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| Reviews Summary for Icom IC-208H |
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Reviews: 110
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Average rating: 4.4/5
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MSRP: $319.95
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Description: 2M / 70cm mobile with 55 watt VHF and 50 watt UHF xmtr. CTCSS/DCS encode and decode, tone scan, detachable and remotable control head, 500 ALPHA-NUMERIC memories, etc
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Product is not in production.
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More info: http://
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WB8UUJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 6, 2010 09:16
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I'm extremely satisfied!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought this IC-208H new for use only as a base station VHF/UHF rig....I researched it thoroughly beforehand and determined that the negatives did not apply to my intended application....I live in an apartment in a non-metropolitan area and use the 208H with a Diamond X50A antenna mounted on my second floor wood balcony....I have the rig itself mounted in its mobile bracket on a 6" X 7-1/4" painted wood base, and it sits with my other radio equipment on one of my operating table shelves....in this setting the "head" remains mounted on the brick....yes, the knob-shafts could be more stable, but I have the rig programmed as I wish and I don't play with them much....most of my other (portable, mobile and base) rigs are ICOM....I and had no problem programming this one because the ICOM engineers apparently lunch together and seem to share their ideas....it's my belief that the "head" was made as light-weight as it was, and with the mic- jack on the "brick", because of severe mounting and use problems associated heavy mic-jacked "heads", such as with the IC-706 series....
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KK8ZZ
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Rating: 5/5
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May 27, 2010 18:41
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Great Dual Band Mobile
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Bought this ol' gal used a few months ago and have been using it in a fairly high RF/intermod suburban area of Cleveland OH... little problem with intermod, great audio reports from friends on repeaters, amazingly SMALL remote head that found a place on my impossible Toyota Highlander console, Mic is virtually the same as the IC-7000 beside it, so operation takes little thought... love the ability to change colors either for readability or fun... all in all, a great investment.
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KF5EYR
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 24, 2010 07:43
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Excellent Radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is a very good value for the money spent. It can, on occasion, be found at a discount at several different places. Living in an apartment setting, I wondered how well any radio would do. With the IC-208H, I can consistently hit repeaters 35 to 40 miles away using the Mid power setting. My signal reports are always full quieting. Programming, while somewhat time consuming, is easily done manually. The microphone is somewhat unique. It uses a digital PTT switch that does not work in the conventional manner. Some computer interfaces require a more conventional PTT switch. In my opinion, this is a very good, straightforward radio. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
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K9XXX
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 9, 2010 13:23
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favorable
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought a 208H very soon after its intro and I'm quite satisfied with it. I'm not using it right now because like so many of us, I have TMR(too many radios)and no troublesome XYL to stop me.
As for the complaint of jiggly knobs, I have seen transceivers for 40 years(notably Motorola)where the volume and squelch knobs are captured in the housing itself to protect the pots themselves from impact damage. I've made no effort to see if that is so of my 208H. If I don't hear the pots "cutting out" when rotating and jiggling the knobs(I don't)I will have no concerns about that issue.
I share the liking expressed by others for the compact control/display module. If you can't find a place for it you're not looking.
I rate it 4.5 because that's about as good as any gets from me.
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GM1FLQ
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Rating: 1/5
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Mar 4, 2010 02:58
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Typical Icom
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Dreadfull plastic shafts, horrible cheap click step rotary control and very iffy performance on receive, especially the poor quality am airband agc characteristics. Then there is the poor quality mic that needs modifying to get near average audio and the well known ptt switch that doesn't last. It amazes me what some people will put up with and excuse (perhaps they just don't know any better) - it sends a green light to manufacturers like Icom to continue producing junk by reducing costs but at the buyers expense.
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VK3HOT
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 3, 2010 15:54
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great value
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Have had a 208H for about 4 years, mobile and base and never had an issue with it. Have done the TX mod and use it for 2 and 70 as well as UHF CB here in OZ (at 5 watts) Like the attenuator on squelch, easy to set mems and programming and most of all it seems to be tolerant of higher than average SWR with no power loss. Ok it has wiggly plastic shafts, so what, all the abuse it cops mobile and still have not broken one.
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KT4WO
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 3, 2010 13:34
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A dog?..NOT
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have both the 208H and the FT-7800..both are good radios...the 208 has a better front end and
puts out the power the specs say,,,unlike the 7800 which is 5 to 10 watts less than specs(into dummyload via a bird,daiwa and diamond meters)
Yes...the speaker is not great...its pretty poor.
But usable...so.. the 208 does 55 watts..the 7800 is "maybe" 42 watts.
I have had both radios over 2 years..both without problems. Is the 208 worth the extra money? Yes
The better front end is worth that. Is it perfect?
Nope...but the 7800 ain't either
Ohh yeaaa.. as for the knobs..the last guy must have a 7800 that came from some other planet..cause the knobs are just as loose as the 208.
KT4WO
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KA7SLC
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Rating: 2/5
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Mar 3, 2010 10:05
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Wow, what a Dog from ICOM
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Wow, I am really surprised at the rave reviews for this radio. People here sound like they are reviewing the 207, not the wiggly knobbed, cheap wobbly plastic 208. All knobs wiggle and are cheaply made & installed. *Yes I was not able to demo one before I bought it.
The audio output and destortion is really bad. The internal speaker is just like my old 1970 transister radio (literally as bad).
So I bought this radio to remote mount it as it was small...whooppee, it fit, but I'm taking out this 1 month old and replacing it with a Yaesu 7800 I own.
I just cannot believe how far ICOM has fallen since their last cheapie dualband radio 207, which actually was really well made and rugged compared to this new model.
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N9OAP
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 2, 2010 11:54
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excellent dual bander
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I was looking for a dual bander with around 50watts output. Tried the Yaesu Ft-7900r, that tanked. Bad transmit audio from the start. So I switched to the Icom 208H. Love this little radio! Programming is easy, power levels are spot on, transmit audio is getting good reports. Like the cooling fan on the back of the radio, it's reasonably quiet. The reciever is very sensitive, it's hooked to a Comet GP-3 dualband antenna and I'm hearing everything in my local area and beyond. I give it a 5, all around good little radio!! Thumbs up ICOM!!!
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KD5RHR
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 14, 2009 12:15
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Great radio, Mic fix
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This radio fits perfectly in my Prius, the remote head hidden inside the compartment under stereo. The mic on this radio eventually had the same problem as the HM-133 Icom also uses on other radios, I think they use the same microswitch for the PTT. If yours starts working intermittently like mine did, take the cover off and put alcohol on the PTT microswitch, work it a couple dozen times, let it sit overnight and it will work like new.
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