Icom Radios - deterioration of microphone cable

[s/v Jedi]

I threw it in the garbage where it belongs, along with the 602 and two command mikes.

[JPA Cate]

Well, there you go.

Some of us like to keep our stuff going; for others, keeping stuff going is not part of the equation.

Ann

[N-Aimless]

Yes! The point/history is: At my first, and following contacts with Tech Support it was all; "The problem is on your boat....we have never heard of this problem...you are doing something wrong..
I then did a call out on the local VHF Morning Net. Within 3 weeks I had photos and depositions of 15 +/- cruisers that had the same problem, strictly within our local anchorage and VHF range (tech: "there is no problem").I collected the depositions and photos of the defective mics from each boat. I sent all of the documentation to the President/CEO of ICOM America.
Within 3 days I received a reply from the CEO that my issue and documentation had been referred to the VP of Service. His message to the VP of Service was basically "make this guy happy". I AM HAPPY. They replaced the mic at no charge ( being out of US, I had to use fellow cruisers for shipping).
BOTTOM LINE: ICOM is no longer denying the problem. Download the proper form form from their website, ship the defective mic to them and they will repair or replace it at no cost, regardless of the warranty period.
Finally: I have been a steadfast fan and user of ICOM products since my very first boat. I think that: A) The service tech got the message that "Deny, deny ...is the corporate mantra. Yeah, this is wrong. But I think the guys upstairs yanked his chain. Which is Very Good and Proper! --B) I have not lost faith in ICOM. I apologize to all that I discouraged from using ICOM. I really think that they made the classic mistake of today's world of big business: "Take the low bid".
Look at the history of China's business ethic (lead tainted toys, ethanol tainted baby formula, etc....)

THIS MAY BE THE BIG LESSON FOR ALL OF CORPORATE AMERICA!!!

PS: My most insightful lesson in all of this? We are all dealing with the current corporate psyche that no response or denial will chase most complaints away.
Here is the BIG LESSON; Under The US corporate laws; A USPS certified letter to the PRESIDENT/CEO of a US chartered corporation MUST respond Personally!!

I am convinced that this made the difference. I spent months dealing with "tech (no) support" until I sent the certified letter to the CEO.

[Jim Cate]

Aimless, thanks for that! You are a model for us all to emulate in dealing with reluctant OEMs or other product/service providers.


Well done!

Jim

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Well, there you go.

Some of us like to keep our stuff going; for others, keeping stuff going is not part of the equation.

Ann

Sorry Ann, but the radio is a primary safety system aboard and there should be no compromise allowed around those at all. Example: the mike cord will break just when you need it most and this can be during a life or death situation.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Sorry Ann, but the radio is a primary safety system aboard and there should be no compromise allowed around those at all. Example: the mike cord will break just when you need it most and this can be during a life or death situation.

Sorry Nck, but on Insatiable II we have both a back up microphone below decks, a back up VHF complete, and a back up hand held VHF and a back up ham 2 metre/70 cm handheld that will work on VHF frequencies and a good ham/ssb HF rig. I think her cover for the new command mike cord is a good call, and not a threat to our safety.

Jim

[JPA Cate]

I think the important part of this thread is that AIMLESS has given all of the US based members of CF (and the lurkers) a really good piece of knowledge. Certified letter to CEO of company involved, and at least you'll get an answer.

As to what Jedi wrote that the curly cord might break at the wrong moment, well, yes, that could happen, but fwiw, Aimless says they've cured the prob. Suspicious old soul that I am, I took protective measures that may be unnecessary.

As to the radio itself, it is not the latest and greatest, for sure, but I feel content it is adequate to our usage. As they say, others' mileage may vary.

