Should I go for IC 718 in 2023?

Should I go for IC 718 in 2023?

I have been on the look out for an IC 7300 ever since I got my Amateur Radio licence renewed in March 2023. Currently I have no HF radio and I am using only an IC 2730 VHF/UHF base station, mostly for LEO satellite operations. On returning to ham radio after a hiatus of about a decade, I find that quite a few things have changed. Many of the operators are now on digital modes and CAT control, which I never had the opportunity to use in my earlier stint on amateur radio. But IC 7300 is not available with any of the authorized distributors in this region for quite some time. Still, many of my friends have it as they bought it when it was freely available. The only option available at entry level from Icom distributors over here is IC 718. So I thought of having a look at the features of IC 718, though I am not happy to buy it, being quite an old radio.

IC 718 covers from 1.8 MHz to 28 MHz, which I would have been quite happy if it was during my previous stint at amateur radio, because I was not aware of 6 m activity. Now we have people active on 6 m and working Troposcatter and Duct propagation right here in my home town! IC 7300 covers 6 m which I will not be able to check out if I buy IC 718. Yet 6 m, though often called a magic band, could also be a tragic band sometimes with no activity at all for quite long periods, as reports say. That keeps me inching towards IC 718 when that is the only one available and of course much cheaper.

Another aspect which my friends have been reminding me is that IC 718 is does not have a spectrum scope or waterfall display. Friends who have used a waterfall display tell me that it is very useful to detect even minute activity somewhere in the band. Though I have not used the waterfall display on physical radios, I have also experienced the use of it on WebSDRs which I used to monitor in plenty when I was waiting for my amateur radio licence to get renewed. Another disadvantage for IC 718 is that it does not have an automatic antenna tuner which IC 7300 has. That would also have been an advantage for me as I have very limited space for multiple antennas in my location. Or else I will have to go for an external antenna tuner.

So my wait for IC 7300 is continuing for the past few months. My only hope is that it will be available sooner or later with one of the local distributors and I keep on contacting them every now and then. Finally I have another hope that while I wait, Icom will come out with another entry level amateur radio soon as IC 7300 was launched way back in 2015. That will be the most exciting option to have for having waited nearly one year for an entry level radio. Hope that New Year 2024 will bring me good news. Happy New Year greetings to all, in advance!