The Icom IC-705 is a QRP-power, general-coverage SDR transceiver that packs HF, 6m, 2m and 70cm all-mode operation into a body small enough for a rucksack side pocket. It launched a genuinely new category, a fully portable transceiver with the touchscreen spectrum scope and waterfall usually reserved for desktop SDR rigs, and it has become the default choice for a large slice of the SOTA and POTA community.
Key specs
- HF, 50 MHz, 144 MHz and 430 MHz transmit, SSB/CW/AM/FM/RTTY/D-STAR
- Continuous general-coverage receive from below the AM broadcast band up through 2m, so it doubles as a shortwave and airband receiver
- 4.3-inch full-colour touchscreen with a real-time spectrum scope and waterfall, shared with the desktop IC-7300 and IC-9700
- Built-in GPS, Bluetooth and D-STAR, plus a removable/rechargeable internal Li-ion battery
- Around 5 watts output on the internal battery, up to roughly 10 watts on an external 13.5V supply; weighs a little over 1kg
What it does well
- The touchscreen spectrum scope and waterfall make band conditions visible at a glance, and the interface will feel familiar if you’ve used an IC-7300 or IC-9700
- One radio genuinely covers HF through UHF, all mode, in a portable form, so a single rig handles a SOTA/POTA HF activation and the VHF/UHF leg of a summit contact
- Wideband general-coverage receive means it doubles as a shortwave and airband receiver when you’re not transmitting
- Bluetooth, GPS, D-STAR and a built-in battery are all included as standard, a feature list no other radio matches in this size class
- Hugely popular with the SOTA/POTA crowd, so there’s a large community, plenty of third-party cases, battery packs and antenna tuner options
Trade-offs
- No internal antenna tuner, Icom’s own AH-705 or a third-party ATU is needed for anything but a well-matched antenna, adding cost and another box to carry
- Power output is modest: around 5 watts on the internal battery and up to roughly 10 watts on external power, noticeably less than a full HF base rig
- Receiver dynamic range, while good for the size, isn’t in the same class as full-size desktop transceivers, and some owners report front-end overload in RF-dense environments such as contest weekends
- The stock hand mic and speaker are widely considered mediocre for a radio at this price point
- Battery life on the internal cell is a few hours of typical SSB/CW use at best, less under heavy digital-mode duty cycles, so serious portable users usually carry a separate LiFePO4 pack
Price and who it’s for
UK pricing typically runs around £900-£1,000 depending on retailer and bundle. It’s aimed squarely at the SOTA/POTA and field-day crowd, or anyone who wants one radio that covers HF through UHF in a genuinely portable size without compromising much on interface quality. It’s not the radio to buy if you mainly operate from a fixed base station and want maximum output power or a built-in tuner as standard, an IC-7300 costs similar money and does more on HF from a shack.
Verdict
The IC-705 more or less created the portable all-band SDR category, and nothing else currently matches its combination of HF-to-UHF coverage, a proper touchscreen spectrum display, and genuine pocketability. The lack of a built-in tuner and modest QRP-level power are real considerations, and the price is a serious outlay for what is, in output terms, a low-power radio. But for portable operators who want one box that does almost everything, it’s very hard to beat, and it remains the benchmark other portable SDR rigs get compared against.