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Reviews For: ICOM IC-2100H

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

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Review Summary For : ICOM IC-2100H
Reviews: 196MSRP: 140
Description:
Two meter mobile
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com/amateur/2mmobile/ic2100hmain.asp
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001964.5
KC0KJF Rating: 2002-10-17
The Best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Sold a FT-1500M and bought the 2100H due to what I heard on the air and eham reviews. I really am pleased with it easy to program great audio and front end is superb, I am an Icom person now they have won my Allegiance. I will buy another and would recommend to anyone.
DL1DBY Rating: 2002-10-04
Nice Rig, but a problem Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is in addition to my earlier review of this rig. I still like it, but it has an annoying problem: There is a random crackling and popping noise on the TX audio and sometimes the same noise is even audible on the rig's speaker while transmitting. A search on dejanews revealed that other people have the same problem. One ham claimed he knows three other guys who have the same problem. Replacement of antenna, mic, and power supply didn't help. Anybody with the same problem?
SIERRAHOTEL Rating: 2002-08-29
Great Radio! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After I had the problems I had with the IC-2000H, I was pretty nervous about the 2100, but after a friend bought one, I went and bought one at the next hamfest. I can say truthfully, I am totally happy with the erformance of this radio in all ways. The receiver is great, no intermod, even downtown, and reports say my audio is loud and clear, and, according to friends, it sounds almost exactly like I do in real life! Spooky!!

I really like the color changing display, since I'm not a fan of the amber color the radio companies are so in love with these days.

The 2100 doesn't seem to get nearly as hot as the 2000 I had. I don't know what they did to make it run so much cooler. I had made a fan bracket for the 2000, and was going to put it on the 2100, but I never bothered.

Negatives?? Icom firmware, and that's about it.
KG4TRM Rating: 2002-08-03
A Piece of Art Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the IC-2100H because of the price and the relatively good reviews that I have read. I could not be more pleased with the radio and the operation of it. Although the manual was a little confusing at first, once I got the general idea of what they were talking about programing was a snap. I did not use the supplied mounting bracket because of my unique mounting location. I have a Ford Ranger and the best place I foung to mount the unit was in the center of the transmission hump with the radio angled up towards me at about a 65 degree angle with the front bottom portion of the radio level with the seat. I used a pair of angle braces which provided the needed lift and tilt of the unit. The only other problem I have seems to be with most other Ranger owners and this radio. I do have a faint engine noise from the speaker. I have been told that by making sure there is zero corrosion in the battery terminals will eliminate this problem. The only additional thing I added to this unit was an external speaker. But this was mainly of my own choosing and not a neccesity. Overall at this point, if I was to purchase another radio, it would be nothing but an IC-2100H!
N4OZI Rating: 2002-07-20
Great rig for the price! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
For the price this is a great rig. Just as plain and simple as that. ICOM did a great job of getting so many features in a rig for such a small price.
KC9BMY Rating: 2002-07-11
All I thought it would be Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great 2 meter radio. Read reviews prior to purchasing. My radio is installed in a 1996 Chevy Lumina directly thru the firewall and to the battery. I am using a Comet CQ-5M quick connect mount with a Comet SSB-5/SSB-5NMO antenna. I have not experianced any noise or whine as some hams have. Programming (once I sat down to read the manual) was easy. I figured out most features by just pressing buttons. I like the feature of the mic, but as I have read in previous reviews, I hope I don't loose the plastic cover. Sound quality from speaker is satisfactory. My tuning knob has the same occasional hard spot when turning as others, but does not affect operation yet. I paid $149.00 from AES locally. I purchased it in part for price, but also because of al the positive reviews on this site
WB5PLJ Rating: 2002-06-21
Great little radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a really good radio. I know that it is not that easy to use with a TNC or in other configurations but it is not really marketed as that kind of radio. Not that it can't do these things. If you are looking for a 2m rock solid simply rag chewing radio this radio fits that role perfect.

It dose have all the features that we have come to expect and a plethora of memories. It is rock solid. Sure it is simple in it's layout and the front of the thing is not going to wow you, but who cares. Put simply this radio dose what it says that it will do. And it dose it well at a price that is hard to argue with. I am very impressed with this radio even when compared to much more expensive radios. I certainly would suggest this radio to others looking for this type of radio.

