IC-R5 - Honest Opinions

[ImTheWeasel]

Ok.

I'm looking to get an ICOM R5 as the only city near me with trunking is Tulsa thats really worth listening to. I don't see the small town i live in going 800 anytime soon. So what is everyones opinion on this little radio?

I'd really like the communities opinion because ive read good things and bad things.

Im also looking into potentionally getting the Alinco DJ-X7T. It doesn't have CTCSS/DCS decode however.

Is this really a necessary feature of conventional listening?

Im mainly interested in my local PD & Fire, and AM Aircraft on occasion.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[oregontreehugger]

I had an R5 a couple of years ago... it's a great little radio. The front end (intermod) was practically bullet-proof for me, the reception is good, the audio not bad at all for the size, and of course it's small and runs on 2x AA batteries. It does CTCSS/DCS as well as alpha tags.

The only downside is programming. It's a real bear to program from the keypad. If you have the OPC-478 programming cable from Icom, combine it with the great "tk5" software from Bob Parnass. By using MS Excel you can create data files to your heart's content.

http://parnass.com/tk5/

Also, there is no "NFM" mode for narrowband frequencies coming into use. And a few extra portions of the 800 MHz band were blocked.

If I had it to do over again, I would have kept my R5. The Uniden BR330T looks like about the closest competitor, but runs $50-$80 more (but has trunking, instant CTCSS/DCS decode, etc.). Icom is offering a $10 coupon right now, making the R5 roughly $189.00 from most places.

 

[ImTheWeasel]

Hrm.. I have been looking at the 330T....

As for the alinco i mentioned, forget it. I found out the lithium-ion battery lasts maybe 6 hours before you have to charge it, and the audio is extremely poor.


So. What would those of you here recommend thats in the $200 Range??

Thanks again!

 

[richster]

I would go with the 330T myself, even though I own an Icom R5.

* The 330T has continuous coverage (minus cell), just like the R5.
* The 330T is easier to program and has more memory.
* The 330T has fast CTCSS/DCS decode, where the R5 does decode but it is not fast at all.
* The 330T has the ability to trunk track, where as the R5 does not.
* The 330T comes with cables and software, with the R5 all of this is extra and it's not cheap.
* The R5 does have alphatags, but it's only 6 characters, where the 330T has 16.
* With the R5 you cannot link banks together to scan. It's either ALL or ONE. So if you have created 10 seperate banks, you can scan all of them at once or only one at a time. You cannot pick and choose.

The only 2 things I can say the R5 beats the 330T out on, is it's size and sensitivity. IMHO the 330T's advantages outweigh the R5's.

Regards,
Richster.

 

[MarkWestin]

I have both the IC-R5 and the BR330T. The R5 is very difficult to program and the selectivity is rather poor. The only way to make it more useful is to use all the PL tones that are in use, or the channel will pick up noise. The R5 is sensitive, but not as a scanner. If you monitor a single frequency it works quite well. Its best features are its small size and that it runs on two AA batteries. The Icom programming software, CS-R5, is very annoying in that you can't cut and paste anything into the program (like from a spreadsheet). You can cut and paste within the program, but not into the program. Icom blocks out quite a few frequencies in their quest to make the IC-R5 meet the Cell Block specification. Most other companies use more filtering and allow more frequencies.

I would recommend the BR330T over the IC-R5 or any of the current Radio Shack scanners like the PRO-95 or the PRO-97. I disliked my PRO-95 enough that I sold it and bought the BC246T. The BC246T is a good scanner, but the BR-330T is better in every way.

Mark

 

[scosgt]

I also have noth the R-5 and the 330. Both are excellent radios, with the 330 doing a whole lot more (remember, it is computer controlled and you can use Butel software for network streaming as well.

There is programming software for the R-5 that works very well (www.IC-R5.com), but you have to pay for it. Buy both, keep the R5 for an emergency or when you need to go stealthy.