Ann

[s/v Jedi]

They replaced mine and it happened again. Friends bought their radio years later and it still happened. As long as the manual does not state that mike cord covers are required then it should work without them. They may have fixed it by now, but I couldn't wait for them to get their act together, while, like Ann, I still think they don't and the cords are still inferior. It therefor fails my standards for our primary safety systems. I can not understand why people can't just accept that and refrain from attacking me on this. If your standards are lower then that is fine but don't force me to go with the lower standards too and allow me my opinion like I allow you yours.

[JPA Cate]

Jedi,

I apologize if what I wrote offends you. When you wrote that it was in the garbage "where it belonged" right after I offered an inexpensive aid to keeping it all going, I felt sort of stomped on by you. I don't really think you meant to impugn my effort, accept that I was being over-sensitive, and I am certain that your ways of doing things have merit.

In our case of not upgrading the VHF, it has not been a priority because of the many backups it has. If that decision comes back on us in a bad way, the "bad" is on us. You have offered the best advice to us and others you could.

Actually, I think the issue of our VHF is really secondary to the intent of the OP that N-Aimless posted, that by perseverance and by a technique he could share, sending the certified letter to the CEO of the company, he found a way for others with the ICOM 602 to successfully address not only the ICOM 602 situation, but also other companies bound by the American laws. Sure it doesn't do much when you're not American or living there, but it is a help to a large number of cruisers, if they choose to take it up. Of course those cruisers can equally decide that your decision is the better one. To some extent the more or less free curly cable snake I made from scraps is a simpler solution to the problem. And I do definitely agree the cord "should be" suitable for outside use when it is sold for that purpose. Contemptible that they did that. I sure hope they aren't still......

Ann

[model 10]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Sorry Example: the mike cord will break just when you need it most and this can be during a life or death situation.

There is a good bit of time between it starting to deteriorate and failing. If it fails in an emergency it will partly be your fault for letting it go that long.

[ka4wja]

With politeness and respect to those posting to this thread recently, many of you may have overlooked some facts that I posted here to this thread 2.5 years ago (post #15)....
These facts are:
a) Icom SERVICE dept (both main Icom maritime service dept in Washington and their regional service centers handling Icom marine radios) has known of this problem since 2011, and have been handling FREE out-of-warranty replacements since mid 2012...

b) Icom PARTS dept. and Icom CUSTOMER SERVICE dept. do NOT handle these "out-of-warranty" issues, and they had no (or little) knowledge of this mic cord issue....and were not authorized to do anything other than sell parts (or refer you to an Icom dealer for new radio, etc.)

c) All anyone needed to do was contact Icom SERVICE, tell them your mic cord was deteriorating, and they'd tell you the nearest service center to send it to for a FREE mic cord replacement....

ALL of these 3 facts are still true (I called my regional service center today!), and have been true for the past 3 years or so...
Here is what I posted here 2.5 years ago (post #15):

Originally Posted by ka4wja

Good News for all here!!!

Icom Service DID acknowledge this problem last summer!!
And, YES they WILL replace the cord for free, and YES, you can send it to your local/regional Icom Service Center!!!
(Do NOT attempt to work with the "parts dept", as they will simply try to sell you a new microphone, as they are NOT privy to the Service Center's "out-of-warranty NO Charge cord replacement"!!!)

N-Aimless (and I suspect others who have recently had no luck with Icom on this issue), has been dealing with the "parts dept" (see his post above), whether contacting them directly, or being transferred/referred to the "parts dept" by "cust serv" when mentioning needing a new mic cord.....and this is reason for the mis-communication / mis-information.....
But, if you contact the SERVICE department (or one of Icom's regional service centers), you should have no problems....

Icom WILL replace defective mic cords at no charge.....but this means what it says, "defective".....NOT "chafed" or "overly-stretched and broken", as those are a consequence of use (abuse??) and not a "defect".....
And, you do NOT need to send it off to their main service center in Bellevue, WA.....but you can use one of their regional service center....(this IS what I did, read details below...)


As Don pointed out this issue reared its head in 2010, and was discussed at some length on the SSCA Disc Board "Communications" Forum, starting 2 years ago....
SSCA Forum • View topic - Icom mic problem


Here is the update I posted there, just this evening...

