Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: Icom IC-V8000

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Icom IC-V8000
Reviews: 185MSRP: 249.00
Description:
2 meter mobile radio
75 Watts output power
RX: 136 - 174 MHz
Wide/narrow operation
Front firing speaker
Cooling fan
Dual color display
Auto repeater offset
CTCSS Encode
CTCSS Decode
CTCSS Tone scan
DCS Encode
DCS Decode
DCS Code scan
DTMF Encode
DTMF Decode (optional)
DTMF Code squelch
Dynamic Memory Scan
Weather channels
Weather alert
Weather scan
207 Memory channels (3 scan edges)
Call channel
6 Character alphanumeric display
PC programmable
Radio - radio cloning
Programmable keys
RF Attenuator
Channelized operation
Alpha only operation
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com/amateur/2mmobile/index.html#v8000
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001854.4
N6OSB Rating: 2019-05-06
The mic is its only downfall Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a good little radio. I own three of them. The mic is the only problem. They seem to always break.

----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by N6OSB on 2011-02-25

I own 3 of these, and have had to replace my mics 3 times. Rig is SOLID but the mics are known to have problems.
----------------------
Earlier 0-star review posted by N6OSB on 2009-07-26

I fell in love with the radio the first time I used it. I currently own 3 of them. I've been very gentle with the radios and they are all in great shape. But I've had multiple microphone issues. I've had 2 microphones go bad on me. One is out of warranty so I'm out of luck. The second one is still in warranty. Looking on the Internet I'm not the only person with Icome microphone problems. When I bought these radios I thought of going with a Yaesu or Kenwood but only the Icom provided 75 watts. Now that Yaesu has a fan-less 75 watt radio that would make an excellent replacement radio. If I had to do it all over again I would go with a more reliable brand. Icom is crap!!! I've owned 4 Icom radios and have had problems with just about all of them.
KT5OT Rating: 2017-01-19
awesome simplex rig! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
i bought 3 of these at dayton last year.all new in the box.fantastic radio.most people wont appreciate this radio unless you talk simplex.paired with a diamond f23h vertical as a base and with a diamond nr22l running mobile awesome results! transmit audio and reciever performance are top of the line.regularly talk 75-150 miles on the base and 50-100 miles in the mobile.only downfall i checked all of the final transistors and no heat sink compound!after this preventative fix im sure they will last a long time.way to go icom!
KF4TMN Rating: 2016-08-24
Solid Radio! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great Radio! Been using it as a mobile. My commute is from 45 minutes to one hour so I use it almost every day to and from work.
KJ4PR Rating: 2014-07-20
PTT problems with my V-8000 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My IC-V8000 has been installed in my vehicle for about 5 years. I rarely transmit on it and when I do I only use the high power option when needed. When on high power I try to keep transmissions short. I am using a Larson NMO roof mount antenna with a good SWR. With that said last year the radio stopped transmitting. When I took the cover off the final output transister was no longer attached to the board. I soldered it back on and it worked fine. Today I tried to respond to a call and the PTT on my mike no longer works. It appears that other functions on the mike work normal but nothing happens when I key the mike to talk. I do live in a sub tropic climate and the fan is constantly running even when I am just scanning the band. Anyone else had problems with this radio? I spoke to a rep from Icom in Dayton and they say they never heard of the final seperating from the board. I find it hard to believe that I am the only one. I have had mostly Icom radios since I became a ham years ago but now I am thinking about changing to a dual band and posssibly going with Kenwood.
AB3CN Rating: 2014-06-17
It is now 2014 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Icom IC-V8000 looks awesome on paper and in the reviews. I bought one based on paper and reviews. So my feedback to you is what it was like to hook the radio up and try to use it. My first observation was that the programming required me to do a step by step follow-the-page number routine back and forth through the Icom manual. Not intuitive. Okay - they had the info in the manual just not in a logical order. Second thing was the loose-jiggly knobs on the main unit. My IC-2100 has firm knobs which do not flex as if hung on pipe-cleaners. That worries me because I'm afraid the radio can't handle a shock. Others have said it does. The third issue was reception: back-and-forth with my FT-7800 on an ARX-2B the IC-V8000 got the same weak signals. I expected the Icom to do better. I can't see it. I bought a SX-200 SWR meter because I was worried I was missing something in the comparison. Who knows? Maybe the SWR kicked one radio harder than the other but both are clocked at 1:1.2 (that made me happy). Bottom line is I paid $220 for the V8000 and $330 for the FT-7800. The FT-7900 is $323 right now so yes I have some buyers remorse. I like Icom and have a lot of their radios and I regret to say the V8000 did not match up to my expectations. Your expectations will be different and I appreciate your opinions on eHam. I've been forthright because I hope you will do the same. Best to you, 73 de AB3CN
W8NSI Rating: 2014-05-16
Heavy duty 2m rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It is an easy to operate, good, solid 2m rig. I have never had a problem with this radio. I have owned my V8000 for several years, and used it both mobile (with a mag-mount 1/4 wave) and base. The 75 watt high power is useful. It was relatively easy to program. I have not tried using software to program it. I have mine opened up for use on the Michigan Navy MARS freqs and it works well there too. I am going to buy another one just for mobile so I can leave my original one at the base. Price is right! FIVE STARS and a THUMBS UP too!
KI6OSH Rating: 2013-08-31
Hard to beat... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After five plus years of light to moderate use, thought I'd write another review. This radio does everything I could possible use in a mobile 2 meter rig. Not too hard to program and with 75 watts available, hits every repeater I could ever use, even with my little 1/4 wave MFJ mag mount antenna on my truck. The fan is nice here in the summer heat and nice to have 4 power settings. No problems so far. Very nice display, also. Great job, Icom.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KI6OSH on 2009-05-26

I've had this radio for almost one year and it works perfectly. Fairly easy for a newby like me to program. Nice to have the fan for cooling in our hot Sacramento Valley summers. 75 watts make all the repeaters that I would use attainable. All in all, highly recommended.
KC8Y Rating: 2013-07-07
super 2m radio :) Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this transceiver for several years. Use it for my base station, only 5 or 10 watts, fast scan.
I use software to program it, which makes it easy for me. My antenna is only about 12-feet high & RG-8U cable (35-feet)

Wish this site had something ABOVE 5 ????
W4JPS Rating: 2013-01-31
Gets the job done Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a great FM radio. I have had it since 2002 and it has done everything that it says. I run it on 75W for an hour 2x daily 4-5 times a week. It still works as advertised.
The cons are as follows:
The fan wears out and needs replacement sooner if you DO NOT run the fan on HIGH or OFF all the time. auto fan speed wears out the bearings faster.
The icom menu system is not intuitive. I have to use the manual even after 11 years of mobile use to do anything like update a memory or whatever.
N0SSC Rating: 2012-11-27
Durable, cooks too Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The V8000 was my first rig and is still going. The 75 watts is very useful and doubles as a space heater, egg cooker, etc heheh. Very simple but not as compact as I wish.

The fan gets loud, and I've always had odd sounding birdies, most notably on 147.240MHz, and others. Otherwise it's a fine rig.

Scans fast too. Great for local snooping.