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Reviews For: Icom IC-2730a

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

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-2730a
Reviews: 45MSRP: 419.00
Description:
VHF/UHF Transceiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
64.7454.1
W1JPP Rating: 2023-03-08
I like it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I needed to replace my icom 706mkiig that I was using mobile for vhf/uhf 99 percent of the time.

I already have a kenwood gm-g707a which is use in the shack. That radio has worked well for me.

I wanted the cross band repeat function so that limited my choices quickly.

I made my own mount for the head in my truck and I use an older Motorola speaker.

Sensitivity seems fine - I have about 30 repeaters in ri and mass entered.

I like the structure of being able to program in frequencies into different banks.

The naming function works well. And the screen - letters are fairly large so easy to read.

I usually leave it on medium power and I rarely hear the fan.

I programmed in some cross band repeat channels/frequencies. Half and full duplex works well. Half is you key your handheld, it uses the 2730 to transmit to a repeater and the repeater transmits direct back to your handheld. Full is you key your handheld and your 2730 transmits to repeater and then the 2730 receives from the repeater and transmits back to your handheld.

Or you can do half without a repeater - all simplex. Your cross band 2730 acting as a repeater. Which is suspect I may use more of hiking / hunting with a fellow ham.

Overall I like the radio.
KI5NYJ Rating: 2023-03-06
Excellent for the Price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own two of these (that alone should tell you something), one in car, one is the ham shack vhf-uhf base.

You can get radios that do more for more money. You can get a radio that does less for more money as well. This unit is very easy to program using CHIRP and a quality cable, such as what BlueMax49ers sell.

Others note that the mounting brackets are expensive. I agree, but then again, I'll never need one, easy enough to build.

My only real gripe: the fan is obscenely loud, and goes on with every TX - and it really doesn't need to. In the car, the main unit is in the trunk. Ham shack's fan will be replaced with a Noctua for $15. http://www.jimbrand.net/radio-2730a-fan.html
W4KVW Rating: 2023-02-14
Works Great! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
It does what I wanted for what I paid for it I made my own bracket for the head & I already had a mounting bracket for the body. I use it as my VHF/UHF FM Base & it was worth what I paid for it NEW. I knew ahead of time what it did & did not come with so I'm not complaining like so many others who obviously did not do their research on the radio before they made the purchase. Works great with the ICOM SM-8 desk microphone with the 8 pin to RJ-45 adapter including the Up & Down buttons. It's an ICOM so I expected that it was a Winner & it is just that.
KC1NVO Rating: 2023-02-14
My first Ham radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought in July 2020, so far so good. I'm connected to 100 feet of RG8 and an Ed Fong Dipole I'm getting SWR under 1.2! Reports back to me are saying I'm nice and clear. I'd buy again.

UPDATE 2-14-2023 Using the radio every day. Nothing new to report. I would buy again.
KT4WO Rating: 2023-01-24
Well worth $250 Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
--- Update--- 1.5 years in shack and car(I have 2)
Still 4 stars. I do agree that the menu system was
made by a crackhead!! HA! But you don't need to
get into that often.
For what I paid I don't think it can be beat. It does
get warm on long TX times but no smoke yet?!?
----------------------------------------

Is this a good $400+ radio? -- NO -- But
it is a good $250 radio! Made my own mounting
bracket.(with simple tools) And anyone who thinks a "Bayfunk" (or what ever the name(Chinacom)) is a better radio, they need to go back to CB.
Why not 5 stars?:
Speaker is poor, you will want external speaker.
KB9VCP Rating: 2023-01-23
Diabolical user interface on an otherwise great radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
As a radio, it's a very nice piece of equipment. It's definitely more sensitive than my IC-2000H, and it's true dual band with independent controls for each side. The memory scan is fast for a radio that's not a dedicated scanner. Audio is great both RX through the stock speaker and on TX through the factory mic. Display is also great, and it does feel quality. MARS/CAP is very easy to perform. I really like it as a radio.

However, the radio is let down by the crackhead menu structure. Having worked on UIs, it definitely feels like a group of engineers got an idea for how the interface would operate without really doing any user testing and just stuck with it. It's a shame. One example is skipping a memory in the scan--you need to enter a menu, then a submenu, select, back out, then select another item that appears to effectively overwrite the existing memory (it actually asks you if you want to overwrite the channel) with one that has a skip flag. Setting PL tone is also done through the general menu, not a dedicated button or function+button despite the fact that this thing is festooned with keys on the mic and radio face. To start a scan you have to long press a button, then select what kind of scan, then press again instead of just holding the up or down arrow. Compare this to my IC-2000H and FT-11R where all these functions are intuitive and quick to change, making them actually fun to use.

