Does anyone have any thoughts on Icom IC-V8000 Vs IC-2200H?

26 responses total.

What are yours?

Not much, other than I don't think I'd buy either one of them.

One of them now allows to send GPS data, when connected to an external
GPS unit.  Welcome to what Kenwood was able to do for quite awhile.

The more important thing is to figure out what you're wanting out of
a mobile unit.  (Size, RF TX power, AF power, bands, MARS/CAP mods,
remote front panel, etc...)

Size: small is good, provided the front panel controls aren't too
horribly fiddly.  Power: 10W would probably suffice. I'll probably use
it on a lower power setting most of the time anyway.  Bands: just 2m.
I'd love a 70cm or dual-band, but 2m is inexpensive and there's plenty
of people to talk to there.  I don't need MARS and I don't even know
what CAP is.  A remote front panel would be very nice.

Having had a rig for a while with a remote front panel, I highly 
recommend it.  It really increases your options for doing a neat 
installation.  Most cars these days just don't have a lot of room on or 
under the dash for a radio.  A remote front panel also lets you mount 
the panel up near your line of sight, increasing safety.

If you buy a rig with a remote panel option, buy the remote kit with 
the rig, even if your current installation doesn't require it.  That 
stuff has a way of getting harder to find later.

I'm not sure either of the Icoms that I mentioned have that option,
which is a shame because between the driver and passenger seats is a
well with an armrest for a lid.  I could conceivably fit the radio in
there with heatsink topmost, add an air intake low down at the rear
and a quiet exhaust fan high at the front.  I could probably find room
for a remote front panel somewhere on, or near the dashboard.

From what I'm seeing, with current models, you'll have to go for dual-
band to get the remote heads.  Having the dual-band isn't a bad thing,
in and of itself.

You can also check for used units on eham, ebay, rec.radio.swap, etc...

I don't have the gear to test or repair a modern used radio
transceiver.  Dual band would be nice, but is beyond my budget. Single
band 70cm would be nice, but costs a lot more than 2m and although
70cm would give me access to things like IRLP, I know that there are
people I could talk to on 2m.

I have a dual-band 2m/70cm radio.  I've rarely used the 70cm capability 
since graduating from college.  (W8YY's repeater at Michigan Tech is on 
70cm.)  In fact, I've been thinking about swapping my dual-band 
1/4-wave antenna for my 2m-only 5/8-wave whip, to get more range.  I'm 
not sure how much it'd help around here, though; I think mostly I'm 
just getting "holes" caused by terrain.

I currently use a dual-band whip (Pryme RD-98) on my low power 2m HT.
I bought it with an Icom T7H in mind, but now I'm leaning more toward
a mobile.

A mobile is much more convenient in the car.  You lose a little 
versatility compared to a hand-held, of course.

Certainly lose some portability, but you gain some potential output
power and don't have to do battle with batteries (other than perhaps
the one(s) in your vehicle).

You don't have to battle with batteries in handhelds in cars either. There 
are power adapters available that plug into the auxillary power outlets 
(a.k.a. "lighter outlet").

IIRC, handhelds do not have the transmit power than mobiles do. And
they're easier to steal than a well mounted mobile. 

Both true. They are also not usually connected to a higher gain and more
efficient external antenna in vehicles.

Re #12: Do modern HTs work without a battery installed if you are
  using external DC power?  Would they lose their programming when the
  ignition was turned off?

In my experience even not-so-modern ones work without a battery 
attached, and retain their programming.  (Otherwise they'd lose it 
every time you switched batteries, anyway.)

I just find dealing with an HT in the car to be kind of a pain.  
There's usually no good way to fasten it down, and with power, antenna, 
and mic connectors attached the tail tends to wag the dog.

For a while  I used an HT with external power and antenna in a car. I kept
it in a window-edge cup holder. It worked OK, but was very inconvenient to
select channels or scan. With a mobile you can read what you are doing.

Yes, the external power on my HTs are units that slip in in place of the
battery. 

Whether the portable works without the battery attached is a model-by-
model thing.

Yes, a mobile will give you significantly more power output.  Most
portables will give you upto five watts, when hooked up to 12 volts,
but get really hot that way.  A decent 2m mobile will provide anywhere
between 40W and 75W, depends on the model.

There is the option of hooking up an external amp in the car, AKA a
"brick" amp.  But the cost of this would compare to a good used mobile
radio, maybe even a dual-bander.

I just did a quick check, and Mirage has a dual-band amp that has an
MSRP for $170, and puts out 45W on 2m and 35W on 70cm.  I found some
used dual-band mobiles for a little over $200 on eham.

Five years later and I still don't have a mobile radio. :-(

What is a mobile radio?  Different from portable?

I got a new mobile 2m/70cm - a couple of years ago, but haven't 
installed it yet. Problem is figuuring out how to mount it in my car 
(plus, procrastination).

Sindi, a 2-meter mobile radio refers to a radio amateur radio operating 
in the 2-meter band. Example at http://is.gd/XrzxDB

Andy, would be be interested in my old radio? It should still be good 
(or money back), but only 2-meter.

Re. #20: A mobile is a car-mountable (in this case 2m ham
    band) transceiver.  You may also see handheld
    transceivers (HTs) which have a battery and are limited
    to lower power levels.

Re. #21: I'm interested but I'm also very short of money
    because of Christmas.

Portable ham radio is called mobile?  

Sometimes, but usually radio amateurs refer to radios that ae built into 
vehicles as "mobile' (see http://is.gd/ho8fEX). "Portable" also cover 
radios that can be set up elsewhere outside the vehicle, but if an 
amateur called a built in radio a portable, he or she would not be 
ostracized (too much...).

From http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-glossary

"Mobile device -- A radio transmitting device designed to be mounted in 
a vehicle. A push-to-talk (PTT) switch activates the transmitter."

"Portable device -- A radio transmitting device designed to have a 
transmitting antenna that is generally within 20 centimeters of a human 
body."

(I think the latter is a little too strict, as I have used remote 
antennas on a portable radio, to get more elevation say.)

My Yaesu FT-817 would be considered portable since it has a
self-contained power source, but it uses a remote antenna.

That makes it a mobilable radio. 

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