Hi Ron;
Sorry to hear about the 706 difficulties.  I have seen a number of used ones
at reasonable prices on arrl.org.  I guess you will have to dust off the
ts450.
Rich
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Canazzi" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 6:57 PM
Subject: Icom 706 MK2G Problems


Hi List,

I am new to the list and thanks for the easy to follow instructions from the
list server manager.

I do have an issue to report and a request for some suggestions as to my
alternatives if any.
In 2000 I bought an Icom 706 MK2G transceiver.  I liked that transceiver a
lot and I used it quite easily for almost 5 years.  I noticed that earlier
this year, I was having occasional power drop problems on UHF/VHF, but they
were so intermittent that I figured I would wait until they got a little
more predictable before I sent the radio in for repair.  Eventually by
August, they did become more regular.  In addition, I began having problems
with my AT-180 antenna tuner wherein it simply would not tune my 80 Meter
Windom antenna.  My Kenwood TS-450 with its internal tuner tunes the antenna
very well and the match
on the antenna is no worse than 1.2 to 1 on all bands.  Yet the problem with
the AT-180 persisted.

I sent the radio back to Icom's Bellvue Washington repair center and waited.
After about 3 weeks, I received the shocking news that they simply couldn't
repair the radio--that is short of replacing the main board and charging for
at least 2 hours of work--a total cost of $750 US plus shipping.  The radio
sells for only a few tens of dollars more brand new and even the tech people
said that they didn't recommend a repair.  They admitted to not being able
to locate the defective components on the board that would cause either the
gradual power drop on UHF/VHF and could not determine the cause for the
malfunctioning AT-180--other than the fact that it had something to do with
the radio itself.  They tested the tuner on a variety of other rigs and
antennas including other versions of the 706 and it worked just fine.  so
apparently it's clean of imperfections.

In addition to the problems that Icom couldn't fix, I sent out a radio for
repair--a radio that had a fully functioning speech board.  When I received
the radio back, this speech function no longer worked.  I am still waiting
for Icom's response on this matter.

My first admonition is to those of you who have Icom equipment to realize
that this is the treatment you might receive from Icom tech support if you
have a problem that is complex with your unit.  In addition, I would wonder
if anyone on the list would have a suggestion as to any third party that
might be willing to repair the unit--take a bit of time with it--and perhaps
not charge an arm and a leg for the repair or suggest an uneconomical board
swap.

Sorry for this rather lengthy post, but I am considerably disappointed with
a company which I know 20 years ago used to have superior technical support
for such receivers I own as the Icom R-7000 and the Icom R-71 A.

Thanks for your patience.