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Reviews For: Icom IC-V8

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-V8
Reviews: 78MSRP: 179.95
Description:
Rugged, 144 Mhz HT that boasts 5.5 Watts out of the box.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00784.6
K7HZN Rating: 2015-02-15
Still works fine Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought mine from HRO some years ago. Haven't used it much. In fact it has been in storage for the past six years. Got it out yesterday, charged it up and programmed in a couple of local repeaters. Still works fine. Robust unit and have no problem hitting area repeaters with the duck. Guess I will keep it.
KC9DGK Rating: 2012-11-08
A 2m Workhorse Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I can't say enough good things about this radio. It has everything you need, nothing you don't. I bought mine back around 2003 and it has been an incredible rig for nearly a decade. As others have said, I can hit a repeater in the center of my rural county on 0.5W using the stock antenna while 20 miles away. As a result, I can talk to all of my county and every one surrounding it. Not bad for 0.5W on an HT. With a proper mobile antenna, the performance is even better. I get constant compliments on TX audio with this radio as well.

I haven't had any difficulty programming or operating it unlike a lot of reviewers. I see it as a tool that does its job well instead of trying to cram on extra features that pad out the price. I bought it for $109 and consider it a steal considering how much loyal service it's given me.
M0EDY Rating: 2011-08-11
good 2mtr handy Time Owned: more than 12 months.
follow up review last review dec 2007
now had the radio for 5 years now
a good handy still working well
had to replace battary
yes you can still get icom battarys for this handy
easy to program
with dtmf keypad for eqso echo link ilrp etc


----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by M0EDY on 2007-12-29

hi icom v8 was a christmas present from the xyl
very happy with the ic v8 opens the gb3tr repeter
on .5 watts its 25 miles from my qth
i have use for 30 mins on transmit and its not hot like some handys over night changeing is ok
also go hc45 mic
SHMCLENDON Rating: 2011-06-29
The Icom V8 is a plane Jane no frills 2m rig, Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The Icom V8 is a plane Jane no frills 2m rig, I think you can grab it by it’s duck and beat a man to death and it will still work, have had mine about 3 years I did buy an upgrade over the stock duck but it works all my local repeaters with out it , do have 2 Dbl A packs for it when the stock packs dies .To bad Icom stopped building this lil HT it is a solid 5 in my book I love it...... If you can snag one with the Dry cell pack GET IT not sure if you can still get the Nicad packs for it
K7GLE Rating: 2010-08-16
good value Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I give it a 4.5. Using with a compatible 9 ah battery found at a swap meet.

Easy to hit repeaters 20 miles distant on hi power using rubber duck. I have not experienced the heat issue on hi power, but I don't tend to transmit more than 20 seconds or so at a go.

Flat bottom allows it to sit upright on table, but it's a bit tall to be totally stable.

Display could be brighter. Manual is mediocre. The functions of the volume knob and the up/down arrow buttons (freq. change) can be swapped, which is kind of neat. Good, solid, simple rig. Great to have on hand as a backup or loaner.
KI4WCA Rating: 2010-01-25
excellent rig Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My first rig ever was a Icom2200H.I set up a good antenna and it was fabulous.After a severe thunderstorm absolutely hammered my QTH I decided I needed a handheld, and one that ran on AA cells for emergency use.So I paid 100 dollars at Gigaparts and got the IC-V8.Mine came with just the AA cell tray and no charger.It is excellent.The receiver is very hot and transmit audio is so good that no one can tell if I am using the 2200 or the V8!It garners unsolicited good audio reports frequently.The BNC is essential for easy use with the roof mounted antenna, and used that way 500mw works all major repeaters here full quieting.I find myself using it more than the big 2200 for a casual quick QSO on the local machines, and almost always use it at 1/2 watt.It does get a bit warm at 5 watts.

I got it purely for home weather emergency/power out use, but it is fun outside of that utilitarian regime.I always thought of HT's as toys....but this rig has earned my respect.For emergency use or as a backup rig it is very very good.
I think key lighting would be good, as well as a larger display and a battery life indicator.But for 100 bucks it is pretty sweet, especially when you consider the excellent receive performance and the superior transmit audio.

It is an excellent handheld rig.

73 de KI4WCA
SNJCT2000 Rating: 2009-10-26
Great for railfans! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this radio mainly to scan the railroad frequencies. I wanted something with loud audio, durability and most of all sensitivity. This radio is the most sensitive receiver I've ever used. It even outperforms my Motorola HT-1000 and MT-1000 in side to side comparisons. My IC V8 picks up distant signals that don't even break squelch on my Motorolas!!
KC9IVU Rating: 2009-10-23
Good starter rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was the first radio I'd ever bought. My elmer had one of these and it seemed to work well for him. Add to that the price at the time was about 120 bucks and I was sold.

I've dropped this transceiver. Left it out in the cold and rain. Constantly swapped between the duck and an external antenna and it keeps going. Furthermore, the audio sounds great both on RX and TX. The version I have is the earlier one with the rechargeable pack, but I've also got the double AA case for when it dies. If someone's looking for a good solid 2m HT, this is a really good one to consider.
KJ4LQX Rating: 2009-09-29
Great value. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had the radio for about a month. The audio is pretty good, feels good (not difficult to get your hand around it), decent battery life, works well using the included antenna, and really shines when attached to an external antenna. I am hitting repeaters 20+ miles away, full quieting, using a j-pole in my attic attached to my HT. For the price (around $100.00) for a 2M HT, I'm pleased.
W4KVW Rating: 2009-05-07
TOUGH TO BEAT! }:>) Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my IC-V8 now about 4 years or so & it was my first ever HT for any band.The 5.5 watts output on high power really gets out very well.It is pretty simple to program & operate with the manual handy.I see NOTHING to complain about since it has served me very well with ZERO issues.Seems as if my wife paid $109.99 with the drop in charger then & I have gotten more than our monies worth out of it.I bought an ICOM U-82 this year(09)& the batteries & drop in chargers are interchangable between them so that's a plus as well.BOTH work GREAT.Thanks AGAIN "ICOM" for building ANOTHER "WINNER" in the IC-V8 2 meter HT. }:>)

Clayton
W4KVW