# Icom 710 vs. 700 pro Why spend the extra money



## obiec (Sep 26, 2001)

I am looking for a SSB radio for my boat. But I am not having much luck determining why I would wont to spend and extra $400 fro the Icom 710 over the Icom 700 pro. Can any one help. I do not need a lot of bells. I am budget orientated,


----------



## jack_patricia (May 20, 2001)

Obie:

What would make a good purchase for you will depend on what you need to use your SSB for, and I''m speaking of all its likely uses long-term when I say that. If a future ham license is possible, you might want to avoid the 710...but if operating the radio more effectively in cruising venues, including as a ham radio, is important, then perhaps the 710 would be preferred. If it sounds like I just contradicted myself, welcome to the sometimes obscure world of SSB radio.

You might want to explore a few dedicated websites to get more targeted info. One I''d recommend is hfradio, a SF Bay area business that markets Icom products to boaters and talks at length on their website about Icom differences. To give you a taste of their content, here''s an excerpt:

"One well known drawback of the M710 for Ham radio operation is the lack of "VFO" control of the transmit frequency. This is NOT the case with the M802. That means when you tune someone in with the receiver, you have to enter the receive frequency, then the transmit frequency, into a memory channel before you can transmit on that frequency. To move up or down in frequency slightly, the whole process has to be repeated. Pretty much a pain! Not so with a radio from us - we found a way so that when you tune the receiver to a new frequency with the knob or keypad, a simple press of a button puts the transmitter on the same frequency. 

To overcome this limitation, Icom introduced the M700-PRO..." (Visit www.hfradio.com for the full text)

The 700 Pro will work well on a boat. The 710 is probably, over all, more versatile and (until the 802 came out) was considered the ''gold standard'' for Marine SSB. They both are large, heavy and power- and real estate-hungry (when e.g. compared to the 706, which is an ideal, less costly but ham radio choice). 

If you''re budget sensitive, why not consider buying a used, bench-tested and calibrated radio? You might inquire of vendors like hfradio if they have used gear available as customers move up (e.g. to the 802). And of course, there''s always places like eBay...

Jack


----------



## alostorken (Oct 19, 2010)

*How with a 710*

hei jack,
as a new member i read your entry about the icom 710 with interest When compared to the 802.you mention " we have fixed the radio so that at the press of a button the radio will chose/tune the same frequency on transmit as receive" not normally possable.
I do not know the model(have only had experiance with the 718.)
Can you please explain more fully how this is done.
I have the offer of a 710 and want to know more about ti before deciding.
As you can probably undestand I am a new beginner!..
what is your oppinion regarding the 710 as opposed to the 718.

alo storken


----------



## btrayfors (Aug 25, 2006)

Alo,

Jack's post was SIX YEARS OLD!!

It so happens I'm working on an old 710RT right now, and may be able to answer your question.

First, comparing the 718 to the 710. Apples and oranges. The 718 is a HAM radio, entry level. A very good radio for the money, but ILLEGAL to use on the marine bands (though it can be made to do so and some people do it anyway).

The 710 has been Icom's workhorse marine radio for many years. It has come in several models, including the RT which has a remote head (like the 802), but is now discontinued. The 710's are all built like the proverbial "brick sh__house"; very robust and reliable. However, they're not real easy to use on the ham bands if you want to tune up and down, rather than use specific, e.g., net frequencies which can be stored in memory.

There is a procedure, however, which will allow the 710 to act as if it had a VFO, though a bit primitive. If you actually get the 710 and want to do this, maybe I can help with the programming steps.

Bill
WA6CCA


----------

