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1-10 of 10 messages
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Page 1 of 1
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IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by BADAIM1 on June 13, 2005
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Hey everyone!
I'm a new kid whose into Ham radioing and my parents would only purchase me a radio in the V8-VX150 price range (nothing too expensive :( ) I was wondering which one would ya'll recommend that would be better for a new user. i have read the reviews and they both seem pretty good. Which one should I get?
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RE: IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by N5EAT on June 15, 2005
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Both of these rigs are pretty good. Most people like both, based upon reviews here. There are a few bad examples of both rigs, but it's not out of line. Get the rig of your choice with the most recent manufacture date. Try to avoid a "repack" or rig which has been returned and resold as new. One of the best things you can do when you get your rig is to try not to run it at high power until you're sure of your antenna SWR.
Other than that....Buy either and have fun!
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RE: IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by KB1IKD on June 27, 2005
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An HT can be a good choice for a first ham radio.
I have had the VX-150 for about three years and it has never given me any problems. I keep it in my car connected to a magmount antenna and the cigarette lighter power jack.
Try to avoid always using high power a lot, and be sure that you do not transmit into a broken antenna. Blown finals is a sometimes heard complaint from HT users. If you must have higher power, consider an inexpensive mobile rig for mobile use or base operation rather than an HT.
I use a cheap Pryme speaker mike to make QSOs so that I do not have to hold the rig in my hand in the car with the wires hanging off it.
My monoband VX-150 is more resistent to intermod than my VX-5R tribander. I carry the VX-5R portable, but keep the VX-150 in the car for its better intermod performance.
There is a lot of 2M activity in my area during commuter hours and in the early evening. There should be plenty of opportunity for you to work 2M FM phone.
The single most important thing you can do to improve performance is to get a better antenna than the duck, it does not have to be expensive. A duck is OK operating portable, but it works poorly from inside a car. Other hams will be more receptive of good signals than hard to copy scratchy signals from a duck that may be nearly out of range. You will also hear more stations with a better antenna than the duck making it easier to find a QSO.
A mobile magmount antenna is a lot better for hitting repeaters than the rubber duck, even a $ 20 dollar MFJ magmount antenna. If you are going to operate mobile, get a magmount and cigarette lighter charger.
If you are going to operate from home, get a 2M base antenna and install it as high as reasonably possible for much greater range than the duck. A thin pigtail SMA/PL259 adaptor can keep the strain from thick coax cables off the rig's SMA antenna mount. The Pryme speaker mike also works FB indoors.
If a base antenna is impossible to use because of restrictions, try placing a small mobile magmount on top of a cooky sheet or an airconditioner.
You can disconnect the rig and screw the duck back on for portable operations.
A battery pack is a great addition for portable and emergency ops because you can use readily available batteries found anywhere for power when the proprietary pack goes dead after heavy use.
Borrow or buy the programming software if you intend to add a lot of repeaters to memory, it is far easier to set it up that way.
I have never used the IC-VC8, but most of the advise given would also be applicable to that rig.
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RE: IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by N4MJG on June 28, 2005
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i have VX-150 about 3 years and never have any problem at all. very easy program,not that hard to program,i can program without the book!!very easy HT to program,i hope you find what you like.
73
Jackie
KG4ORX
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RE: IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by KI4JQB on October 10, 2005
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I think that there are both pros and cons of the VX-150 and the IC-V8.
The IC-V8 has 5.5 watts on high power as opposed to the 5 watts of the VX-150. The VX-150 has a 2 watt mid setting, where as the V8 has no mid-power setting. Both the V8 and the VX-150 have a 0.5 watt low-power setting.
If you want more memories, I would reccomend the VX-150 because it has 209 memories as opposed to the 100 memories of the V8.
I don't know if the V8 has Wideband RX, but the VX-150 can receive 140-174 MHz. That will let you listen to the police department, the fire department, the weather, two different paging channels, in addition to 2 meters.
I have owned a VX-150 for over four months now, have made hundreds of contacts, and have found little that I don't like. I don't like the fact that the radio doesn't have a low battery warning; instead, it just shuts off with no warning when the battery gets to about 6.8 volts.
I like the fact that the VX-150 is made to perform under difficult conditions. I also like the fact that if you're using your main power supply, you can also plug into the wall and operate off of 13 volts DC.
Depending on where you buy it, the V8 may cost anywhere from $5 to $15 more than the VX-150, but I think, even though I don't own a V8, that the VX-150 is probably a better radio.
If you need more information about this or information on other things, you can reach me at ki4jqb@arrl.net, and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. I will also try to check this discussion topic every now and then.
That's all for now. I hope that you have fun with ham radio.
73, John,
KI4JQB
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RE: IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by KC0VCU on August 2, 2006
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If you are finding some place that is selling VX-150's for 'new', you may want to take a look at a vx-120 in place of it. It's about $5-$10 more on e-bay and has a couple of possible advantages.
The biggest dis-advantage is that you loose the numeric keypad. This doesn't prevent you from accsing DTMF controlled functions on a repeater, just makes using them a bit more complicated. It also means that you will have to tune to the frequencies you are going to store as memories manually.
If the people selling the VX-150's have them, the equivalent model to the 120 from that generation is the 110.
One of the greater advantages to either offering financially is that they cost somewhat less than their big brothers with the numeric keypad. For the difference in cost, you can go a long way towards upgrading the antenna, etc.
73,
-Rusty
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RE: IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by K6PKL on November 17, 2007
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I have Icom V8 {1} and U82 [2] both of the hts are good. I have had the V8 for years and not any problems. started programming both with the computer for a short time now. Won't change great products and check out the V82.
Both the the V82 and U82 will upgrade to digital.
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RE: IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by KD8ERE on May 25, 2009
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Hi!
I had both radios. Somewhere down the line, I lost my IC-V8 in a move. I had the VX-150 well before I had the Icom. There are features about both radios that make them unique in their own way. I liked the simplicity of the Icom because it could prgram your PL and offset for you as most radios do now. On the other hand, the VX-150 is much more rugged, and has 99 more memory channels than the Icom. But if you have no preference as to what all you would like other than something reliable and fun to use, I'd suggest either radio. They are great no matter what they occasion. Enjoy! 73!
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RE: IC-V8 or VX-150?
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by W4KVW on June 7, 2009
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Had my ICOM V-8 for about 4 years.TOUGH as nails rig.I also now have the ICOM U-82 & it came with the same drop in charger & battery pack which is a PLUS for me.If my V-8 quits I'm buying the NEW V-82 just for the extra output power.ICOM V-8 ROCKS!
Clayton
W4KVW
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