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Reviews For: ICOM IC-2820H

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

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Review Summary For : ICOM IC-2820H
Reviews: 48MSRP: 768
Description:
The ICOM IC-2820H 2M/440 dual bander has all the features you would expect and some you would not! You get: separate front panel, wideband receive, 3 power settings, built-in CTCSS decode/encode, selectable amber/green display, PC compatibility and 522 memory channels. V/V and U/U receive is available. The rear panel has two SO-239 antenna jacks to support diversity reception (two antennas required). The diversity function compares the receiving signal strength from two different antennas, ANT1 and ANT2, and automatically selects the strongest signal. This feature is useful when you are listening in a moving vehicle or the transmitting station itself is moving. Diversity receiving is available in 127 MHz, 136 MHz, 146 MHz, 375 MHz, 440 MHz and 500 MHz bands only.

The IC-2820H is D-STAR upgradeable with the optional UT-123 Power output is 50/15/5 watts on 2 meters and 50/15/5 watts on 440 MHz. It is 9600 BPS packet ready too (6 pin DIN). This radio comes with full function backlit HM-133 remote DTMF hand mic, mounting bracket, power cord and spare fuses. Main unit size: 5.9 x 1.65 x 7.4 inches 3.3 Lbs (150x40x188 mm 1.5 kg). Controller size: 5.9 x 2.6 x 1.25 inches 7.4 ounces (150x58x32 mm 210g). This model requires 13.8 VDC at 12 amps. This radio is supplied with the OPC-1663 and OPC-1712 separation cables.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/fm_txvrs/2820.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00483.6
KV4BL Rating: 2009-08-31
Complicated, Expensive, Ripoff Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Icom 2820. How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways:

1) prohibitively expensive for what you get. It at first appears to be a solid dual-bander with bells and whistles that would be desired.

2) besides the outrageous cost of the radio to begin with, then you are saddled with the approximately $300 for the digital module so this radio can be all it can be. D-Star is, in and of itself, a pricey ripoff which is hyped to Hades and back but IMHO, isn't worth a hill of beans. More on that later.

3) the "no transmit bug" which I understand can be remedied by by boxing it up and sending it off for a firmware or software upgrade. More expense, trouble, and time without use of the radio

4)Magnetic attachment on back of control head. While touted and even seen by some as a "plus", it is an annoyance to me when trying to move or adjust the mount that sticks up from my console, having the head pop loose from the mount every time. The 2800's system was so much better.

5) Cross-band repeat requires complicated or expensive mod to enable. Can only be used legally for brief time as Icom didn't see fit to include an automatic CW ID to ID the radio. Way to go Icom!

6) cheaply constructed microphone and cord common to all current production Icom radios. The cord's outer insulation is some kind of cheap plasticized material that doesn't have the resiliency of rubber or like materials used in past applications of this type. The mic's cheap feel and durability are legend. No need for further comment, here.

7) Programming difficulty and complications galore

8) issues previously noted by others regarding too-short control head and microphone cables. For what these things cost, Icom should do far better. This is a gross mistake they repeat on model after model. They should be ashamed!

9) saving best for last, D-STAR sham. I went ahead and purchased the modules for three 2820's, thinking they would be fun to play with should anyone else in the area turn up with them. It was fun communicating with a friend and a close relative who are both hams using this new technology at first. After a few months, another friend turned up with one of the ht's and we were able to communicate on simplex with it, and the novelty was interesting.

After a while, this friend and another decided to go whole hog and add a D-Star repeater to the area at their own expense. This is to their credit and in no way is an indictment against them. Once it was up and running, it was again, a neat novelty and others in the area bought D-Star capable radios and began to partake of the mode. THEN came the "issues". The repeaters were all connected to the dubious D-Star "network".

