[Paddlewise] Icom Handhelds...and poor service.

I have three icom radios...two ham radios, and one marine band  which is the
M 15...it  was supposedly top of the line when I bought it.  The M15 was
also supposed to be submersible, but the battery leaked...the radio did not.

Both of the ham radios had flaws that resulted later in repairs that were
costly to fix...and each time the icom repair service center was very very
difficult to deal with...tended not to return phone calls, didn't save the
parts replaced in spite of my writen request that they do so, had no
explanation for what went wrong, or why.

All in all I have not experienced evidence of their wishing to comply with a
customer's needs...I bought their products on clearance only, for about half
price.

I will not be purchasing any icom products in the future, based on their
poor customer service, unless they are very very discounted.

Just my two cents worth, in light of the message below that someone else has
not had the best of service from this company.  I believe all the companies
out there have some pretty good products, and therefore poor service is in
my mind an important factor for me.


Michael Orchard
Vancouver, WAshington


> I would be sure and double-check with Icom, or any manufacturer for
> that matter. I purchased one of Icom's JIS-7 handhelds (I forget
> which as I am not at home right now but I think the original M1)
> and it failed. They fixed it, but then claimed that it was not waterproof
> even though all their advertising and literature stated, and still
> does I believe, otherwise. The radio now stays in a drybag but it
> is very annoying to learn this the hard way. Had I been on an extended
> trip when I discovered this I would have been quite angry.
>
> After getting any piece of gear that claims waterproofness, do the
> bathtub drop test at home and see if it holds up.
>
> - -Patrick


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