Two things I would like to note are the lack of a removable face. which can make it a bit inconvenient for some instillation. This however is not a performance issue and so did not nock it any points.

Also the mic. The mic on this thing has a cable with RJ45 (I think that is what they are called) connectors on either end. you can remove the cable from the mic (without a screwdriver) and easily switch to a longer cable. this is wonderful. I use one of these radios as a base for local repeater coverage and I replaced the cable with a computer networking patch cable and it works wonderfully now I have an eight foot cable on the mic and if I want to switch back and haul the radio out for a public service thingy (which I have done) it is very convenient. This falls into the category of ideas that are extremely simple but very convenient. At the time that I wright this I am looking at an add for two new radios from Icom the v8000 and the 2702 both of which appear to include this feature, Bravo Icom,
K9PO Rating: 2002-05-30
Great Unit, Great Price! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
When I look at a 2m FM radio I want it to use the KISS method of operation. The IC2100H achieves this goal very well.

My radio is to be used in vehicle for voice use only and I wanted a radio that was easy to operate in the vehiclular environment. The function switches have only two modes of operation and the display is large. Although I would have liked to see a contrast adjustment on it to make it more readable when not looking directly at the display.

I managed to figure out almost all of the features without opening the manual. And when I did open the manual I found it well written.

My installation is pretty straight forward and the power leads go straight to the battery. I have not been plagued with any alternator whine at all and I am NOT using any chokes on the leads. I will say that the power cable runs from the battery and within 5 inches it is routed between the exterior body panel and the interior panels. So perhaps this is acting as a shield to the alternator radiated interference.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K9PO on 2002-05-06

I had non of the problems with this radio when I installed it in my vehicle. I did run the harness all the way to the battery. I found that the programming and operation were almost intuitive. i only looked at the manual to set the background color of the display.

The price these are selling for right now back this a must have. I am thinking of buying a second one to use for packet or put in my wifes car.

KG4BVD Rating: 2002-05-30
My $.02 Worth Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Well, I bought two of em if that says anything? YES I love the radio, I have had them since Jan. of 2002 and the only complaint I have is with the alternator whine. I have tried them in many vehicles and tried heavy duty chokes, different methods of antenna to radio connection, even eliminating the antenna the whine remains? However with the radio shack in-line 20A filter and home made chokes, I have reduced the hum to a minimum.
I disconnected and removed the internal speaker and placed a small 12 vdc brushless fan to help cool the final while on high power. It seems on low or medium it never gets hot enough for the thermistor to "kick" the fan on.
I also Like the power, with minor modifications to the power, this unit is capable (and mine is right now)of putting out approx. 7-9 watts on low, approx. 15-19 watts on med., and approx.45-65 watts on high. I have also installed 3.5 mm jacks that are connected to the audio discriminator and to chasis ground, for digital use and decoding with minimal error if any at all!
For those looking for the audio discriminator, (MANY), have asked me for this on other boards. First you must realize you are voiding the warranty, and you could damage your equipment if you mess up! Well, turn the radio over with the face plate toward you. Remove the four screws, locate the connection where the face plate pins connect to the main PC board. Now with the units fron facing you while up-side down, the discriminator is the second pin from the right on the face plate to main PC board connctor pins. Then just choose the chasis ground point that suits you best (I chose to use the top of the "leg" on D20 in the rear of the radio next to the external speaker jack, I seemed to get the cleanest audio from here?
I also made a "Remote" interface, buy using an RJ-45 jack, and connecting the jack to the radios interal pins to the microphone. Installing the jack in another room along with a speaker extenstion, I am able to be on the air by the "tube", or unplug the remote and hook it back up in the shack.
All in All, this is a very nice radio, just that the alternator noise kills a perfect rating for it from me ;-)

Well I hope someone finds this information usefull. I put a lot of work into modiying these radios for use in digital, cooling, and remote use of the rig from another room!
If I can be of help to anyone about this rig, feel free to email me, kg4bvd@aol.com, just be patient for a reply, I do tend to have a ton of mail each day ;-)
W5CCA Rating: 2002-05-20
Good radio if you use Mag Mount Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the second 2100 I have owned. Did not have alterantor whine with first radio, but I did with the second. After sole searching I discovered I had used a mag mount with first radio, permanent mount with second. Dug out trustie mag mount and no motor noise. Go figure !! With that problem aside, this radio works great, good receive, good audio reports, fast scanning.