[ICOM] icom 706 MK2

[Facility 406]

On 4/11/2024 13:05, Mark Spencer via Icom wrote:
Back when I used to routinely use ICOM 706Mk2G's in VHF and up 
contesting I spent some time and money custom making power cords (with 
short power cables) for them.   That did seem to help matters, but the 
experiences of others may differ from mine.

My ultimate solution was to remove the "Molex" connector, and fill the 
hole with a double-wall fiberglass plate.

I cut the pins from the original wires inside the radio, and added ring 
lugs.

Through the fiberglass plates, I put two stainless steel socket head cap 
screws, from the inside, the power leads secured under the heads, and 
nuts holding the screws to the inside plate, then the outside plate slid 
over the studs, and nyloc nuts.  This resulted in two stainless studs, 
or lugs, sticking out of the back of the radio for power, the new cord, 
with ring lugs, slid over the studs, then secured with nyloc nuts.

The new cord was 12AWG 3-conductor stranded cord, white for positive, 
black for negative, and green "body ground".  The + and - ran straight 
to the battery through circuit breakers, and filters, and "body ground" 
wire ran from under the radio bracket, secured with star washers and 
locking hardware, between the filters and breakers, up to the battery 
holding bracket.  The green wire probably did little to nothing, but it 
was there, so that's what I did with it.

Not practical for quick deployment, or field use, but this was in a 4x4 
driven very fast, and hard for a solid decade.  Before this, power cord 
failures were up to a few times a week, and I was getting pretty tired 
of removing the drivers side seat to overhaul the factory harness.  With 
the new harness/connection, power issues were zero.  The vehicle body 
itself actually cracked all over like glass, but the radio never 
flickered, so I'd say the mod was very, very good.

The original harness, breakers, and filters are gone, but the radio is 
on the desk next to me, and I can provide a few pics of the radio power 
connector side.

Kurt