| KC2JGA |
Rating:  |
2002-05-18 | |
| Very good, Great w/packet |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I purchased this rig used to replace the HTX-252 in my 2002 Neon, reports of alternator whine were none. Placement of this medium size radio in the car became a chore. So, I decided to use the 2100h for base packet in the house which was very easy to rig up to a PK-88 packet controller. Thanks to the owners manual that showed a diagram of the mic connector. |
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| K5WW |
Rating: |
2002-05-08 | |
| Very good, but the alternator whine! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Well, I couldn't resist Icom's offer! A whole lot of "bang for the buck" at the right price.
I'm extremely pleased with both receive and transmit audio, and with the potmetered squelch.
However, I wish I had visited these pages earlier. I too am being plagued by the dreaded alternator noise. Receive and transmit audio.
This is the first time I have ever had this problem, and don't really have a clue where to start, apart from the obvious bad connection inspection.
I swapped it around with my wife's FT-1500M (Yaesu). The Yaesu does not have the problem; my 2100 in her car makes the same noise...
I have spent the past two days replacing cables and connectors on batteries and chassis; and making sure that everything has a nice clean contact; but unfortunately nothing has helped so far.
I really would hate to get rid of an otherwise very fine radio just because of this problem...
I've noticed that a number of people were able to cure the problem; but they forgot to provide some of the details. What I would like to hear from them is exactly which ferrites to use (make/number/where to get them) or the make and model of the line filter to install, etc.
Living in rural Texas does not make it easy to shop around for electronics (or amateur radio) equipment so I would be very grateful for all the help I can get. On the other hand: no fears for intermod here!
So please, if you have any information that might help me don't hesitate to E-mail me at k5ww@arrl.net
Thanks all, 73,
Gert - K5WW |
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| W9JAT |
Rating: |
2002-05-06 | |
| Alternator whine problems |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I have noted the comments relative to alternator whine with this radio. I, too, experienced whine problems on both transmit and receive when I first installed this radio. I used power connections directly to the battery. In-line filters had absolutely no effect. However, while listening to the radio (with the engine running) I tried disconnecting the antenna connector and the whine completely disappeared! As I investigated I found that it was the ground connection from the radio chassis via the coax ground that caused the whine. In fact with the antenna completely disconnected the whine would reappear anytime (and only) when I placed a wire from the radio chassis to the car ground (frame). In other words, as long as the ONLY ground connection to the radio was via the negative power line to the battery the whine was absent. My work-around solution was to *jury-rig* an adapter with a short length (6 inches) of coax to use as an extension. I put a PL-259 connector on one end and a female chassis connector on the other end. I attached the coax center conductor to the plug end and the chassis connector, but I isolated the coax shield from DC ground by using a .001 transmitting capacitor in this line. Voila! The radio worked fine and no trace of hum! I have not gotten around to open up the radio to try to do any more troubleshooting to isolate the cause of this problem. I do remember reading in QST Hints & Kinks a few years ago, however, about a similar problem someone was having with their rig (not an Icom) and found the problem to be loose mounting screws on a circuit board. ...ya think... maybe???
But since the radio has worked fine since I installed this *kluge adapter*, I haven't been motivated (yet) to investigate further. It might be interesting to see if this approach helps others with this problem.
Good Luck,
Clyde, W9JAT |
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| KC0LET |
Rating: |
2002-05-06 | |
| Great Beginner rig |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I purchased this radio after receiving my tech license, so granted I don't have much experiance, but I have found this radio to be great for the beginner. It has plenty of power, and I have not found IMD to any problem. Although the microphone feels cheap, I actually kinda like it, and I receive good audio reports, but the thing that really drives it all home is the price tag. |
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| KB6TRR |
Rating: |
2002-05-06 | |
| Great Value |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Purchased this rig for my Ford Ranger, and was pleased that none of the problems previously reported here affected this radio. No whine, no intermod problems. Radio is connected directly to the battery with the supplied harness, and I am using a mag mount 5/8 whip on top of the roof. It does everything as advertised. For 130 bucks that is saying something. The radio is not intuitive in terms of programming, in that you do have to read the manual. But with all the features this radio has at its disposal that does not surprise me. When you initially purchase it, set it up in your shack and play with it a while to get used to its functionality before mounting it in your vehicle, it will minimize any frustrations. |
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| N8COO |
Rating: |
2002-05-06 | |
