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Reviews For: Icom IC-V21AT

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

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-V21AT
Reviews: 4MSRP:
Description:
Dual band HT-the 2/222 version of the W21AT.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0043.3
KE6FEA Rating: 2005-02-27
Great Handheld For The Money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I think this handheld has been given a bad rap. I own two of these units and enjoy using them on a daily basis. They haven't given me any trouble whatsoever. You can pick these units up on Ebay for around $150 to $180 depending upon their condition. These units originally sold for around $600. I have upgraded all my battery packs with 2100mah aa batteries you can find on Ebay. This extends the original battery capacity quite considerably. This unit has enough memories (72) for the average individual to be content with. The unit also has a lot of nice features such as auto power off and on, a clock, auto repeater power level select, 5 levels of output power, power conservation levels (1:4,1:16), use as a small repeater, backlit keypad and a bunch of other nice modern features. I can't believe it was manufactured in 1993 with all these advanced features. There are some drawbacks. I thought that the audio would be terrible due to the small speaker outlet - It has an acceptable audio output surprisingly. I also own a Kenwood TH-F6A so I can compare it with the modern multiband HT. Of course the Kenwood runs circles around the older radio but the Icom really has stood the test of time with all of its advanced design. The TH-F6A usually sells for $250 on Ebay so it is about $100 more. You can't just go out and buy inexpensive AA batteries, except for the small alkaline pack they sell (4cells*1.25v each), to replace the lithium pack which retails for $50 to $60 each. This is a great drawback for the TH-F6A I think. I dont like to get channeled to purchasing someones expensive batteries - think about it. This radio is an overlooked jewel which deserves a better review then most have given it. 73's
KE6TMQ Rating: 2004-07-15
2 meters is great, but 220 is not Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought the V21AT at HRO in 1995, and within a month had taken it back to get it repaired. the 220 side stopped working all together. whe i got it back, it worked for about another month, then never again. I've been using this radio as a 2m only for the last 9 years, and am fairly disappointed in the performance. quite often the 2m VFO will stop working for 10-20 minutes at a time, leaving the radio completely useless. the stock battery went out in about 1999, so ive been using nmh rechargables in a AA pack i way overpayed for...

Not worth the time and investment, and has never worked propoerly.

KE6TMQ

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Earlier 2-star review posted by KE6TMQ on 2004-07-15

I bought the V21AT at HRO in 1995, and within a month had taken it back to get it repaired. the 220 side stopped working all together. whe i got it back, it worked for about another month, then never again. I've been using this radio as a 2m only for the last 9 years, and am fairly disappointed in the performance. quite often the 2m VFO will stop working for 10-20 minutes at a time, leaving the radio completely useless. the stock battery went out in about 1999, so ive been using nmh rechargables in a AA pack i way overpayed for...

Not worth the time and investment, and has never worked propoerly.

KE6TMQ
AD7DB Rating: 2004-06-08
Good if you have small fingers Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this radio new back around 1994. I originally didn't find the small buttons a problem, but I have since developed arthritis and now I can't operate this radio as conveniently.

It allows a wide range of power output levels, going as low as 20 mW or so... and yes, I could hit some repeaters on that if I found a hot spot to stand in! This feature is useful for short range use, like at public service events, and will really help stretch out your hours per charge.

The BNC antenna base tends to come loose over time resulting in intermittent antenna connection. Also, you would do well to get the protective case, or those buttons could eventually wear off.

A rarity, not too many dual band HTs have 2m and 220. You can listen to both bands at once, there are completely separate volume and squelch knobs. There is a keyboard sequence (just like on the W21 and X21 models of this radio) to unlock some extended receive, but all it gave me was 215-230 MHz receive and nothing additional on the 2m side.
NE0P Rating: 2003-08-02
An interesting Dual Bander Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I picked up one of these HTs recently and was pleasantly surprised. This unit really packs alot of features. It is only 1 of 2 dual band HTs that I know of that covers 2 and 222mhz-the other is the Standard C228A. The V21AT features dual receive, crossband repeat, and will also do dual receive in the same band. It is the same size as the Icom 2GXAT which is currently still on the market, and uses a couple of the same battery packs. One nice feature is that the V21AT contains a clock. Wish more HTs did this. It puts out 2 watts with the stock battery, or 5 watts with 12 volts. You can also do full crossband duplex if you have the battery with the built in microphone, but I am not sure why you would want to do this on 2 and 222. I can see doing it on the W21AT using satellites, though.

There are two small downsides to this HT. One is that the audio output is kind of low. Not real band, but not as good as many of the HTs today. Not a problem if you don't operate in a noise environment, or mobile very much. The second downside has to do with receiver coverage. It is pretty limited. I tried to W21AT mods to see if it would open up the receiver some more, but they didn't. Havent been able to find any mods specifically for the V21AT. If you only need 2 and 222 receive, this isn't a problem either.

Overall, a neat way to get on 222 and have 2 meters with it. These HTs seem pretty rare, but do pop up from time to time. You can still find aftermarket batteries very easily, also. If you find one at a decent price, give it a try, you will like it.