[ICOM] Re Icom 275H

[Duane Fischer, W8DBF]

I have an Icom 275H that I dearly love. The speech board and external 
Millennium
QSYER keypad for direct frequency entry, make it ideal for a totally blind or
any level of sight impairment. The expanded receive is also terrific! 	
	
But what the heck was someone thinking when they came up with that relative RF
meter? Really, from zero - one?	
	
I recently decided something just did not sound right with my 275H, more a
feeling than a hard fact. I checked the SWR with an external meter. Ouch! My
Hustler G7-144 vertical that ranged from 1.1 to 1.4, was now hitting 3.0, maybe
higher. At that point I stopped checking! 	
	
I spoke with Icom about his, as I wanted to know if the transceiver had SWR
protection circuits. Would it shut down if the SWR endangered it? i was 
told no,
it would continue to try to get a useable match. If it got too far out, it 
would
blow the finals. Not comforting news!  	
	
I was told to operate it at a power level where the SWR stayed at 2.0 or lower
until I gixed the antenna. But I really do not feel comfortable doing this. Is
this risky?  I sure do NOT want to blow the finals out and have to pay that
repair bill! 	
	
The antenna I bought new in the box in August 1998. Today while speaking with a
very pleasant, and extremely good, female tech person at New-Tronics about the
Hustler G7-144, I learned to my shock that the antenna had been manufactured in
1979! It was nineteen years old when this dealer in FL sold it to me! Hence, it
is now twenty-five years old. I decided to just replace it and ordered a new
one.	
	
During the antenna testing, the antenna guy climbing my tower and checking
things, bypassed the tower mounted RX amp. He failed to put a plug in the 
PL-259
connectors. It rained today. Has this water that almost certainly got 
inside the
RX pre-amp ruined it? Can I dry it out and save it? 	
	
The people at New-Tronics, who make Hustler, were furious about what this 
dealer
in Florida had done. Further checking showed that the other Hustler he sold me
in the same package deal, my beloved 6BTV, was manufactured in 1987! I 
bought it
also in August of 1998 new in the box. Maybe he took advantage of me because I
am blind, maybe not. No way to know by the box or the antenna, it was the
production code the lady at New-Tronics had me check that revealed his scam. In
any event, he knew it was very very old stock! Stock he should not have sold,
and he knew it. To make me feel even worse, he also sold it to me for full
retail knowing it was nineteen years and eleven years old! Groan.	
	
Suggestions on the Icom?			
	
Thank you very much!	
	
Duane Fischer, W8DBF	
dfischer at usol.com