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| Reviews Summary for Icom IC-T90A |
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Reviews: 105
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Average rating: 4.0/5
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MSRP: $319.95
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Description: Tri-ban FM transceiver, Wide-bad 495Khz - 999.990 Mhz, Dynamic Memory Scan, Lithium-Ion technology, Rugged palm sized, weather-resistant construction, DTCS & CTCSS ton squelch. Simple to Operate !
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More info: http://
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You can
write your own review of the Icom IC-T90A.
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VE2MNC
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Rating: 2/5
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May 18, 2008 17:04
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Not what I expected from Icom
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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While the unit looks great in the specs and on paper, I have to admit I've had very mixed opinions on this one.
PROS
-Wideband RX (One of my big lures to it)
-Many good features
-Easy to use
CONS
-Battery charging and life is plain BAD
-Intermod is horrible on any band
-You need to wear gloves or have external mic it gets so hot
-Stock antenna seems to be terrible, loads better into coat-hanger (LITERALLY)
-SMA connector is very flimsy although haven't broken it yet
-Accessories are way to expensive
I do know that after this unit I'll be moving onto a different company. My other HT is an Alinco, and while not being as feature rich and lacking wideband, it far out-performs this unit. Sorry Icom but this thing is a dud in my book.
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KB3MMY
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 5, 2008 13:05
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Awesome HT
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I've had this unit since last fall, and I've had nothing but good experience with it. The unit operates exactly as advertised, and it pretty rugged. I was out at sea for two months and I had it on deck with me listening to marine VHF and time tick transmissions, as well as operating on VHF and UHF ham bands when we were close enough to land. It had no problems. I really love the wideband receiver feature. The only complaint I have about it is the battery life. I got my unit (barely) used, and it came with a spare battery, which I've come to realize is a must with this unit if you'll be doing a lot of field work, or can't charge your radio readily.
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NU0C
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Rating: 0/5
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Jan 19, 2008 15:02
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Totally useless for intended purpose
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I just spent an afternoon programming this radio for a friend who is "programming challenged". What I discovered was that it receives our local 162.475 NOAA weather radio very well on 146.76.
Further, reading here I find that at least one other user has found the same problem (thanks Hal, N8HSD).
The problem? Our primary Skywarn repeater is (and has been for around 30 years) 146.76. The owner is a Skywarn spotter, and that makes it useless for the purpose it was purchased for. Furthermore, it appears no fix is available or forthcoming.
Congratulations, Icom, you have lost a good portion of a well populated area. Even the infamous RS HTX-202 .76 birdie problem was fixable - this situation is totally unacceptable. I've been using, repairing, and tinkering with VHF gear in this area for over 28 years and have never encountered a problem like this before. It's just plain poor design.
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KI6EFA
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 17, 2007 10:27
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Still going strong
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I've owned this radio since Christmas of last year.
My enthusiasm for it has only decreased a little since my review from last year. The only problem I've had is that the AC adapter seems to have become finicky in the connector, and it often refuses to charge the radio unless I wiggle it right.
I can hear many, many things all over the spectrum, and hit a repeater about 80 miles away (not quite line-of-sight) and the WIN about 100 miles away (up in the hills) with no problem.
I still like it!
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KC2HMF
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 2, 2007 11:43
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Hasn't failed me yet
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I received this rig as a gift for christmas. Having a warranty on it, I decided to test its limits. I carried it around through the harsh winter weathers of Northern New York, and it held up just fine. After about 1 month, it stopped Txing. I returned it to ICOM and they had it back to me in about 2 weeks, better than new. Was very impressed. I have done the MARS/CAP mod and have depended on this rig for SEVERAL uses, and it has yet to fail me... Battery can take a while to charge if it is COMPLETELY dead, and has lasted me as long as 8.5 hours of heavy use at events. ICOM accessories are fairly expensive, but I have found many generic accessories that match up perfectly for mere dollars... Like the features, simple operations, goes anywhere and everywhere. Hit local repeaters from next town over, about 10-15 miles as the crow flies.
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VE7ITF
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Rating: 3/5
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Jun 13, 2007 18:07
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The Jury is still out on this one...
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Here is my story with the Icom T-90A...
