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Reviews For: Icom IC-208H

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

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-208H
Reviews: 137MSRP: 319.95
Description:
2M / 70cm mobile with 55 watt VHF and 50 watt UHF xmtr. CTCSS/DCS encode and decode, tone scan, detachable and remotable control head, 500 ALPHA-NUMERIC memories, etc
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
151374.4
W2AIQ Rating: 2010-11-24
Durability plus Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I gave this radio a 5 of 5 for its apparent durability, i have had it in the pick-up truck for almost 2 years straight now, I live in the northeast (NJ) and the weather goes from ice cold to hell hot in the summer and like the watch this thing has taken a licking and continues ticking.

But besides just durability, this is a performer, it has a pretty tight front end and stable power output not to mention good audio reports, which was confirmed with a family member while I listened to it on an HT....this is just another shining example of the persistent quality Icom seems to put out.
James H. Lincoln Rating: 2010-10-30
Top Shelf Performance! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased the Icom 208H to replace a Yaesu FT-7900 I owned for about one week. I've normally been an Icom man but I thought I'd try a Yaesu. Well, the Yaesu wouldn't make a pimple on the Icom's heat sink!

The IC-208H has superior sensitivity, adjacent channel rejection, audio output and noise reduction, just to name a few advantages over the Yaesu.

I'm very critical of amateur gear and if I wanted to list any negative at all of the IC-208H, it would be that the tuning knob/control is a little loose. I'm just being picky in that regard and there are no other glitches or faults I can find with the rig. As far as ease of programming, the IC-208H is actually very simple if you read the manual. No surprises.

If you are considering a dual band rig and don't need the crossband repeat feature, look no further. I've already put this baby through the ringer for you and I give it a definate "thumbs up".

Hope this review helps you decide what to buy.
AC8JD Rating: 2010-10-15
LOVE IT!!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I absolutely love this radio! So much so I have two of them. One for the car and one for the shack!

In my area there is no DSTAR repeaters. There is one that I would be able to use when I drive closer to its location which is somewhat frequently, but the check-ins on that repeater are only a handful a week. So from the get go I knew a dual bander that did DSTAR was not for me.

The other option in mobile rigs is cross band repeat. Again, not even on my radar.

So for a dual band receiver this is the cats meow to me! It is so simple to use and set up. The head when removed and mounted remotely from the body of the radio is the smallest on the market. iCom's are renown for their audio quality on TX and I have been told many times how the audio I an transmitting sounds great!

In my shack this radio hits repeaters on 5 watts on my J-Pole antenna that my iCom 706MKII could not hit on 20 watts! There are those that say an "all in one rig is going to compramise on something so keep your HF and VHF/UHF rigs seperate". Well... I am now a believer in that.

You cannot go wrong with this rig. I plan on using the one I have in the shack for IRLP and Echolink nodes.
KE5NYS Rating: 2010-09-26
GREAT UNIT & PROGRAM AIDS... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
In my humble East Texas opinion, this is a great unit for the bucks, and is relatively user friendly, with outstanding toll free tech service support if needed. I am using mine as a 2m/440 base unit, and have good performance mated with a Diamond X300A antenna even in my tall piney woods surroundings. Repeaters 50 miles away are no problem (antenna is roof mounted on a short pole). Good user manual plus for easy memory programming a very useful cheat sheet is available at the iCom web site (under Support/Knowledge Base/Amateur/Mobile Dual Band/208H/Memory Programming). If programming in a bunch of repeaters you may also wish to look into RT Systems very affordable 208H software.
KK8ZZ Rating: 2010-05-27
Great Dual Band Mobile Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Bought this ol' gal used a few months ago and have been using it in a fairly high RF/intermod suburban area of Cleveland OH... little problem with intermod, great audio reports from friends on repeaters, amazingly SMALL remote head that found a place on my impossible Toyota Highlander console, Mic is virtually the same as the IC-7000 beside it, so operation takes little thought... love the ability to change colors either for readability or fun... all in all, a great investment.
KF5EYR Rating: 2010-04-24
Excellent Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a very good value for the money spent. It can, on occasion, be found at a discount at several different places. Living in an apartment setting, I wondered how well any radio would do. With the IC-208H, I can consistently hit repeaters 35 to 40 miles away using the Mid power setting. My signal reports are always full quieting. Programming, while somewhat time consuming, is easily done manually. The microphone is somewhat unique. It uses a digital PTT switch that does not work in the conventional manner. Some computer interfaces require a more conventional PTT switch. In my opinion, this is a very good, straightforward radio. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
K9XXX Rating: 2010-03-09
favorable Time Owned: more than 12 months.

I bought a 208H very soon after its intro and I'm quite satisfied with it. I'm not using it right now because like so many of us, I have TMR(too many radios)and no troublesome XYL to stop me.

As for the complaint of jiggly knobs, I have seen transceivers for 40 years(notably Motorola)where the volume and squelch knobs are captured in the housing itself to protect the pots themselves from impact damage. I've made no effort to see if that is so of my 208H. If I don't hear the pots "cutting out" when rotating and jiggling the knobs(I don't)I will have no concerns about that issue.

I share the liking expressed by others for the compact control/display module. If you can't find a place for it you're not looking.

I rate it 4.5 because that's about as good as any gets from me.
GM1FLQ Rating: 2010-03-04
Typical Icom Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Dreadfull plastic shafts, horrible cheap click step rotary control and very iffy performance on receive, especially the poor quality am airband agc characteristics. Then there is the poor quality mic that needs modifying to get near average audio and the well known ptt switch that doesn't last. It amazes me what some people will put up with and excuse (perhaps they just don't know any better) - it sends a green light to manufacturers like Icom to continue producing junk by reducing costs but at the buyers expense.

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Earlier 0-star review posted by GM1FLQ on 2005-01-01

The N3 guy has it spot on, the 5/5 guy well.......wobbly cheap & nasty honky tonk land knobs.......it's neither a decent scanner nor a decent 2m/70cms radio.......I have owned several current Icoms (all gone now !!).......yeah "keep up the good work Icom".........while you are this good I'll continue to look elsewhere for any requirements.
VK3HOT Rating: 2010-03-03
great value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had a 208H for about 4 years, mobile and base and never had an issue with it. Have done the TX mod and use it for 2 and 70 as well as UHF CB here in OZ (at 5 watts) Like the attenuator on squelch, easy to set mems and programming and most of all it seems to be tolerant of higher than average SWR with no power loss. Ok it has wiggly plastic shafts, so what, all the abuse it cops mobile and still have not broken one.
KT4WO Rating: 2010-03-03
A dog?..NOT Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have both the 208H and the FT-7800..both are good radios...the 208 has a better front end and
puts out the power the specs say,,,unlike the 7800 which is 5 to 10 watts less than specs(into dummyload via a bird,daiwa and diamond meters)
Yes...the speaker is not great...its pretty poor.
But usable...so.. the 208 does 55 watts..the 7800 is "maybe" 42 watts.
I have had both radios over 2 years..both without problems. Is the 208 worth the extra money? Yes
The better front end is worth that. Is it perfect?
Nope...but the 7800 ain't either
Ohh yeaaa.. as for the knobs..the last guy must have a 7800 that came from some other planet..cause the knobs are just as loose as the 208.
KT4WO