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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
VE7AZC Rating: 2009-01-29
No Problems ... good sound Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hi fellas,

The problems sited in previous reviews such as audio drop out and the little 'd' are all discussed in the owners manual. They are not radio flaws. Just read the manual, guys.

I enjoy being able to carry out all of the radio programming and scanning functions from the hand-mic. Also, it's nice to hear the clean crisp audio coming fromt he front firing speaker. Having the fan assist with cooling is a good idea, and it's pretty quiet. Nobody has complained about my audio ...nor have they complimented it.

For about $200CDN, you can't complain about it.

Best regards,

VE7 AZC
WB4QNG Rating: 2008-11-28
Audio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I haven't look at these reviews for a very long time. I couldn't believe people are still having problems with the audio with this radio. Icom should have fixed this a long time ago. It has a cold solder joint. Take the top of it and on the left side toward the front I think you will see an IC with 5 legs on it. Heat up each of the legs with your solder iron and you will cure the problem. I think number 4 is the bad one. It has been a very long time since I fixed mine.
KG6QPH Rating: 2008-09-08
A great 2m radio! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this radio for over four years now. It was buried in my closet for the past two. I just recently digged it out to use as a base 2m rig.

My only gripe is that the alphanumeric display shows a small "d" instead of a "C" on some memory tags, in the 1st character. The display is large and simple, showing all pertinent information.

The microphone controls a lot of different functions which is nice.

I haven't tried manual programming and opted for the software to save time, because time is money. The cable can be found on Ebay and also can be plugged into my IC-Q7A and IC-W32 HTs.

The radio is rugged looking and solidly built. I like the look a lot. 75w gives you the extra power to work distant repeaters.

I had some problems with the audio dropping out on RX every five seconds. Very annoying. I thought that the radio was defective so I did some troubleshooting. I found out if you had the WX alert function turned on, it will cause the audio to drop out on RX every five seconds. See page 66 in the manual on how to turn it off.

I saw some others with the same problem. Hopefully, this solves that for them, too.
N6MZA Rating: 2008-07-29
Audio cuts out Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Own two of these radios for about 2 years now and both are having problems with the mic cable and audio dropout. Like the gentleman below, audio cuts out for no apparent reason as if the squelch is stuck. Both radios are now setting on the shelf and I've replaced them with a pair of Yaesu radios for the time being. Anybody have any idea what is going on? I did replace the mic cables which solved that problem but the audio dropouts continue.
KE7MEK Rating: 2008-06-01
Great Radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've owned this radio for about 3 months and love it. It's my first mobile radio and I use it as a base station at the house. I plan to place one in my truck soon. I find it easy to operate, the audio is great and if you're use to ICOMs, it is very easy to program. I would definately recommend it.
AA1IK Rating: 2008-05-08
Excellent Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I programed a repeater into a memory including the dup up/down and tone settings without using the manual!!!

I don't know why others reported that this was so hard to do!

Programing lots of repeaters into the memory bank is tedious however. The advice from others to get the software and cable options were well founded.

The software makes programing very easy to do initially, and to change subsequently.

I particularly like the bank setting for scanning. It allows me to program a set of repeaters for a certain far away city, and other banks for cities close by that can be scanned at will.

Each bank has a letter assigned from A through J.

Each can be scanned seperately. This way you are not scanning repeaters that are out of range. Very nice!

Bad points; The manual!

It is a typical Japanese translation job from Icom. Lousy! And in some places, it is just about useless.

You will have to spend some time in the manual with a highlighter and pencil to correct, and fill in the appropriate instructions for the more obscure features, like personal paging.

I would never use this feature, and I think that in makes the radio needlessly more complicated to program.

Once this is done you will have a usable manual.

I can't remember how to do seldom used but relatively important features. I have to write it down, because some of them are not intuitive.

Write down what you have done so that if you send the rig into never never land, you will not repeat the error!!!

Over all for regularly used features, this is a very nice rig and is fairly easy to get used to.

The more advanced the feature, the more difficult it is to program.

Audio reports over the air are good to very good.
The rig mounted front facing speaker is loud enough to understand while driving.

Keep in mind that I wear a hearing aid in each ear and I usually can't hear cooling fans anyway, so I cannot comment on how loud it is.
I don't hear it!


I'll try out a larger external speaker later just for fun.

Power out is superb. I like the extra punch for rural areas that the 75 watts gives me.

Software cloning is simple and works well, after you get it going. Once you get the computer talking to the rig, your in business.

Mic buttons are big enough to read while driving.

All in all, this rig is a keeper!
KE5KJL Rating: 2008-03-01
Excellent Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this as my first mobile radio over a year ago, and loved it so much I bought a second to use as a base in my home.

The good:
75 watts is great for getting into those distant repeaters
Being able to change everything but the volume from the hand mic is great when mobile
Ease of programming (once you read the manual)
Built like a tank
Color choice on the display
Large display - easy to read
Stays cool even at full power

The bad:
Loud fan when using full power - I don't notice this on my mobile due to the road noise, but at home it's pretty noticeable (but I'd rather it stay cool than silent).

While programming is an easy set of steps, it's done so seldom the manual is needed (in my case at least) as a refresher, so it stays in the glove box just in case.

I recommend a programming cable and software. I use a laptop to reprogram my mobile as I have it installed in dash, and it works well.

Overall, I would recommend this radio to anyone looking for a good single-band or entry-level rig.
K8PJM Rating: 2008-02-27
Good Radio for the $ Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had this radio for about 3 months now and have only one negative thing to say about it. Programing it without the programing software is a pain. Spend the extra money and buy the computer program to do it via computer. Makes the job a pleasure to do.

In every other area it is a first rate radio and putting out 75 watts is a real plus, since I live in a low laying area. For the money you just can't beat this radio. I have a FT-7800 and like this one a lot better for use in the shack.

Phil K8PJM
AI4VR Rating: 2008-02-20
No real problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had the V8000 for almost three years, and use it daily (fixed, not mobile) a couple of hours each day, seven days/week. Yes, it's a bear to program, but you just have to do it once.

"Problems": The mic cord was replaced after two years (I repaired the original, and it's now "spare"); the PTT microswitch had to be re-soldered a couple of days ago.

A good solid radio. I just wish it had a "Mic gain", even if it were "internal".

KC0SDV Rating: 2008-02-16
Great radio Have 3 of them Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great radio...one mobile and 2 in the house. All about 3 years old. Great audio....transmit, receive, etc. Programming not an issue if you read the book carefully and pay attention to what you are doing. Tried to program a Yaesu 7800 for a new ham, and was totally lost....V8000 is much easier.