ICOM 705 power draw

I think folk will be very interested in the receive current of the 705: IC-705 Minimum Current Tweaks

tl;dr - it is surprisingly efficient!

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It would be great if they would have shown the display brightness settings. And do the test with mid and high settings.
But in general very interesting. Good find Mark :+1:

I assume, Icom uses the same display in the IC-705, IC-7300 and IC-9700. For the IC-9700 the current changes by 81 mA for backlight settings from 0 % to 100 %. On the IC-9700 backlight 0 % is not completely off but very dim.

73 de Michael, DB7MM

Almost seemed too good to be true. Turning off WiFi and Bluetooth seems to make hardly any difference.

Nice video and thanks for sharing.

Paul

Keep in mind that is at 13V. On the internal battery (which is 7.4V) the current draw will be almost double as it uses DC-DC converters inside, like the Xiegu X5105.

Nevertheless, looks better than expected.

A very detailed analysis on how one can lower the needed current (from 14:20 on):

E.g. running the rig below 25MHz, saves about 40mA (no need for the down-sampling mixer) or disabling the pre-amplifier saves another 10mA, all measured at 13.8V.

The video is in German, but the following listing of each current saving item should also be understandable by English speakers.

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As I see it the power draw is not so much of interest for me.
Important questions are if the 705 has the same issues as the 7300:
Power draw problem of the clock, that can result in the failure/damage of the clock battery.
Receiver overload because of strong signals (keep in mind mountain and hilltops often have strong commercial sending equipment/antennas).
Sensitivity (keeping in mind the weak sota signals and qrp stations).
Also of interest, no built in ATU

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I wonder if the perceived clock problem is the same as in the IC-7100. Namely if you do not use the rig for many months the clock battery will discharge so when you turn it on it will have to be reset and left powered up for 24 hours. The clock drain is only a few microamps so I would expect the clock to be fine until at least a month after the internal battery goes flat. That should be avoided therefore the clock should be a non-issue.
I’ve not found the IC 7300 more susceptible to overload than say the IC 7100. 32 bits is a big dynamic range.

The sensitivity looks adequate on paper. I have used an RS918 on several activations and found it on a par with the FT817 re overload and sensitivity. The IC 705 looks better on paper than the RS918 which does need some extra operator involvement with the RF gain when operating on the same summit as another SOTA station.

Yes, the omission of an internal ATU is an irritation. However you can buy an auto ATU kit from oriental suppliers for a fair price.

We might see the IC 705 in stock by the end of the week.

Oh and I expect the touch screen to be a resistive one like the IC 7100 so it should be fine in Scotland etc.

73
Ron
VK3AFW

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That made me laugh Ron. It brought back memories of trying to post a spot on SOTAwatch from Broad Law GM/SS-029 using my supposedly waterproof Samsung phone and before I could post it, it wiped all the information before my eyes, from the end to the beginning. Maybe it will be best to lock the frequency on the IC-705 to avoid an unwanted QSY if operating in the rain. :grinning:

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Hi,
Well I would not operate in the rain without some protection for the rig or phone. I have enough trouble in warm dry conditions with my phone.

Maybe all Scottish summits should get a bonus point just because of the weather. Wasn’t too bad when I was there but it was “summer”.
73
Ron
VK3AFW

GM/WS summits should receive a summer bonus for the black midge infestation in our lovely damp, dreich summers :rofl:

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I am of the same mind Ron. However, there is always the situation where the rig may be adequately protected, but as you go to operate the controls, the rain runs down your arms and onto you hands. I have actually had water running off the ends of my fingers while operating and had to shake my hands and try to dry them before touching the rig. I would be concerned about operating a rig with a touch screen under such conditions.