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Reviews For: Icom IC-2200H

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

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Review Summary For : Icom IC-2200H
Reviews: 100MSRP: 230.00
Description:
2 meter mobile.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001004.5
NV1B Rating: 2010-03-12
One of the best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Owned several 2200's over the years, very happy with combination of price, quality of construction (knobs are starting to feel a little cheesy but still better than most other rigs in this class), nice aesthetics and function. Firmware is a little fiddly (programming etc.) but can get used to it. Mike is ugly; I replaced it with Icom HM-103. I still think the IC-2200 is among the best out there in its class. Only thing better IMHO is the Yaesu FT-2500M (discontinued).

SCANNING SPEED: My most recent IC-2200 scans MUCH slower than my previous ones. Anyone else notice this? Is there a firmware or internal/hardware tweak to change the scanning speed? My previous 2200's would scan so fast that I couldn't read the channel names/frequencies during scanning. Not so with my current sample. Looks like it's doing about 3 to 4 channels per second (painfully slow).
N2CYY Rating: 2010-02-18
Solid Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had now for more than a year. Purchased the programming software which makes it very easy to maintain what I want to keep in the memories. Has never let me down and gets out great. I would easily recommend this to any ham looking for a solid, economical, 2 meter mobile. The added power over the average 2m mobile is also an added benefit. A definite keeper.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N2CYY on 2009-01-11

I've had this rig for about 1 1/2 years. It's never let me down. For the money it's hard to beat this as the ideal choice for a rugged, dependable 2m rig. The 65 watt output is nice to be able to fall back on in simplex situations. Nice going ICOM
K6BSO Rating: 2010-01-31
Fine Unit Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The IC-2200H is the only rig I've ever bought new and I've very pleased with it. Not too many bells and whistles but enough to keep me happy. Good receiver, not too much trouble with intermod, and I always get good reports on my transmitted audio. Nicely built, too, it has a good, solid feel to it--no doubt because the case is literally IS solid, a finned hunk of aluminum that serves as a heat sink. As a result, the 2200H does not require a cooling fan.

About the only complaint I might have is that programming the thing manually from the keypad can be a bit daunting. Icom should really include the PC programming software and an interface cable with the radio; programming the radio with the software is a piece of cake and takes care of the only real fault I've been able to find with the radio so far.
KI6NQT Rating: 2010-01-30
Take your time Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
After getting used to the menu's not a problem programming, a couple of beers may help. No problems at all!
VK2KIT Rating: 2009-11-10
Fantastic 2M rig and awsome air RX (if mod done) Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio has the best AM receive performance on the aircraft channels of any Ham radio I have ever owned. With the narrow IF filter engaged on AM, this radio is absolutely outstanding for monitoring local Air traffic. Tests on an IFR comms tester confirm that this is one very sensitive AM receiver.
However, there is one major problem that needs attention. The audio level on AM is about 14dB louder than FM. This is very anoying when you scan both Air and 2m channels. You set the volume control to a comfortable listening level on 2m channels and then get blown out of your home/car when the radio scans to an active air channel. Fortunately, in an effort to protect my own eardrums, I was able to come up with a relatively simple mod that equalizes the received audio levels on AM and FM. After the mod is completed, there is very little, if any difference in volume level between the two modes and monitoring both is a much more pleasent experience. The mod has been posted to Mods.DK and should be available in a day or two hopefully. Go to the IC-2200H section for details.. The IC-2200H is a very good radio. In particular, the ability to select 'narrow' FM for the PMR and air channels is a must with the increasing use of 12.5Khz channel allocations on those 'other' channels that we all like to monitor. My one criticism with this radio (along with many others nowadays) is the lack of any forced air cooling for the heatsink. It really bugs me that manufacturers can claim that a 60watt radio does not require a fan 'due to the large and efficient heatsink'. Do these people really think that a 10% TX duty cycle is the norm for Ham radio operations? When I am talking to someone, I routinely run a 50/50% TX/RX duty cycle. At this rate this radio, along with all the other similar radios get so hot that you could fry an egg on the case. This can't be good for long term reliabilty. Would it be so hard to put one or two little, slow speed fans fans on the back end of the radio to move a little air around without being too obtrusive? Modern mosfet based PA's can produce lots of watts over a huge frequency range, but the trade off is that they are relatively inefficient. At 60watt output, this radio is drawing over 15 Amps from the power supply. With a 13.8V supply, that is around 207 watts of input power. Looking at this another way, the PA is only around 30% efficient and the heatsink therefore has to dissipate the other ~140 watts as heat! At lower power levels, the efficiency level is often even worse. It seems that gone are the days of 60-70% efficient class C amplifiers!!
KD0GIV Rating: 2009-11-09
Good 2m FM radio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
If you don't mind menu's this is a great radio. After reading the manual it programs easy. I've had no problems with this radio.

I use this for a base and it works excellent using a discone with 2dB gain. The squelch/gain knob and s-meter squelch are awesome features. These features make scanning channels or frequencies such a pleasure. The heatsink only gets barely warm for me.

The only thing I wish it had was a front firing speaker. I plan on putting one in my car with an external speaker. Considering the power, features, and price it is an excellent value.
W8NLZ Rating: 2009-11-02
Update & Useful Tip Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Now have 2 years operating two IC-2200Hs, base & mobile rigs. In the plain vanilla world of local 2 meter ops, they have worked (almost) flawlessly. And, yes, they are a pain to program.

Recently, switched my mobile unit off - changed my mind- and quickly turned it back on. Unit went dead and would not respond to on-off button. Finally figured out that internal computer program had glitched and was no longer servicing interrupts. Removed DC power from unit for one minute. Restored and "voila" unit came back to life with all memory intact.

If you just need a good reliable 2 meter transceiver for straightforward local (repeater assisted) communications, hard to beat the quality of this unit for the price.
SQ3HTB Rating: 2009-09-23
Shortcoming Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Everything it is possible beyond worst loudspeaker in history mobile trx. Display is fatal quality, lack of protective eraser (elastic) on plug RJ45. Who in narrow modulation very hard apprehend somebody transmit (be suitable) or who has weakest modulation. Shopping of external loudspeaker is forced. One plus is modulation - prominently good.
FORMER_WN1B_BS Rating: 2009-09-15
Good Value Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Good performer and value for $149. Programming is simple enough if you read the manual. Running through a Larsen NMO150B (5/8) 2m antenna mounted on the top of Silverado cab. Capable of solid contact to the local repeaters at 45+ miles.

It took a bit to distinguish between quickly pressing versus holding the dual function keys (not the rig's fault). Icom answered my 1 email question within 6 hours and sent the $20 rebate check in < 90 days.

It's not quite a 5 but it's not very far from it based on price and performance - call it 4.9. Completely satisfied and would buy another.
KC2TIR Rating: 2009-09-07
Outstanding Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Having owned the IC-2200H for almost two years(bought used at Ham fest) And it's big cousin the IC- 208H new from Gigaparts, Both are outstanding radios. I have read many reviews about the knobs being loose on these radios. Yes it is so but, they may have been designed to take vibration while being used mobile???
The 2200H was used as a base at the QTH with a home made copper J-pole.It will work repeaters over 80 miles from the QTH. It has since been installed in the mobile. It is a keeper. Money well spent ( $125.00)