Several months ago, I asked about finding a comparable
new receiver to replace a 23-year-old ICR71. The new box would
need to have a RS-232 computer interface and be controllable by
a command set that is open so I could use Linux to work it.

	I wrote a note to handiham and got a very helpful
response which I greatly appreciate suggesting that the IC718
might be good sense it has a receiver similar to the ICR75A and
is a transceiver to boot.

	This sounded great and I almost ordered one this very
day except that I ran across a review which kind of cooled me to
the IC718.

	This is a prime example of how one should proceed with
caution when buying something expensive like this because a
couple of small details can make it or break it.

	It seems that there is no FM module, even just for the
receiver. I love listening to ten-meter FM when the band is open
and also listen to the occasional broadcast remote link which a
few die-hard radio stations still operate so that is very bad
news.

	There is also no user-settable AGC speed. Oh, there is a
surface-mount component mod available which is both tricky to do
and will also void the warrantee.

	Finally, the smallest tuning step is 1 KHZ with a RIT
knob that fills in the difference, but this means that one can't
remotely control or have one's computer automatically set the
frequency any finer than a KHZ.

	From what I have read, it sounds like the IC718 is very
good if you have never owned a really good receiver, but I would
always be wishing I could flip on the FM detector or the
slow-decay AGC during some SSB voice transmissions.

	I hope everybody has a happy new year and let's hope the
bottom of the Solar cycle hits this year and we can start maybe
hoping for some good DX on the higher-frequency bands in a
couple to three years.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK 
Systems Engineer
OSU Information Technology Department Network Operations Group