| Home |
| Search |
| Today's Posts |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
DAMMIT ICOM WHY SO CHEAP?!!
See the picture on alt.binaries.pictures.sports.ocean I took with a
tiny little Logitech camera today while installing a whole suite of Icom radios into my buddy Geoffrey's Amel Sharpi ketch we brought to Charleston from Satellite Beach, FL a few weeks back. Gotta have all the toys....(c; The Icom M802 HF SSB/GMDSS/DSC radio sells, without the antenna tuner from Ham Radio Outlet in Atlanta for $2,399 + tax and recappable tires. The AT-140 antenna tuner adds another $480 and tax to that total, almost THREE GRAND in HF radio...... Then WHY SO CHEAP, ICOM?....DAMMIT!! 1) The tiny little Japanese 6-pin plug that's the control output for the tuner is a little fragile plastic plug that's NOT sealed in any way. It plugs into a tiny, little Japanese male outlet on the main SSB radio. This plug, if you are to install the proper cable (not included), instead of an overpriced Icom cable with the plugs already on them, making them impossible to thread through cable runs inside the boat loaded up with other wires, MUST BE ASSEMBLED! Notice how the plug is a SIX PIN PLUG.... Icom only uses FOUR of the 6 pins in this tiny little cheap connector AND ONLY PROVIDES FOUR TEE-TINY LITTLE PINS LEAVING ZERO ROOM FOR ASSEMBLY ERROR ABOARD A ROCKING BOAT! You don't even get the OTHER TWO PINS it doesn't use as goof-up spares! These loose female contact are VERY fragile, very small and easy to bend or break. The contacts probably cost $1/thousand at the OEM order level.....SO WHY DID ICOM ONLY PUT FOUR OF THEM IN THE PLUG KIT?!!.....&#)(*&@_#)(#@)$(*&#@%$ (EXPLETIVES DELETED) I got them installed without incident but what if someone makes a tiny mistake and breaks one? Why, oh why, oh why should he have to WAIT WEEKS FOR REPLACEMENTS OF SUCH CHEAP PARTS??!!! 2)....This same cheap, unsealed plastic inline connector is hanging out of the AT-140 antenna tuner on a little piece of cable, OUT IN THE WEATHER or on some boats IN THE HUMID, DAMP, CORRODING BILGE under some settee someplace. WHY CAN'T A $500 ANTENNA TUNER HAVE SEALING, WATERPROOF CABLE CONNECTORS MOUNTED RIGHT INTO THE ANTENNA TUNER'S WATERPROOF HOUSING??!! Hello? Icom? Does anyone at Icom own a boat? Ever worked on a boat? Ever seen an unprotected connector eaten by electrolysis because it was exposed to SEAWATER with 13.8VDC on it?!! Arrgh!.....(puke). Ok, so we'll get rid of this cheap little connector, right? The ANTENNA TUNER INSTRUCTION MANUAL shows that inside the tuner this useless pigtail wire is screwed into a TERMINAL BLOCK on the main PC board, on a European-style terminal block made for bare wires....right? WRONG AGAIN, FISH BREATH!! The damned pigtail is SOLDERED to fine little wires that are soldered to the PC board WHERE THE TERMINAL BLOCK IS SUPPOSED TO GO!! DAMMIT ICOM, WHY IS THIS $500 TUNER MISSING THE LITTLE TERMINAL BLOCK THAT COSTS AN OEM $1.39?!!! DAMNED CHEAPSKATES!! My plan was to open the tuner, unscrew the wires from the terminal block on the PC board and install the custom cable I pulled into the wireways in the boat, through the waterproof cable squeezer straight into the MISSING TERMINAL BLOCK!!!!!! IDIOTS!!!!! I cannot pull the main PC board out of the tuner because of all the HOT GLUED PARTS making disassembly impossible. I'm afraid if I unsolder the pigtail cable from the little wires soldered to the board, I may also unsolder the little wires from the unremovable bottom of the main PC board. I feel just like the Aflac Duck walking