Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Irish, who writes:
Icom America has indicated that it no longer services Icom radios manufactured after December 2010. Please let me know if you have a recommendation for someone who repairs older Icoms, preferably in DC metropolitan area or in North Carolina and in Virginia. Thank you, Mark
Thank you,
Mark Irish
Thank you for your question, Mark. You’re in luck because my friend Vlado (N3CZ) does repair Icom radios of pretty much any age.
He has extensive experience with Icom, but also routinely works on Yaesu, Kenwood, Elecraft, Sony, Panasonic, and numerous other brands. If it’s solid state (meaning, not vacuum tube or valve gear) he can fix it.
Vlado lives in Asheville, NC, but he has customers all over the world. You can reach him through his website at: http://hamradio.repair
I’m a older guy on a fixed income (Social Security) and just bought an Icom 756 Pro II from a “fellow ham” about 5 months ago. He gave me a good price…500 bucks. It was HARD for me to come up with it, but the rig was beautiful, and I always wanted one. NOW, 5 months later, the receive went out. Totally. All bands/modes. TRANSMIT is fine though! Full power out, all bands/modes and nice audio as heard on an SDR! But….I’m afraid I’ll not ever be able to afford to get it repaired. Techs nowadays are not only SCARCE, but EXPENSIVE! If you think your friend Vlado would be affordable, let me know. Because if not, I’m afraid I’ll have to leave the hobby. I can’t even make my money back parting it out! Wish I’d NEVER bought an Icom. They’re total junk. Icom doesn’t even support what they sell! If I can get it fixed, I’ll sell it immediately, and buy an old tube final radio. At least THEY still work….50 years later!!
KI4FQZ…..email good on QRZ.
Do you mean service radios made BEFORE 2010?
I mean, really, they’ll service something made in 2009 but not 2022 according to the way this is worded!
I’d bet he meant what you said.
He does. Here’s the link to ICOM USA showing the products that they no longer support. https://www.icomamerica.com/en/support/repair/unsupported-products.aspx
Good information. Good repair shops are getting hard to find.
Thanks!
73 W5NG