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Reviews For: Icom IC-910H

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

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-910H
Reviews: 74MSRP: 1,500 (Street)
Description:
VHF/UHF Satellite Tranciever
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00744
PD2DB Rating: 2002-10-14
Best DX & Ctest rig... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First excuse for my English.

After 3 years of experience in DX & contesting mine conclusion is that the 910 is the best.

I have tested all, 746, 847, 100(d), 706mk2, 790, 275, 821, 255, 746pro, ssb lt2s-mk2 TRV with 870, 756pro, 756pro-2, 775dsp, 1000mp etc etc. All with and without pre-amp.

I tested / compared the 910 since the beginning with the other setup's. Now i decide to buy a brand new one with serialnumber 1900 up. Of course with DSp and 500hz cw filter.

Conclusion is that the readabilty is absolutly TOP. Compared with the lt2s-mk2 it seems that the lt2s have more signal but less readability, the 910 wins. Dnt tell me why. I have test it day's and day's and of course with a switchbox and also changing the place of the setup's to switch A to B and clockwise! So no bad cable or something like that. Also in the contest it must be worster then the lt2s. But in readabilty it sounds exactly the same. Within a few khz signals are gone. And please believe me im located in the middle of Holland and have mny big stations arround me. After 2 years contesting concluded that there is no trx thats so good (oke 821 and 275).

But the 910 have also bad things:
- Very expansive.
- Power on ssb much lesser then fm.
- Old fasion bediening (handeling?).
- No (or even no option): filtersettings, monitor, powermax settings (through servicemenu), vfo/mem rotator, 2.5khz steps, ctest-recorder, tx&rx audio settings, simple etc.
- From vfo to ts and back you get 1mhz so always pressing 2 times to get back grmbl.
- Small rig (however maybe 50% like this).

The sound is so natural and good to understand it is mine TRX!

Note the lt2s-mk2 with a 756-pro(2) is also extreme good. But double price and still mis 70cm! Thats to much. Even the pro serie's gives strange clicks and ticks that isnt to eleminate by the noise blanker. Noise blanker realy s?cks in all the Icom pro series.

Best DX Marcus pd2db


N1RSR Rating: 2002-10-12
Good all-purpouse base rig. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.

I basically echo the previous poster's
comments. This is a great rig for most users
interested in all around VHF/UHF multimode
work. The variable RF attenuators per band
are a nice touch, as well as full CTCSS
encode/decode included in the rig. I also have
to say having 100W/75W out of the back of the rig
is a nice touch, you won't need an amp with this
thing unless your a serious contester or EME
nut.

The RX is fairly tight, although I must say
my Kenwood 790 is slightly better at coping
with nearby transmitters, but it wasn't enough
for me to consider it a major point of contention.
After all, none of the radios ever manufactured
in this class, have what I would call an
"invincible" front end. It's hard to beat a
275H, a TM-255A, or a IC-775 or 781 with a high
quality transverter kit behind it. Most users
will have no issues with this radio, however.

I also have had no power output issues
with the radio, except with the out of band
mod. The radio does less than 7W outside
of the main bands, its as if the PA shuts
off or something when the rig goes out of
band. For those of us that simply want to
extend the range of a transverter, this isn't
an issue, for those that want to use this rig
for mars/cap, it becomes more of a problem.

My only complaint is the main/sub layout; you
cannot transmit on the "sub" band, and are
forced to swap bands to transmit, if you have
different volume settings for each "band" this
becomes an issue. This is a glaring, annoying
bug. (unless I missed something in the manual
that allows you to do this!) There are also
no alpha tags, which is useful for tagging
repeaters. The radio also needs to be bigger,
I found myself bumping the rit/shift knob on
occasion when using the main dial.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a "base"
VHF/UHF allmode, this isn't a bad choice, unless
you already own something like a Kenwood 255A or
an Icom 275H, in which case I'd just buy the
sister radio of either, but it depends on wether
your going to work sats or not; the 910 has this
builtin, whereas you'd probably have to use a
computer or something to slave the VFOs together
on the radios I just mentioned.


Someone else mentioned lack of individual power
output controls; this may or may not be a
dealbreaker for you, but you can always get amps
that can accomodate low inputs, plus if you have
the service manual, you can probably just
redefine what the max output for each band is
anyways.






WB4NNX Rating: 2002-03-24
Good Rig and Great Value! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I must tell you that after reading the reviews here I had to really convince myself to take a chance on a IC-910H. It has had so many problems described, I really was concerned about my purchase. It was only a concern, not reality!

