My experience has been that for every bad report about SGC
rigs, you can find seveal folks that love them and have never had a
problem. Like anything else, the bad reports tend to be louder and
more obnoxious than those that quietly use and enjoy. A friend
has had one on board for 6+ years with constant use and absolutely
no problems. My 230 hasn't missed a beat since I bought it 6 years
ago.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"sded" wrote in message
...
Finally sold my SG2000 radio after 9 1/2 years of excellent service on
voice and
email (Winlink). Had to tune up the frequency once (very simple with an
SGC)
but otherwise never a problem. Decided to keep the SG230 tuner, still
going
strong after 10 years, with my new ICOM M802. I kept the SG230 because it
works
great and is also compatible with my other SSB, an ICOM 706-II. I have
certainly heard anecdotal evidence of SGC radio problems, but don't know
the
percentages--I only know 2 other SGC radio users, but they have no
problems, and
all the tuner users I know seem to rarely have problems-but I only know a
few
personally. Gordon West also pans the radio, loves the tuner. Seems to
have
been some radio quality control problems at various times, but also lots
of good
ones. Good price for the tuner; currently $419 + shipping at Farallon
Electronics. But I don't expect to need a replacement for a while.
Regards;
Ed,KO6CK
(Larry W4CSC) wrote:

How many times has it been sent back to SGC, like all their products?

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 19:33:33 GMT, "Radiodan-W7RF"
wrote:

Brand new in box SGC 230 antenna tuner $375 plus ship
Perfect backstay antenna tuner, most popular used by boaters worldwide.
Credit cards OK
One time post, it will sell fast.

--
73, Dan Magro W7RF
HENRY RF Power Amplifiers
BIRD power measuring, TOHTSU coaxial relays
SAMLEX power supply, RFI snap-on chokes
www.radiodan.com




Larry W4CSC

"Very funny, Scotty! Now, BEAM ME MY CLOTHES! KIRK OUT!"

For what it's worth (which may be what you've paid for it), I saw a
lot of SSB radios on fishboats and workboats when we were looking for
Fintry.

Thes were fishboats on both coasts and workboats in the Gulf, places
like Morgan City. All owned by people and companies who squeeze a
penny hard and have experience across multiple boats.

I would say that the market split between SEA and SGC, with Icom
extremely rare (I can't remember one, but I can't swear to it). We did
see an Icom 710 on Tarapunga (ex RNZN survey vessel).

We took a Furuno 1502 around the world on Swee****er and I will
probably buy a 1503 for Fintry. That may change if I find an Icom
salesperson this week at Fort Lauderdale who will give me straight
answers to questions and not go off ranting about the (SE Asia racial
epithet) and (Asia racial epithet) who build their competitors'
equipment. My experience in the past has been the slurs (same guy, at
two different shows) and a strong desire to upsell (several different
people) -- ask for an explanation of the practical differences between
the 700, 710, and 802 and you get the reasons to buy the most
expensive.
While I hear most of you guys believing in Icom, I am reluctant to
reward unacceptable behavior.


Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com

"Doug Dotson" wrote in message ...
My experience has been that for every bad report about SGC
rigs, you can find seveal folks that love them and have never had a
problem. Like anything else, the bad reports tend to be louder and
more obnoxious than those that quietly use and enjoy. A friend
has had one on board for 6+ years with constant use and absolutely
no problems. My 230 hasn't missed a beat since I bought it 6 years
ago.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"sded" wrote in message
...
Finally sold my SG2000 radio after 9 1/2 years of excellent service on
voice and
email (Winlink). Had to tune up the frequency once (very simple with an
SGC)
but otherwise never a problem. Decided to keep the SG230 tuner, still
going
strong after 10 years, with my new ICOM M802. I kept the SG230 because it
works
great and is also compatible with my other SSB, an ICOM 706-II. I have
certainly heard anecdotal evidence of SGC radio problems, but don't know
the
percentages--I only know 2 other SGC radio users, but they have no
problems, and
all the tuner users I know seem to rarely have problems-but I only know a
few
personally. Gordon West also pans the radio, loves the tuner. Seems to
have
been some radio quality control problems at various times, but also lots
of good
ones. Good price for the tuner; currently $419 + shipping at Farallon
Electronics. But I don't expect to need a replacement for a while.
Regards;
Ed,KO6CK
(Larry W4CSC) wrote:

How many times has it been sent back to SGC, like all their products?

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 19:33:33 GMT, "Radiodan-W7RF"
wrote:

Brand new in box SGC 230 antenna tuner $375 plus ship
Perfect backstay antenna tuner, most popular used by boaters worldwide.
Credit cards OK
One time post, it will sell fast.

--
73, Dan Magro W7RF
HENRY RF Power Amplifiers
BIRD power measuring, TOHTSU coaxial relays
SAMLEX power supply, RFI snap-on chokes
www.radiodan.com




Larry W4CSC

"Very funny, Scotty! Now, BEAM ME MY CLOTHES! KIRK OUT!"

I recently sold my SGC 2000 radio after 8 years of on and off again
service. I kept the SGC 230 tuner to use with my new Icom
IC-706MKIIG. The SGC 2000 had been back for repair 3 times and the
tuner in twice. The last time they returned the tuner to me, it
failed to tune. I opened up the case and found the prongs of the fuse
holder folded over and the fuse MISSING, as in not in the case! This
is on a newly serviced tuner. I called them up with a blood vessel
pumping in my neck, and finally got it fixed. In any case it's worked
well for 6 years now, but I certainly wouldn't buy anthing else from
them. I have installed Airmail/Winlink systems on quite a few Icom
marine SSB's, mostly 710's and 802's, and although the radio's are
bullet proof, the user interface is a pain for anyone who want's to
use them on any freqs other than the standard marine ITU channels.
You can always tell when you're talking to a 710 or 802 user. If you
tell him to meet you on 6245.0, you'll get a "ok, give me a couple
minutes to program". GGGRRRRR! Give me a Icom 706 ANY DAY.

The M802 is actually quite easy to tune. If you go to the frequency display,
and hit "clar/rx", the left hand knob acts just like the "TS" (tuner step)
button on the 706, and the right hand knob tunes frequency in the increment
selected by the left hand knob. You can also key in the frequency with the
keypad, which you can't with the 706. I agree that the 710 is a pain, but think
the 802 has really fixed the problem-but has certainly not documented in the
manual. I had to hound Icom technical support to get a copy of the missing
pages from the manual via fax. I also have a 706-II at home, BTW.
(Mark Reichow) wrote:

I recently sold my SGC 2000 radio after 8 years of on and off again
service. I kept the SGC 230 tuner to use with my new Icom
IC-706MKIIG. The SGC 2000 had been back for repair 3 times and the
tuner in twice. The last time they returned the tuner to me, it
failed to tune. I opened up the case and found the prongs of the fuse
holder folded over and the fuse MISSING, as in not in the case! This
is on a newly serviced tuner. I called them up with a blood vessel
pumping in my neck, and finally got it fixed. In any case it's worked
well for 6 years now, but I certainly wouldn't buy anthing else from
them. I have installed Airmail/Winlink systems on quite a few Icom
marine SSB's, mostly 710's and 802's, and although the radio's are
bullet proof, the user interface is a pain for anyone who want's to
use them on any freqs other than the standard marine ITU channels.
You can always tell when you're talking to a 710 or 802 user. If you
tell him to meet you on 6245.0, you'll get a "ok, give me a couple
minutes to program". GGGRRRRR! Give me a Icom 706 ANY DAY.