Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
In article ,
D Peter Maus wrote:

In practical terms, today, there are some significant differences.
R-71 is still relatively well supported by ICOM. R-5000...not so much.
Displays are no longer avaiable for R-5000. And both require attention
at this age. R-71 will need ......

Two points missed:

1. The R-71 has it's microprocessor's programing on a battery backed up
RAM chip. When the battery fails, the radio is dead until it is
reprogramed. Someone sold an update kit, I have no idea if they
are still available.



This comes up every time R-71 is mentioned. I had mine for more
than 10 years, and it was used when I bought it. Still had the original
battery when I sold it. And the guy that bought it reports that it's
still working. I spoke to Bellevue about this, and the head tech there
said he's never replaced a battery that was not working. A lot of users
have them replaced because they're nervous about it. Others have them
replaced while in for other work. But he's never replaced a battery
because it was dead. The worst he's seen is replacemnt jobs that were
botched by users, and had to be reprogrammed. This conversation took
place a couple of years ago, so I don't know if his claim has changed.
The point is that this issue can be more or less a non issue depending
on users' diligence.



The other question is how much longer will ICOM be able to reprogram
the current chips? One would hope they keep that equipment around
but old computers fail, programs no longer run after operating
system updates etc.


Also a non issue. As long as they support the radio, they will be
reprogramming RAM. But it does afford the opportunity to mention the
number of amateur users who have learned to reprogram this radio, and
who can offer their help. Do a web search. Or they show up in RRS, from
time to time.

The Willco board is still available, though the numbers are
limited, as the chips used are no longer available.



2. The R-5000's had a problem with the rubber potting compound on the PLL
board. A nasty job, the easy way is to unsolder ALL of the components,
scrape out the left over compound and install new components.

As the components become hard to replace, a repair will be to use a
tweezer and dental pick to remove all the compound by hand, hoping that
you do not damage anything and nothing was corroded to the point of
being unuseable.

I did it that way, and if it was not for the fact that the cost of
shipping each way to a competent repair person was more than the
cost of them repairing it, I would not have.

Geoff.



That's quite a visual