| WC4V |
Rating:  |
2003-01-28 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I was looking for a VHF/UHF radio for the shack that was truly dual band receive. (Previously spoiled by a Kenwood 742A.) Looked at the Yaesu FT7100 until I read the reviews on EHAM.NET. Got the 2720 and have enjoyed it ever since. Likes: Great display, mic., scan speed, receive audio (helped by a pair of Micor speakers), programming software, selectable and storable power level for each freq in memory. Dislikes: setup methods, either by radio panel or mic, manual. Having been thru the 742A and the FT-530, the 2720 has its own quirks. Would have been easier had the manual been written better. I am in process of re-writing it. I will admit the 2720 is slightly easier than the 742A (my vote for the alltime three handed radio). |
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| KD4JAZ |
Rating: |
2003-01-21 | |
| Very Good Radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Fantastic radio, only complaint is programming is alittle difficult. I'm looking for the pinout for the programming cable. Great audio reports and great receiving audio |
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| G0DBI |
Rating: |
2003-01-06 | |
| Yes, its the mic |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Further to my earlier review, I did some comparisons between the stock microphone and the one that came with my IC756. Reports indicate that the 756 mic gives a bit more bass in the transmitted audio.
On reflection, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the audio from the standard mic, given that this is a mobile transceiver, but there are no controls that allow you to tailor it. If it had those, I would give it a 5.
One other thought - the fan could do with being a bit quieter. Again, in a mobile installation this would not be a problem, but in my shack it is annoying.
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Earlier 4-star review posted by G0DBI on 2003-01-03
I would have given this a 5, apart from a complaint that I have about the transmitted audio. I have had a number of reports of too much treble in the audio, expressed variously as 'a bit thin', 'tinny', 'a bit toppy but very clear', 'splitchy, over-emphasising sibilants' and 'there is virtually no bass in your audio, nothing below 500Hz'. That last comment was from an audio engineer who is probably the most critical amateur I know when it comes to this kind of thing, and who likes a very full, rich sound, but still, several unsolicited reports telling me essentially the same thing - they can't all be wrong... BTW, this was with mic gain switched to the high setting and deviation on full.
Anyway, the chances are that this is intentional. After all, it is a mobile transceiver and road noise is full of bass, and I imagine that the filtering is done in the microphone. I thought that a bit more capacitance across the mic element might help but, surprise, surprise, no schematic in the manual, so I took the back off the mic and had a look. Found a PCB full of surface mounted components. Can't tell a capacitor from a resistor. Oh well. I am going to make a converter to use the mic from my IC756 and see whether that makes a difference, but this is a little disappointing for a £350 (UK price - that's $US 525) radio. |
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| W6TCP |
Rating: |
2003-01-03 | |
| Nice one Icom... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Unable to add anything further to the other excellent reviews... I am very pleased with my 2720. An excellent preformer all round (unlike FT-7100 piece of crap I used to have)
Well done Icom....!!! |
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| VE3NEC |
Rating: |
2002-12-27 | |
| Poor documentation |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I may be unfair here in my evaluation of this radio; I'm using the IC-2350 (Great radio - gone into history) as a baseline.
As an older Amateur (52), I found the stock mike a real pain if one accidentally bumped a button while mobile; so for a hundred dollars more, I got a "simple" mobile mike IC-118TN -so far, so good.
But programming of the memory and its structure has caused countless hours of frustration - probably because I'm using the older radio (2350) as a baseline as to how it should work.
There must be a subtil key point that I'm missing here, and the documentation is anything but clear on this issue.
vy 73 de John VE3NEC
905-873-8715
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| KZ1Z |
Rating: |
2002-12-25 | |
| Love it |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| After nearly 6 months of advertising, a long wait, the rig finally became available. It was worth the wait. The rig is easy to operate from the vehicle. For programming the computer interface is worth the extra money. The locals give the rig high marks for its audio on transmit and it sounds good too. The microphone is very light weight and full featured. The only two suggestions I have to offer for the future, consider alpha-mumeric labeling in addition to the frequency read-out, as there are so many memory channels. Two, the display can be difficult to read from an angle. |
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| KD5RUS |
Rating: |
2002-12-15 | |
| Very Good Radio...So Far |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Because it took so long for this rig to hit the streets, I ended up buying the new Yaesu FT-8900R Quad-Band radio first. That rig is pretty sharp overall, although I have some minor gripes about it (please see my "get aquainted" review on that rig). I expect to keep it, and I hope it'll hold up for the long haul.
