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Reviews For: Icom IC-3200A

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

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-3200A
Reviews: 16MSRP: $120
Description:
Dual Band Radio 2M~70CM
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00163.9
N4ZTA Rating: 2020-10-25
Old reliable won't die Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had a 3200 since I picked one up at the Stone Mountain, GA hamfest in 2012 for $50. Mine was well kept but not a desk queen. It worked since the day I took it home. From what I can tell, it's never been serviced. Last year I put it on my R8000-B service monitor at work and observed: 24.9w on 2m, 23.3w on 440. RX sensitivity hovered around .18uv on 2, and .16 on 440. Both of these figures are BETTER than factory spec of .20uv. A rig that per the date codes on all the ICs inside were from mid 1985.

A rig that I never did anything to. Heck even the original lithium backup battery is still going strong and appears to be ORIGINAL and has the "old" Icom logo on the sticker with the "#05" (1985?). The radio has some of the best audio I've ever heard on receive and solid audio on transmit. Freq error I measured was less than 20Hz on 2, and 12Hz on 440. A 33 year old radio folks.

No, it doesn't have 1000 memories, alpha tags, CTCSS decode (does have encode) but it also doesn't get intermod, doesn't drift, doesn't have audio issues, and my guess is it will still be going strong another 20 years.

These older Icom rigs really do shine. If you have a chance to score one of these, grab it.
KC4YLV Rating: 2015-11-14
Decent dualbander with some limitations Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Perfectly adequate dual bander with a few limitations. Very low memory count. Squelch pot tends to go intermittent, and it's a fancy toggle push pot, good luck finding a replacement in 2015. Doesn't go below 440 MHz on the US version, so won't work for satellites.

Had 'no output power' which turned out to be, and I've never seen this, a detached center conductor inside the connector on the SO-239 pigtail. Was able to resolder that and it came right back with 40ish watts on 2m and about 35 on 70cm.

Good TX and RX performance, not as hot as my 271A's receiver (which is godlike) but on par with rigs like my Alinco DR600T and IC-28H. Simple radio without crossband, with PL encoder, moderate size. I donated to a new ham stuck on a Baofeng, and hope it serves them well as a stepping stone.

Probably throw 30-50 bucks at one at a hamfest today if you need a simple dual bander to hit a handful of repeaters/simplex.
K1RI Rating: 2014-11-11
Sensitive Squelch Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just picked one up used and rig preforms well however the squelch is very sensitive. There is only one small setting the squelch works and any + or - opens it back up. Anyone else had this problem or ideas how to fix without using a circuit board cleaner?
W7UUU Rating: 2014-07-27
Nice to have a simple radio again! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just acquired a very nice IC-3200A for my wife to use at her desk. I paid $70 for it with the original mic, less bracket - great little dual band radio for the price. The very best part to me is it's super fast and easy to program "on the fly". Unlike my Yaesu radios which pretty much need a computer to program "quick and easy". Audio reports both ways have been excellent.

The only downsides I see are no backlight, it wakes up in VFO mode not channel mode, and has an annoying female voice synth that speaks the frequencies in VFO mode. Might be a jumper that can be changed.

But for the money, you'd be hard pressed to find a better 25w dual band rig.
K5VAH Rating: 2012-07-03
Lamp Replacement? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just purchased a used ic-3200a and the display lamps are out. I have been trying to find info and procedures as to how to replace these but I found nothing so far. I would like to replace them with LED's if possible and I understand that it is not real easy to gain access to the lamps. If anyone has a link or instructions that would be very helpful. I would rather rely on some experience out here instead of digging in blind and possibly destroying something.
VK3KBC Rating: 2010-07-22
Good Transceiver, but has issues Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hi All,

I've had the IC-3200A for about ten years and it's been a great performer over that time.

TX and RX audio are great and the receiver is sensitive and has not had any intermod or pager interference issues. It's only got 10 memories in total so that's a limitation these days with the number of repeaters around.

The 'A' version did not come with CTCSS encode capability in VK. It's not a simple matter of installing a module to enable CTCSS but retrofitting the missing encoder chip, crystal and associated components on the main PCB.

The reason that I've rated it a 3/5 is because there are two annoying things that seem to commonly go wrong with these radios.

The first is that the LCD backlight globes do blow after a while if the radio is used daily and switched off and on repeatedly. I've replaced the set in mine twice. There are three in total and if any one goes, you get a dark spot in that part of the orange LCD.

The major problem that I've had with the radio is that the VHF Hybrid PA module has also blown twice. (The second PA was an equivalent)

The PA is simple to replace but they're not readily available and you need to use an equivalent.

In my opinion, the reason that the PA blows is due to the small heatsink on the back of the radio. I used my radio nightly for lengthy chats on the local 2m net frequency and the heatsink gets quite hot on long overs. This temperature cycling seems to crack the PA substrate causing it to fail. The problem first manifests itself by the PA dropping out intermittently when it warms up and eventually this gets worse until it fails totally.

I don't think it'd be an issue if the radio is used for short overs. A small fan fitted to the rear of the heatsink should resolve the problem and I'll probably get around to doing just that.

I rarely use the UHF mode for long overs and the original UHF PA module is still working fine after all of these years, so it tends to support the temperature cycling theory.

73's from Ben, VK3KBC.



K7LN Rating: 2009-12-25
Nice dual bander Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I first got one of these rigs used, shortly after they came out. I've problably owned it longer than any other radio I've owned. I used it for base operation with an SM-8, and only had to replace one pilot light over the years. It always worked, and has all the basics you need. For the price, it's hard to beat.
RADIOWEENIE Rating: 2007-04-06
Good reliable radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The ICOM 3200A was the primary radio in my Ford Taurus for 7 years and over 1,000,000 km (621,370 statute miles). The secondary radio was an Azden PCS-7500 for 6m. During all that time the IC-3200A was constantly on and was used all over the US and Canada. This means that it was on for about 12,500 hours with no substantial problems. ICOM is the best radio manufacturer in the world, bar none, in my opinion. And the IC-3200A is certainly a notable case in point.
KC9GKH Rating: 2005-11-13
Not a bad shack radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased on ebay a week ago. after playing with it for a few days, I have it set up in my shack with the 10 memories covering the local repeaters I use most.
For other repeaters that I use less frequently, I'll make a cheat-sheet with repeater's frequency/PL tone/ offset info, and tack it up on the wall behind the bench.
Having to set everything manually is a bit of a pain; but for a dual band rig, the price I paid-- $75 including shipping-- far outweighs the minor inconvenience.
KE5ELU Rating: 2005-07-04
Solid performer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased my 3200A off of Ebay. This is an excellant performing radio. I get very good audio reports on both 2M and 440. The draw backs are only 10 memory channels, and you have to use the manual to enter tones. Why they didn't just put the tones in the menu of the radio I don't know but its really not that big a deal. You just have to keep a cheat sheet handy. Other than that, programming the radio is a breeze. Much easier than the newer radios. Only 25 watts of power on high but with the excellant audio, this radio still reaches out there. If you need a second or back up radio, this can be an excellant buy.