Question

[KE7MEK]

I'm trying to choose between an Icom 229H or a 2100H. Any suggestions?

Russ KE7MEK

[wb7dmx]

you could flip a coin, heads I win, tails you loose.

[KI4WCA]

I have a 2200h.Love it.I know some guys with the 2100.They hold up well and are excellent.I would get the newer rig , just my opinion.

[ai4ep]

229H....no debate about it.

[KI4RVH]

2100 is a nice radio. I have a friend that has one. It has 15 more watts than the 229 I believe. Both are rated really well on the e-ham product reviews.

73

Chris

[N1BHH]

Buy the 2100. It is modern enough to have PL encode and decode. That's the way to go when you go mobile in unfamiliar territory. You'll be able to access more repeaters because more repeaters are using PL access.

[WD4CHP]

I don't know about the 229H, but I had a 2100h and got rid of it. It is not mobile friendly.

I would look into a multi band or a multi mode rig.

They have more possibilities.

Willis

[K8ERV]

I have 6 2100's. Any questions?

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[KG6YTZ]

My advice would be to compare features and decide which one better meets your needs.

If what you need is plenty of memory, the 2100 beats the britches off the 229 in that category, by a score of 107 to 20. :)

If price is a factor, I suspect that perhaps you could get a used 229 for less than a used 2100, but the 2100 - a discontinued model but still fairly easy to find - only goes for about $130 new. The 2100's replacement, the 2200, is currently available for $140 from Universal Radio after a $20 Icom rebate. Perhaps even lower prices might be found elsewhere.



I'm wondering what WD4CHP means by "not mobile friendly."

[n6yg]

I don't know about the 229H, but I had a 2100h and got rid of it. It is not mobile friendly.

I would look into a multi band or a multi mode rig.

They have more possibilities.

Willis

I'm interested in how you determined that its not mobile friendly? I'm also curious as to what 2 meter mobile you consider to be more user friendly.

Personally I think the 2100H is one of the most mobile friendly rigs I have ever used. The remote control mic is fantastic You can do every thing from the mic without ever having to look down at the rig. In fact once you get used to that mic using anything less is a real disappointment. I used one for years and would buy another in a second. It has just the right mix of features and performance. If you are looking for a great 2 meter rig that's not loaded down with feature bloat, the 2100H is it..

[AG3Y]

I have 6 2100's. Any questions?

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo


Yeah, Tom, I've got a question . . . . WHY ? ? ?

:confused: :p

[k7mh]

Yeah, Tom, I've got a question . . . . WHY ? ? ?

:confused: :p

Maybe he needs five parts radios to keep one working. :eek:

[wa9cwx]

I have had 2 229s and 2 of the dual band similar rig, the 3220....All together operating for about 18 years now, no failures, no problems, ONE memory failure taken care of by a reset.

ALL are excellent.

One was used mobile for 8 years, with zero problems.

Frank

[ai4ep]

Most folks want to put down the 229 becasuse it is over 10-15 years old. If there waas no quality in it ..it would not still be working after such a long period of time.

Will there be any 2100 s in 10 years to prove its quality ? I seriously doubt it.

Folks dont go for quality no more, just for the almighty dollar....same with nearly everything...no one builds any thing to last any more...build it cheap and sell you 2 - 4 of them and maybe one will last long enough for the warranty to go out.

So go ahead and buy a 2100 and when it tears up, remember that ai4ep advised you NOT to do that...go ahead...prove me wrong.

your move.

[WD4CHP]

N6YG

FYI:

On the FCC and QRZ websites, your license expired on 09/02/2007.

[n6yg]

N6YG

FYI:

On the FCC and QRZ websites, your license expired on 09/02/2007.


Are you sure you checked the right call :confused: I renewed it last year.;)

http://www.qrz.com/detail/N6YG

[WD4CHP]

Are you sure you checked the right call :confused: I renewed it last year.;)

http://www.qrz.com/detail/N6YG


Sorry. When I looked up your call, it pointed to K6YG.

I did a copy and paste and the site pointed me to the wrong call???

To answer your quiry.

The mic controls are to small for mobile operation.

Any programing has to be done from the mic. Otherwise it is a pain.

After I dumped the 2100H, I took a Kenwood TM-241a out of retirement and did some minor adjustments to put it on line.

For a multimode, I use an Icom 290H both mobile and fixed. I added a Communications Specialists TE-32 outboard for tone when I need it. I usually keep it for use in the shack.

For off road, I picked up a Rat Shack htx 242 cheap. If it goes under, nothing is really lost.

Hope this helps.

[KG6YTZ]

To answer your quiry.

