Part of our The Icom IC-7300 Mark II: The Complete Guide.
The Mark II’s touchscreen is genuinely useful once you stop leaving it at default and start assigning the functions you actually reach for to spots you can hit without thinking.
Programmable function keys
The front panel and touchscreen both support reassigning functions. I’ve got mine set to toggle spectrum scope span, jump to the antenna tuner’s tune function, and switch between VFO and memory mode. None of these are things I need constantly, but when I do, I don’t want to be digging through menus to find them.
Building a home screen that matches how you operate
The touchscreen layout can prioritize different combinations of scope, meters, and status info. For SSB and DX chasing, I keep the spectrum scope large and prioritize signal strength and SWR at a glance. For digital modes, the scope matters less since WSJT-X is doing the visual work on the computer, so I shrink it and prioritize power output and ALC instead.
Waterfall contrast and color
The default color scheme is reasonable, but I bumped contrast up slightly, especially useful if the shack has any ambient light washing out the screen during the day. It’s a small tweak but it makes weak signals easier to spot on the waterfall at a glance.
My actual quick key layout
- Function key 1: Spectrum scope span toggle.
- Function key 2: Antenna tuner tune trigger.
- Function key 3: VFO/memory mode switch.
- Function key 4: Quick access to RF power level, since I switch between full power and reduced output depending on the situation.
None of this is essential to make the radio work, but it’s the kind of small friction reduction that adds up over months of daily use, and it means I’m not hunting through menus mid-QSO.