Just picked up an IC-705 and planning to take it up some local summits. Love the idea of having HF through 70cm coverage in one compact package, but I'm struggling with the antenna tuner situation.

I know the biggest weakness of the IC-705 is the lack of an internal antenna tuner for the HF bands, so I'm looking at external options. The LDG Z-817 seems popular but adds weight and complexity.

Anyone running EFHW antennas successfully without a tuner? What bands are you getting good SWR on?

End-fed antennas including single-band half-wave designs work well in the classic SOTA configuration with one end supported by a lightweight fishing pole. I use a 20m EFHW that's pretty close to 50 ohms - no tuner needed.

For multi-band work though, you'll want that tuner.

I've been using the IC-705 for SOTA activations all year. The goal is to have a backpack portable station that can cover HF through 70 cm on the most popular bands and modes including CW, SSB, FM and FT8.

The LDG tuner adds about 8 oz but gives you so much flexibility with wire antennas.

For VHF/UHF SOTA work, the 705 is fantastic! It puts out less power than a dedicated VHF/UHF radio (10W vs 50W) but the convenience factor is huge.

VHF/UHF is a good match for SOTA but for some remote summits, it can be a challenge to get enough contacts to qualify for SOTA points. Having HF as backup is clutch.