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write your own review of the ICOM Q7A.
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SM6VTT
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Rating: 3/5
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Nov 19, 2004 16:44
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Ok
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Its ok. It have a good reciver but the S-meter is very possive all the time =) If I didn't know that it only have 350mW output, I would gess about 1 watt. I guess that the orginal antenna is rather good.
I compered it with Yaesu VX-2
- Not great sound quality
- Poor physical quality
- Slow scanning speed
- Bad S-meter
+ Battery. Very nice to easy get and change battery. Long lifetime.
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LNXAUTHOR
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Rating: 3/5
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Mar 3, 2004 10:08
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OK, but now discontinued
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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- avg score here for this little QRPp HT...
- yep, it's tiny... works FB as a pocket toy and was priced right... however, i never really used mine, as its receive wasn't wide enough for me and its output wasn't good enough to work the local repeater (about 4 miles away)...
- if you can find one used it's probably worth the cost of a couple Hamiltons, but not more than that...
- if you need a bit more output, look at the VX-2r ... but you will pay more...
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KB9NPH
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Rating: 5/5
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May 21, 2003 12:49
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Nice little unit
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had one for a 1.5 yrs. Sold it, missed having one and bought another. It's a solid tiny working scanner and transmitter. For the price it's a fun purchase. Little intermod noticed. What would you expect for 99 bucks? Great for pocket use, wherever you go. 73's
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AC5PS
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Rating: 5/5
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May 21, 2003 11:58
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Has been great
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had the little Icom for almost five years now, I use it while riding my cycle, staying in hotels and at work in a private jet. It is perfect for me, no intermode noted here. Being able to scan ALL FM amateur bands has been a plus.
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WD4MPN
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Rating: 5/5
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May 21, 2003 11:57
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Great radio for the money
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Picked one up at Dayton a couple years ago for $99. For that price it's a nifty little radio with an amazing receiver. At $99 I wouldn't expect it to be bulletproof to intermod in, say, downtown Houston on a weekday, but out here in the 'burbs intermod hasn't been a problem. Battery life is reasonable. Improvements would include an external DC jack.
It's been a rugged rig, suffering drops and general abuse for two years without complaint. I figure I've already gotten my money's worth out of it. If I lost it tomorrow, I'd get another one.
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AH6RH
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Rating: 1/5
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May 21, 2003 03:51
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Intermod
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Overall, this is a good, small walkie. The form factor works for those who wants something small, light, and doesn't eat batteries fast while on standby. The RX audio is good, and I put a mini-stubby antenna to keep the form factor small.
An interesting feature is that the call button selects the call frequencies. Rotating the selector knob alternates between C1 and C2 calling channels. This is a good means of selecting call memories. Too bad it didn't have 4 call memories -- two each for VHF and UHF.
For enhancements, the radio could also use autodialer memories for allowing control operators to control repeaters.
However as mentioned to Icom before, what keeps otherwise-good radios from being rated good is the lack of real radio circuits -- good receivers, good transmitters, good tuners. Features, packaging and audio without quality radio circuits won't cut it. If it isn't a radio first, it isn't a radio.
The receiver is prone to pick up intermod outdoors in high RF environments. If it picks up intermod on a stubby antenna, it'll pick it up on a full sized duckie antenna. And, a radio such as this that squawks away because of intermod totally defeats the benefits of radio monitoring with a very small, light, stealthy unit.
Too bad. If it wasn't for that, I'd give it a 5.
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N8IWK
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 4, 2002 17:26
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Impressive receiver
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After reading the reviews on this radio I decided to buy one. Knowing it's limitations I was impressed of the transmit capabilities even at less than half a watt with the factory antenna.
What was even more impressive was the receiver, I primarly use this radio as a scanner/receiver. This is the first handheld radio that I've owned that I have not had to replace the factory supplied antenna with some aftermarket antenna to improve reception. Sound is outstanding from such a small speaker. I recently purchased a Yaesu VX-1R but can't seem to let go of the Q7A because of it's outstand receiver. Makes a great HamFest rig to keep in touch with buddies without the bulk of a full size radio. And if you get bored you can always listen to FM broadcast radio. I'd recommend it to anyone that needs a small take anywhere radio, batteries are cheap and easily obtainable in the event you are out and they die.
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K9KJM
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 27, 2002 14:10
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Great Value
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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At todays prices, just over a hundred bucks, this has to be one of the better hand held radio values out there. Great little scanner receiver, with 2 meters and 440 Mhz transmit thrown in to boot! Most people complain of low power output, I wish it had some way to reduce power output even lower to conserve battery power. I use mine mostly for getting into the dual band base station (Cross-band repeat) and then out, so dont need big power. Works just super as a wirless microphone that way. Walk around the block, all around the yard, and still be in touch, With a shirt pocket size rig. It does eat batteries in scan mode, you need the best NiMH batteries out there to enjoy this radio. Also a very tough little rig. dropped mine countless times from over 3 feet up to concrete floor, left it out in the rain, etc. still ticking!!! Would not hesitate to buy another if this one got run over by a truck, but then again, maybe that wouldn't hurt it.
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N8DXN
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 5, 2002 16:06
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Fun
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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For the money, it's a lot of fun. It's not too easy to scan with, but if you finish programming the memories then things get easier. I like it WAY more than my Yaesu Vx1r. Pc programming is worthwhile, and easy enough. Uses the same cable as the Vx1r (save money). Needs an adapter to use an earphone (poor engineering). Great audio, very sensitive. It's possible to program and tune from 500hz to 1.3Ghz, with Golan's Vlasky's software, so you have to wonder why ICOM decided not to let the Q7A tune around there coming from the factory. Go figure. For $130.00 it still remains a fun toy to play with
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KD5OUW
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 9, 2002 17:37
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Great little HT
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I love this little radio! I think that it is amazing the features that Icom has packed into this tiny package. When I got this unit I really wasn't expecting "full-size" features such as tone scan and automatic reapeater offsets. Nice package. After referring to the manual for programming a couple of repeaters, the manual went aside. Programming this Ht was cake after the first couple of channels. Two complaints that kept me from giving a 5 of 5 rating:
1.RX audio: If I were Icom, the last thing that I would do is advertise this unit as having "superior audio" I guess for a micro HT the audio is sufficient, but I think it sucks. I use in a noisy mobile environment and the audio can be quite difficult to hear.
2.No AM BCB or SW: I understand that there is software available to remedy this, but I don't have the xtra $ to purchase a computer cable. Will have to see if this ca be remedied in the future.
All in all a great little radio and I would probably buy another should something happen to this one. With the price of this unit, you cannot go wrong! -Andy -KD5OUW
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