Icom IC-705 Review: The QRP Radio That Costs Like a Base Rig

The short answer

Buy the IC-705 if you operate portable often, want HF through 70 centimetres in one small box, and value a receiver and a display that behave like a modern base radio in the field. Skip it if you mostly operate from home, or if you want the most contacts per dollar, because the same money buys a 100 watt station and a far better antenna.

Ten watts, a 4.3 inch touchscreen, and a price that makes people argue about it.

Best portable receiver

Icom IC-705 HF, VHF and UHF All Mode Portable Transceiver

Around $1,600

All mode portable covering HF through 70 centimetres at 10 watts on external power and 5 watts on the internal battery, with a 4.3 inch colour touchscreen, spectrum scope, Bluetooth and wireless LAN.

Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Output power	10 W with a 13.8 V DC external supply, 5 W on the BP-272 battery pack
Receive coverage	0.030 to 199.999 MHz and 400.000 to 470.000 MHz
Transmit bands	The amateur allocations from 1.8 MHz through 450 MHz, as listed by Icom
Modes	All mode, including D-STAR
Display	4.3 in colour touchscreen with spectrum scope
Wireless	Built-in Bluetooth and wireless LAN for smartphone linking and remote control
Antenna tuner	None internal, external tuner required
Approximate price	Around $1,600

Specifications above come from Icom's published specifications for the IC-705. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

A base station class receiver and spectrum scope in a radio you can carry up a hill.
Genuinely covers HF, 6 metres, 2 metres and 70 centimetres in one box, all mode, including D-STAR.
Internal battery operation at 5 watts means it works with nothing else attached.
Bluetooth and wireless LAN for smartphone control and remote operation, which is rare at this size.
The touchscreen and menu system are the same design language as Icom's desk radios, so nothing has to be relearned.

Where it falls short

There is no internal antenna tuner. At this price that is the complaint owners raise most, and it means an external tuner in the bag for anything that is not resonant.
It is 10 watts at most, and 5 watts on the internal battery. On a poor antenna or a dead band, low power is a real constraint and no display fixes it.
The case is not weather sealed. Owners treat it as a piece of equipment that needs a bag and a plan, not something to leave in the rain.
It costs more than several 100 watt base radios. That is a defensible choice for a portable operator and an indefensible one for a home station.

What 10 watts is and is not

Low power works, and it works better than beginners expect, but it works because of the antenna. Ten watts into a resonant end fed half wave at a decent height will make contacts across a continent on a good day. Ten watts into a short loaded whip on a picnic table will not. The QRP versus 100 watts comparison sets out what the power difference is actually worth in decibels, and the honest answer is that it is smaller than the antenna difference.

If you are choosing between this and a Xiegu G90, the deciding factor is usually the tuner and the money, not the receiver. Read Xiegu G90 versus Icom IC-705 before you commit. And remember that which bands and modes you may transmit on is set by your licence class and your national regulator, the FCC in the United States, not by the radio's transmit range.

What owners report

Published owner reviews split cleanly along one line: what people bought it for. Operators who activate parks and summits describe it as the most enjoyable portable radio they have used, and they consistently praise the receiver, the scope and the fact that everything is in one box. Operators who bought it as a general purpose radio are much more mixed, and the reason is almost always power and price together.

The missing internal tuner is the single most repeated criticism. Owners work around it with a resonant antenna, most often an end fed half wave, or with a small external tuner, and several point out that a tuner at the feed point is better practice anyway. If you go the resonant route, size the wire on the end fed half wave calculator before you cut anything.

The other consistent theme is battery planning. Owners report the internal pack is fine for a short activation and not much more, and that most people end up carrying an external lithium iron phosphate pack to hold 10 watts for a full session. Work out what you actually need with the battery runtime calculator rather than guessing.

Who it suits

Parks on the Air and Summits on the Air operators who carry everything they use.
Anyone who wants HF, 2 metres and 70 centimetres all mode in one portable box.
Operators who value receiver quality and a spectrum scope in the field more than raw output power.
D-STAR users who want a portable that also does HF.

Who should skip it

Anyone building a home station. A 100 watt base radio and a real antenna will cost the same and do more.
Anyone who expects to plug in a random wire. There is no internal tuner, so plan for a resonant antenna or an external one.
Operators on a budget who want portable HF. The Xiegu G90 or X6100 does most of this for a third of the price.
Anyone who needs a radio that survives weather without a bag.

Alternatives worth considering

Budget Pick

Xiegu G90 HF Transceiver, 20 W

Around $466

Twenty watts, a wide range internal automatic tuner and a detachable head for about a third of the money. It gives up VHF, UHF and the polish, and keeps the parts that make contacts.

Check price on Amazon

Closest In Concept

Xiegu X6100 HF and 50 MHz Transceiver

Around $535

The other all-in-one portable with a built-in battery and an internal automatic tuner, at a third of the price. Rougher in software and receiver, but it needs nothing else to work.

Check price on Amazon

Power Alternative

Yaesu FT-891 HF and 6 m Transceiver

Around $770

If your portable operating happens from a car rather than a summit, 100 watts from a compact body will beat 10 watts every time, for half the price.

Check price on Amazon

Keep reading

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Common questions

Questions people ask about this

Is the Icom IC-705 worth $1,600?

It depends entirely on how you operate. For someone who activates parks or summits most weekends, it puts a base station receiver, a spectrum scope, all mode HF through 70 centimetres and an internal battery in one carryable box, and owners in that group rate it very highly. For a home station the same money buys a 100 watt radio and a serious antenna, which will make far more contacts. Buy it for portable use or do not buy it.

Does the IC-705 have an internal antenna tuner?

No, and this is the most common complaint about it. You need either a resonant antenna, which for portable work usually means an end fed half wave cut for the band, or a small external tuner in the bag. Many owners prefer a tuner at the feed point regardless, because matching at the antenna rather than at the radio avoids feedline loss caused by a high standing wave ratio on the coax.

Icom IC-705 vs Xiegu G90: which is better for portable?

The G90 gives you 20 watts and a wide range internal automatic tuner for around a third of the price, which makes it the more practical field radio for many operators. The IC-705 gives you a much better receiver, a far better display, VHF and UHF all mode, and an internal battery. If budget is the constraint the G90 wins on results per dollar; if it is not, the IC-705 is the nicer instrument.

How long will the IC-705 run on its internal battery?

Long enough for a short activation and rarely more, and it is limited to 5 watts on the internal pack rather than 10. Most owners carry an external lithium iron phosphate pack so they can hold 10 watts through a full session. Estimate what you need from your transmit duty cycle rather than from the battery's amp hour figure alone, since receive current matters over a long, quiet activation.

Can the IC-705 transmit on frequencies outside the amateur bands?

Its receive coverage is very wide, but transmit is restricted to the amateur allocations Icom lists in the specification. Transmitting outside your authorised allocations is illegal in most jurisdictions, and staying within them is your responsibility as the licensee, not the radio's. Which bands, modes and power levels you may use depends on your licence class and your national regulator, so confirm against current rules.

Keeping your own cut lengths, SWR sweeps and exposure record? The Station Build & Antenna Planner is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.

Disclaimer Researched guidance for planning purposes, not professional engineering, electrical or legal advice. Antenna work, RF exposure, mast and tower work, grounding and battery handling all carry real risk that depends on your specific site and installation. Verify anything safety-critical against current FCC rules, the National Electrical Code and the manufacturer's own documentation, and hire a professional where the job calls for one. We research equipment from published specifications, regulatory documents and verified owner reviews rather than claiming hands-on testing we have not done.