Quote:
As written above, this past summer (summer of 2012), Icom did publicly acknowledge their QC issue with microphone cords.....and actually this is now effecting other manufacturers as well, as many of these cords' manuf. is now out-sourced by the OEM vendors (who supply Icom and others) to plants in China....

The good news is that Icom Service Department (NOT the "parts dept") is fully aware of the problem, and is happily / politely offering to replace any "defective" mic cords for free, without worrying about a "warranty claim"....
This means that if your M-802 is 6 - 9 years old (as my two M-802's are), they will replace the mic cord on the HM-135 mic for free....
You ship it to them (you pay to ship it to them) and they ship it back to you with a new cord on it (they pay for the shipping back to you)......

The further good news is that Icom has made all their regional service centers aware of this issue, and has authorized them to do this work, and hence this allows those with deteriorated Icom mic cords can send them to their local / regional Icom service center and do not need to send it off across the country (or across an ocean!)

In my neck of the woods (Florida), and/or for those in the Bahamas, etc. that means Williams Communications, in Tallahassee, FL....
I sent one of my mics there, and got it back with a new cord, 3 days after I sent it there!!!!
A couple weeks later, I sent my second deteriorated mic into them, but this time it took a whole 6 days to get back to me (there was a weekend in that 6 days, though...)
Now, I cannot promise that everyone will get the same quick turn-around, but I was impressed!!!!

So, here's the procedure as I know it....
Call Icom Service Dept (NOT the parts dept) and tell them of your problem and where you are at....they'll tell you where to send your mic w/ bad cord.....and they will replace it for you...for free....


Am I disappointed that these mic cords have this problem??? Yes...
But, I applaud Icom for recognizing the problem, and stepping up to offer a great solution!!!

(whether the new mic cords will last, or not....I don't know.....but so far so good!!)


I hope this helps some of you out there...
Fair winds...

John



Maybe not a "perfect solution", but better than I would expect....

I hope this helps clarify things...
Fair winds...

John
s/v Annie Laurie

Now, I (and I'm sure the whole cruising community) appreciate everyone's letter-writing campaign, but as you can all see that it is actually unnecessary....

Icom got a bad batch of mic cords from an OEM supplier (yes, in China), which had poor/contaminated rubber compounds....and these cords deteriorated rather quickly....
Icom became aware of the problem, and as it got worse (with many complaints, I assume), they quickly decided to honor a FREE out-of-warranty replacement...

Again, I wish this wasn't necessary....but, kudos to Icom for stepping up 2.5 years ago, and doing this!!




I hope this helps clarify things..


Fair winds to all...

John

[hellosailor]

Considering all the costs (two way postage, labor and handling in repair center, tracking and zero billing...) it would seem simpler to ALSO offer customers the option of "Would you like us to just send you a new cord?" for those who are indeed able to do the swap on their own, in a half hour, without disabling the radio for a week or two.


Just a thought, in case Icom is reading the forums.


Sure, some folks will take advantage of that to replace a simply abused cord...but I think the math would still work out.

[Sailor Doug]

Mikes are failing for incorrect technical standard. The cord exterior suffers from uv exposure cracks and fails. My 10 year old mike was repaired at no cost except for shipping to them. Base station mike cable is still like new.

This is a lot better support than I am getting from Uniden, handheld has permanent squelch on. This seems to be a common problem they don't want to admit to.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[poiu]

A big thanks to those who persisted with Icom. I got my bare wire 12 year old mike cord replaced today free of charge. It came from Icom UK, a private company, not a subsidiary of Icom. They are the importer of Icom kit. I'm sure the response from the U.S. led the way and encouraged them to accept the problem and to help. Well done Icom too.

[sailalibi]

I contacted Williams Communications last week (via email) and they (the president ) said they don't service ICOM stuff! I have now emailed ICOM AMERICA direct and will post a followup.