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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
KD5YVQ Rating: 2003-10-12
Good radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Radio has worked well, no intermod problems, very good receiver. One note If radio has a whine in the audio, you must source the power right from the battery (both pos & neg. ) and isolate the case. DO NOT GROUND the case at the radio. Use plastic washers to seperate the radio case from the mount, and you will have no noise.
KG7VG Rating: 2003-09-08
Great Entry-Level Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought my 2100H used from a pawn shop. I was a little concerned that I would see issues with the final arise, but all has been wonderful so far!
My only real complaint is that you need to get all of your externals attached first, before you mount the radio. I had a devil of a time plugging in an external speaker. I had to remove the radio from the mounting bracket in order to reach the socket behind the heat sink.

I've had great reports on both simplex and duplex and can hit repeaters from as far as 75 miles away. I've heard little intermod and the receive is fantastic! Great features for the price, but if you buy one with the old style mic, spend the extra $$ for the HM-133S, it's just a better performer!

73 to all!

K0DOG Rating: 2003-08-11
Solid Radio/Bad Mic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have four of them. Few, minor, complaints regarding the radio. Microphone is another story. Three have already been to Icom, fourth one went bad yesterday. Buy the radio. Immediately send the mic to Icom for warranty work.
PY1BR Rating: 2003-07-31
Crackle/Pop in TX audio - Small Problem Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have recently bought my IC-2100H. I had the same Crackle/Pop in TX audio. I fixed it immediatetly by re-screwing all internal screws inside the radio. This (in my case) was happening due to a poor ground connection between PCB and chassis. So, I "unscrewed" and "-re-screwd" all over again and now, this radio is just a great performer. With a good mobile antenna I could contact and listen to very far stations simplex. In my opinion, it's a very good product. Even if it get very hot with full power, it seems that the heat disipation will handle. It's a compromise between size and heat disipation. I keep the TOT (Timer over Talk) always on to avoid talk too much for long time.
AA5CH Rating: 2003-07-26
Crackle/Pop in TX audio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After a few weeks of operation, mine also developed the crackle/popping noise in the transmit audio. It was most noticeable on the high power setting and could be heard in the external speaker. I initially thought it was a poor microphone connection or bad cable.

I'm glad I read the reviews and found out how to fix the problem before shipping it back to Icom for repair. It took all of five minutes to remove the cover, retighten the main circuit board screws, check it, and replace the cover. My 2100H has been used strictly at home and I am concerned that this might be a recurring problem if and when it is placed in mobile service.

It does seem to get very hot when transmitting on high power. A small muffin fan might not be a bad idea if one is making long transmissions on high power. Selecting and unselecting a memory channel to be skipped on scan seems a bit cumbersome.

Otherwise, I have been fairly pleased with the 2100H and since the price was right, I purchased a second one for my wife's vehicle. Now, whether she will let me mount it in her new truck is another matter....

73,
Brad
AA5CH
N1IDU Rating: 2003-06-03
POOF...whats that smell? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Ok, I'm a die hard Icom fan- after about 2 years of flawless service the 2100 blew its finals. I took apart the sav17 module to look for trace cracks and reflowed the final. No luck. Swr was never above 1.5/1, but the rig used to live in my jeep. Well, at least the module is easy to replace and it costs $54. I'm told that the sav17
module is known for failures related to heat build up around the final. Thermal stress causes breaks in the traces. There is a post in the forum
section regarding this problem. Overall, not a bad rig.
KD5TUF Rating: 2003-05-27
Most Excellent Radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I can't imagine a single band moble radio that could be better than this one! I was warned when I got this radio to keep it on high power or it will blow the finals. It gets hot some times, but I keep the pickup COLD!

Jon
KD5TUF
DI7 Rating: 2003-05-10
a must for VHF Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A must for VHF, this radio is so small yet has 55watts of power and a sufficient heat sink.
The reciever side of this radio is the best i have heard yet. out of band operation does not affect performance or reliability.
one little problem is the noise crackle on TX, this can be fixed by loosening and tightening the 3mm screws that hold the board to the chassis. And if it is still there after you have done this do it again, I had to do it 6 times!. And sometimes it comes back on my set but is hardly noticeable, people will only notice it if you tell them about it. The sort of people that would complain about such a problem should not be a HAM!!!

You will not regret this radio!!!!!
an excellent piece of art!!
K2VI Rating: 2003-05-03
great...but... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
this little radio is quite amazing.it detects pl tones quick,it does have a learning curve but once you learn the radio it's real cool.auto power off settings,display green or amber.scan edges,you can operate this radio via the mic.you will need the manual for at least a week to learn most of the neat functions.now the bad news,it gets much more intermod than my old yaesu ft-2500m.it doesnt happen everywhere but on a very few frequencies.i live near two 650 foot towers.like a half a mile away.so if your clear of towers(cell site)you will have a very sensitive radio.for preformance you cant beat that old 2500m.im so so sorry i just sold it to get this one.if you never owned a 2500m and dont live in intermod alley you will love this little radio.73s
W6PMR2 Rating: 2003-05-02
Good choice for the $$ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Very good and reliable radio for the money. Easy to understand and use with good audio and easy to see display.
For around $150 new, you cannot buy a better radio.
Except...if you are one of the people that are paying $200 or more with "Buy-it-now" on E-bay.
There appears to be several folks on the "Bay" that buy them for $150 at most ham stores and then post them for $200+ on the net !!