I cannot for the life of me, see what is so great about it. I hear people on nets and YL's in particular, talking about how "wonderful" D-Star is and how great it is. The D-Star network, as I see it, is overly complicated and complex. If you are a computer geek or enjoy video gaming or such it is probably just great. Otherwise, getting into "The Gateway" consists of jumping through so many hoops that consist of having to go online and register or get permission from this source and that just to connect to it, that I see NO VALUE in it. Before I had again obtained internet from my house, I had friends supposedly "register" me or whatever else was needed to get into this jerkzoid network and assumed that I would be able to. As it is, I can hear "nets" all over the place coming into the local DS repeaters all the time, but they cannot hear me, I am told because I haven't jumped through some hoop or other to get into it, STILL!!!! This is entirely too much DRAMA to use such an expensive piece of gear! I have looked and can find NO STEP BY STEP TUTORIALS, ANYWHERE, that will tell a non-technogeek how to get into the gateway and talk to other repeaters or areas.

It is like buying a computer for the first time and having no knowledge of how it works or how to connect to the internet. There are no real tutorials telling you to "press this button while holding this key down" and turning this knob, or whatever.

I have long thought that connecting computers and radios was an exercise in folly of the worst sort. One thing that has always made Amateur Radio shine when things were bad was its simplicity. Whether CW, SSB, AM, or FM, these modes and a little know how were able to get on the air and work when phone lines, police radio systems, and other things went down and would not work.

DS further complicates the flow of things and muddies the water with unnecessary technical hoopla that, IMHO, has a much enhanced opportunity for FAILURE, when things get really bad. So many want to jump onto this digital bandwagon and praise it as the new way to communicate in disasters. I see it is a new way for disaster comms to fall on their face when things are bad.

While the idea of linking repeaters across the country via internet has appeal and I have enjoyed it, give me IRLP or Echo Link any day over this rubbish!
K7CB Rating: 2009-07-03
I Love It! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my 2820 for over a year now and love it. This is probably one of the best mobiles I've had. That doesn't mean it IS the best...just the best I've ever owned. I agree it is a bit steep for a dual band mobile...but the Icom 7800 is steep for an HF radio but it doesn't keep anyone from buying it. Anyway, I haven't noticed any problems with intermod...but then I don't live in a large city environment and even if I did, other radios have the same problem so this factor wouldn't really be much of a factor for me when deciding on the radio. Others have commented on the audio quality of D-Star. At times, it can be robotic...but it doesn't sound any worse than a APCO-25 system. It's just the nature of digital audio. I do agree with the others that the GPS antenna is kind of useless. You can't mount it outside of the vehicle where it would do the most good. I have mine stuck on the dashboard in the corner and it works well there. One thing I did find though is that it wouldn't provide GPS information if I had my Uniden HR-2510 on. I'm not sure why that is. But the 2510 is no longer in the vehicle so I don't have that problem anymore. The fan is also noisy when it runs. However, my RF deck is mounted in the rear of the vehicle and I don't hear it much. Enough of what I consider to be minor drawbacks. The receive audio is loud and clear. As is my transmitted audio. I like the large display that can show both frequency and tag information at the same time. I also like the magnetic mount for the face plate. I have mine mounted on the center console near my right hand. The magnets are strong, but in an impact I'm sure it would go flying somewhere...but then so a few pieces of my center console since they all snap together anyway. The microphone has a good feel in the hand...although it could stand to be a bit heavier. I believe just about every function on the radio can be controlled from the microphone, although I only use a few of those controls.

Overall, this has been a good radio. I've had it over a year and have not had any problems with it...which is more than I can say for two pieces of Yaesu equipment I owned at one time. Is the 2820 perfect? Certainly not...there is no perfect radio. It depends on preference. And this radio fits my preferences very well.
KE5MOJ Rating: 2009-05-06
Excellent Radio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought this radio with the intention of using it as base station. I have a Icom 2200H in the car, however it did not take long for it to be in the car part time, especially when storm spotting.

The radio will scan both 2 meter and 70 cm frequencies in memory at the same time, while leaving the second display available for skywarn. Trying to work two nets at the same time can be confusing, but worthwhile. Additionally, it can be setup to a single channel.

