Holy smokes!
My new-to-me Icom IC-706MKIIG arrived this morning and I broke it out of the box as soon as I arrived home this afternoon. I haven't received a response on my query about the DSP unit, so the first thing I did was to remove the bottom cover and see if it had the unit installed.
Yes!!
For a number of years, I have had my “Mark I” Icom IC-706 in the shack, mounted in a mobile mount and fastened to the underside of a shelf at the main operating position, just to the right of my main station. It's a cramped fit for my fat fingers and a pair of pliers, but that's what it takes to get to the screws attaching the radio to the bracket. I removed the old 706, moved the connectors to the new MKIIG, and found out right away why I vowed years ago to never removed the 706 from the undershelf mount! Trying to A) Hold the radio in place, and B) get the mounting screws started without cross threading them or dropping them was difficult to do with just two hands. Perseverance paid off, however; the new Icom is in place as secure as its elder brethren.
After powering the rig on, I realized there's a significant difference between the receive audio on the MKIIG and the original 706 … at least between the new rig and my old 706. The MKIIG has fantastic receive audio in comparison, and I couldn't be happier! It isn't just the audio quality, but the sound overall … even the background noise sounds more pleasant on the MKIIG.
The DSP — even for an audio DSP — is impressive. Not as good as the IF DSP on other rigs, but respectable. I don't know if I'll add any filters or not, I'm pretty pleased with it as is. If I add a filter, it'll be CW rather than SSB.
I've wondered if the receive difference can be traced to the fact my older 706 may need aligning or adjusting. The difference is big … right now I'm listening to a 2-lander calling CQ on 10 meters, and it sounds great. The longer I've listened to it today, the better deal I believed I received on it.
Enough report for now, I've got to get some things done. I'll get to operate later!
73 es CUL … de KY4Z .. dit dit