Icom IC-208H

[KD7HXF]

Thinking of purchasing a IC-208H dual bander for one of my vehicles. I've searched around on here, but have found very little info on it. Not sure if it's just not a popular radio, or people just haven't taken the time to comment on it. Appreciate any comments you all might have on this particular radio.

[kd7wfb]

Hmmm, no responses yet.... I was hoping to see what others say. Anyway, here's my 2 cents worth. I bought a 208H just before Christmas. So far I like it. It's not loaded with extra features, so that keeps the cost down. Programming was easy, compared to my old Yeasu that was a pain. The dealer recommended a similar Kenwood (don't remember the model number), but they were out and weren't expecting any more in the near future. The Icom was comparable but about $20 more, so that's probably why the Kenwoods went first. It doesn't have cross-band capability or dual band simultanious listen, but those features add to the cost of the better radios, and I can live without them.

73
KD7WFB
Bob

[K8OMP]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif One nice radio with a readable manual. I esp. like the extra power on 440 simplex. This radio can be easily mounted just abt. anywhere.I would think this radio should be for everyone esp. with the new mic.3 months so far will report more later 73 4 now/JIMMYK8OMP

[W2NJS]

I've been running a 208H in my 2000 Outback, and more recently in my 2004 Outback, for more than a year and I have absolutely no complaints. #Like all radios these days it pays to learn the routines at home on the desktop before you put the radio in the car. #The program, which came from Icom, is simple and easy to use. #Audio from the receiver is more than adequate, and transmitted audio gets no complaints. #Receiver front end is tight and fairly resistant to IMD, but where I live is an RF-saturated area so I rely on PL and DPL to really keep the receiver quiet. #This radio does both 5 kHz and 15 kHz TX deviation and RX, so when you need a 12.5 kHz split on UHF the audio will be good in both directions. I'm considering getting an additional unit for use in the country where I really do need the relatively high power of this radio (see additional note below). #The HM133 microphone can do almost anything that you can via the front of the radio but the microphone's buttons are on the small side, close together, and not too easy to read, but all you need to know is to use the UP/DOWN buttons and the ENTER/NUMBER/NUMBER/NUMBER buttons which give direct access to any memory channel. Nice feature when you need to go from channel 2 to channel 128!

Icom did this one right, which in my opinion is something they do with consistency.

UPDATE 5/23/04: Bought the second 208. Took the laptop out to the car, copied the program from the "old" radio, then loaded it into the new unit. Time required was 10 minutes!

Tom Donohoe, W2NJS
Washington DC

[VK5MRD]

Before purchasing a dual bander I considered my options from other brands. There are many to choose from but I came back to Icom. Mainly because of quality and by what other hams were saying about this radio and by reading reviews on the 208H. I have had my Icom 208H since February 2006 and i totally love it. It has performed faultlessly. It has very good rx and a very clean tx too. It is a very versatile radio that can be remote mounted just about anywhere. Quite easy to program and navigate. Remote mic HM-133 is fantastic and will do everything you want the radio to do. Manual is clear and set out in an organised fashion. I would highly recomend this radio.

Best 73 de Dave VK5FDMR http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[w6jer]

I have a Icom 208H I love this rig, no flaws. I will buy another for my shack all I need to do is clone the other unit and I ready to roll.

73, Jerry