[ICOM] IC756 Pro III Filters

Fri Oct 14 18:46:17 EDT 2016

GE Guys

I should have posted this earlier.....

I hate to admit this, but this issue was cockpit error.   The Pitch was
rotated all the way CCW,  and when I tuned in a station to my liking with
the 1.2 KHz filter, it was out of the passband for the other filters.
Duh.   I rarely change the pitch so I wasn't expecting it to be different.

Anyway, the radio is working just fine.

73 Mark K3MSB

On Sun, Oct 2, 2016 at 6:33 AM, Phil Krichbaum <vailphil at sopris.net> wrote:

> Ron,
>
>     Colorado is Nr 2 to FL in lightening strikes and they rarely happen in
> the winter. 15,000 on a summer afternoon is not unusual! I sit on a high
> spot in the middle of a large valley in western CO and am about 700 ft
> higher than the Colorado river about 5 miles to my north. I'm right at 6000
> ft ASL and can see mountains of 10,000 to 12000 ft within 15 to 20 miles. I
> have 9 towers with none over 75 ft. My effective height is more like 150 to
> 250 ft in many directions as it slopes gently downhill for up to 7 miles in
> some directions and I get some nice ground gain from my mesa location. I
> have no trees over 25 ft as it is quite dry. After my first event with a
> strike coming in the neutral and taking out the TV, answering machine and
> 756 PRO II and a few other items, I had the power company install a "Meter
> Treater" on both my meters (one for my well, 1/4 mile from the house) and
> I've not lost anything else except an answering machine and two well relays
> that I can replace myself for about $50 even though I've seen lightening
> strike the 40 ft power pole 50 ft from the house 3 different times. It is
> interesting to see, hear and smell it at the same time. Last summer a
> strike blew the lightening arrestor oft the transformer and took out a
> noisey xfmr at my neighbors so cured that problem. I have a 70 ft tower
> about 100 ft from the power pole and no problems with that tower.. As far
> as I know my antennas have never been struck and I ground all my antennas
> at the bottom of each tower plus put in a 3 turns coil of coax 3 ft in Dia
> (almost infinite impedance to lightening) at the bottom of each tower
> before the coaxes go to an antenna switching and lightening arrestor
> location 100 ft out from the house.  From there two buried hardlines carry
> signals to the shack. These Meter Treaters cost about $75 each to be
> installed and are guaranteed to cover something like $400K in damages.
> Apparently they cost the power company around $350 each and apparently are
> 3 big MOVs. One of our local hams used to work for the power company and he
> said he never had seen one go out! I have switched over to a K3 for my go
> to rig and can hear a relay kicking in and out when storms are close or if
> someone is TXing on a 2nd rig in a contest.. Blowing snow or rain is enough
> to take out the Icom rigs as they are so poorly designed. If you use a
> beverage RX ant thru the RX antenna jack on the Icom, it is still connected
> to the RX when you TX which takes out some grain of wheat sized FETs in the
> tuner. Icoms are not the only rigs built this way but K3s seem to survive.
> Anytime I see a storm or leave during lightening season, I disconnect the
> two coaxes to the rig and pull the power strips out of the wall plugs. I've
> got 3 KW amps running off 235VAC and can unplug one cable to isolate those.
> On the first instance with the TV, my insurance company wanted me to get a
> TV shop to say lightening caused the damage. There are two TV repair shops
> within 75 miles and one only does big home entertainment centers and the
> other one doesn't answer their phone! You do not fix modern regular TVs as
> it is cheaper to buy a new one. My neighbors like my antennas as they have
> not had any lightening strikes since I moved here. Most of the properties
> are over 100 acres except for my little 8 acre piece so neighbors are far
> enough I usually drive over for a visit. Obviously no local antenna
> restrictions and I'm my own HOA.
>
>  73   Phil N0KE
>
>
>
> On 10/1/2016 2:17 PM, Ron via Icom wrote:
>
>> Hi Phil. Same here. A couple of years ago, a lightning strike on the
>> Neutral leg of my power line took out a LOT of things in my house. The PRO
>> was off and antennas grounded. Luckily, the radio and Astron (also off)
>> were an easy fix. The TVs, DVD, etc, not so lucky.......
>> Having two 100 foot + towers, I was fortunate. However, they are well
>> grounded.
>>
>> Ah Florida, the lightning strike capitol of the USA.......
>>
>> ron
>> N4ue
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Phil Krichbaum <vailphil at sopris.net>
>> To: ICOM Reflector <icom at mailman.qth.net>
>> Sent: Sat, Oct 1, 2016 4:08 am
>> Subject: Re: [ICOM] IC756 Pro III Filters
>>
>> The Icom 756 PRO II and III rigs are very poorly protected against ESD
>> as even with antennas disconnected and power off it can come in the
>> neutral side of the power cord. You need to not only disconnect antennas
>> but remove the power cord from any connection to power system. It is
>> likely that turning the power strip off left the neutral connected to
>> the PS and rig. I had a 756PROII destroyed when the antennas were
>> removed from the radio and the Icom PS was off but the rig was toast and
>> it (nearby lightening) came thru the neutral side as the power cord from
>> the Icom PS was off but plugged into the wall outlet. The Icom PS
>> survived and it is still in use with a 756PROIII yet today, some years
>> later. If you are using two rigs on different bands at the same time in
>> the same station, you could toast a 756 PRO II or III even with the
>> other rig at the 100w level. Been there, done that too. Icom doesn't
>> seem to think it is an issue? My 756PROIII is now a backup rig.
>>
>>       Phil N0KE
>>
>>
>> On 9/30/2016 9:21 AM, Mike McCarthy, W1NR wrote:
>>
>>> Clear the twin passband tuning? (PBT Clear)
>>>
>>> Mike, W1NR
>>>
>>> On 09/30/2016 10:54 AM, Mark K3MSB wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello
>>>>
>>>> I've owned my radio for quite a few years (purchased new) and it's
>>>> worked
>>>> without issue.
>>>>
>>>> Recently, I noticed that when I go to the 500 and 250 Hz filter
>>>> settings on
>>>> CW,  the audio is like what you'd hear in the bottom of a barrel.
>>>>
>>>> Prior to this, when switching between the 1.2 Khz,  500, and 250 Hz
>>>> filter
>>>> settings while copying a signal,  the signal was always centered.   Now,
>>>> for the 500 and 250 positions I have to adjust the main tuning slightly,
>>>> and the signal is not sharp and distinct.
>>>>
>>>> I've performed a reset on the radio which did nothing.
>>>>
>>>> Now, a few weeks ago during an electrical storm I heard a "pop" from the
>>>> radio bench.   All antennas were (of course) physically disconnected.
>>>>  I
>>>> forgot to remove the power plug from the outlet strip, but the strip was
>>>> turned off.     Afterwards, as is currently the case,  aside from the
>>>> filter issue,  the radio works fine.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas?
>>>>
>>>> Thank you
>>>>
>>>> Mark K3MSB
>>>> ----
>>>> 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
>