out of the barber shop with Yogi Berra in the commercial.......AHHHHHHH!!!!GGGGhhh!!!! Stupid Icom for a unit that retails for $3000 to be constructed so cheaply!! This ISN'T a consumer ham radio for someone's hamshack...THIS IS A BOAT RADIO!!! ALL connectors should be WATERPROOF, EVEN ON THE MAIN CHASSIS!! It's HUMID in a boat!!! 3) The remote unit, that may be mounted outside on some boats, IS waterproof. it has rubber keys, nice sealed box.....But, ARRGH!....THE CABLE CONNECTOR ON THE BACK OF IT IS A LITTLE MINIATURE DIN CONNECTOR OFF SOME HAM RADIO MADE FOR SOMEONE'S CAR!! Water is gonna get into that tiny connector with DC power on it and just EAT THE PINS RIGHT OFF IT!! Well, Duhhhh!!!....... Well, I'm gonna have another Newcastle English Ale and stop trying to figure out how I'm going to put the control cable to the tuner, tonight. I'll think more about it in the morning..... I just wanted every one of you to know how this nice radio (otherwise) is made. Its technology is certainly a wonder....but its construction is NOT A MARINE RADIO!!! PS - the matching M602 IS sealed like a marine radio should be. It has an EXTERNAL heat sink outside the sealed case. THE M802 HAS A FAN THAT DRAWS SALT AIR INTO THE CABINET TO COOL IT! Think about how wonderful that's gonna be in 3 years.....(c; Arrgh.......Any Icom reps or dealers wanna explain this to me?.....Planned Obsolescense? Payback for losing WW2? Why....WHY?!! Larry W4CSC 3rd Mate Engineering S/V "Claire's Navie" CAREFULLY soldering the FOUR LITTLE PINS you provided........ Larry Extremely intelligent life must exist in the universe. You can tell because they never tried to contact us. |
|
#2
|
|||
|
|||
|
DAMMIT ICOM WHY SO CHEAP?!!
I couldn't even SEE those pins to solder them... I had to hire somebody with
better eyesight to do it! -- Keith __ Dogs have owners; Cats have staff. "Larry" wrote in message ... See the picture on alt.binaries.pictures.sports.ocean I took with a tiny little Logitech camera today while installing a whole suite of Icom radios into my buddy Geoffrey's Amel Sharpi ketch we brought to Charleston from Satellite Beach, FL a few weeks back. Gotta have all the toys....(c; The Icom M802 HF SSB/GMDSS/DSC radio sells, without the antenna tuner from Ham Radio Outlet in Atlanta for $2,399 + tax and recappable tires. The AT-140 antenna tuner adds another $480 and tax to that total, almost THREE GRAND in HF radio...... Then WHY SO CHEAP, ICOM?....DAMMIT!! 1) The tiny little Japanese 6-pin plug that's the control output for the tuner is a little fragile plastic plug that's NOT sealed in any way. It plugs into a tiny, little Japanese male outlet on the main SSB radio. This plug, if you are to install the proper cable (not included), instead of an overpriced Icom cable with the plugs already on them, making them impossible to thread through cable runs inside the boat loaded up with other wires, MUST BE ASSEMBLED! Notice how the plug is a SIX PIN PLUG.... Icom only uses FOUR of the 6 pins in this tiny little cheap connector AND ONLY PROVIDES FOUR TEE-TINY LITTLE PINS LEAVING ZERO ROOM FOR ASSEMBLY ERROR ABOARD A ROCKING BOAT! You don't even get the OTHER TWO PINS it doesn't use as goof-up spares! These loose female contact are VERY fragile, very small and easy to bend or break. The contacts probably cost $1/thousand at the OEM order level.....SO WHY DID ICOM ONLY PUT FOUR OF THEM IN THE PLUG KIT?!!.....&#)(*&@_#)(#@)$(*&#@%$ (EXPLETIVES DELETED) I got them installed without incident but what if someone makes a tiny mistake and breaks one? Why, oh why, oh why should he have to WAIT WEEKS FOR REPLACEMENTS OF SUCH CHEAP PARTS??!!! 