However, it was before the FT-8900R was even advertized that I was first made aware of the new ICOM IC-2720H box (and yes, I can call them boxes if I like). After ICOM announced in May's QST, this radio dropped off the map. Because it wasn't yet blessed by the F.C.C., no one had them to ship. Eventually, ads for the rig disappeared too, leading me (a new ham) to wonder if something disasterous had happened to this thing on the way out the factory door...
Since this is the rig I initally developed watery chops for, I went ahead and bought a copy, even though I already had the Yaesu.
First thing outta the cardboard I ran into was the whispered CPU "reset" procedure. Like any reasonable ham, I was anxious to get on the air ASAP, and so gave the manual only a cursory review. Setting up for repeaters is not complex once you've learned to do this with other boxes, and the ICOM was about as easy as any other box I've used. In fact, you can set up all of the important stuff from the microphone (which works and feels pretty good in my hand). One simply selects which half of the radio's duplicate sides one wants to work with, and you can then set all of the necessities. Once you're satisfied you've gotten a repeater's particulars zeroed in (frequencies, CTCSS (encode only or encode/decode), power, for example), you can then apply this same data to each memory channel, one repeater after another. What could be simpler?
It is true that while ICOM mysteriously forgot to provide for alpha-numeric characters I could have used to help tag/manage the 200+ channel memory, it's not a very great loss. Even though all of the 40+ repeaters I use have call signs, I rarely care what they are. In my case the frequencies (especially the fractional part) are what most often separates one from another in QSO's. Besides, until rig manufacturers start using dot-matix sytle displays, the alpha characters made with segmented digits look like hell anyway.
Speaking of displays (a really big deal with this ham), I'd call the IC-2720H's display o.k., but not great. I, for one, didn't need 2 colors. I needed one great display in one color: bright amber or red. These colors are easiest on the eyes, in my opinion, and the IC-2720H's amber color is weak. In fact, I swear I still see a tinge of the siamese-twin color (limeade green) bleeding into the amber. I might be a little picky here, but as I said, to me a display matters. They are (in my opinion) at least as important as the transmitter's output. Yes, I know, I said that. What's more, I mean it. After all, what the hell else do you spend most of your time looking at while hamming it up in the shack?
I'd like manufacturers like ICOM to listen up: spend top dollar on the design and development of your displays if you expect me to spend my top dollar on your boxes. Want examples of the kind of displays I'm talking about? Take a look at even a low-end display on a mobile CD changer/boombox. Now...those are displays!
I sure hope manufacturers actually read these reviews, lay egos aside, and take heed of the comments. Engineering know-how only goes so far in designing super boxes. Customer input carefully and respectfully considered (and then actually implemented) will mean the difference between leadership in the market, and an also-ran or once-was.
Once I found out about the CPU reset (and why this was deemed necessary is frankly, bizzare) and followed the directions, my signal reports went from "I would take that thing back to the store" to "now...you sound pretty solid". If the high setting on the microphone is necessary for clear modulation, what the devil is the low setting for?
I like the solid, die-cast case of the main unit, and the remotely mounted head appears to be pretty tight too. Stays real cool. I love the fact that the system included the detachable head cable. That should be standard equipment on all mobile radios. Just as with cordless telephones, you get a remote handset cradle whether you will use it or not. The remote head cable on moblie radios should follow the same logic.
Like the Yaesu's fan, when you transmit, it runs. It is a little noiser than the FT-8900R's whizzer, but as I said in that box's review, I don't care. Keeping these complex, microelectronic jewels cool is a higher priority than is dead silence when I'm on the air.
On occasion, the opposite band's receive isn't squelched quickly enough to be completely masked during a transmit on the other side. The Yaesu seems much better (faster) than the IC-2720H. For these dual/multi-band rigs, this is an important feature. Perhaps I need to make an adjustment, but according to the manual, this is a binary function: you either enable or disable the feature. There's really nothing to adjust. When I'm scanning all of my local repeaters for activity on one half of a box, I want that side to shut up immediately anytime I transmit on the other side. The slight lag on the ICOM bugs me a little.
One reason I think a lot of hams put off reading the manuals that accompany their gear is the lousy way in which these materials read. Listen up asian manufacturers: hire American technical writers to write your manuals! It is painfully obvious your english needs work, especially in the printed form. This is not racist jingoism, it's good business practice. It is also common sense...
For the time being I'm bouncing back and forth between both the Yaesu FT-8900R and this new box from ICOM. I'm also hard at work on preparing for my upcoming element's 1 and 4 exams in March, 2003. Later in the new year, I expect to have a more detailed opinion on both of these radios. I'll also be chirping about either the Kenwood TS-570D/S or the new Yaesu FT-897 HF rigs, because by then, I want to be fully licensed to run those machines. Hell, if I manage to get through BOTH elements 1 and 4, I might just buy both boxes!
