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Reviews For: Icom IC-V8000

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

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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
K3JAE Rating: 2010-04-03
Nice mobile rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned 4 of these radios thus far... Still have all but 1st radio purchased. That one was taken from my truck because someone needed it more than I did I guess. Microphone after about 5 months quit working and Icom replaced no questions asked.

Since this 1st purchase the price has dramatically increased jumping from $185.00 new to well over $230.00.

Radio 2: Bought new, after a little over a year it decided receive audio would no longer work. You can hear it with vol at full but barely.

Radio 3: Bought used of eBay and intermod is a bit of concern. Specific frequencies is horrible while others are perfectly full quieting.

Radio 4: Purchased used off eBay have had no issues to date.

I also agree with previous comment that the volume and squelch functions are backwards and I constantly find myself using the wrong knob to turn up volume and or squelch.

Overall I am pleased with the radio as a whole and would indeed purchase another if needed. That is provided I can locate a good one for under $200.00!!

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by K3JAE on 2007-05-04

I have owned my v8000 for 2 years now, and sadly it was recently taken out of my mobile by someone who figured they needed it more than I. Rest assured, and without 2nd thought, I will replace it with another v8000.

I have experienced the "bad Mic" syndrome at just about the time the original 1 year warranty ran out and per ICOM warranty instructions sent the bad mike to ICOM and they replaced it, no questions asked, within a few days total turn-around time, and since then have had no further issues.

The manual, although a bit challenging to locate specific information and understand at times has provided me with enough information to be able to program the radio quickly and get on the air then learn the other features as I needed to.

Over all, I have had excellent audio reports, even with simplex long distance contacts. I live in a mountainous area and having the extra punch of 75 watts has allowed me to reach my home repeater where my old 2m has failed at the more standard 50w mobile output.

Even with the mic issue and user manual issues I cannot take away points as the radio works flawlessly and well beyond expectations. As a Kenwood man by heart, I cannot find a Kenwood mobile that matches this 2m radio in performance.

If you have access to a v8000 with a good price tag, buy it... you will be pleased you did. Even at the current price, it is well worth the tag.
K1ESL Rating: 2010-01-01
after 5 years - a mixed bag Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My original rating of this radio after a couple of years of ownership was a 5. I had not experienced any of the many issues stated here. Now I have to re-rate it with a downward number. The programming ceased to work (as well as the external speaker). I opened it up and found a completely lifted solder pad under the jack. It's a 4-point soldered connection and the only way the pad would lift like it did is poor assembly technique - the jack was not flush with the circuit board when it was originally soldered. Unfortunately, the pad is ripped and not making contact with something, and resoldering did not fix it. The internal speaker still works, but no programming or external speaker.

I too have experienced very hot operation - even with the fan on, at medium power, things run very warm. At the full 75W, it gets hot. I can imagine why people experience failures of the final. It's hard to tell why - it appears to be very well heat-sinked, but the heat conduction grease was pretty sparse when I opened the radio for the above repair. I never run at full power unless I absolutely need.

Once again, it's an Icom mixed bag - the case is constructed excellently, but the design of the speaker jack (which is not attached to the case but only to the main board) is not very rugged.

As much as I initially loved this radio - and still do for operation and the display, I would not buy another one because of it's various weak points. (Perhaps they have fixed them in model revisions though, mine is a 2004 model.)
KC9HVA Rating: 2009-12-01
icoms 2 out of 5 Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
i have used this radio for about a 12 months number 1 it has a transmit deviation problem very slight distortion in transmit. ya got to put it on a deviation meter to see it. its been to icom 2 times for the same problem . i wont get into that . for the money its not a bad radio . but over priced.i sold on ebay and paid off my balance on my credit card.
KD0JJP Rating: 2009-12-01
Very nice durable radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got this radio used from a auto wrecking yard, very impressed, I work in Public Saftey and this radio seems every bit at sturdy as our Motorola mobile units! I have never used more then mid power setting even 60 miles from repeaters with a 2.15 dbi antenna!
SNJCT2000 Rating: 2009-10-17
Not so good Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought this radio to go with my IC V8. While I love my IC V8 portable, this radio falls far short. My biggest issue is the intermod. It becomes easily overloaded by weak signals. I live in the boonies and this thing will lock on static from just about anything close by. And the sensitivity is not all that great either.
KG5PT Rating: 2009-10-14
Decent Radio for the Money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Pros:
- Solid mechanical construction
- Very fast memory channel scanning speed
- Backlight color can be changed from amber to green
- Front-firing speaker, good audio power

Cons:
- Lacks a true intermediate power level setting (i.e., 45 watts)
- 60 watt maximum output power falls far short of advertised 75 watt spec
- Alpha numeric tags limited to 6 characters
- Volume & Squelch controls are reversed from their traditional positions on the front panel
N3OQD Rating: 2009-08-13
overview Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Not a bad radio I suppose. Had the usual PPT clicker switch problem. Was able to solve myself. Power output is about 60w max. This is the only radio I have that puts out less power than it is rated for. Not sure why Icom uses a 70w transistor for 75w application though. The NOAA weather alert does work but chops receive periodically every so many seconds. This is a bit of an annoyance in that some current sets do not do this. Yet despite these, it has done well.
WA5RR Rating: 2009-05-26
Bad Finals Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I currently own two of these rigs. Both of them have burnt-out finals. One of the rig's final transistor became so hot it unsoldered from the PCB.

There have been several reports of failures with this rig. I gave it a '3' because of the excellent audio from the front-firing speaker and it's ease of programming. I would suggest never running these radios at full output EVER!
AD5WO Rating: 2009-03-20
EXCELLENT Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Absolutely the best performing 2 meter rig I have ever owned. The only complaint is the PTT problem that is so common with this radio. A simple fix is to shim up the plastic button to increase pressure on the micro switch.
CMUCHIPPEWA Rating: 2009-02-06
Decent radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio has great audio quality! I just installed mine today, and I have been messing around with it trying to get it all set up. The radio isn't exactly 'difficult' to prgram, but it takes some time to get the hang of it. It does have a lot of features, which is why it takes time to get used to.
It has a nice solid-feeling chassis, which is always a plus. I got mine from the www.theantennafarm.com for $200, and also picked up a $17 antenna to go with it. Everything hooked up nicely, and has a great signal.
Hope this review helps!
73
Paul