2)....This same cheap, unsealed plastic inline connector is hanging out of the AT-140 antenna tuner on a little piece of cable, OUT IN THE WEATHER or on some boats IN THE HUMID, DAMP, CORRODING BILGE under some settee someplace. WHY CAN'T A $500 ANTENNA TUNER HAVE SEALING, WATERPROOF CABLE CONNECTORS MOUNTED RIGHT INTO THE ANTENNA TUNER'S WATERPROOF HOUSING??!! Hello? Icom? Does anyone at Icom own a boat? Ever worked on a boat? Ever seen an unprotected connector eaten by electrolysis because it was exposed to SEAWATER with 13.8VDC on it?!! Arrgh!.....(puke). Ok, so we'll get rid of this cheap little connector, right? The ANTENNA TUNER INSTRUCTION MANUAL shows that inside the tuner this useless pigtail wire is screwed into a TERMINAL BLOCK on the main PC board, on a European-style terminal block made for bare wires....right? WRONG AGAIN, FISH BREATH!! The damned pigtail is SOLDERED to fine little wires that are soldered to the PC board WHERE THE TERMINAL BLOCK IS SUPPOSED TO GO!! DAMMIT ICOM, WHY IS THIS $500 TUNER MISSING THE LITTLE TERMINAL BLOCK THAT COSTS AN OEM $1.39?!!! DAMNED CHEAPSKATES!! My plan was to open the tuner, unscrew the wires from the terminal block on the PC board and install the custom cable I pulled into the wireways in the boat, through the waterproof cable squeezer straight into the MISSING TERMINAL BLOCK!!!!!! IDIOTS!!!!! I cannot pull the main PC board out of the tuner because of all the HOT GLUED PARTS making disassembly impossible. I'm afraid if I unsolder the pigtail cable from the little wires soldered to the board, I may also unsolder the little wires from the unremovable bottom of the main PC board. I feel just like the Aflac Duck walking out of the barber shop with Yogi Berra in the commercial.......AHHHHHHH!!!!GGGGhhh!!!! Stupid Icom for a unit that retails for $3000 to be constructed so cheaply!! This ISN'T a consumer ham radio for someone's hamshack...THIS IS A BOAT RADIO!!! ALL connectors should be WATERPROOF, EVEN ON THE MAIN CHASSIS!! It's HUMID in a boat!!! 3) The remote unit, that may be mounted outside on some boats, IS waterproof. it has rubber keys, nice sealed box.....But, ARRGH!....THE CABLE CONNECTOR ON THE BACK OF IT IS A LITTLE MINIATURE DIN CONNECTOR OFF SOME HAM RADIO MADE FOR SOMEONE'S CAR!! Water is gonna get into that tiny connector with DC power on it and just EAT THE PINS RIGHT OFF IT!! Well, Duhhhh!!!....... Well, I'm gonna have another Newcastle English Ale and stop trying to figure out how I'm going to put the control cable to the tuner, tonight. I'll think more about it in the morning..... I just wanted every one of you to know how this nice radio (otherwise) is made. Its technology is certainly a wonder....but its construction is NOT A MARINE RADIO!!! PS - the matching M602 IS sealed like a marine radio should be. It has an EXTERNAL heat sink outside the sealed case. THE M802 HAS A FAN THAT DRAWS SALT AIR INTO THE CABINET TO COOL IT! Think about how wonderful that's gonna be in 3 years.....(c; Arrgh.......Any Icom reps or dealers wanna explain this to me?.....Planned Obsolescense? Payback for losing WW2? Why....WHY?!! Larry W4CSC 3rd Mate Engineering S/V "Claire's Navie" CAREFULLY soldering the FOUR LITTLE PINS you provided........ Larry Extremely intelligent life must exist in the universe. You can tell because they never tried to contact us. |
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
|
DAMMIT ICOM WHY SO CHEAP?!!
|
|
#4
|
|||
|
|||
|
DAMMIT ICOM WHY SO CHEAP?!!