The mic controls are to small for mobile operation.
If you bought yours a few years ago, you may have had the HM-98 mic, which does indeed have rather small buttons. I'll give you that one. :) Newer models, though, usually come with the HM-133 mic, which is functionally identical but has much larger buttons. The mics are interchangeable between radios; a rig which came with the HM-98 can be upgraded to the HM-133 if you can find one.

Any programing has to be done from the mic. Otherwise it is a pain.
With the software and cable, a complete set of data can be loaded into the radio in just a few seconds. My programming uses virtually all of the available memories , and again I'll agree, I would [I]NOT want to do all that programming by hand. However, I do not routinely need to do any major reprogramming of my 2100's, so making one occasional small change here and there is not a problem.

I can't say that the 2100 is, overall, a particularly difficult rig to operate once it has been programmed to one's satisfaction, and there are ways to expedite that process.

[n6yg]

Sorry. When I looked up your call, it pointed to K6YG.

I did a copy and paste and the site pointed me to the wrong call???

To answer your quiry.

The mic controls are to small for mobile operation.

Any programing has to be done from the mic. Otherwise it is a pain.

After I dumped the 2100H, I took a Kenwood TM-241a out of retirement and did some minor adjustments to put it on line.

For a multimode, I use an Icom 290H both mobile and fixed. I added a Communications Specialists TE-32 outboard for tone when I need it. I usually keep it for use in the shack.

For off road, I picked up a Rat Shack htx 242 cheap. If it goes under, nothing is really lost.

Hope this helps.

I guess it really all boils down to what you get used to or how much time you want to spend learning a rig. It did not take me long to memorize the keypad and get to the point where I could do everything from the mic without ever looking at it. Kind of like touch typing except a lot easer.

I also found using the remote mic much easer and safer then actually having to reach for the physical front panel on the radio which almost always requires taking your eyes of the road. Even if I lost my place on the keypad or forgot where a specific button was I could always bring the mic to eye level and keep one eye on the road.

The 2800H was even better because you could control the volume and squelch from the keypad.

Thats one place I don't think Yaesu has never beaten Icom. I don't recall ever seeing a Yaesu VHF/UHF rig with a remote mic anywhere near as functional. With the Icom I could control the whole rig with the mic and one thumb. To be honest I don't think I ever learned how to navigate the front panel :D

[KG6YTZ]

With the Icom I could control the whole rig with the mic and one thumb. To be honest I don't think I ever learned how to navigate the front panel :D
The one in my kitchen has a Turner +3 connected to it now, so I'm getting to know those six little buttons... :p I do miss that little ENT-#-#-# thing, though. Oh, well. I keep the original mic nearby just in case. [Just in case I have to disconnect the Turner because the battery is on the charger.]

There are VERY few functions on the hand mics which do not have direct equivalents on the front panel, and even when there are no direct equivalents, there are ways to do the same things but with a bit more effort. I have my F1 button [user-programmable] set to MONI/ANM, so I can tap it once to check the reverse or hold it to turn the alpha display on/off [and all of my memories have alpha tags], and my F2 button is set to SET, so I can get into the menus from the mic as well as from the front panel. I rarely ever need to touch the front panel buttons in the mobile... PWR excepted, of course. :D

As far as I can recall, the only hand mic function which has no front-panel equivalent is MUTE, but there IS the VOL knob...

Edited to add: Oh, yeah. The DTMF stuff. Can't do that from the front panel either. :rolleyes:

[WA6MHZ]

one thing to consider is the front end of the rig. Some are so wideband that they are blasted by pagers so badly you can't hear Ham conversations!! That was the case with my Icom IC-2720, the dual band version of that 2100. I don't know about the 229, but I had to buy a DCI intermod filter to make the radio usable at all. Cost me another $200!! So if you are in a high intermod area, that is a consideration.

[k8jd]

I want to buy a wristwatch, should I buy an Elgin or a Bulova ?
First, what do u want to use the rig for, what features do you need and what are your expectations . Do you have experience with this type of radio, mode or band.
The question is too open for resonable answers.

[ai4ep]

just buy yourself a 2200 and get it all over with.

Sheesh.

[KI4RVH]

So go ahead and buy a 2100 and when it tears up, remember that ai4ep advised you NOT to do that...go ahead...prove me wrong.

your move.

Are you giving him advice on a radio or challenging him to a duel? Calm down OM. It'll be ok.

73

Chris

[KC9IUX]

I agree with N6YG all the way.

I've owned a 2100 and a 2200 and both were great to use. Both had the HM 133 which made me never learn how to use the panel buttons, it worked so well.

For mobile, I'd go with a V8000 ( had a couple) just for the front speaker.