICOM 7300 . still learning new tricks with it. also portable with mine. POTA A lot. runes so well on LiFePO4 battery ! i got 2 POTA boxes. 20Ah and a 50 Ah. the issue I have is when sun glair on display. easy fix. I saved my settings to SD card. you can control radio from laptop . repeater splits and PL tones for 10 and 6 meters. so much more. I want my VHF.UHF as a separate radio but that my preference . I use singe ear piece headset a lot. dead cat on mic boom . foot pedal . some times windy when I portable. I am in NY . 73;s

[eiixbdavidgardiner]

Great video. Licensed 18 months and this was my first rig and it’s terrific. Just upgraded to v1.4 and it has a new feature with FT8 settings saved. One other plus is the RTTY decoder and macros built it.

[RhythmicSensations]

I bet you were happy when the new firmware was released. Being able to zoom in was always easy, but the screen would move as you scrolled. The new firmware has added a feature to scroll a screen at a time, so the pointer goes to the end of the screen before flipping to the next screen. I understand that the added features started being implemented for this new release almost as soon as the 7300 was on the market, thanks to users who took the time to send in their thoughts. So write down your thoughts and send them in.

[SteveH-TN]

Appreciate your review, I also especially like the waterfall & spectral displays.
Currently considering replacing my old Kenwood TS2000 with this radio
The touch screen, does away with the need to search for various buttons.
Internal tuning does a fine job. Extra nice feature is recording.
You might consider getting a used FT 857D for HF/ VFH/UHF capabilities

73 Steve AA4SH

[lf]

Yaesu 991a vs Icom 7300 is the question? Difficult to make the decision. Also worry about the longevity of the touch screen on both models. Enjoyed your review.