ICOM RANT ALERT
Just want to give fair warning. As I posted, the audio circuit on our M502 died. As the radio was 12 years old I opted to replace the M502 with a brand new M506. The lure of a Class D radio and the worry that the audio circuit was the first failure of things to come seemed to make it the prudent choice.
Ok, so ICOM decided to change the RAM mic and cable. If you look at the RAM mic end of the cable it is a 10-pin connector and not the 8-pin as before. The two extra pins are stubbed to two wires that come out of the back of the plug for an external speaker. Isn’t the RAM mic a speaker, but ok. The other end is the same old 8-pin connector. The new 8-pin connector even connected to the old 8-pin connector WHY? Why can’t manufacturers use the same cabling? I was tempted to try hooking the new cable to the old extension, but I behaved and pulled the new RAM mic cable with one extension. Took most of the day, as whoever did the last radio install zig-zagged the cables all over the place and used TWO extensions! I replaced 60 feet (two extensions) with 40 feet (one extension) and still cable to spare.
The rant is why can’t manufacturers use the same cabling and make it easier to replace an electronic black box when the old unit dies??? The radio will go in tomorrow, and will most likely install in under an hour.