I purchased a secondhand 746PRO in 2009. Since my previous rig had been a 746, I was familiar with the radio, and appreciated the updated features of the PRO.There are over 300 reviews of the 746PRO at eHam.net.

I found that when I turned the radio on, the display backlight often would not come on for a few seconds. This went on for quite a while, and I didn't think much about it, until one day in early 2011, when the backlight wouldn't come on at all. A search on the internet showed others, perhaps many, with the same problem:

http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=12100

http://www.hampedia.net/icom/ic-746pro-backlight-problem.php

VE3NR recommended a NTE2525 as a suitable replacement for the 2SB1201, so I ordered one from Mouser and put it in. Opening the front panel was a lot of work but not difficult; in 2 hours the part was replaced and the radio back together. Sure enough it worked fine. They suggest to turn the backlight brightness to maximum, to reduce the dissipation on that transistor so it hopefully won't happen again.

I really like the fact that the radio is all mode and includes 6 and 2 meters.

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