Icom IC-705

Well, it seems it's my turn to comment on the new portable rig from Icom, the IC-705.

I won't be covering its details - that is covered elsewhere, such as by blogging colleague, VK3YE, here. 

What I would comment upon is the way in which operators are taken for mugs by dealers.  Various outlets in the UK are offering to reserve the first IC-705s for you, in exchange for something like £100 deposit.  They can't even tell you when the rig will be available, with some people thinking it may be into spring, 2020.

Remember, at least in the UK, paying a deposit makes you liable to pay the balance of the full eventual price.  The trouble is, nobody actually knows what the selling price will be. I would certainly not advise anyone to put themselves in that position, because if you change your mind, or can't find the balance, the dealer doesn't have to refund you, and can force you to pay the full amount.

I think operators should be far more considered in their approach to new stuff.  Whilst firmware updates make overcoming early-adopter problems easier these days, they don't entirely eliminate all problems.

Why not sit back, let the more foolish amongst us buy things before they know when they'll be available, and at what price, and get our own when all the problems are ironed out. 

Where I agree with VK3YE is in his comment about power demands of the screen, and operating in salty and sandy environments: the IC-705 clearly isn't cut out in its pre-production guise for that kind of thing.  Cue: someone to make an after-market silicone front cover - yours for just £139.99!