| Alternator whine and blown finals |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Just a follow up on an earlier posting to clarify the installation parameters. I'm sure that many, like myself, have experienced the alternator whine with this radio on mobile installations. Maybe it is just particular to Ford vehicles, but none of my other radios (VHF, HF) ever had a problem with whine. In fact my ICOM 735 HF rig has been used in the same vehicle and doesn't pick up any alternator or ignition noise. The Alinco DR140TQ that is in there now doesn't have any whine, has no intermod problems without resorting to the attenuator as with the 2100, and runs cool on low power. (The 2100H seemed to get hot even on low power settings.) Incidentally this installation is directly connected to the battery (positive and negative) with heavy leads and the same harness is being used for these radios. As for the finals maybe there are some that have never had a problem, but they do seem to have a higher than normal failure rate as reflected in the comments here. Maybe they had a batch of bad finals, and if that was the case ICOM should have some sort of policy adjustment. And I did verify the SWR was acceptable, (<1.4:1) both with an MFJ analyzer AND with an SWR meter which I left in line for awhile while driving around so I could verify there were no intermittant problems. Also the rig is out in the open mounted under the dash, not in a glovebox. And it is usually never that hot in the vehicle, I do use the air when it gets hot out hi hi. Hope that cleared things up for those questioning the installation. |
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| AB0UK |
Rating: |
2002-05-05 | |
| Good, but not great |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I own both the Icom 2100H and Yaesu 1500M. The Yeasu is the better radio. The 2100H has intermod problems and the tuning knob "drags" in one spot on each turn. Both problems have been reported here for sometime and Icom has not corrected them. It has more buttons and knobs on the front than the Yaesu seeming to create a bit more confusion while driving. It's power settings are 5, 10 & 50 (55) watts. The Yaesu has a 25 watt position. Some literature says it has 50 watts output and some says 55 watts. This could have some importance as the FCC says if it is over 50 watts an RF safety evaluation is required. The questions is raised as to whether an evaluation is in fact required. It consumes about 12 amps to product 50, or is it 55, watts and the Yaesu consumes 8 amps for the 50 watts. It only has two function buttons on the stock microphone and the Yaesu has four. The stock microphone also has a tiny plastic cover over the key pad that is easy to misplace. Due to the location of the microphone opening it works better in the left hand so the opening is not covered with your first finger. This rig is heavier and bulkier as well. The Yaesu has an innovative mounting bracket that adds heat sinking. The speaker on the Icom is directed towards the floor attenuating the volume whereas the Yaesu directs sound upward and out. The appearance is getting a bit dated as well. Hopefully, the next generation from Icom will have a lot of "lessons learned" applied to it.
73's
Jim, AB0UK |
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| W1NRA |
Rating: |
2002-05-05 | |
| great BUT |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I've had my 2100h in my mobile for several weeks now and it is great except for the intermod eats it up in certain areas...
Had an Alinco 570 for years and very seldom heard even a little intermod so was surprised to hear all of it. This does not ruin the radio by all means due to all the great features and many pluses that it has. They are going for 124 to 130 bucks now. If you need a great radio with lots of great features go for this one for sure. Just keep driving and you will get out of the intermod sooner or later.
de Jerry / W1NRA 73 |
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| KC5UN |
Rating: |
2002-05-05 | |
| Great value -- no problems |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Gee, all these reported problems with alternator whine and blown finals. Tsk. I got my '2100 new not too long after they came out several years ago. Maybe I'm lucky (that's never happened before), but no worries here.
I've used it in several different vehicles (including rentals during public service events) and as a dedicated radio for my packet station without any problems. Still puts out 55w and never had a problem with whine on transmit or receive (without a filter). However, I always go direct to the battery with the power leads -- never tried running it off a cigarette lighter jack.
No serious problems with intermod in downtown Houston which is pretty hostile in the RF department. Doesn't have the wide receive capability of some radios which is inconvenient at times, but probably contributes to decent intermod rejection.
Great value at $130. At the current price I should get a couple more and stash them away.
Tom, KC5UN |
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| N8YV |
Rating: |
2002-05-05 | |
| Best Bang for the Buck! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
At the price I paid for it ($140 new), before the closeout sales dumped this rig on the market, it was still an excellent deal! VERY easy to operate, a snap to program and the alpha tags are really nice to have! Nothing beats the ease of dialing-up the repeater by city/location instead of memorizing the frequencies or memory number assignments.
The 2100H Beats the Alinco and Radio Shack rigs I've previously owned, hands-down. Very quiet receive. I've owned two so far, one for the auto and one for base use.
This is one of the few rigs I've owned that wasn't a magnet for engine noise and alternator whine. Of course, at 55 watts, this is not a rig that should be sourced for power from ANY secondary circuits in a vehicle, especially those with noisy ECMs. Straight through to the battery and a SHORT, body-metal ground will ensure there is sufficient power for the rig.
This not only reduces noise pickup, but is necessary for giving the rig sufficient current to draw when the need for high power arises. Most of the time I ran mine on 5 watts, with occasional trips requiring medium or high power settings for repeater fringes.
Audio on this radio is excellent. The only nuisance I encountered is the rig's tendency to get VERY hot on high power. High power really isn't necessary for me to use about 95% of the time, but I think the radio is hard-pressed to deal with heat, despite its "all-body" heat sink design.
Gotta keep those fins in the clear, with plenty of air around them! Sticking this rig in a storage pocket or under anything not well-ventilated, is to invite failure. This is true of almost ANY hot-running rig, and should never be done as a matter of common sense, but the 2100H seems especially vulnerable, even more so in warm weather.
There are better rigs to be sure, but none can touch the 2100H at its price nowadays, IMHO. |
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