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Reviews For: ICOM IC-2300H

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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Review Summary For : ICOM IC-2300H
Reviews: 30MSRP: $260.00
Description:
2 meter transceiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00304.7
W8BBX Rating: 2023-02-25
It helps if you know how to program it. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I searched the 2300H manual, Ham.net, Youtube, Dx-Engineering, Amazon and finally found the answer in a separate pdf from Icom.

Get frequencies from https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php

YOU will not need this if you use CHIRP to set the frequencies.

https://icom.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2148

IF you press a wrong button, turn it off, then back on. There in no escape key.

IC-2300 Memory Programming (from the Icom pdf)
You will need:
• Desired operating frequency
• Offset direction for repeater operation (if applicable)
• Subaudible tone frequency (if applicable)

Entering Frequency
You must be in VFO mode to program memory channels.
1. If not in VFO mode, momentarily press V/MHz.
2. Rotate the frequency dial to select a frequency.
If desired, pressing V/MHz one or more times will switch between frequency steps of 1MHz and 10MHz.

Entering Duplex Frequency and Tone
1. Press and hold DUP once or twice to select minus or plus duplex mode. A ? or + symbol appears on the display to indicate the offset direction.
2. Press SET momentarily to enter the Set mode.
3. Press SET momentarily or MONI one or more times until rt appears on the display.
4. Rotate the dial to select your desired Subaudible frequency or code.
5. Press any key other than SET or MONI to save your setting and exit the Set Mode.
6. Press TONE one or more times to enable the subaudible tones.
A "tone" (only the tone)appears at the top of the frequency.
Set the rt tone, the ct tone of 88.5 stays the same for many/all frequencies. CHIRP uses the rt tone. CHIRP will change any ct tones to 88.5.

Saving Settings in a Memory Channel
1. Press S.MW and the memory icon and channel number will start blinking.
2. Rotate the frequency dial to select your memory channel.
If the selected channel is blank, only the memory channel number is shown.
3. Press and hold S.MW to set the memory channel, three beeps will sound.

Press M/Call and rotate the dial to select a memory channel and verify the programming.

This worked for me on 2023-02-24.
AC1GX Rating: 2020-10-06
Skip Channel feature leaves me nonplussed Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I'll admit I'm new to the hobby, but when I settled on the ICOM IC-2300H with its stellar reviews, everything needed for basic operation and a microphone with 26 buttons (two 'programmable!') on it, I was really looking forward to the Skip Channel function.

It seems to me that if I'm scanning 30 or so local repeaters and the scanner pauses on one that is acting up, has noise on the frequency, hams are doing testing, or maybe it's just a boring conversation about someone's underwear, I should be able to press one of the 26 buttons on my mic and be done with that channel for a while.

That was my naive understanding of the "Skip Channel" function before I purchased the radio. Instead, having a channel get skipped from your scan is almost as difficult as programming the channel in the first place. Why even bother?

"Reverse" feature is likewise hard to get to. Should be one click, in my view. But alas, it's buried in a menu.

All other features have been good to excellent, I love that there is no fan and the radio stays cool.

Wing nuts on the rack mount would be desirable (user fixable). Very disappointed (obviously) with the useless Skip Channel feature while extra buttons are wasting space.
W4ACW Rating: 2020-08-21
Solid well built 2M monobander mobile radio. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was looking for a easy to use monobander for 2 meters. This radio has plenty of punch on both receive and transmit. Easy to program. Solidly built and small enough in size with a big display.
W9SA Rating: 2020-07-30
Great Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got this radio last week and have enjoyed getting to know it. Many of the reviews tell about it's features so I will give my experience in a nutshell. I programed in several area repeaters when I got the radio and put it in the car. Today I decided to put in simplex frequencies. I got home from a short road trip and programed two more repeaters (both with different PL tones) and six simplex frequencies in just over 2 minutes. It's solid, it's loud, and it's easy to use. I have been a ham since 1971 and I like this radio. I hope this helps.
07/29/2020 update: I have moved this radio into the shack and put the 2980 in the car because of the larger display on the Yaesu. I enjoy both radios and both are solid performers.
IU0CXU Rating: 2020-07-30
Nice and rugged radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Nice mobile radio. Lot of power, great modulation, easy and intuitive menu. In my experience with this radio there is no needs of dedicated software to program it. Good audio reports from everyone. The cooling plate never reaches hot temperature if you use it with a minimum of care. Recommended in any case
N2ARG Rating: 2019-07-31
Great 2 meter rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have this rig for a few weeks and I could not be more pleased with it. I find it easy to program, the audio is crystal clear and I am getting stellar signal reports.
N3SWR Rating: 2018-12-03
Very satisfied for a first mono band VHF rig. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After sitting on the highway for 8 hrs in a recent winter storm - the worst I ever experienced in my 56 yrs I decided the Baofeng HT was going to get replaced. I must admit I should have done this a long time ago. The audio is crisp, clear and I can actually understand what everyone is saying for once. I matched the unit to a simple dual band 3/8 wave Comet mag mount antenna for the simple fact I may, or may not, get another radio down the road with UHF capabilities. The only "headache" - and it's really not that bad, was learning to program the radio. Every manufacturer has their way of doing things and I just needed to put my time in and read the manual - not the quick start guide (that WILL drive you nuts if you're not familiar with ICOM). The real 56 page manual is the way to go. Just go online and print it out. Beyond that installation was straight forward and I have good audio reports. I don't venture past 25 watts unless I need it and in truth I haven't yet and I do live in mountainous terrain. If it gives me trouble I'll be back to update this review, but so far I'm happy ;)
W2MW Rating: 2018-01-22
Nice little radio. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got this radio for a Christmas present. It took almost a month before the weather was warm enough where I could install it into our travel van.

I found it was easy to program my most usef repeaters along with their required tone.

Working a few local repeaters I got good audio reports. I have not put it on a meter to see the actual power out.
All in all it is perfect for what I want.

73;
Kurt -W2MW
WL7KV Rating: 2017-12-13
Quality Radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was looking for a new mobile/base rig. My first choice was the Yaesu ft2980, and I waited for it to be released. It even went on sale over Black Friday, yet I chose to get the Icom.

The Mil Spec standard on this radio makes it tough to stand up to the rigors of field work. I can be hard on my equipment and want to know my equipment is up to task. I've had radios were the knobs felt wiggly, and didn't care for it. These knobs feel very solid, and are responsive in touch. The audio is good, I'm only using it as a base unit now.

Programming is a learning curve, but not overly difficult. Any radio will have some unique properties to programming.

Solidly built, I like it, hope it lasts long! Once had a radio (another brand) that I kept indoors, and used mainly for listening, and it just died with very little airtime on it. I believe the Icom will not disappoint me.
KI4WCA Rating: 2017-08-08
Excellent hot receiver! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After owning and loving my 2200H for 10 years I decided to buy another 2 meter rig for the car. I was not pleased that the aircraft band is missing in this latest rig but I figured the improved receiver was worth it...I was right. It is very sensitive and no intermod...it is excellent.
It is very easy to program, gets unsolicited reports of good audio and draws less current on high power than the 2200H. It rocks! If you need a solid rig get this one...it performs! Look at the QST review and see how the receiver did in their testing...use here proves this radio has great receive performance.

Only one warning...the ptt switch in the mic will fail...it is a tiny microswitch.They seem to last 3 years for me. The radio itself is flawless and the knobs feel more solid than the 2200H knobs which wiggle some( to zero ill effect)

I strongly recommend this radio to new users who need more power than an HT can provide...and the receiver will spoil you. IMHO it is the best 2 meter mobile you can get.