[CQ-Contest] Any experience with a Pro 3?

[Keith Kerr]

Hi All,
A rig question and I am hoping there is some experience out in contest-land 
which may be shared.

I am planning to add another ICOM radio to the shack. I am a happy user of 
an IC775 and would take another without concern, other than the fact that 
the rig I have tracked down on the S/H market is even older than the one I 
have and the price is not that much less than a new Pro3.
( I am mindful of John K1AR's comments of a few weeks ago but I have never 
seen a 781 on the S/H market in the UK)

So, what experience do you have to share on the Pro 3 in the contesting 
environment....please. I am particularly concerned about:

Strong signal handling...all the reviews look very positive.

Dualwatch.....I like the way it is done on the 775 but the subVFO has its 
own knob. Not so on the Pro3. Is this a pain to use?

Seperate Rx antenna......how is this implemented? From what I can see in 
the downloadable manual the antenna switch can move from ant1 to ant2 to RX 
ant???? Need to be able to move easily from tx antenna to Bevs etc with one 
'click'.

There is one rather negative review on the Web about CW performance.....is 
this a general view?

Something I should know but don't!

Thanks in advance for any helpful comments on this issue. Orions, FT this 
or TS that not an option for compatability reasons and the 7800 is a mere 
dream.

Please respond direct to save reflector bandwidth. Happy to forward any 
conclusions to anyone interested.

Best wishes,
Keith GM4YXI (GM7V)