First, let me explain intended use. Portable SOTA in Canadian Rockies, summer and winter.
Build, fit and finish: It fits well in the hand, it's really solid and small(ish). So far takes the abuse of being tossed around while strapped to the outside of a pack. It has suffered a few small drops with no problem or obvious scraps. The BNC connector is great for me as I switch from rubber duck to coax and back a few times per outing. The external mic socket is covered and requires removing a couple of fine screws (Don't try it in the field
) . Using older mic won't work on this, but you can get a waterproof external mic / speaker which for me is worthwhile. Speaking of waterproof-ness, there is a lot of misleading info on the web about that. I held off buying until I confirmed the rating with the dealer. It is rated as "IP54" which is good, but if you remove the external mic cover that rating is gone.
Performance: I got it for the power (Extra High 7 watts) for which with a fresh battery shows just over 8 watts on my meter. Partially used warm battery still shows just under 8 watts. With an aftermarket antenna and tiger tail I have had a 53 signal report with a range of 90Km, With a MFJ Long Ranger that improved to 59. My furthest contact so far was 265 Km with a home-brew EDZ to a mobile. In the cold so far the performance has not dropped off. Coldest to date is -15C, I was able to talk easily to Calgary from the Rockies to the west (mountain top) with rubber duck / tiger tail.
Mods: So far I can not find the Mars Mod (extended frequency) but there is 1 somewhere. The internal layout is similar to the V-80 including the SMT component to be removed but I'm not that handy to solder back on if its the wrong part. From Icom, out of frequency power out is 5 watts, ham band 7 watts. If I man up and do the mod, I will post here.
Final thoughts: Its a good basic powerful 2 metre HT that so far can take my abuse. It is easy to program with the supplied instructions Going from memory channels to simplex input is easy. If I could change 1 thing, bigger off / on button, the current 1 is a pain when wearing gloves.
Build, fit and finish: It fits well in the hand, it's really solid and small(ish). So far takes the abuse of being tossed around while strapped to the outside of a pack. It has suffered a few small drops with no problem or obvious scraps. The BNC connector is great for me as I switch from rubber duck to coax and back a few times per outing. The external mic socket is covered and requires removing a couple of fine screws (Don't try it in the field
) . Using older mic won't work on this, but you can get a waterproof external mic / speaker which for me is worthwhile. Speaking of waterproof-ness, there is a lot of misleading info on the web about that. I held off buying until I confirmed the rating with the dealer. It is rated as "IP54" which is good, but if you remove the external mic cover that rating is gone.Performance: I got it for the power (Extra High 7 watts) for which with a fresh battery shows just over 8 watts on my meter. Partially used warm battery still shows just under 8 watts. With an aftermarket antenna and tiger tail I have had a 53 signal report with a range of 90Km, With a MFJ Long Ranger that improved to 59. My furthest contact so far was 265 Km with a home-brew EDZ to a mobile. In the cold so far the performance has not dropped off. Coldest to date is -15C, I was able to talk easily to Calgary from the Rockies to the west (mountain top) with rubber duck / tiger tail.
Mods: So far I can not find the Mars Mod (extended frequency) but there is 1 somewhere. The internal layout is similar to the V-80 including the SMT component to be removed but I'm not that handy to solder back on if its the wrong part. From Icom, out of frequency power out is 5 watts, ham band 7 watts. If I man up and do the mod, I will post here.
Final thoughts: Its a good basic powerful 2 metre HT that so far can take my abuse. It is easy to program with the supplied instructions Going from memory channels to simplex input is easy. If I could change 1 thing, bigger off / on button, the current 1 is a pain when wearing gloves.
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