I first saw the IC-910H at the Orlando 2002 hamfest. It appeared simple to operate, had a clean layout and was just the right size. The fact that you had the 1.2 gig option and DSP was also appealing.

Under the belief that the majority of hams are honest, I started looking at the different classified ads to find a used IC-910H. This meant I would get a problem rig from a dishonest ham or a good rig from an honest ham. I found an honest ham and a good rig! (Thanks Bruce K3BF)

I have been very pleased with every aspect of the IC-910H's operation and to say I'm happy with the radio would be an under statement. I have owned a TS-711, an IC-271H and a Yaesu 736R. The IC-910H is by far the best yet for general, casual operation. I do not contest on a serious level, but I do expect a high level of peformance and knew I would be unhappy to experience any of the problems described in previous reviews. I intend to get involved in satellite operation and have every reason to believe that this radio will be perfect.

I have only owned the 910H for about 1 month but have not experienced frequency, selectivity or phase noise problems mentioned in other reviews. I have found the radio to perform above expections in all situations. If anything changes I'll provide the additonal information. I know these are early impressions and I'll try to post futher down the road with additional insight.

I'm really sorry others have experienced problems. This is such a good radio I hate for it to get a bad reputation.

Take the chance, I did and I'm glad I did. I think The IC-910H is a great radio!!!
HB9DRD Rating: 2002-03-12
Almost highly recommended Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had my IC-910H since Christmas and I have been very happy with it. It is serial number 01528 and does not suffer from the off frequency problems that have been mentioned elsewhere. On 2m it is well within 1KHz of its displayed frequency and that appears to be true for the other bands, even 1.2GHz.

I have used it on both satellites (AO-40, U and L uplink) and on terrestrial DX (2, 70, 23) and it has performed very well, at least as well as my TS-790E, but of course with more power and more facilities.

One very impressive thing was on switching the radio on one morning was that I had left it listening on a 23cms beacon and the beacon was in the SSB passband from cold, I think it drifted about 300Hz in the first minute then stayed put, exactly where I left it. This is using the standard internal oscillator not the OCXO option. This sort of performance is very difficult to achieve on 23cms, so hats off to the Icom engineers for that.

My only gripe is the lack of seperate TX control outputs for each band which is almost unforgivable, so I dock it a point for that stupid oversight.

Otherwise highly recommended.
LISTENER Rating: 2002-02-11
LACK OF QUALITY ASSURANCE Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I PURCHASED A NEW IC-910H SERIAL# 13XX AND IT WAS OFF FREQUENCY LIKE THE OTHERS. 6KHZ ON 144MHZ AND 16KHZ ON 440MHZ!!!!!THE RIT CONTROL WAS ALSO OFF, I HAD TO PUT THE CONTROL TO 1 O'CLOCK TO BE CENTERED AT 0.0KHZ!!!WHERE WAS THE Q/A DEPARTMENT WHEN THESE RADIOS WERE ASSEMBLED?? GUESS THEY SLAPPED THEM TOGETHER AND BOXED THEM UP WITHOUT GIVING THEM A FINAL INSPECTION. THE STORE I PURCHSED THE RADIO FROM TOOK THE RADIO BACK AND CONTACTED ICOM WITH THE PROBLEM, STATING TO SEND A REPLACEMENT AND CHECH IT OUT BEFORE IT WAS SENT. WHEN THE STORE RECEIVED THIS RADIO IT WAS RIGHT ON FREQUENCY, BUT THE RIT WAS STILL OFF AS THE OTHER RADIO. THE STORE TECH CONTACTED ICOM AGAIN AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE RIT CONTROL COULD BE ALIGNED BY SOME KEYPAD ENTERIES AFTER PUTTING THE RADIO IN FACTORY PROGRAM MODE. THIS WAS DONE BY THE TECH AND THE RADIO WORKS PERFECT NOW. I RATED THIS RADIO A 2 BECAUSE ICOM NEEDS HELP IN CHECKING THEIR RADIOS "BEFORE" THEY ARE BOXES UP AND SENT TO THEIR DEALERS. OTHERWISE, THE RADIO WORKS GREAT IF PROPERLY TUNED. THANK GOD FOR THE EXCELLENT SERVICE FROM MY LOCAL HAM STORE AND ICOM.
FORMER_HOLDER_K8YK_BK Rating: 2001-12-01
Avoid it like the plaque !!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought mine despite the reviews seen here thinking that perhaps Icom had the bugs worked out .I was wrong !! Mine way off frequency like the the others reviewed here . On 146.50 , I could here the local repeater PLAIN AS DAY that transmits on 146.94 !! I've never had another radio ever do that !! Intermod was terrible !!! Stay away from it . Icom must be cutting back on their design staff or budgeting . You would think that an established company like Icom would know better than to risk loosing loyal customers by trying to push a garbage radio like this . Wake up Icom . Thank you AES for taking it back . I just feel sorry for the next unsuspecting ham who buys it .
KI0PA Rating: 2001-10-20
Follow-up on my 2nd 910H Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Now my 2nd IC 910H is not working. The main band has no audio. The sub band does. Everything was fine until I turned the radio off for a couple of days. Up until then, I never turned off the radio.
All other functions seems to work fine. It transmits fine and receives fine, but no audio on the main band.