ICOM is no different than the rest of the marine manufactures. Stupid high
prices for junk and even higher prices for parts and labor when the product needs repair. I just had to send in my Northstar GPS for repair. It needed a memory battery (probably a $3.00 watch battery) replacement and a "driver" for the floresent light bulb. The frikin bill was almost $300! They claimed 2 hours of labor at $95 an hour! Some magazine did a survey a few years back asking boat owners what most dissatisfied them about boat ownership and the overwhelming winning response was marine electronics. Open any piece of marine electronics and there is crap inside. Why should a knotmeter and depthsounder cost as much as a Sony 27" TV? Why should a new set of spinning plastic cups for a aparent wind sensor cost $45? They are easily worth $4.99. S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster" Trains are a winter sport |
|
#7
|
|||
|
|||
|
Furuno vs. Raymarine radar
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 19:14:13 -0500, "Keith"
wrote: FYI, I had a new Raymarine radar that went bad after 6 months. The cable somehow went bad... no explanation, pinches, cuts, pokes, etc. The place that sold it to me said that they've had so many warranty repairs with Raymarine that they're thinking of dropping the line. They said that they thought Furuno was the only way to go for radar. BTW, I bought the 4KW dome, since I saw three Raymarine open arrays replaced ON MY PIER due to water intrusion... bad (cheap) design. Add another one. Our 2KW Raymarine radome failed and had water and corrosion in it when it was removed from the Endeavour 35's stern mount to be placed on the Amel Sharpi's mizzen mount. Raymarine replaced the whole thing with a new one. Raymarine is another company that could stand a kick in the ass. The control cable to the 2KW radome is that same cheap kind of PC board connector. It was just crimped and 2 wires came out of it while we were feeding it through the "watertight" fitting. I soldered them all from the back of the connector. Damned cheap marine companies.... Larry W4CSC Maybe we could get the power grid fixed if every politician regulating the power companies wasn't on their payrolls. |
|
#8
|
|||
|
|||
|
Furuno vs. Raymarine radar
Hate to mention it - but you're confusing "marine" and "marina"
equipment. It's hard to tell by the advertising - you have to actually use the gear and most "marina" boats never do that - so they don't find out . On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 01:42:15 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote: Damned cheap marine companies.... Larry W4CSC Maybe we could get the power grid fixed if every politician regulating the power companies wasn't on their payrolls. |
|
#9
|
|||
|
|||
|
DAMMIT ICOM WHY SO CHEAP?!!
Larry,
I know that as a HAM, you want to enjoy the installation process yourself, but WHY spend so much money. I have no affiliations, but check out the following links: www.hfradio.com http://www.waypoints.com/PDF/03catalog18-25.pdf You can get the M802, the AT-140, 10 meters of coax/control cables to the AT-140, and a DSC watch antenna for $2,656. This is a complete system, bench tested before shipment. I don't disagree with your observations about the construction and/or quality issues. Pete Albright s/v Nancy Ross Tampa, FL "Larry" wrote in message ... See the picture on alt.binaries.pictures.sports.ocean I took with a tiny little Logitech camera today while installing a whole suite of Icom radios into my buddy Geoffrey's Amel Sharpi ketch we brought to Charleston from Satellite Beach, FL a few weeks back. Gotta have all the toys....(c; The Icom M802 HF SSB/GMDSS/DSC radio sells, without the antenna tuner from Ham Radio Outlet in Atlanta for $2,399 + tax and recappable tires. The AT-140 antenna tuner adds another $480 and tax to that total, almost THREE GRAND in HF radio...... Then WHY SO CHEAP, ICOM?....DAMMIT!! 