Where's Quality Control

[nvprospector]

I have a ICOM ID-1 and the other day a friend and myself where working on a new trail and lost the track. I was connected to the internet over D-Star downloading satellite images and my friend went to the other side of the mountain to see if he could pick up the trail. While I was downloading the images my link was dropped and I could not get reconnected. I tried to transmit voice to my friend and tell him that the repeater went down but I was unable to get out. So I drove over to where I last got a position lock on him. He has the same unit and he was able to connect to the repeater and transmit out. So it was my radio and not the repeater so I collected my friend we went home.

Took the radio in for repair today and the tech showed me at least 15 cold solders on the transmitter side. This really stinks. Good thing it was not a life and death situation. So my questions is what ever happen to good quality control?

Tim

 

[xtatik]

Sorry to hear of this problem. JMO, but I've never really been a fan of Icom after watching my Dad pitch fits over them for cold solder joints, fried or delamming board traces and general overheating problems. Seems to be more the case with their smaller mobile or portable units. BTW, was out in Pahrump last weekend and met several hams, what's your callsign?

 

[1leglance]

quality went away as consumers chose price as the primary selection tool.
There are still great companies out there but they are usually smaller and cater to a customer base willing to pay what quality cost
Oh and I am a Yaesu guy

 

[nvprospector]

I only want this ICOM because it is one of the better D-Link systems out their. The tech I took it to is going to fix common issues with ICOM's and redo all of the solders. Granted it voids the warranty, but who cares. The good thing he owns me a favor so I am only getting charged parts and not the labor. The issue I am having is I am leaving April 20 for two weeks and I won't have a radio with me and all my other radios I use are for satellite transmission. Oh well.

To bad I didn't know that you where in Pahrump or we could of met. My call sign is KF7MQP.

 

[nvprospector]

quality went away as consumers chose price as the primary selection tool.

So true in that statement, but when you pay $1,000 for a radio you would think they would try alittle harder.

 

[DaveInDenver]

This is exactly why as a ham you practice and tinker, so that you've weeded out problems when you really do need your radio. Same as your truck, you would want to drive it a while to get to know it before setting out on a big trip. Once you've wrung out the infant mortality type problems, ham gear is reliable over the long haul. Maybe a few exceptions, the really fancy mobile radios (thinking FTM-350 sorta thing) might have crossed into potentially too delicate. But the meat of ham gear, despite the complexity, is well made and most importantly still repairable unlike use-n-toss junk like cell phones and car stereos.

 

[Mashurst]

use-n-toss junk like cell phones

I feel what you are sayin but I think part of the problem is folks dont even care to try and fix things. I just tore down and rebuild my wife's smart phone to replace the screen after she dropped it a shattered it. It was a bit fiddly but not hard. $40 for the new digitizer felt good on the pocket book rather than $500 for a new phone.:wings:
My great grandfather had a mug that he had wired together and made serviceable after being shattered.

Talk about "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"

 

[1911]

Same as your truck, you would want to drive it a while to get to know it before setting out on a big trip.

Good analogy. There is something to be said for using simple, basic equipment in a harsh environment like off-road instead of one with every bell and whistle. The complexity of modern radios has grown exponentially with dual radios, APRS, D-STAR, etc. While these bells and whistles are fun and useful, the added complexity also means more things to break and go wrong IMO. I'm not saying don't use them, just saying that you might have to accept a compromise with ultimate reliability to use them in a harsh environment.

BTW, the one single piece of stock electronic equipment on my FJ40 (a small circuit board "emissions computer" that controlled a fuel-cut solenoid on the carburetor) failed because of cold-soldered joints at the wiring harness connector, so cold-soldering is not a modern evil, it's been plaguing us for a long time.