Other gripes are that the signal strength indicators seem scaled differently from almost any other radio I've used. There are no numbers, either, which wouldn't bother me if it didn't indicate so differently from my other radios. Crossband repeat is also buried crazy deep in the menu structure (big surprise) and needs to be enabled (I don't believe this is even in the menu) first. Finally, the heatsink is tiny and the fan is loud. Many other reviews cover this.

Compared to the other offerings in this price range, I'd probably still buy this one again. I sense it can take some punishment, too (3+SWR, getting dropped). I just wish the interface philosophy was completely different.

KE2SJ Rating: 2021-11-26
I got a dud Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was really excited about this radio. I really wanted to like it and saved up for a long time to buy it. But when it arrived, the squelch and volume did not work and I couldn't hit anything but the most local repeater. I guess I got a lemon and so it went right back to the store. I'm not sure if I'll try another one or look for a used Alinco 735 or Yaesu 8800. Or the new FTM-6000. Something strong that will pack an RF and audio punch to repeaters near and far. The 4730 I received wasn't that. Maybe you won't get a lemon. But Icom quality control and lack of brackets are disappointing at best.
NO9B Rating: 2021-07-25
Radio works has some issues I am not happy with Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I gave the radio a 3 rating because of the menu structure, confusing manual and unusable WX Alert.
Not sure what I would have bought instead. Maybe take a chance on a used dual bander for a lot less money.

Needed a dual band base station radio and didn't want to spend a lot money but also didn't want to buy a china radio.

PROS:
50 watts
Remote Head Mounting
One antenna connector for both VHF & UHF
NOAA Weather Receive.

CONS:
Had to buy the head mounting kit to slide the head onto the radio at $51!
Very hard to get used to the menu structure.
Terms used in the manual were not clear on which "tone" to use for the repeaters.
If the WX alert is enabled the radio interrupts the active bands audio when is goes to check for a WX alert, very annoying, turned it off.

Yes, I understand this radio was meant for mobile not base station use. Yes, I could have remotely mounted the radio and the head in the shack and saved $51.

Maybe it would be easier to program with the remote programming software and cable.

I didn't want to spend more than $300 on a radio and ended up spending more even with the rebate!
NO9X Rating: 2021-04-28
Top of its class! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Probably one of the best performing dual band radios out there!
The menu is so easy to navigate, I barely looked at the manual save to look for any hidden features.
Visibility is awesome, scan speed amazing! Receiver is top notch! And the transmitter OVER performs. Have seen this radio putting out 60-65w! On BOTH bands!
Every option I could want save for built in APRS!
I for one am glad they do NOT include all of their mounting brackets! I don’t want to pay for brackets I don’t need.
Seriously, I just make my own. It’s only 2 bolts to mount. This is why this radio cost as little or LESS than some of the cheap Chinese radios!
The display isn’t flashy, it’s just extremely easy to read.
Relocating the head unit farther away than the original cable only requires a standard 4 pin RJ12 jack.

A radio that performs as well or better than other radios costing twice as much, and blows away anything in its price range!
Audio is the best sounding radio I have. Tx reports are always great.
Honestly, this is THE best bang for the buck!
KC2FQ Rating: 2021-03-17
Great radio, especially with so FEW choices these days Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought one of these a few years ago and sold it too soon in favor of the well touted Kenwoods (yes, I had both the 71 and the 710). Those radios are great but the 71 is too hard to see with aging eyes and the 710 is very expensive and had many features I just did not use or need. I went back to the Icom 2730A last year and I'm very happy with it. It has a great display - one of the smallest control heads around yet the easiest to read by far. Wow, does everyone love to WHINE and WHINE and WHINE about the lack of included mounting hardware but they forget this rig costs a little more than 1/2 of the Kenwood 71 I mentioned which by the way doesn't come with a separation cable which is far more important that what's "missing" from the Icom. I love getting "free stuff" as much as the next guy but come on, fellas, it's not even $250 bucks - ya think maybe the reason is because they didn't fill the box with stuff you may or may not need? Add back every option you think you should have received and it's STILL cheaper than the Kenwood.

Anyway, I'm digressing. The radio performs very well, the mic is top notch in looks and more importantly ergonomics and most of all sound. Icom now provides programming software for free and before you start whining about the cable you'll have to buy, the aftermarket ones from reputable ebay sellers work great for a fraction of the cost. The only negative I can come up with is I'm not a huge fan of their menu system, especially setting tones. However, like everything else, once you get used to it ... no problems.

If you want a top performing, top brand radio with a tiny remote head with a large, easy to read display and don't need to let the world know where you are with APRS, don't need a TNC, don't need more than 2 bands, don't need a digital mode you won't use because the repeater is too far away and/or a pain to program then this is the one (not that there is another choice that does all of that as well anyway and too bad for that!).