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Reviews For: Icom IC-28A/H

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

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-28A/H
Reviews: 26MSRP: ICOM IC 28H
Description:
mid 80's vintage 2 meter FM mobile, 21 memory channels, ctcss encode, optional D.Sql
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15264.7
SINDK8 Rating: 2005-01-26
great radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
i have my tranceiver tested by an elmer here. using spectrum analyser. still in great condition. (still the same results when we bought it). its now 15yrs old now and I still use it as my primary and only VHF-2m-FM rig. very stable, no degredation in output power and very efficient out of band rejection (pager, fire/law-enforcement, etc etc) only problem was the backlight which in time dies. my solution was replacing those mini incandescent bulbs with an Amber colored LED + resistors. (great!!! like new radio) BTW this tranceiver was on for 12yrs or so and external problem was the rubber pads on the control knobs gets loose. anyways! this is one very great stable radio, though cannot be compared with the new breeds. (ctcss/dcs etc etc). for its class, its my choice.

the board layout is great. servicing this radio is bearable and not a headache/no SMT components and block/section arrangement.
KZ9G Rating: 2003-11-30
Won't Stop Working! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've also used a IC-28H for over 15 years, and it keeps chugging along. It's a basic 2M rig that takes the punishment. In fact, it has withstood a few scorching summers while mobile in Biloxi, MS. I'm sure the vehicle temp soared to above 140 deg F on many occasions. It also survived 5 winters in my Bravada in Southcentral Alaska, where the temp dipped to below 30 degrees below zero for a few weeks each winter. They are solid, dependable performers. What more can I say?
VK6XH Rating: 2003-05-10
Not bad at all Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had to replace the PA about 4 yrs ago, have owned it for about 7 yrs and it was a mistreated radio b4 I got it, ( owned by a school radio club !)
As a base station radio it gets mighty hot but the audio is good and it's pretty tolerant of my 4 ele quads 2:1 swr so I guess its a pretty good unit after all. It's only my second Icom 2mtr radio in 21 yrs and I would buy anohter based on its performance.
BG5HAR Rating: 2003-05-09
GOOD RIG Time Owned: more than 12 months.
1993~2001 SO STRONG QRM FROM BP CALL BASE STATION.
BUT IC-28C CAN DONING FINE!!
N8IWK Rating: 2003-01-15
Solid Radio!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my 28H for over 15 years now, I purchased it used back in 87 and it has served me well. I have not had any problems with it. Power out appears to be slightly more than rated 45 watts, but I rarly need it because I'm able to get into most repeaters on the 5 watt setting. Speaker audio is so loud it rarely get turned past the 12 O'clock position.
My only gripe is with the pigtail SO-239 connector, my thought was it was going to be the first thing to fail, but 15 years later and it's still fine.
I know this radio may not compare with the new radios on the marker in features, but far exceeds them in reliability and performance.
I only wish they made this radio in a dual band version at the time.
KB9YFX Rating: 2001-12-17
A good older basic 2 meter FM rig Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The IC-28A/H are identical except for RF output, the H model having 45 watt, and the A model having 25 watt. Both have 5 watt as the low power option.
These older Icoms are nice rigs. Only 21 memory channels, and only 3 of the 21 channels can have ctcss tones stored in them. Icom used a numeric code to represent the actual ctcss tone, so one needs the manual to program tones.
Radio has nice ergonomics, 11 buttons total. Green display is nice. Easy to see in daylight or during nighttime. Display also has auto dimmer to adjust brightness.
Good transmit audio, and fair receive audio from the bottom firing speaker. A small outboard speaker is almost a must for me.

All in all a good older radio, if the price is in the 75$ range. I see these radio selling for 125$ ++ all the time, but I certainly would not pay any where near that much for this radio, or any other 80's vintage mobile.