Hello All;

I'm wondering if anyone would like to comment on their use of the
"new" IC-T90A tri-bander. I have had one for over 2 months now and
have noticed a few things about it. I'm hoping a good discussion may
resolve some of the issues, let me know if I actually have a problem
or confirm that it is normal operation.

1) Squelch - I have found this to be a source of problems, it just
doesn't seem to be very sensitive and it seems to work differently at
different times. I found the AUTO setting to be too unpredictable and
find myself using Level 1 most of the time BUT I still seem to miss
signals.

2) PRIORITY - It doesn't seem to have a REAL priority channel ability
.... it seems one memory channel can be monitored BUT only when you are
in VFO mode. It doesn't seem that one memory channel (ie. local
repeater) can be monitored while simply scanning through memory
channels.

3) SET settings - It seems that saved memory settings seem to get
changed or simply not recalled properly sometimes. In particular TS
(step) and TONE (pl). I will recall and start a range scan and all of
a sudden notice that the T-SQL is set from my previous memory channel
scan. I suppose it is possible that an option button was pressed but
normally the beep is loud enough to hear and it does have to be
pressed for a few seconds.

4) Rapid Charger and blinking Orange LED - I have noticed that if the
batteries die when the radio is on you can't recharge it in the
desktop charger without first powering up the radio from another power
source and pressing and holding the power button to shut it off. This
caused me some distress on a couple of occasions until I identified
the issue as the "blinking orange LED" is listed as "problem with the
battery pack or charger ... return to your dealer" in the manual.

5) Software - Has anyone any recommendation or source of some free
software (open source) or even some instructions for low level manual
commands from a simple terminal emulator for this radio? All the
commercial software is very expensive, I have home built a few of the
hardware interfaces for other devices so one of my existing ones will
work BUT the software interface is a bit of a mystery. The CIV
interface seems to be documented (and I haven't tried it) but there is
supposed to be a second interface for computer interface. The CIV is
apparently used for cloning. Also, since I use Linux the Windows
standard is sometimes not useful to me. :-)

6) Accessory Prices - I just thought I'd throw in that the add ons are
very pricey for this radio ... and I guess ICOM in general. I was
able to make a nice head/ear phone from some headsets I purchased at
"A Buck Or Two". Also, the remote speaker/mic from my old Radio Shack
HTX-202 works just fine on it as well. Well, the sound may be a
little "tinny" but it does function.

I guess this is about it for now. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice
radio and there is a lot packed into a small size but I'm wondering if
I'm seeing some real issues or simply ghosts.

Thanks in advance for insights, comments (constructive hopefully) and
pointers.


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