Recently bought a very clean example of this transceiver from an eBay seller. It had the internal keyer but no other options installed.
So...I set off in search of.
EX-242 FM board - new old stock - $200 (Owch!)
FL-54 - 9MHz 250Hz CW filter - used - $80
FL-52 - 455KHz 250Hz CW filter - new - $133 (not as bad as Universal's $209 asking price, but still...)
Am currently looking for an FL-44A. Here's the lowdown regarding the rig:
Cosmetically, the IC-745 sits somewhere between the IC-720, R-71A and IC-751. Its greenish frequency readout is reminiscent of the unit used in the R-70 receiver but the controls and switches are a couple years more modern. Icom's only real faux pax (in my opinion) is the choice of a slide-type potentiometer for the IF Shift/PBT and Notch Filter controls but so far they've held up well.
That IF Shift/PBT control is unique...in that a front-panel switch selects its function. My '751As don't do that, nor do my R-71As. Or my TS-940s, R-5000s...R7/TR7...why does it matter, you ask? It's the only rig in my shack whose interference-fighting controls have been able to clean up a persistent (external) carrier which masks signals in an area of the spectrum which I like to monitor.
You switch modes by repetitively pressing the "Mode" key. Or by using one of the 16 Memory Channels to store an in-band frequency and mode then selecting the memory via rotary switch. You can tune the memory channel frequency via the VFO knob but you cannot work "split" while in memory mode - nor can you exchange VFO and memory data as you can with similar Icom radios.
The rig comes with an RF preamp but no attenuator (a la 751/R71's multi-position switch). Hardly a deal breaker for me as I use it on 17M and above - where an attenuator is normally not needed. Low-band operators may find the lack of an attenuator to be a drawback.
A crystal calibrator is optional but not included. You calibrate the rig's frequency readout by setting it to ".000.0" via the tuning knob then activating the calibrator accessory and adjusting a top-panel "Calibrator" control for zero beat. You can also do it via WWV or another frequency standard. Being able to externally adjust the reference oscillator is a huge convenience - you don't have to disassemble the transceiver to do so, as is the case with a number of other rigs of this era.
On-air reports indicate that the speech processor muddies up the audio quality a bit. It does increase average power by a noticeable amount.
The 745 receives but does not transmit AM. There is a mod for this.
All in all, I like the rig. It's currently slaved to an R-71A and AT-100 auto tuner and will be the 10-17M 'go-to' radio. I am eventually going to mount an AH-2 random-wire tuner controller to the case. It can then be used at our Field Day site with a wire vertical.
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Originally Posted by n0km