1) The tiny little Japanese 6-pin plug that's the control output for the tuner is a little fragile plastic plug that's NOT sealed in any way. It plugs into a tiny, little Japanese male outlet on the main SSB radio. This plug, if you are to install the proper cable (not included), instead of an overpriced Icom cable with the plugs already on them, making them impossible to thread through cable runs inside the boat loaded up with other wires, MUST BE ASSEMBLED! Notice how the plug is a SIX PIN PLUG.... Icom only uses FOUR of the 6 pins in this tiny little cheap connector AND ONLY PROVIDES FOUR TEE-TINY LITTLE PINS LEAVING ZERO ROOM FOR ASSEMBLY ERROR ABOARD A ROCKING BOAT! You don't even get the OTHER TWO PINS it doesn't use as goof-up spares! These loose female contact are VERY fragile, very small and easy to bend or break. The contacts probably cost $1/thousand at the OEM order level.....SO WHY DID ICOM ONLY PUT FOUR OF THEM IN THE PLUG KIT?!!.....&#)(*&@_#)(#@)$(*&#@%$ (EXPLETIVES DELETED) I got them installed without incident but what if someone makes a tiny mistake and breaks one? Why, oh why, oh why should he have to WAIT WEEKS FOR REPLACEMENTS OF SUCH CHEAP PARTS??!!! 2)....This same cheap, unsealed plastic inline connector is hanging out of the AT-140 antenna tuner on a little piece of cable, OUT IN THE WEATHER or on some boats IN THE HUMID, DAMP, CORRODING BILGE under some settee someplace. WHY CAN'T A $500 ANTENNA TUNER HAVE SEALING, WATERPROOF CABLE CONNECTORS MOUNTED RIGHT INTO THE ANTENNA TUNER'S WATERPROOF HOUSING??!! Hello? Icom? Does anyone at Icom own a boat? Ever worked on a boat? Ever seen an unprotected connector eaten by electrolysis because it was exposed to SEAWATER with 13.8VDC on it?!! Arrgh!.....(puke). Ok, so we'll get rid of this cheap little connector, right? The ANTENNA TUNER INSTRUCTION MANUAL shows that inside the tuner this useless pigtail wire is screwed into a TERMINAL BLOCK on the main PC board, on a European-style terminal block made for bare wires....right? WRONG AGAIN, FISH BREATH!! The damned pigtail is SOLDERED to fine little wires that are soldered to the PC board WHERE THE TERMINAL BLOCK IS SUPPOSED TO GO!! DAMMIT ICOM, WHY IS THIS $500 TUNER MISSING THE LITTLE TERMINAL BLOCK THAT COSTS AN OEM $1.39?!!! DAMNED CHEAPSKATES!! My plan was to open the tuner, unscrew the wires from the terminal block on the PC board and install the custom cable I pulled into the wireways in the boat, through the waterproof cable squeezer straight into the MISSING TERMINAL BLOCK!!!!!! IDIOTS!!!!! I cannot pull the main PC board out of the tuner because of all the HOT GLUED PARTS making disassembly impossible. I'm afraid if I unsolder the pigtail cable from the little wires soldered to the board, I may also unsolder the little wires from the unremovable bottom of the main PC board. I feel just like the Aflac Duck walking out of the barber shop with Yogi Berra in the commercial.......AHHHHHHH!!!!GGGGhhh!!!! Stupid Icom for a unit that retails for $3000 to be constructed so cheaply!! This ISN'T a consumer ham radio for someone's hamshack...THIS IS A BOAT RADIO!!! ALL connectors should be WATERPROOF, EVEN ON THE MAIN CHASSIS!! It's HUMID in a boat!!! 3) The remote unit, that may be mounted outside on some boats, IS waterproof. it has rubber keys, nice sealed box.....But, ARRGH!....THE CABLE CONNECTOR ON THE BACK OF IT IS A LITTLE MINIATURE DIN CONNECTOR OFF SOME HAM RADIO MADE FOR SOMEONE'S CAR!! Water is gonna get into that tiny connector with DC power on it and just EAT THE PINS RIGHT OFF IT!! Well, Duhhhh!!!....... Well, I'm gonna have another Newcastle English Ale and stop trying to figure out how I'm going to put the control cable to the tuner, tonight. I'll think more about it in the morning..... I just wanted every one of you to know how this nice radio (otherwise) is made. Its technology is certainly a wonder....but its construction is NOT A MARINE RADIO!!! PS - the matching M602 IS sealed like a marine radio should be. It has an EXTERNAL heat sink outside the sealed case. THE M802 HAS A FAN THAT DRAWS SALT AIR INTO THE CABINET TO COOL IT! Think about how wonderful that's gonna be in 3 years.....(c; Arrgh.......Any Icom reps or dealers wanna explain this to me?.....Planned Obsolescense? Payback for losing WW2? Why....WHY?!! Larry W4CSC 3rd Mate Engineering S/V "Claire's Navie" CAREFULLY soldering the FOUR LITTLE PINS you provided........ Larry Extremely intelligent life must exist in the universe. You can tell because they never tried to contact us. |
|
#10
|
|||
|
|||
|
DAMMIT ICOM WHY SO CHEAP?!!
