| OE3JTB |
Rating:  |
2011-10-23 | |
| Very good for mobile operation |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Bought mine used (occassionally) for 240 Euros, 6 months old.
Want to make mobile operation in my holiday car.
Works great RX, TX at the beginning FM modulation was poor, switched to FM-W and it worked fine.
D-STAR operation is very easy and RX better than IC 92 (at the same antenna)
The only con is the fan, at mods.dk, you can fine some modifications, I didnt do that, because in mobile operation, the fan doesnt disturb at all.
Bought a 5 Euro GPS mouse HI-204 III (outdoor model waterresistent) soldered a cable in 10 minutes and voila GPS via DSTAR also works fine.
At this price a very good tranceiver. |
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| WZ3O |
Rating: |
2011-10-07 | |
| Great 2/440 mobile w/single receive & D-STAR to boot... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Analog & DV audio & receive are both excellent.
For D-STAR programming IGNORE the manual for now, unless you want to be really frustrated. 1st find where you put your call sign in the "MY" location (my call) then program a D-STAR repeater just like you would an analog one, use the Mode button to change to DV, set the Freq like analog, and if you're really energetic name the repeaters both Analog & DV. Remember, change MODE back to FM for analog repeater programming, unless you're a masochist & enjoy pain & frustration ...
Got the rig 3 days ago & after a lot of bad words while attempting to digest the manual, I "deciphered" the above simplicity.Get on D-STAR enjoy, then dig into the depths of the manual for multitude of D-STAR features.
So, after just 3 days, I'm having fun & "ignoring" the manual, for now. Want a Dual Band single receive mobile with many "bells & whistles" w/D-STAR to boot,for a "reasonable" price go for it!!!
Glad I did.... XYL actually bought the "I sent a rig out for repair & UPS will be dropping it off today..." line or is at least allowing me to believe she did... |
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| KD5KIZ |
Rating: |
2011-08-19 | |
| Great Audio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Only 3 days experience, learing to program the rig and learning the menu system. Maybe Icom has changed something in the 880's audio circuit. I bought the radio for D-STAR, but FM is getting good audio reports. |
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| KI6ADA |
Rating: |
2011-03-12 | |
| First time D-Star user |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this radio for D-Star use only. I have a FM 2 meter box for the car and a 2 meter HT. I am really having fun with D-Star. The ID-880H offers more features than any FM only rig. The instruction manual is a bit complicated. It does not make it simple for the casual "ham". I finally purchased the programing cable and downloaded the free software from Icom. My radio is now beaming and all I have to do is turn it on, go to memory mode and push the scan button. What I think is cool? I can scan my local repeaters and the 2 local D-Star repeaters at the same time.
I will update my review in the near future. If you are curious about D-Star join one of the D-Star groups or go to the D-Star web site. |
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| KJ3P |
Rating: |
2011-03-10 | |
| D-Star OK; FM Audio Horrible |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is a fine D-Star radio, well-built, good menu structure. But for standard FM use, it's a disaster.
I've favored ICOM radios since the 70's (XTAL 2-meter xcvr!), but I'm extremely disappointed in ICOM for selling a radio with TX audio like this. As others have commented, it appears that ICOM "adjusted" the audio for D-Star requirements, and to heck with FM. Actually, the 880 sounds just fine for D-Star purposes.
When directly compared to a recent vintage ICOM (2200H), the 880's transmitted audio is distorted with nasty clipped sibilance, and no low end whatsoever. I made a recording of the 880 with all the MIC setting variations, then recorded the 2200. When played back one after the other, no sane person would choose the 880 TX audio. Yes, I also tried two other ICOM mics, with the same result. I then compared the audio with the ICOM 91AD D-Star HT...the HT won the FM TX audio contest hands down.
I was so concerned with this problem that I returned the radio for ICOM warranty repair, with a detailed description (as above). It came back: no problem found.
The cooling fan circuit is also poorly designed and very loud. Unless you plan to bury the main unit under a car seat, prepare to be greatly annoyed. The fan even occasionally comes on in a 75-degree room with the rig receiving only.
I guess I'll keep this radio for D-Star use, but it sounds too embarrassingly bad to use for normal FM work.
