One can only hope that Yaesu does not follow the same road as SGC
in
customer support for the FT-817. They certainly have a larger
business resource base, so that strength will help.
73---Bonnie KQ6XA
One's opinion of a manufacturer is, of course, based on one's own
personal experience. My experience with Yaesu is that they are among
the best. Example. Had an FT-470 handheld that was probably 4 or 5
years old and on at least its 3rd owner. I was having a problem with
intermod - didn't give it a second thought until I spoke to someone
who mentioned that Yaesu might have a fix. I spoke to the service
folks who, indeed had a mod for that radio to improve its
performance. I sent it in - well out of warranty. They fixed it,
some $100 worth of service and parts (filters, crystals - pretty big
deal) and sent it back N/C. Other's I've known with FT-736R
satellite radios have had similar results. Their stuff isn't perfect
but they seem to care. At least they continue to stock parts for
their products when they begin to age which is more than you can say
for Icom. Try to get your IC-290A or IC-490A fixed when the CPU dies.
Ed, N5EM
