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petersb

Well Known Member
Appear to have similar specs, however the Garmin is $600 dollars more expensive. Comments please.

Peter
 
As an owner of an Icom... I have to agree with the above post. The ribbon cable design is horrible if you ask me.
 
jump4way said:
As an owner of an Icom... I have to agree with the above post. The ribbon cable design is horrible if you ask me.
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It cost's around a dollar for a new one. If installed "cold", it has much chance to fail. If it's a half warm atmosphere, then it's no problem at all.

edit: If the $600 is no problem, then go for the SL-40. If not, the Icom will do it's job. I had both units in my plane........along with an audio panel.
 
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petersb said:
Appear to have similar specs, however the Garmin is $600 dollars more expensive. Comments please.

Peter
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Peter

By all means, buy the Icom!
Have I got the deal for you!
I have an A-210 just 3 months old. I could never get it to work right, but don't worry about that because it has been sent back to Icom for servicing!
It can be yours, make me an offer. I don't have it back from Icom service yet, but rest assured it will be available for shipping soon.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=80294
 
Hold on

Like one poster said, if you have an extra $600 dollars to spend on a radio, the garmin is the way to go. I didn't so I bought the 210. As the other posters have said, the ribbon connecting the face to the unit is kind of cheesy, but if your carefull, no prob, plus, there a buck, one measly buck. Do without your mocha this morning and you just bought 4. The dual watch function works pretty good with the updated firmware. I like the remote capabilities as I have PTT, flip flip, memory, and intercom functions on my stick. The unit looks good as well. Just thought that along with all the bad press I should throw a good one out there. I like it.

Randy
 
The Icom radio works just fine. I had issues with it before they fixed the firmware to match the marketing material. It worked fine, just not how they said it would in the adds and brochures. Once they fixed the firmware, it is functionally equivelent to an SL-40.

Some fuss about the ribbon connector but most devices made in the last 20 years have similar ribbons inside them. What makes it different is that you must deal with this connection in order to install and remove the radio from the tray. This creates an opportunity for you to damage the ribbon and cause damage to the unit.

I have installed and removed mine plently of times in all kinds of temperatures and have never damaged the ribbon. I just take care with it and make sure it is plugged in correctly.

I don't care what product you are looking for feedback on, you will find some people that love em, some people that love and hate, and some that hate em. The haters are almost always more vocal than the non haters.

My opinion is that the A-210 is a good radio for the price with the new firmware. The SL-40 is also a good radio but for me it was not worth the difference in price.

Icom has a great reputation for good customer service. I have dealt with them twice. Once to get the firmware updated which they did for free and once to adjust the squelch level which they also did for free. They even paid the shipping back on the first one and both ways on the second. A technician personally called me to discuss my unit when it was on the bench so I do not understand the comments that Icom is hard to deal with on service work. Turnaround time was normal and they have repair stations on both sides of the country.

I don't want to recommend you go either way, what I want is to fill you in on my experience with the A-210 and let you make you own mind up on what to buy.

Good luck on whatever you end up with.
 
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I've had great luck with mine. I sent it in once for a firmware upgrade and the response was quick and inexpensive with good communication.

Guy
 
My 210 has given me no trouble that I didn't bring on myself. l tipped my rain covered canopy open one day before I had the rain skirt installed and dumped water down the backside of the panel... Soaked the iCom right through to the inside. I disassembled it down to the boards, dried it out in a warm room for a week, and put it all back together... It all works fine now.

The ribbon cable is a nuisance, but once you're flying you won't be putting the radio in and out all the time so it's not an issue. The problem with the cable is that over time the metal contacts on the ribbon will wear and some will fold back. If they fold back straight, they'll still work. If they fold back and twist to one side or the other, they can make contact with adjacent traces. On the plus side, all that happens is that your radio won't work. Replace the cable, and everything is fine again.

The $600 in gas money and larger letters on the radio were worth it, IMO.
 
