Icom IC-705
$$$$$
| Frequency | TX 1.8-54 / 144-148 / 430-450 MHz (ham bands; +70 MHz on EU version), RX 0.03-199.999 + 400-470 MHz |
| Bands | 160m-6m, 2m, 70cm |
| TX power | 5 / 10 W (10 W max on external 13.8 V DC; 5 W max on the internal BP-272 battery (SSB/CW/FM/RTTY/DV). AM is lower (2.5 W external / 1.5 W battery). Output is settable down to 0.5 W for QRPp work.) |
| Modes | USB, LSB, CW, AM, FM, DV, RTTY |
| Battery | Li-ion BP-272 (also used in the ID-31/ID-51 handhelds); 1880 mAh min / 2000 mAh typ 2000mAh / 7.4V |
| Weight | 1 kg (2.2 lb) |
| Connector | BNC |
| Year | 2020 |
| antenna | single BNC (female), 50 ohm - all bands 1.8-450 MHz (no separate VHF/UHF jack) |
| gps | internal GPS receiver + antenna (no external GPS jack) |
| usb | Micro-USB Type-B (Micro-B): CI-V control + USB audio codec + battery charging (NOT USB-C) |
| microsd | microSD card slot (recording, logging, screen capture, firmware) |
| speaker | SP 3.5 mm jack (speaker/headphone) |
| mic | MIC 2.5 mm jack (HM-243 speaker-mic included) |
| dc in | barrel 5.5 mm OD / 2.5 mm ID, 13.8 V DC +/-15% (also charges the battery) |
| key | 3.5 mm stereo (CW straight key / paddle / keyer) |
| send alc | 3.5 mm stereo (SEND / ALC for an external amplifier) |
| tuner | 3.5 mm stereo (AH-705 tuner control) |
| ground | rear screw lug |
| power req | External 13.8 V DC +/-15% via a 5.5 mm OD / 2.5 mm ID barrel jack (~3 A on TX); or internal 7.4 V Li-ion. Battery charges via the Micro-USB port, a 13.8 V supply, or the BC-202 charger. |
It puts base-station features in a one-hand package: 160 meters through 70 centimeters in every common mode including D-STAR, at 10 watts on external power and 5 on the battery. The 4.3-inch touchscreen, spectrum scope, and waterfall are carried over from Icom's desktop SDRs, and built-in GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi are all there. The Micro-USB port doubles as a sound card, so FT8 and other digital modes need no extra interface. A single BNC jack covers every band, and the general-coverage receiver tunes from longwave to the air band.
It is a QRP radio: 10 watts maximum, only 5 on the battery, which runs roughly three hours of transmitting before a recharge. There is no built-in antenna tuner - the AH-705 is a separate purchase. It costs as much as some 100-watt base radios. The single BNC jack and the small 2000 mAh battery reflect the compact size, and the USB port is Micro-USB rather than the now-common USB-C.
A field radio that behaves like a small base station: all-mode coverage from 160 meters to 70 centimeters, a real waterfall display, and D-STAR, GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi built in - a combination no other QRP portable offered when it launched in 2020. You pay for it, in dollars and in the 10-watt ceiling, but for operators who want one box that does everything in the field, few rivals are as complete. Add the AH-705 tuner for end-fed and random wires.
The IC-705 is what happens when a base-station receiver goes for a walk. Its RF direct-sampling SDR, the real-time spectrum scope, and the 4.3-inch touchscreen are all carried over from Icom's desktop radios - the IC-7300 on HF and the IC-9700 on VHF/UHF - shrunk into a one-kilogram box you can sling in a pack. Below 25 MHz it samples the antenna directly; at 25 MHz and up, where 6, 2, and 70 centimeters live, it switches to a down-conversion front end.
It covers a remarkable span: every ham band from 160 meters through 70 centimeters in SSB, CW, AM, FM, RTTY, and D-STAR, with a general-coverage receiver that runs from longwave up to the air band. Power is the honest QRP compromise - 10 watts when you feed it 13.8 volts, 5 watts on the internal battery, and as low as half a watt for QRPp work. One BNC jack carries every band, so there are no cables to swap when you jump from a 40-meter dipole to a 70-centimeter beam.
The party trick is connectivity. Built-in GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi sit alongside full D-STAR, including Terminal and Access Point modes that reach the D-STAR network over your home Wi-Fi with no computer in the loop. The Micro-USB port is a working sound card as well as the control interface, so FT8, Winlink, and the rest run straight off a laptop or tablet with one cable. When it appeared in 2020, no other portable packed all of that at once.
There are trade-offs that come with the size. The supplied BP-272 battery is the same 2000 mAh pack Icom uses in its handhelds, good for roughly three hours of transmitting, and there is no antenna tuner inside - that job falls to the optional AH-705. The single BNC and the Micro-USB port (not USB-C) mark it as a 2020 design, and it is priced like the capable little computer it is. For the operator who wants one radio that does HF, VHF, UHF, digital voice, and data from a picnic table, those are easy compromises to accept. Among QRP portables, radios like the Elecraft KX3 compete on coverage, but none match its display and wireless suite.