I'm disgusted with my radio...

pierre smith · #1 07-15-2008, 08:30 AM

.....since it goes out on me every three months or so...the VAL. I was going to buy an SL40 but a friend says that the Icom A210 is a great, TSO'd radio for half the cost. I want dependability and a rep told me that the Icom is trouble free and very dependable.

What say you guys?

Thanks,

osxuser · #2 07-15-2008, 08:31 AM

I've used a few of them, and the seem to be pretty much as dead simple and reliable as it gets. Mostly used them in ground support vehicles not aircraft, but it's the same radio.

Norman CYYJ · #3 07-15-2008, 08:43 AM

The Val has had a history of problems. The Icom A200 is a great radio. Can't speak for the A210. A200 is probably the best bang for the buck right now. No vox ic or scan so if you don't need that go for it.

John_RV4 · #4 07-15-2008, 08:49 AM

A200 is also cheap. If it were to give trouble, you just throw it away and get another. It doesn't cost enough to get you sucked into that recurring trips to the radio shop syndrome.

That said. Mine has never had a problem in 8 years or so.

John

P.S. If I get to the hangar tonight and my radio doesn't work, Pierre is in a lot of trouble :-).

Aden Rich · #5 07-15-2008, 08:56 AM

I would go with the A210. Not much more money and a lot more functions. The built in intercom and the ability to monitor both freqs is a bonus. I got mine through Pacific Coast Avionics and it was 999 after all of the rebates. Plus, the screen is really easy to read for the more experienced pilots!

frankh · #6 07-15-2008, 09:09 AM

I have 700 hours behind two of them.

400 in my old Zodiac VFR
300 in the RV where I use it as my Com 1...(GNS 430 as com 2..Don't ask..

..)

Apart form the rubber knob covers disintegrating they have both been rock solid reliable.

Frank

67MK Larry · #7 07-15-2008, 09:16 AM

My RV6A is 1994, Builder put A200 in (very low serial number), When I bought it there were 490 hours, now 534. I noticed the demo pilot was turning off squelch to listen to traffic, he said it had been that way since they bought it at 404 hours. I sent radio to icom factory, the reciever side was replaced, new knobs, the bill was right at 200.00, it took two weeks. It works perfectly now, thats 14years, and the aircraft spent many years in Arizona.

Phyrcooler · #8 07-15-2008, 09:47 AM

I understand the Icom A210 is a good radio... however... if I recall from past threads... the "scan" feature is not all it was hoped to be. It doesn't have what is called a priority scan... in that it won't interrupt the secondary channel to return to your primary. Thus you'll miss radio traffic. IE: if you are listening to ATIS on one channel - while monitoring for traffic on your primary... you won't hear anything but the ATIS as long as you have it tuned. So... if my understanding of the previous discussion is true... yes... it does scan... but like an old cheap Bearcat scanner... you just listen to which ever channel it stops on first. This poor design has probably removed it from my choices when I build my plane. I want to be able to bring up the ASOS on the field... WITHOUT missing location calls from the students as I approach my field.

Your needs may differ of course... so this may be a non-issue for you. There are other features that are nicer than the A200... so it may be worth the extra cash... even if the dual scan feature is poorly designed. I'm considering just going with two A200's for complete redundancy despite the weight penalty.

DJ

whifof100ll · #9 07-15-2008, 09:54 AM

I have an SL-30 as #1 and an A210 as #2.

Both are great radios and I would recommend either.

For what it's worth, given my own personal taste, but if I had to do it over again I would spend the extra bucks to install an SL-40 as my number 2. It is more readable in direct sunlight, and the installation is nicer. To remove the A210, you need to pull off the front faceplate, then remove a small flat ribbon style cable, then unscrew the radio. The SL-30 tray is top notch.

I have the A210 on autodim, and in some sunlight conditions, it has been a bit hard to read, even with the max setting. The SL-30 is always clearly visible. This is really a consideration if you have a single radio.

My opinion for what it's worth

rocketbob · #10 07-15-2008, 09:54 AM

When I talked to them at SNF they told me that they were testing a change to the firmware to address the customer complaints regarding the override of the standby monitor when something comes in on the primary frequency. You have to send in the radio to get the firmware update. Not sure if they completed their testing, but I do know they were working on it.