I know about all the discounts. Check Sailnet's prices.....
Even if the damned radio/tuner were $995, they could STILL afford to do better on CONNECTORS. On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 23:11:40 GMT, "PeteAlbright" wrote: Larry, I know that as a HAM, you want to enjoy the installation process yourself, but WHY spend so much money. I have no affiliations, but check out the following links: www.hfradio.com http://www.waypoints.com/PDF/03catalog18-25.pdf You can get the M802, the AT-140, 10 meters of coax/control cables to the AT-140, and a DSC watch antenna for $2,656. This is a complete system, bench tested before shipment. I don't disagree with your observations about the construction and/or quality issues. Pete Albright s/v Nancy Ross Tampa, FL "Larry" wrote in message ... See the picture on alt.binaries.pictures.sports.ocean I took with a tiny little Logitech camera today while installing a whole suite of Icom radios into my buddy Geoffrey's Amel Sharpi ketch we brought to Charleston from Satellite Beach, FL a few weeks back. Gotta have all the toys....(c; The Icom M802 HF SSB/GMDSS/DSC radio sells, without the antenna tuner from Ham Radio Outlet in Atlanta for $2,399 + tax and recappable tires. The AT-140 antenna tuner adds another $480 and tax to that total, almost THREE GRAND in HF radio...... Then WHY SO CHEAP, ICOM?....DAMMIT!! 1) The tiny little Japanese 6-pin plug that's the control output for the tuner is a little fragile plastic plug that's NOT sealed in any way. It plugs into a tiny, little Japanese male outlet on the main SSB radio. This plug, if you are to install the proper cable (not included), instead of an overpriced Icom cable with the plugs already on them, making them impossible to thread through cable runs inside the boat loaded up with other wires, MUST BE ASSEMBLED! Notice how the plug is a SIX PIN PLUG.... Icom only uses FOUR of the 6 pins in this tiny little cheap connector AND ONLY PROVIDES FOUR TEE-TINY LITTLE PINS LEAVING ZERO ROOM FOR ASSEMBLY ERROR ABOARD A ROCKING BOAT! You don't even get the OTHER TWO PINS it doesn't use as goof-up spares! These loose female contact are VERY fragile, very small and easy to bend or break. The contacts probably cost $1/thousand at the OEM order level.....SO WHY DID ICOM ONLY PUT FOUR OF THEM IN THE PLUG KIT?!!.....&#)(*&@_#)(#@)$(*&#@%$ (EXPLETIVES DELETED) I got them installed without incident but what if someone makes a tiny mistake and breaks one? Why, oh why, oh why should he have to WAIT WEEKS FOR REPLACEMENTS OF SUCH CHEAP PARTS??!!! 2)....This same cheap, unsealed plastic inline connector is hanging out of the AT-140 antenna tuner on a little piece of cable, OUT IN THE WEATHER or on some boats IN THE HUMID, DAMP, CORRODING BILGE under some settee someplace. WHY CAN'T A $500 ANTENNA TUNER HAVE SEALING, WATERPROOF CABLE CONNECTORS MOUNTED RIGHT INTO THE ANTENNA TUNER'S WATERPROOF HOUSING??!! Hello? Icom? Does anyone at Icom own a boat? Ever worked on a boat? Ever seen an unprotected connector eaten by electrolysis because it was exposed to SEAWATER with 13.8VDC on it?!! Arrgh!.....