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Reviews For: Icom IC-T7A & T7H

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-T7A & T7H
Reviews: 107MSRP: 200
Description:
Transmit 144 - 148 MHz and 440-450 MHz
5 watts out of the box with standard battery pack, 6 watts @ 13.5 V DC
Dimensions: 2.3 (W), 4.8 (H), 1.1 (D) inches, 14.3 oz
One-touch band switching - CTCSS tone encode/decode
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001074.5
AI4HO Rating: 2014-02-23
Absolutely a stellar HT! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Wow, wish i still had my T7H by Icom, I lost mine! Don't ask, I don't know, how, when, or where, but I did. I was heart broken when I discovered it was missing. The only thing I do remember was having it out testing a NOS antenna I had for it, I must have set it on the bumper of my truck, and then not realizing I had left it there drove off with it still there..well for a few minutes any way.

What I liked best about this HT was that when you plugged it into a 12 volt power supply, like with the 12 volt power cord/battery charger, you can get 6 watts out with this little HT. OK, 6 watts isn't much, couple the Icom T7H with a decent mobile antenna..something with a little gain, hey, sometimes 6 watts and a mobile antenna was all I needed.

The new T7H Sport or whatever it is called wont do this, only the original T7H will do 6 watts on 12 volts. Yes, there are some HTs that put out 7 or 8 watts, that works too, there was just something about the T7H, it just always worked. I never had a problem, never in the 7 or 8 years I had this HT, I never had a problem with it. It was easy to program by hand, even simpler using the programming cable and software that was available. I don't ever take my laptop any where so having an HT that was easy to program on the fly is a huge thing for me.

I did recently buy my best friends T7H he didn't use it much, and I got it and an extra battery and 2 battery packs for a decent price. I don't think I still have my 12 volt power cable for the T7H, but that is something I can get, unless my friend put his old 12 volt power cord in with the deal.

Yes, the Icom T7H is a stellar rig, has all the features one needs in an HT, without it being overly complicated. The T7H fits this to a T..7H.

73 de Mark
AI4HO
W8BSW Rating: 2013-04-06
Great HT!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my first IC T7H 10 years ago at Fort Wayne Hamfest. Had it for 7 years, left it lay on the seat for twelve hours while at work and came back to find the screen reading "clear". The radio was unresponsive and nothing I did would reset it. I liked it so much, I bought another one 3 years ago and I love it. The receive sounds great and I always get good reports on my transmit audio quality. The radio feels good in my hand and is solid. It's been dropped several times and still going strong. Even with the squelch set on auto and high, it still gets broken by domestic RF sources on some frequencies. All I have to do is touch the antenna and it resumes scanning. The belt clip is metal and is attatched with screws...very durable. The clip gets pretty warm after extended use, but I was told that it also acts as a heatsink so I'm good with that. If anything ever happened to this radio I would definitely buy another one. A great basic dual bander!!
N7OE Rating: 2012-10-14
Still going! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It's been more than ten years since my last review (see page 9 for that one), but I figured I should drop in with an update: The T7H has been my HT for over a decade now and is still solid as a rock. I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of it! Thanks to careful maintenance, the original battery is still somewhat useful, though I often fall back to aftermarket AA battery packs. My original complaint about the squelch still holds: It is quite weak and often breaks for noise from my wireless router and other domestic RF sources even when manually adjusted to the max. Bit annoying, yes! Other than that... it's a well-built, well-sized dual-band HT with all the basic functions, and continues to be all the HT I need.

----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by N7OE on 2002-03-20

While Yaesu seems to be stuck at both ends of the spectrum, Icom has put out a couple of "normal"-sized HTs right in the middle. The T7H is a good fit for my hand, and the buttons are easy to press... yeah can you believe it? Only one button at a time! :) The construction is really solid, not unlike the recent Yaesu/Vertex rigs, but Icom is less into the short-and-fat style that Yaesu favors these days.

