[Icom] IC751A tech review and serial numbers

[Mel Martin (VE2DC)]

Prompted by Jim's comments, I would make the following observations...
I suspect any 751A that's going to have the "cap problem" has had them
replaced by now... But definitely worth checking... I owned 2 and had
the problem with the first... Replaced the caps before they gave me
trouble with the second.
The RAM battery "problem" has been very much exaggerated... I serviced
these things for years, and only encountered the problem once when a
relatively new IC-R71 (same circuit) lost it's marbles due to a
*defective* battery. In service, the circuit draws less than 4
nano-amps... The battery should last just about forever, and they are
quite easy to replace... You just have to be careful. Of course, it
doesn't hurt to remove one more failure possibility... OTOH, if you find
a used rig for $500... Paying $100 an after market board is a
significant expense...
I do worry that ASICs may be unavailable for these rigs at some point...
I sold my backup rig for this reason.
For what it's worth, I couldn't hear anything on my 781 that I couldn't
hear as well on my 751A....

Mel...
VE2DC