The radio has worked fine, but is subject to intermod occasionally which really isn't a problem. Adding a second antenna for diversity receive worked out great. However, if you need to add a repeater frequency while mobile, you better park until finished.

The only real problem I have with it is that it cannot hit the same distant repeaters that the IC-2200H transceiver can. As a result, when I need to hit those distant repeaters, I keep the 2200H ready. However if your running around a large city with multiple repeaters it is perfect.
M0ATV Rating: 2009-04-04
Quite impressed Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Ok I know a lot of owners are agreed that the GPS antenna is a bloody awful idea, & I've heard quite a few comment on the bad DV audio quality, but I bought this set in early Dec 2008 to replace my ageing Alinco DR599E.
So not needed the D-Star add ons or GPS I've run it for 4 months now in my car 98% mobile use, the fan noise, I dont really notice it too much & its sat on top of the dash just by my steering wheel, runs very cool compared to my DR599, very well built piece of kit, in my opinion a damned cool good looking set too, I love the dot matrix display & the alpha tagging is spot on, would have prefered a 10w mid power output instead of 15w mainly for linear amps etc, the dtmf mic is a handy tool with the options to change stuff quickly without touching the actual radio, very useful, the RX very good in my opinion, I drive between Liverpool & Manchester (UK) quite a lot & suffer hardly any intermod, also the wide band RX is a good touch & tried the set on 255.550 rx & was blown away how clear the sat comes in when mobile, you know which one i mean!
Anyway, I use a TS-2000x in the shack & love using the 2820 when mobile, am I glad I bought it, a definite yes.
VK3NJP Rating: 2009-03-08
Great radio with a couple of minor quirks Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased this radio new in August 2008 from a local Icom dealer in Melbourne, Australia. I've since purchased another one of these.

I have been generally impressed with the rig apart from a couple of minor quirks. Firstly, the mounting of the remote head uses two magnetic buttons and is supplied with a very basic mounting bracket which is near useless for mounting in a vehicle. I've since fabricated my own bracket for the remote head. I'm still not 100% happy with this arrangement but will have to do for now. The screen can sometimes be hard to see in bright light - it looks a bit washed out at times. I've found using the green backlight colour makes it the easiet to read and red is possibly the worst. Another annoying design fault is that the GPS antenna connector can only be connected when the remote head is separate from the rig - ok when installed in a vehicle but is another problem when used at home.

But the rig runs nice and cool, uses far less current than other mobile rigs with similar RF power and again like most rigs these days, the PC software is a must when programming. A second DV Codec would have been nice.

The radio performs well and isn't bothered too much by nearby pager transmitters. It's a nice radio to use and I reccommend it for first time D-Star users. If Icom could do a better job of the physical design and mounting system, I would then give it a rating of 5.
KF4BEP Rating: 2009-02-28
Poor Quality Product Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
As a Ham who favors Icom products, I am very disappointed with this radio. I purchased the radio with the idea of adding the D-Star module at a later date. Right away I had to return my unit to the repair center because of a defect in the radio's screen. Graciously Icom replaced the defective head module. Now the radio has stopped working all together and I have placed it in a box to return it to a repair center again, and I am not sure I want to put money into a repair. I solved my radio problem with the purchase of a Yaesu FT-8800R, which is a great radio. I will just forgo D-Star capability for the time being.
VE6BGM Rating: 2009-02-10
Is any radio perfect? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well, I'm not going to be very strong on any points. Things I like: mike cord plugs into main body so head has only 1 cord attached to it[most Yaesus require an extension mic cord anyhow or else the mic cord wraps around the steering wheel or almost pulls the head off where it is attached]; because of magnets can attach it to various places, don't have to drill holes in a vehicle, even attaches on top of boxed speakers; very sensitive receive, more so than FT-8900; intermod rejection is similar to FT-8900; mic is very useful; using external Garmin GPS wide radiating antenna so the GPS antenna on the 2820 is attached to the top of the radio [agree this is a mistake by ICOM in not making it weather proof but knew that before purchase]; have never heard the fan even though it is sitting right below my seat [my vehicle isn't a Lexus either]; Multicolour display so meets most peoples needs; wide receive and all bands very good; excellent AF output; good reports on RF audio on FM. This radio has a steep learning curve, but that is what ham radio is all about. I would prefer more than 500 memories, but that is just me. Digital voice doesn't sound real. As others have said, digital voice is either readable or not, so need to have strong signal [not a fault of the radio]. Price is steep but most digital radios are. With cost of the Canadian dollar dropping I see the cost has remained relatively the same as a year ago [in Canada]. This radio may not meet everyones Digital needs, but as an FM wide band receive radio, it comes close. I am not really sure why people buy a radio then give it a 0 out of 5. If they had done some searching before buying a radio, they would know what to expect. I waited a couple of years for this purchase and did it based on doing some searching on eHam, and other web sites. I knew what I was getting.
G8YTZ Rating: 2009-02-10
Clever but Flawed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I’ve only owned this radio for just over a week and I’m not convinced by it. The mistake I made was thinking that it could be used as a base station replacement.

