Thread: Icom uhf

ICOM first
GME second
the rest last in quality

Your right in what you say about the speaker too.
I've had a number of GME's over the years & never had a problem
I've now gone for the ICOM IC440N but I'm yet to install. Picked this model after lots of contemplation

Gary

Originally Posted by Bess

Hi folks, just wondering if anyone here has experience with Icom UHF radios.
Looking at the IC440n, mostly because it has the controls, speaker & mic all on the hand unit & I can hide the transceiver under the dash. The equivalent GME I don't think has the speaker option. I would appreciate your thoughts.
Regards Chris.

I bought the 440N last year sometime - the first of the 80 channel update units. As always a very high quality unit. I have used the 400PROs for years in SES vehicles and Rural Fire Service vehicles and their pedigree is without question IMO.

The biggest selling points for me were the speaker mic/keypad all-in-one and remote mount to save cluttering up my already cluttered dash.

An added advantage of the speaker on the mic is that I can bring it closer to my ear to make it easier for me to hear a conversation as I'm deaf.

It's loaded with features most users won't ever use but if you were travelling with a group and others had the same unit then you could set up the selcall features and use them to good advantage I'd say. There's a couple of quirks that you'll soon get used to with the handset, eg. Volume is selectable with a separate button before the UP/DOWN keys actually change the volume, although IIRC this can be changed from default if you dive into the menu system.

I've teamed this unit up with an RFI whip. Performance is nothing short of expectations but I've not done any testing to quantify my findings compared to other units.

It'd be useful to build up a few comments on this thread as there was a scarcity of info from actual users when I was looking around for one of these last year.

I 'mounted' my remote unit with what I thought was high quality double sided tape to the underside of the driver seat "horizontal cross bars" (look under there and you'll see what I'm on about). It fell off a few weeks later in the heat, and has stayed where it landed on the floor underneath the seat. There is a mounting bracket that looked fairly robust and it could be mounted to the same "rails" under the seat but you'd need to take the seat out. And that isn't that hard to do really. If nothing more it's a chance to give the area a good clean and recoup half the cost of your CB in gold coins...

The speaker mic cradle I have mounted in a moveable fashion with some 3M Dual-Lock tape (think super strong velcro without the fuzzy hook and loop aspect. It's great stuff. Anyway, the cradle has dual-lock on the back of it and then there are a couple of other pieces of this stuff on (1) the passenger side ash tray and (2) the little roof console area that houses the electric sunroof controls in vehicles with it fitted and (3) to the right of the driver's head, above the seat belt, er, thing where the belt roller is.

This allows me to move it around depending on whether I need to hear it or whether it's just stowed and not turned on. the dual-lock is available in clear or black so it can look pretty inconspicuous if you install the clear stuff. There is literally only 2 square cms of this stuff in each of these locations as it is super strong.

Shoot me some specific questions if you like and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

Thanks Gents,
I appreciate your time & thoughts. I tend to procrastinate a bit before I make a purchase & it helps to have a users opinion rather than just hearsay. The Icom can be purchased at a good price at the moment & I think it will fit the bill quite nicely. Once again thank you for your help. Regards Chris.

In contrast to Bell1975's experience, i've come to hate buttons on the mic. i find when you are bouncing around in a 4wd and you grab at the mic you can (and I often do) press a button inadvertently and change something ie channel. It *****s me to no end. i prefer to set and forget on the main unit.

my 2 bobs worth. MLD

Thanks for the input regarding the Icom guys, I haven't used a Uhf with this sort of mike/controller so I hope I get used to it. I purchased one through a dealer in WA as they had a fair price on a unit & aerial package $450.00 delivered. shipped today so I'am hoping to have it by the weekend. Will let you know what I think in the future.
Regards Chris.

MLD, you can lock the key pad on the Icom. I do it all the time to stop the kids from fiddling.

I have had two sets now, the first drowned so do yourself a favour and mount the main part of the unit out of waters way.
I find the Icom is very clear and easy to work. It has a lot of features but the menu sequence makes sense. I too have mounted the hand set on a roof console so I can hear it clear as a bell, and keep it down low if the language is not that great.

Ive all sorts gme,uniden,phillips and more the 2 icoms i have now run rings around the rest you wont go wrong with an icom of any style

I have 2 f221 icom 128 channel mil spec units and i cant fault them

I put a new 440 in the D3 then moved it to the D4 four years later. 6 years of faithful service.