(puke). Ok, so we'll get rid of this cheap little connector, right? The ANTENNA TUNER INSTRUCTION MANUAL shows that inside the tuner this useless pigtail wire is screwed into a TERMINAL BLOCK on the main PC board, on a European-style terminal block made for bare wires....right? WRONG AGAIN, FISH BREATH!! The damned pigtail is SOLDERED to fine little wires that are soldered to the PC board WHERE THE TERMINAL BLOCK IS SUPPOSED TO GO!! DAMMIT ICOM, WHY IS THIS $500 TUNER MISSING THE LITTLE TERMINAL BLOCK THAT COSTS AN OEM $1.39?!!! DAMNED CHEAPSKATES!! My plan was to open the tuner, unscrew the wires from the terminal block on the PC board and install the custom cable I pulled into the wireways in the boat, through the waterproof cable squeezer straight into the MISSING TERMINAL BLOCK!!!!!! IDIOTS!!!!! I cannot pull the main PC board out of the tuner because of all the HOT GLUED PARTS making disassembly impossible. I'm afraid if I unsolder the pigtail cable from the little wires soldered to the board, I may also unsolder the little wires from the unremovable bottom of the main PC board. I feel just like the Aflac Duck walking out of the barber shop with Yogi Berra in the commercial.......AHHHHHHH!!!!GGGGhhh!!!! Stupid Icom for a unit that retails for $3000 to be constructed so cheaply!! This ISN'T a consumer ham radio for someone's hamshack...THIS IS A BOAT RADIO!!! ALL connectors should be WATERPROOF, EVEN ON THE MAIN CHASSIS!! It's HUMID in a boat!!! 3) The remote unit, that may be mounted outside on some boats, IS waterproof. it has rubber keys, nice sealed box.....But, ARRGH!....THE CABLE CONNECTOR ON THE BACK OF IT IS A LITTLE MINIATURE DIN CONNECTOR OFF SOME HAM RADIO MADE FOR SOMEONE'S CAR!! Water is gonna get into that tiny connector with DC power on it and just EAT THE PINS RIGHT OFF IT!! Well, Duhhhh!!!....... Well, I'm gonna have another Newcastle English Ale and stop trying to figure out how I'm going to put the control cable to the tuner, tonight. I'll think more about it in the morning..... I just wanted every one of you to know how this nice radio (otherwise) is made. Its technology is certainly a wonder....but its construction is NOT A MARINE RADIO!!! PS - the matching M602 IS sealed like a marine radio should be. It has an EXTERNAL heat sink outside the sealed case. THE M802 HAS A FAN THAT DRAWS SALT AIR INTO THE CABINET TO COOL IT! Think about how wonderful that's gonna be in 3 years.....(c; Arrgh.......Any Icom reps or dealers wanna explain this to me?.....Planned Obsolescense? Payback for losing WW2? Why....WHY?!! Larry W4CSC 3rd Mate Engineering S/V "Claire's Navie" CAREFULLY soldering the FOUR LITTLE PINS you provided........ Larry Extremely intelligent life must exist in the universe. You can tell because they never tried to contact us. Larry W4CSC Maybe we could get the power grid fixed if every politician regulating the power companies wasn't on their payrolls. |
| Reply |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Forum | |||
| Update on ICOM M-502 | General | |||
| Problems with ICOM IC-M502 VHF | General | |||
| DAMMIT ICOM WHY SO CHEAP?!! | Cruising | |||
| Bateau Cheap Canoe....? | Boat Building | |||
| Icom 402 radio woes..or is it my antenna system? | Cruising | |||
Linear Mode