Firstly I talk a little about the D-STAR system. No don’t get me wrong D-STAR is a clever system with many interesting features. A lot of people have put in a lot of work to make the system what it is today. In particular the members of our local repeater group have engineered a fine repeater system and the D-STAR system has a lot of great things going for it. But this system and the repeaters are really for hand-held and perhaps mobile use, there is no point whatsoever using this radio as a base station to chat through repeaters, so I guess this is where I made my mistake.

As an analogue radio is only a very mediocre performer:
• It suffers a little with inter-modulation issues; its fairly difficult to use (making it rather unsuitable for mobile operation).
• The radio’s real Achilles' heel is the fan noise. There is a tiny high-speed fan mounted on the rear heat-sink. The fan is thermostatically controlled on receive but runs continuously at high speed on transmit and for about two minutes after transmit. The noise drives you up the wall! If you mount this thing in the boot of your Lexus I am in no doubt that the racket from the fan will drown out the V8 under the bonnet!
• The price of £540 for a mediocre analogue radio with about £2 worth D-STAR DSP chip is ridiculous, for this money is should have a DSP SSB Tx/Rx, good grief this is roughly the same money as a Yaesu FT-897 which has HF as well!
• The audio quality (Tx & Rx) is awful, what were Icom thinking about?

There are some good points which Icom could build on:
• The ability to program the set from a file on your local repeater site is a real boon, a great time-saver.
• The memory alpha-tags are very useful and there are plenty of memories too.
• The microphone has many useful one-touch features (when you have learnt them all).
• The display is fairly clear, but really should have a modern TFT display or at least white back-light would have been much better.

In summary I made a mistake, anyone want to buy a IC-2820 in as new condition? I’m off to get a multimode VHF/UHF rig, and get myself a D-STAR handheld when the sets are less like bricks and more like mobile phones.
KK8ZZ Rating: 2009-01-24
Intermod - Good Grief Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
It is sad that in these highly tech times that our friend Icom can't design a radio that would be swallowed up by a constant barrage of intermod in urban/suburban areas. Good grief! I sold this turkey before I invested in the expensive D-Star module, thank goodness..
VA3MKS Rating: 2009-01-24
Not so sure about this one. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Good - Display is big and bright.



THE BAD!! GET READY!!

- Only 11ft cable for the remote head. Very hard to install into Mini-van or extended van if radio is mounted in the trunk.

Why would you make a 20 foot GPS cable and a 11 foot Control head cable????? Where's the logic?

-Had to buy some cat5 to extend the MIC aswell.

-Radio should of used wing nuts on the bracket instead of screws for easy mounting and unmounting.

-GPS can't be mounted outside? WTF? Why not make it weather proof? I really dont get this one.

-The owners manual is awful, very bad grammar.

-Magnets to hold the head? WHY? so I can easily remove the head? what about ruggedness?

-It would have been so much better to have the MIC plugged directly into the remote head.