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|
| PD1ABK |
Rating: |
2011-02-07 | |
| Something different |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Recently bought the E880. At first it's a little different from the usual fm rigs but after reading the manual programming can be done in minutes. Clear and good audio. No interference.
D star operation requires some more work. Strongly advise to use the software and programming cable to have control over your settings.
The manual (mainly referring to the Japanese Dstar) lacks good info about the European D star system so some settings have to be found on the internet.
The only minus is the loud fan on the back. But when separated from the controlunit it can be overcome.
Compared to the 2820 it's a more "up to date" rig but only one vfo.
It's a nice rig especially the clear controlpanel. It will be a keeper.
Bram PD1ABK |
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| G1VTP |
Rating: |
2010-09-14 | |
| Wonderful |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have a very severe high frequency hearing loss and have not been able to have a conversation on air for a few years. I combatted this by using psk31, which is great. But I've just moved to a new apartment and no aerials, I tried a wire around the bedroom and managed a few contacts around Europe, but only by using very high power, not what PSK31 is about. I installed a Diamond X50 on an inside wall and was able to access the local repeaters on 2mtrs/70cm up to 60mls away, Then heard about the new D-Star only 4mls away, I read up a bit and found that D-Star does data, so i bought the ID-E880. After a full day reading the manual (its complicated) I programmed the local repeaters, then the D-Star repeater GB7NM, to say I was stunned is an understatement, here was a mobile coming through crystal clear,no hash for the first time in years i was able to have a conversation on air, and hear This radio has given me back the enthusiasm, I'm a born again HAM. Thank you ICOM for the ID-E880 AND D-Star.
The radio is well made, good solid feel, audio reports have been good, and others have shown an interest when I told them what i was using,I like the way call signs are displayed, always found it annoying hams who give their call signs at a 1,000mph. All in all this is a very good radio |
|
| N0PWZ |
Rating: |
2010-03-11 | |
| Very Different System |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
This is a very different kind of radio. It's not for the standard repeater card that just want to their radio on a freq and forget about it. It's comparatively complex. It can do lots of neat stuff, like APRS. It does digital quite well, but it ain't as good as a standard FM box. The digital mode is quite intriguing and I'm still working with that. With the proper software this system is a nice data transmission system, when coupled with a Dstar repeater. The repeaters are probably more important to the operation than this box is. Still, you're operating a very complex system in my estimation, and with that complexity comes capability if you want to invest a bit of time in learning what it's capable of. All things considered this is more of a communication system than an FM radio is based on its diverse capabilities.
If you actually like learning, this radio is going to benefit you. If you don't want to crack the manual, you are going to be frustrated with this particular box. The same goes for Dstar in general. When you've done a bit of study, this system starts to grow on you since it has a number of features that are built in. I think the 880 is a great radio, though the digital sound will never beat a standard FM transceiver. It's just the nature of the medium. |
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| N3SPW |
Rating: |
2010-03-09 | |
| A great radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| This is a great rig. I ordered one for the shack and a few days later ordered a second one for the car. This is the first Icom UHF/VHF rig I have owned and it programs very differently than the Yaesu radios. After struggling with it for a while, I bought the programming cable and had it set up in about 20 minutes. Some have said the audio is low on these radios.... the first question should be "did you read page 127 of manual where it explains how to adjust the mic sensitivity level?" I'd guess they did not change it from the factory-default "low" setting. They also comment about the fan noise.... compared to the Yaesu FT-7800 rig I had, it's slightly louder, but not much. |
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| WB8NUT |
Rating: |
2010-02-17 | |
| Better Than Expected |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I read the reports about transmit audio lacking bass response and it had me a bit concerned when I placed the order. However I asked about 20 different hams for an audio report and all said it sounds great. I also asked them if it had enough lows or bass to the audio and all said yes. So at least this radio I have sounds great. I do agree the fan is noisy. However everything else is working wonderful. The menu system is very intuitive and easy to learn. It's great for D-Star and getting the software for free made the purchase very easy. The memory system is also set up very well with being able to segregate the memories into banks. Also the radio scans VERY fast which is a real plus. Icom has a winner here and anyone who wants to get into the incredible world of D-Star and still use conventional FM will appreciate the pricing on this radio. I was able to get mine for $479. |
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