[ICOM] Icom IC-706MkIIG Possible Master Oscillator Problem?

[Ken Winterling]

Good afternoon,

A friend has an IC-706MkIIG that has started giving him trouble,
mostly when it is cold.  According to his description of the problem,
he will be listening to a 40M LSB signal, for example, and the signal
strength (S meter) will start to drop, the receive audio will drop in
volume and become distorted.  This continues over a few seconds until
there is no signal at all and no noise from the speaker.  At this
point the radio still has power because the lights are still lit but
he can't transmit nor receive on any band, HF, 6M, VHF, nor UHF.
Without touching anything it usually returns to normal in a couple
minutes.

I haven't received the rig in the shop yet but I suspect a problem
with the master oscillator.  Has anybody experienced a similar
problem; if so, what was the fix?  This is the first '706 I will be
repairing so any assistance will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ken, WA2LBI