73 |
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| N3MTI |
Rating: |
2002-12-11 | |
| Great Radio & Price |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have just installed my new IC-2720, and have found it to be better than what I thought. I live in the Metro D.C. area, where with all those "Agencies" the intermod is everywhere. So far, however, the rig has performed nicely. I would like to try any modifications available, and would ask for any if they are available. You can contact me at jcanovas@earthdata.com..... Thanks |
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| KB7ZFB |
Rating: |
2002-12-02 | |
| Not bad |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have to admit I didn't think I'd wind up with a new rig, but one popped up on eBay a week after they went on sale, and I won it!
I was just getting used to Icom with a 2710, and my Yaesu FT8100 was just too flaky!
My only complaint is the faceplate mounting. I spent some time but only found one location in my Honda Civic, and I needed to reshape the faceplate bracket to use it. Why Icom only allows it to be perpendicular to the mounting surface is beyond me - then you have to mount the face to the bracket before mounting it, and the cables stick out like ears on the sides. (OK, the mic could be connected directly to the rig)
As for alpha tags for the memories, I have only seen one rig that did this right - the Icom 706. You could read the tag and freq. at the same time, and could store enough characters to form a meaningful display. My first rig, a Yaesu FT-2400, only stored 5 characters - not even enough for many callsigns. I don't see how they could do it without going to a matrix display, or losing the big frequency readout. The memory bank feature is
Performance receive-wise is great compared to my Yaesu - I really like the attenuator on the squelch control. My only gripe here is that a center detent would be nice to find the start point of attenuation.
All my complaints are minor - this is a nice rig. |
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| W4RP |
Rating: |
2002-12-01 | |
| Great radio but where is the alpha display? |
Time Owned: N.A. |
I bought 2 2720Hs a few weeks ago. I installed one it the shack to get used to it before my big thanksgiving trip up to NC. First problem -- bad audio reports -- answer: default mic volume is low and the menu to 'fix' it is not obvious -- it is in the power on startup menu -- in the book, yes, but ... took me a while.
After 3 weeks, I installed the other into my truck (toyota seqouia) -- pretty much using the wiring I put in for the Yeasu 7100 (which stayed in the truck only a week before I yanked it out).
Installed it sunday, drove around town all day doing this and that -- radio worked great -- went to turn it OFF - and got a terrible audio feedback type screech that would not go away until i pulled the power cable. Turn it back on, it works fine -- turned off -- SCREEEECH.
weirdest thing I have ever seen - a radio that works fine turned on, but problems when turned off -- took it back in the shack, swapped heads, full reset, etc.. anytime the power cable is connected it SCREEECHED until I turned it on.
wierd
Back to AES and they swapped it out. Installed it, and next day on the way to NC and back.
Intermod? what intermod? best 'noise free' radio I have used so far -- equal to the kenwoods (TMV7 and G707) both of which I still have, but use in the shack.
The panel layout is perfect -- left and right radios have left and right controls -- good intuitive feel you can reach over and adjust without looking.
Nice display -- BUT NO ALPHA -- I mean, 212 memories, and NO way to identify them? My memory is not that good.
When I took the screecher back to AES for replacement, I bought the progamming software ($35). I firmly believe this is a rippoff -- modern radios are all programmable, and the software to do it is part of the radio - NOT an expensive add-on. Kenwood does it right with the V7 and G707 -- they give it away free. But I had to have the software, it is the only way to really manage any modern radio with that many memories and options for each memory channel.
The programming CABLE has to be bought seperately too -- $45!!!! no way! I used an old converter I built for the R7000 -- it uses a Maxim 232 and works fine for the 2720H -- other circuits are on the net that show discrete transistors that 'steal' power from the rs-232 which is nicer than my MAX232 solution that requires 12 volts, but either gets the job done.
The software is nice -- much easier to use than the free kenwood stuff.
Overall I would rate this a 5 except that I just can't without an alpha display -- this is a real throwback that hurts -- the V7,G707, yeasu 7100 and the icom ICW32A all have alpha displays as well as my two bearcat scanners (45 and 785) -- how can a radio be sold today (with 212 memories) and no display to help you know what memory is what?
other than that, it would have earned its 5 by its superb layout, control, receiver, and mic control.
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Earlier 3-star review posted by W4RP on 2002-11-16
I am 'bench testing' it -- i.e. using it in the shack until i get familier with it before putting it in the truck.
I bought two of them -- at first I thought they were both bad -- no audio -- until I RTFMd and found the factory default on the power on settings have the mic gain set to "LOW" .
I know it is real soon to ask but -- anyone know where the MARS/CAP mods are?
cheers
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