I’ve had the ICOM IC-705 for about 12 months now, so I think that’s enough time to give a good review of the radio, what I like and dislike – and why I keep using it when I have other radios that will, on paper, out perform it. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that I like this radio, especially given how often it pops up on my Instagram account – but when I talk about it to people I can be quite critical, so hopefully in this post I can explain why I talk so critically about it, yet keep using it.
The IC-705 is a HF/VHF/UHF radio, cable of SSB/AM/FM/CW – and of course, DSTAR. With a 4.3 inch colour touchscreen and a built in battery, it’s an all-in-one QRP rig. It’s also got built-in GPS and a build in soundcard, two vey useful features for those that love digital modes like JS8Call and FT8. Plus built-in WiFi making connecting the radio to an external device such as an iPad or Android tablet for FT8 very simple.
Whilst I don’t generally use the WiFi to connect my ICOM to my iPad, I have previously used it for SDR Control – an iPad app that makes FT8 from the IC-705 very easy. I typically use it alongside my Toughpad FZ-G1 and connect via USB micro cable instead. The USB micro is pretty annoying, I’m fairly sure my IC-705 is now the last device in my life to use that connector – but I just leave a couple of micro cables in the case with the radio so there’s always one to hand. I use this configuration for FT8 and JS8Call, and the build-in soundcard means I don’t need an external device like a digirig, so setup and use is simple. I found setup pretty easy and the radio supports split mode operation which is a useful feature for digital modes.
Something that I don’t see mentioned very often, but is really useful, is that the IC-705 can expose its GPS over the USB cable as a COM port, so you can sync your laptop or tablet’s time via the GPS connection. So you don’t have to worry much about clock drift if you’re a digital user.
For those that prefer SSB, the IC-705 really has you covered. Firstly it’s 5 watts as standard, but by adding an external battery (like a 5Ah LiFePo4) you can boost that to 10 watts. However, the main feature that makes it such a great radio for SSB is the colour touchscreen, which had many configuration options to make picking up signals on the band very easy. On POTA activations I tend to start and end my session by scrolling through the band looking for Park-to-Park opportunities and the waterfall makes that really easy.
Another very small benefit is that my main handheld is the ICOM ID-50, and these two radios use the same battery connector – so I can take the battery off my IC-705 and effectively have an extended battery on my ID-50. I also really like that the IC-705 records QSOs (including times, frequency, etc) which is great if you mess up and forget to log some important detail.
So why am I so critical of the ICOM IC-705?
Well in short, it’s an unusual middle ground radio and poorly optimised to any mode of operation that I do. I’m primarily a SOTA operator, but when time or weather doesn’t allow for that I’ll fall back to POTA. For SOTA, where weight and ruggedness as a primary concern, I’d say the Lab599 TX-500 beats the 705 on paper. It’s half the weight of the 705 but is a rugged little HF radio that outputs 10 watts and still gives the benefits of a waterfall. Plus “nice to have” features such as two 20 second voice recording memory slots. I’d also expect it to hold up to light rain and drizzle better than the 705. For vehicle-based POTA operations where space and weight are less of a concern, I see other operators going crazy and carrying rigs like the ICOM 7300 with great big 100Ah batteries because weight just isn’t a problem.
So I often find that whatever I’m doing, there’s probably another radio out there which is more optimised for that operation – smaller, lighter, louder, whatever.
All of that said, you’ll continue to keep seeing my use the IC-705 on operations. Plus, it’ll keep appearing on my Instagram page because despite the above, I keep reaching for it. It’s just such an great radio to use. Yes, there are radios out there that beat it on paper, but I just enjoy using it and I’m often looking for excuses to grab it from the truck before we head out.
Yeah my signal reports could be a couple of S-points higher if I used the 7300 instead, and the TX-500 really is lighter…but It’s packed with features, pretty lightweight, super easy to use, and has great audio. It’s not highly optimised, but it’s a great all rounder for whatever you’re doing. I’ve used it on summits, I’ve used it for foot-portable POTA, and a lot of my vehicle-based POTA activations are with this radio too. It’s a great little all-in-one rig.
Just a few photographs of my ICOM IC-705 in use on summits and park activations:
