I used my Icom IC-2100H for about a year full time as a
stand-alone-digi and it worked great. I had no problems.

I've looked into the IC-2100H in the past for use as a regular 2m mobile and
didn't like what I had read

Fine rig, just don't use a non-resonant antenna (i.e., high VSWR) as the finals
module could fail (like any rig!). I'm running a RatShak HTX-252 for APRS...it
was free, albeit dead; took a few minutes to repair the problem (speaker wire
pinched between the frame and board toasted a resistor in the audio
circuit...so much for Chinese QC). If you get one, do the squelch mod, it
works much better. A stock -252 works poorly. The -242 or the -212 are better
selections and rather cheap.

Want solid? Look for the Icom non-PL units, the Kenwood non-PL units...both
rock solid (don't drop one on your foot, either) and cheap. Either unit will
last a long time.

A