Icom IC-2730A Dual Band VHF/UHF 50W Mobile Radio

I was a little apprehensive when buying this radio because all the features were intimidating to me. Now that I have it installed and working, it’s the beat radio that I have used in my 10 years of using UHF/VHF communications. I love how easy it is to switch frequencies/bands with a single button on the microphone. The booklet looks difficult, but you really only need the first 5-10 pages of the 96 pages! I’m a pilot/escort for oversize transport, and specializing in super loads. I can have two separate frequencies on the same radio and monitor both at once. So when we’re in a turn, I can communicate with my driver while keeping my chase off the channel, then switch back on the open road. The only negative thing I can say about it is it doesn’t come with the faceplate mount. That may be fine to others if they mount the *brick out of the way and put the faceplate on the dash using the (also not included) faceplate mount. The radio has selectable power levels and it is clear as a bell even at a distance. My colleague also has the same radio and we were able to talk 18 miles on flat ground before the signal became scratchy. You can also name each channel, so I put each company on their own separate frequency by name, which makes it easy to set up my truck by the job. It also has a built in cooling fan that cycles on/off as is needed, I highly recommend this radio, just remember a radio is only as good as it’s antenna and power supply.

Youtube @popsinthejungle here. New to HAM. I installed the ICOM IC-2730a in my Jeep Sahara. Easy to install. Tons of videos out there for this radio so if you get stuck, the answers are too your finger tips. Manually programming repeaters is a bit confusing so I watched one of the videos and wrote down the steps abd keep that in my Jeep for future reference. I also installed the Comet 2X4 antenna and am able to clearly hit repeaters well over 40 miles away. Im very happy with this radio. It's worth every penny.

Good, solid unit. Sensitive. Accurate frequency control. Programming worked fine, but took a while to find right method. Good reports on signal and audio with mobile antenna temporarily magnetically attached to metal safe. Large, easy to read display. Bluetooth add-on very useful. Microphone very well planned and helpful. Several choices to reach programmed material, can be a bit confusing. But, lots of good control buttons/knobs. All this said, one of the best and most solid Ham units I have owned in 70 years of Amateur Radio experience!

By far, this is the best mobile amateur radio I have owned. It is well made, operating it is mostly intuitive, compared to similar units and the instruction manual is great! This radio is more expensive than others on the market, but its quality is better than most others on the market. However, I will NOT give it five stars. Like most others who have purchased this radio, I am quite disappointed in the fact that you must purchase an adapter to allow the face plate to attach to the radio body! To add to the disappointment, you must also purchase another adapter to enable the face plate to attach to another flat surface. (Regarding this second adapter, which is metal, I found it comes with two small--but VERY powerful--magnets that are quite brittle and can easily be broken if they slam together from their strong magnetism.) The other glaring omission from the radio package is the mounting bracket that normally accompanies all mobile radios (except, of course this radio!). That, too, must be purchased separately. This bracket and the two adapters can significantly increase the cost of this radio--especially if you purchase "genuine" Icom brackets and adapters. Finally, I would like to point out that the fan on the rear of the radio is quite loud, but it is effective. I would rather have the noise than poor air cooling, though. Because I knew of the additional cost of the brackets and adapters that must be purchased separately, I almost didn't buy this radio. But, after having to return other, cheaper radios (that included all the brackets and adapters in the purchase price) because they experienced operating failures due to poor quality construction, IMO; I finally surrendered and purchased this Icom IC-2730A. Overall, I am pleased with my purchase. I reluctantly recommend it to others and yes, I would buy it again...if I had to.

I use 440 I have a repeater. This is about the best rig I've used 53 years on VHF. I've used converted commercial to ham grade rigs. On simplex I often get very positive audio without asking. Be aware of the seller, I know a ham that had to return his because Icom wouldn't honor the warranty card claims they didn't show the serial number. Amazon took it back no questions.

Outstanding Icom dual bander! Also used for Airband receiver and GMRS use after mars mod. Only complaint which I already knew was that Icom doesn’t include faceplate mounting options included. Those are extra. No big deal, bought a remote head mounting bracket off Amazon.

This is the second IC-2730a I have purchased. The first one was for my car that has almost zero "radio room" and after using it mobile for close to a year, I ordered this 2nd one for use as a base radio and it is now my primary 2m and 70cm base radio. A ham friend that rents from us also has one in his truck and loves it so technically we have 3 of these radios in the household. For the money, you can't beat these radios! I highly recommend ordering a programming cable and using the free "Chirp" software or the free Icom programming software to make programming easier but they are not difficult to program without that. These radios also have a "hidden" but built in "cross-band repeater" function that can be activated by pressing a combination of buttons. There are YouTube videos that walk you through this. Once activated, you can use this radio as a cross-band repeater to extend range of your portable radios! This is a great feature to have in remote areas where a portable radio may not reach a repeater but this 50w mobile can! I highly recommend this radio for both mobile or base use and I will likely be ordering at least 1 more for my wife's car!

Purchase was fulfilled by amazon but sold by gigaparts. Delivery was prompt... no complaints there. Set up in the house for the first month to learn and program the unit. Learning curve is steep for a new Ham, but does everything I’d like. Instructions are decent, and there are a ton of videos out there for additional help. Cross-repeating is not in the instructions and needs to be “turned on” to become accessible... but works like a charm. RX is very clear onsidering the unit’s speaker. The head is detachable, and the mic conveniently plugs into the main unit or face... thus keeping cables reasonable. Only con so far is the fact that no mounting bracket is included. Any of the “Icom” accessories command a huge premium... sometimes easily costing 10%-20% of the unit itself, so keep that in mind when picking your system. Unit is now installed in my jeep via a ram Mount, diamond NMO antenna cable and mount, and a Browning antenna (1/2 wave). At 15w in suburbia, I easily hit my favorite repeater 42 miles away. For road trips, I reprogram via a laptop and $15 generic cable. Truly happy with this unit and will likely pick up another unit for a 2nd vehicle at some point. Watch the prices as they seem to fluctuate about 10-15%. Icom ran rebates in spring for 50 off the 2730A. Good luck and 73.

The eqmt is as good as it says on the tin. The service provider was as good as they normally are.Well done all who were involved.

Excelente para crossband.