My Icom IC-R71a shortwave receiver is sick.  When I turn it on, the
digital readout is at 0.000 KHZ and neither the tuning dial, nor my
presets will change it. I opened the radio up and checked the internal
lithium battery and it seemed okay. The audio seems to be working and
very occasionally the radio works fine.

My question, is this something relatively simple that I can repair
myself or does it have to go back to the factory?

Hi ponsard-ga,

The most reliable source I came across for this particular model of
shortwave receiver was the troubleshooting website at Icom America. It
appears that your description of the problem resembles this one quite
closely:

"Symptom: Erratic display i.e., frequency listed will be out of the
normal operating range of the radio. Rotating the VFO knob may cause
strange characters to appear in the display. Cycling the power switch
a few times may restore operations temporarily.

Probable Causes: 
1) Cracked solder connections on RAM unit is causing logic errors. 
2) Program in RAM unit is corrupt. 

Cure: Resolder cracked joints at J1 and J2 connectors on RAM unit,
then reprogram. If this does not help, substitute RAM unit with a
known good one. If the substitute RAM unit works properly, then the
RAM unit must be replaced. If the substitute RAM unit does not cure
the problem, there may be noise from the DC-DC converter causing the
logic unit to glitch. Follow instructions for the previous problem."


http://www.icomamerica.com/support/troubleshooting/ic-r71a.html

If the above does not solve your problem, I believe it would be in
your best interest to return it to the factory. I got the impression
that the list of problems and cures given at the above hyperlink are
the only times you should attempt to fix the problem yourself.

You will be needing the technical support information (I am assuming
that you're in the USA - let me know if you are located elsewhere):

Email: receivers@icomamerica.com
http://www.icomamerica.com/support/email/ia-email.html

Technical Support-by-Phone: (425) 454-7619, 
Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM PST

This same number can be used for checking on the status of your unit
when it is in for repair.

http://www.icomamerica.com/support/index.html

In order for the technical support staff to diagnose your unit, you
will be asked to fill out the information form located here. Note that
any work to be done under warranty required a receipt and date of
purchase:

http://www.icomamerica.com/support/serviceform.html

A description of the process that needs to be followed to ship your
unit is located here:

http://www.icomamerica.com/support/shipping.html

If you have any problems understanding the information above please
post a clarification and I will respond promptly.

Cheers!

answerguru-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ponsard-ga on 07 Sep 2002 12:29 PDT

Of course I checked the ICOM site before asking this question and came
up with the same information you sent me. But this is not my problem
at all -- the display is not erratic and rotating the tuning knob does
nothing.  There seems to be something else wrong with the receiver.

---

Clarification of Answer by answerguru-ga on 07 Sep 2002 13:55 PDT

Hi again,

I realized there was a chance that this problem would not match yours,
and the search came up with no other details (on the ICOM site or
otherwise) about the receiver malfunctioning in the way you've
described.

For this reason it is best to return it to the factory...I have
documented the resources for how to do this and the procedure
involved. As with most electrical parts, if you attempt to correct
malfunctions that are not documented in your manual or online, you
risk voiding the unit's warranty. Before sending it back, however, I
would suggest contacting ICOM's technical support department via email
or phone (information is available in the original answer).

For future reference, when you ask a question it would be appreciated
if you list the resources that you have already found so that the
researcher answering your question does not provide redundant
information.

Thanks for using Google Answers.

answerguru-ga

I asked one question and your 'researcher' answered another. Completely useless.