[ICOM] Icom 756 and ESD

Mon May 7 04:14:20 EDT 2012

This is far from a scientific survey but my gut feeling is that these 
Icom radios are much more likely to have ESD failures than other 
brands.  Prior to having a 756PROII and 756PROIII die on TX after the II 
was destroyed by ESD and then the III go down in the first hour out of 
the box and in the case of the III when there was wall to wall blue sky 
and no wind, I think there is a problem!  One other ham in AZ told me he 
lost a II this way and sold it after it was repaired and took a beating 
selling it. Another had it repaired and keeps it in the box in a closet 
and hasn't used it since. I used a FT1000MP for several years side by 
side with the II and III with the same antennas at the same time and 
never had a problem with it. I have lost non ham items like a computer 
HD, TV, routers, answering machines and well pump relays (my well is 1/4 
mile from the meter). Since installing "meter treaters" on both my 
incoming electric lines, the only additional damage is one wireless 
router but I did have 100m of CAT 5 cable to the  dish antenna where I 
received the 2.4 GHz signal from my ISP which may have been the problem 
there. My single point ground is 110 feet from the shack with constant 
discharge type ICE devices on each of the  3 hard lines and most of the 
rotor cables and antenna switch lines to the shack. It seems most of my 
damage was caused from ESD coming in the neutral side of the power line 
prior to installing the meter treaters at the meters. Very few of my 8 
ft ground rods went in the full length even with an electric jack 
hammer. In many cases I was able to use one 8 ft ground rod for two to 
four ground rods after cutting off the excess with a  welder's grinder 
as I'm on top of a sandstone ledge near the top of a mesa in western 
Colorado that is a high spot in the middle of a large valley. I still 
have more protection planned. Colorado gets the 2nd most lightening 
strikes of any US state with FL being #1 and it is horrible ground 
conductivity. We get some ESD from blowing snow, rain and dust. Last 
summer I took what seemed to be a direct hit on the over head power line 
to the house and only lost a router this time. I heard, saw  and smelled 
it at the same time as the power went off. Insurance companies don't 
like to cover this damage unless you can find some scorch marks and if 
it comes in the power or phone lines, good luck!. I have some 30A and 
50A three bladed knife type switches I plan to install soon to remove 
the connection from all three incoming AC wires for the 120 and 245 VAC 
wires to every device in the shack.
    73 Phil N0KE DM69em

C.Whitaker wrote:
> de WB2CPN
> Could it be that ESD failure is somewhat dependent upon how and
> where the radio is connected and installed?  Give a thought to the
> antenna system as well as the ground path.
> I've used ICOM radios for many years, and I've never had a failure.
> Also have a look at the ESD generated inside the radio room.
> How about the rug, and your clothes?  Do your knuckles get zapped
> by touching a light switch screw?
> If you are going to collect failure statistics you must include all the
> parameters, not just the sign on the radio.
> In 50 years I've lost two things to ESD.  An old Philco FM radio,  and
> my electric razor.   Both went ZAP in time with the lightning ZAP.
> 73  Clete
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> On 5/4/2012 8:52 PM, Larry Young wrote:
>   
>> To All; I am almost willing to wager that most every brand of amateur solid state tadios have their share of issues associated with ESD and every nature of spikes that could cause damage. It is the nature of solid state electronics to be less tolerant when the parameters of solid state devices are exceeded. I have owned solid state radios for the last 35 years and have never lost a front end or PA module ever. I have had power supply failures. We all know that power supplies are not that efficient and generate the most power loss and heat.
>>     I question if anyone knows the percentage of ownership of the various brands of radios. Does anyone have this data? This is how we can best determine the failure rate of a particular brand and model radio.
>> Larry, K4LXV
>>
>> --- On Fri, 5/4/12, John G.<af5cc at fidmail.com>  wrote:
>>
>> From: John G.<af5cc at fidmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [ICOM] Icom 756 and ESD
>> To: "ICOM Reflector"<icom at mailman.qth.net>
>> Date: Friday, May 4, 2012, 5:01 PM
>>
>> Thanks for the info. Hope that is the case.  I have a friend who just had a
>> 746 original die.Turned it on one day and it wouldn't transmit any power. I
>> didn't know the 746 original had that problem as well..  Can't say that I
>> have ever seen a review of the 756 original that mentioned this problem.
>> Hoping to get one soon.
>>
>> John AF5CC
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Jim Vohland"<n9vo at hotmail.com>
>> To:<icom at mailman.qth.net>
>> Sent: Friday, May 04, 2012 8:34 PM
>> Subject: Re: [ICOM] Icom 756 and ESD
>>
>>
>>     
>>> I don't have scientific data to go by but personally I don't know anyone
>>> with a 756 that ever had an issue. Now in contrast to that, I personally
>>> had 2 746 pro's die, and also have 3 friends with 746's that died.
>>> Additionally I have talked with many hams on the air that suffered 746 pro
>>> deaths.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>>> From: af5cc at fidmail.com
>>>> To: icom at mailman.qth.net
>>>> Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 18:12:58 +0000
>>>> Subject: [ICOM] Icom 756 and ESD
>>>>
>>>> Last month there was quite a discussion on this reflector about the Icom
>>>> 756PRO series, 746PRO, and 703 being damaged by ESD, and made it sound
>>>> like they are overly sensitive to this phenomenon. Is the 756 original
>>>> also overly succeptable to static discharges, or did the problem start
>>>> with later models?
>>>>
>>>> 73 John AF5CC
>>>> ----
>>>> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
>>>> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
>>>> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
>>>> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>>>         
>>> ----
>>> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
>>> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
>>> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
>>> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>>       
>> ----
>> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
>> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
>> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
>> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> ----
>> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
>> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
>> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
>> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>>
>>     
>
> ----
> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>