Below is part of a post I had some time ago:

Regarding the radios, feature sets are good in the IC, but long/mid term reliability of them has shown to be lackluster at best when compared to the SL's. The design of it (like the little ribbon cable) lends itself to more trouble than the SL, but if you didn't have to remove the faceplate and the cable to remove the radio (or have to remove the radio ever at all) that wouldn't be an issue.

That being said, the older 200's are still going strong and from a robustness standpoint they seem to be holding up better than the 210's. The 210 can also have an issue where it moves a little bit off frequency in certain ranges sometimes. True that both can and will have a small percentage of lemons out of the box....but overall the SL's just surpass the IC's in that regard.

Anyway, not arguing either way just pointing out what my take on it has been (and we'll gladly sell you either), but the fact remains that the SL's just are a more robust piece of hardware..

Also note those little rubber bands on the Icom knob are easily replaced by some lego tires from your kids toy sets!

Just my 2 cents as usual.

Cheers,
Stein
 
Considering selling my SL40 for an Icom A210

Gents,

I am considering selling my SL40 and replacing it with a Icom A210. The Icom A210 came out three weeks after I purchased my SL40 so I was sort of committed to the Garmin after that. I have "fiddled" with the A210 on display at Airventure and it appears very nice. The display on the A210 is much larger then the SL40 and appears to be easier to read for a pilot with "old man eyes". I wear bi-focals and soon tri-focals so a larger display size would help.

There have been several posting over the years about the ability to read the displays in direct sunlight and was I hoping that with more units in the field there is more user feedback.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
 
Pmerems said:
There have been several posting over the years about the ability to read the displays in direct sunlight and was I hoping that with more units in the field there is more user feedback.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Yes..............in direct sunlight, the 210's display can completely disappear, and then you'll appreciate the SL-40's. On the other hand, I also prefer the 210's larger display over the SL-40's when I can read it..........which is most of the time. It's just bad, when the sunlight is hitting it directly. I had the two units mounted right next to each other. Gives a good comparison.
 
I have never not been able to see my A210's screen.

Sure it does not look like the awesome display of the 327 in the sun but it is definately very readable.

Mine came with an adaptor to allow you to use it in an SL-40 tray. You might be able to borrow one and try it out before you decide to swap em.
 
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Need advice-Opportunity to buy a ICOM A210 at a great price

Gents,

I have been toying with the idea of swapping out my SL-40 for the ICOM A210 due to the larger display size. I came across a great price for a unit (actually 2 units) brand new for $760/ea delivered.

I was going to experiment to see which one I liked best and then sell the one I don't like.

Am wasting my time? Is the SL-40 overall performance superior to the A210. I plan on upgrading the A210 firmware if it isn't current.

I haven't had any problems with my SL-40 since installed about 1.5 yrs ago.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,
 
Pmerems said:
Gents,

I have been toying with the idea of swapping out my SL-40 for the ICOM A210 due to the larger display size. I came across a great price for a unit (actually 2 units) brand new for $760/ea delivered.

I was going to experiment to see which one I liked best and then sell the one I don't like.

Am wasting my time? Is the SL-40 overall performance superior to the A210. I plan on upgrading the A210 firmware if it isn't current.

I haven't had any problems with my SL-40 since installed about 1.5 yrs ago.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

With avionics in general, if you do nothing more than a sidways move and gain nothing, then the rule of "if it ain't broke don't fix it or fiddle with it". Both radios are good units, the Garmin has quite a bit better reliability track record and is a little tighter from an electronic/technical standpoint, but the IC has a few things the SL doesn't. Performance is about the same, but reliability isn't.

In the end, if you're just doing it for nothing more than a display comparison - I'd say don't. But, if you're doing it in order to get a 2nd comm radio then I'd do!

Just my 2 cents as usual.

Cheers,
Stein
 
Pmerems said:
Am wasting my time? Is the SL-40 overall performance superior to the A210.
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Yes and YES.
Haven't head an Icom that sounds better than a Garmin in the air EVER.
The other way around ... all the time.

Don't understand how someone in the radio business for co long can make such a poor sounding radio.
 
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