The speaker seems good and loud, and audio reports have been good so far too. I only have two complaints:

#1) The lack of manual squelch control can make scanning a pain at times. The one nob on the radio controls audio level and frequency. The squelch is "automatic", but doesn't follow the noise fast enough, in my opinion. Well, they needed something for the MkII version :)
#2) Icom, where do you get off charging $100 for a spare battery? Well, now you know where they get their money for these <$200 HTs: In the accessories. So my advice: Buy the radio from Icom and then start thinking third party! Whew!!

I welcome any questions. My email can be found on QRZ.com.

73-
N7OE
KB4SOG Rating: 2012-07-16
Great little radio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Bought this from the brother of a SK at a hamfest some months back. He didn't know if it worked, had no instructions, and it wasn't charged (but had a wall-wart charger). He was only asking $30 so I figured I'd give it a try. I have to admit, I love this little radio! I replaced the old antenna with a larger one, I'm pretty rural. The radio has a PB-180xh (7.2v, 1000 mAh) battery and the BP-170 AAA pack - it goes forever between charges. The radio is easy to use, sounds good (both receive and transmit). I don't know what these normally sell for, but if I had to replace this one I'd look for another - and would pay the going price. One small note - it takes 28 hours to charge the BP-180xh using the wall-wart through the radio, which is why I'm glad I have the AAA pack!
HK3TKI Rating: 2012-05-12
Excelente Time Owned: more than 12 months.
He tenido tres equipos de estos y si puedo comprare uno mas, transmite con buena potencia, hasta 6 watios cuando lo instalo a la cigarrera del carro, con una antena Maldol y manos libres me permite escuchar y transmitir con reportes de 5.9, además escucho la banda aérea con excelente audio, cuando practico el vuelo en paramotor y ultraliviano me permite transmitir en AM con la torre de control, lo recomiendo para los pilotos y radioaficionados. Tendrán dos radios en uno, banda aérea y radioaficionado. piloto47@hotmail.com
N0IHM Rating: 2012-01-30
Good HT Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a great HT, but, you should unlock the battery before you go to bed. There is a constant drain and it will go dead faster if not disconnected at night. Otherwise, it is a good HT for me. I have listened to the FM ham Sats with it, but need to set the squelch off. Good HT in my opinion.
N3CSA Rating: 2011-10-29
Excellent dual bander Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was my first radio as a new ham. Had one for about 5 years until it wore out. Bought a micro-ht which is nice but I really missed the direct frequency entry and rugged feel of the T7H. So, I bought another one! Very happy with it. It is much better built than my V80 (which isn't a bad rig, but the T7H is heads over heels a better radio IMHO).

If you have one, keep it (or sell it to me :-)
KF7GKZ Rating: 2011-06-07
Solid Performer for a beginner Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
At first had issues with programming, but once I understood how - it was simple to add new freqs in. Got the AA battery pack with rechargeable batteries. Don't TX on it much but it holds a charge for RXing for a couple days. Got the software and cable - made programming easier as I am starting to collect more Frequencies
Not a bad radio for a beginner - Solid and does what I bought it for
W7KFO Rating: 2011-04-23
Great Little Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned this dual bander for nine years and taken it everywhere. It's been dropped, chilled, cooked, etc. and just keeps going. I bought the Icom drop in charger and am currently using a pair of BP-173x NiMH batteries. With the Icom CP-12L car charger and a Pryme speaker-mic this rig also pinch-hits as a 6 watt mobile! I am sorry to see Icom drop it from their line-up since it is soooo easy to field program.

I guess I'm not really surprised at this rig's longevity. I'm still using my Icom IC-2GAT handheld (with a Batteries America AA case and Powerwerx 2.7 AmpHour cells).
VK3AXX Rating: 2011-02-13
Still going strong Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great little performer - Still going strong in 2011. Still utilising the original rechargable battery.