I've had it with this model. I'll give up the 1.2 module coverage and try to find a IC 821H or
IC 970a/h. I've own both of those radio's and never had any problems. Icom has some very serious quality control problems with the IC 910H.

I'm selling my IC 910H

Tom ki0pa@yahoo.com

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Earlier 4-star review posted by KI0PA on 2001-07-16

I have had 2 IC 910H's now. THe first one I bought from HRO at the Anaheim,Ca. store ( mail order )

It was a 011XX serial # and had many problems. Off frequency ( about 3.8 khc on 2 meters, about 10 khz on 430 mhz)

The PLL was unlocking too.

It had alot of intermod problems on 2 meters ( receive )

I exchanged this unit at HRO in Sunnyvale, Ca. less than a week later and received a IC 910H with a 019XX serial #. It works great. :-)

No intermod, No off frequency problems. My only bitch is that it can't lock out memories during scanning. ( Poor design ) Everything else seems fine. I'm very happy now.

Warning. IMHO I wouldn't buy a early model ( serial # ) Many people I've talked too on message board that bought the first few shipments of the 910H has had "off frequency " problems.

Buy a later model #. 015XX or later serial #.

Tom ki0pa
KG9QM Rating: 2001-10-10
Where's the 220 Module? Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Hey, ICOM!!!

Wake up and make a 220mHz module. You can keep the 1.2gHz. Come on, give us 220!
ON9CJX Rating: 2001-09-24
Contest Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I used the IC-910H with DSP in a ATV-contest so 144.750MHz was the call-freq. Everything worked good no problem and no other signals disturbing our receiving and transmission. We even went to test the beacons on 70 cm and 23cm and this was also good. I even had no problem with the internal X-tal. It stays on frequency and power. I like that rig. 73 de ON9CJX

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Earlier 5-star review posted by ON9CJX on 2001-08-19

Even without a preamp we did a test on 1296.200MHz USB and the result was good.
My power was 10Watt the other station 2W and i can say poor conditions on my site regarding antenna in the middle of the City Antwerp Belgium (for anyone who doesn't know, city of diamonds..and they are girls best friend!!)
I have a high (80m) bulding 300 meters from my shack between the other station and me so....poor conditions...
The result was good, I could here him on his frequency with a little of the frequency 1296.199.9Mhz without the special X-tal.

My serial No: 01320 IC-910H
My serial No: 001957 UX-910

It seems to do the job quit good!

Does anyone know where to find a DTMF micro for this rig?? My email address:pat@on9cjx.be

73 de PAT ON9CJX



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Earlier 4-star review posted by ON9CJX on 2001-07-12

My first impression, I already have it for a few hours, looks good. It took me 5 minutes to install the optional UX-910.(You don't have to send your rig back to the HAM-shop like the TS-2000) <Split> can't be memorized, <Duplex> can.
Looks to me that a lot of the programming functions are the same as other rigs like IC-706.
The option MB-23 shouldn't be an option but a supplied accessorie.A DTMF-micro would be nice as well.
N2PFS Rating: 2001-08-21
No Probs.. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
just writing a little follow up to the 910h my serial# is 01039 i have one of the earlier models a lot of people have complained about being off freq... so far i still havent exp.. that prob even running the radio very hot. so no drifting has occured was thinking about getting the High freq xtal. but i really dont know if i need it since im not having probs so thats up in the air also transmits to specs with no prob. would like to know if anyone else has a earlier model with no probs since a few people were saying not to get a earlier model . can anyone tell me also if it is a good idea to get the xtal. regardless ?? thanks . still enjoying the radio love it 73`s N2PFS