My first new radio lasted 3 weeks! Then the transmit died on it. I took it back to the store I purchased it from and they took a quick look at it and gave me another unit and said they would send the old one back as dead stock. The second unit (your not going to believe this) lasted about 3 weeks as well and then refused to deliver it's power out. This radio also went back to the store and even "they" couldn't believe it! So to cover everyones butts this time around they sent it off to Icom to have a closer look. I am sure at this point they thought I was doing nasty things to my radios! A few days later we had word back from Icom and they said there was a problem with the CPU and it was transmitting full power out just not anywhere in the amateur spectrum. So... onto unit #3. Have had this one for about a month. It seems to be holding up just fine. I would have by the second time around just asked for my $$ back on this particular radio but I purchased a rapid charger which one might find handy with this radio (because it takes 13 hours) to charge with the wall wort and I also purchased a spare battery. I did not want to lose money by trying to sell back these two items so I kept up hope that my issues with this radio would work out.
a funny note... the third radios serial number falls right smack in the middle of the other two serial #'s of the radios that crapped out! :) So were all three made around closing time Friday nite? :)
some things I like about the radio are...
Easy one handed menu operation.
Battery life is pretty good with lithium ion.
Antenna works well around my area both on
repeaters and on simplex.
It's small and easily carried without the heft.
I like this style of belt clip that swivels.
It doesn't dig into your side and is car seat
and chair friendly.
some things I don't like...
Questionable reliability
Battery charge time is ridiculous with wall
wort.
Accessories are expensive
The underside of the rapid charger when doing
it's thing gets very hot.
It has 1/2 watt or 5 watt power out nothing in
between.
Radio gets hot quickly in the 5 watt mode so
much so that you might be tempted to wear some sort of glove or end the qso prematurely.
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K1MBR
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Rating: 4/5
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May 27, 2007 22:08
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Good! Not my favorite
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought this radio a few years ago because I liked the features of the IC-T8a and the IC-T81a. It worked as advertised including the ability to listen to AM and FM broadcast. 3 of my fellow hams bought this unit and we programmed them all the same with the computer. I used mine in my service vehicle with a Mirage BD-35 dual band amp for a hideable, tranportable, "mobile".
Now for the bad news, The end of the antenna SMA is soldered directly to the PC board and easily cracked loose causing intermittent poor receive/transmit. If you are using the DCS it seems to have a problem coding Kenwood radios if you talk above a whisper (this was noted with 4 IC-T90's and 3 diffrent Kenwood radios. It was fine ICOM to ICOM and Kenwood to IC-T90 but not IC-T90 to Kenwood). It becomes very very hot to the touch if you are using it more than 10 min transmit time or warm while charging mobile with the mobile charger. and last, 6 meters has never been a viable option for me in a handheld. BUT I did and do like this radio but prefer my TH-F6 now.
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K5ADF
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Rating: 4/5
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May 9, 2007 19:14
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Cheaper Battery Sources
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have a T90 that was purchased several years ago. The HT eats a battery fairly quickly and as stated below the charger is infinitely slow. I do not have a fast charger so I cannot comment on it. I bought a spare battery, which is definitely needed, from W&W Manufacturing at the Dayton HamVention at a price less than half what ICOM charges. The battery is comparable to the ICOM battery in all respects. I have since purchased a battery to replace the ICOM original as it would no longer take a charge. I paid $39 for the battery from W&W. I also have their drop in charger (also very slow to charge). I suggest you try another source for the T90 Li-Ion battery at a much more reasonable price. There is nothing special about an ICOM battery other than the high price.
Incidentally my new IC91AD HT uses the same battery.
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N1RSR
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Rating: 4/5
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May 9, 2007 13:06
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Not a bad HT... but not without its shortcomings
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had a T90A for awhile and have no problems
with it. It has been pretty rugged and
reliable.
Pros:
-Small size but still useable
-Durable design
-Nice backlit keypad
-Long lasting battery.
-Not hard to program
-Reliable (eg, compared to the handy trashies that
yaesu has been putting out lately... everything
they've made after the FT530 has basically been
a dog.)
-6M coverage
Cons:
-Only H/L power, they should have made at 5/1 or
made 3 or 4 settings instead, like Kenwood has on
the old G71A. Instead icom's power selection is
more like "Full output or nearly nothing, pick
one. "
-Batteries are bleeping expensive, at around $100
a pop.
-Intermod might be an issue for some, especially
if you have a tendency to use an HT as a
hackneyed mobile radio.
-Charge time is slow on wallwart, fast charger
works good but sometimes it is finicky about
charging up a completely dead battery while it is
still attached to the radio for some reason, so I
just remove the batt and put it in the cradle with
the battery only adapter.
*** My main gripe is the price of the battery...
if the battery was say, $50 or $60 I would have
easily given the unit a 5.
-Mike
N1RSR
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KT4WO
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Rating: 3/5
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Apr 13, 2007 20:36
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Ok for what it is
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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got it used about 3 mo ago...
seems to do as well as any duel-band i have owned..and i have had a few..hee hee...
i would buy again.
KT4WO
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