| KA4AAA |
Rating:  |
2009-05-07 | |
| Wonderful! Fantastic! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I don't know what else I can say that others haven't said. I sent my HM-151 to Bob on Friday, I had it back in my hands that next Wednesday. I even screwed up somehow (overexcitement??) and ended up short-changing Bob by $7.10, the return postage. He sent the mic anyway! (I did send a check immediately)
Upon using the mic on 40m and 6m phone -- out of six short QSOs (just to test the mic) -- three of the QSOs actually asked me what model Heil mic I was using and it sounded just incredible!!
If you have an IC-7000, or thinking of purchasing an IC-7000 -- get this mod done. This little rig is a fantastic unit and with the AB5N Mic Mod, it is an absolute top notch unit!
Save your $$$ with a separate, expensive microphone. Send it to Bob. You'll be glad you did! Of all the knick-knacky things I've purchased for my shack -- this is up there as the best of the best (and I love my SignaLink USB -- I should have had this mod done FIRST!)
Thank you, Bob. |
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| W3RXO |
Rating: |
2009-04-25 | |
| Amazing improvement!!!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bob did such nice work to my HM151, that I almost feel like I wasted money buying the adapter for my Heil Traveler, to use on the 7000. I am a cross country truck driver, and told Bob what my situation was. Not only did he do the fantastic modification, but he tweaked it in a manner as to make it almost totally noise canceling, while retaining the high quality audio that he promised, on his website, and in his YouTube videos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs6P2rX6rCQ). This is a modification every 7000 owner ought to have done to his/her HM 151. I can't say enough good things about Bob's work. I also had him modify my 2-HM-133's (one from my IC-V8000, and the other from my IC-2720), the reports from the locals on my "home" repeater are that the difference is a great improvement over what the mic previously was, on either of them. I am very happy with all 3 of them, and will return to Bob for more work, if I ever need another Icom mic modified.
BTW-before I found this review category, I created another for Bob's work, under the Amateur radio service category. Other than this last couple of sentences, it says exactly the same. |
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| N4FYS |
Rating: |
2009-04-22 | |
| Excellent experience |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
There's not much you can do to make the IC-7000 any better except to send your stock HM-151 mic to Bob to have him install his modifications into it.
Bob works fast, I sent my mic on Saturday and received it back the following Saturday. That's fast in my opinion.
I noticed the difference in the mic when I took it out of the box. All of a sudden it had some heft to it. The weight option he offers (for free, by the way) makes the mic feel substantial in your hand. Now it's not too heavy nor is it too light - it's just right. I highly recommend you ask him to add this option to your mic!
The element and cap change now cause the transmitter to be driven the way it should have been driven to begin with. The foam and pop filter he adds really help to make your transmitted audio sound the way it should. Your local contacts will notice the difference and you DX contacts will hear you better on any voice mode you use. You'll get a little piece of paper with Bob's recommendations on it. I believe you'll be happy with them. But as Bob tells you, every voice is different. If yours is different these settings are a good place to start playing from.
All in all I'm very happy with the change and it's worth every penny I spent. The cost/benefit ratio is very high.
Great job Bob. Thanks and 73,
Dan, N4FYS
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| PA3CDM |
Rating: |
2009-04-09 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Great modification,Excellent service. Super fast shipping.
Thanks Bob |
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| W2TXB |
Rating: |
2009-03-23 | |
| Wow! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
After seeing such great reviews here and talking with somebody (Chuck P. in NC) who had the modification done (and sounded great), I figured the reasonable price for the upgrade would be worthwhile. I was/am not disappointed.
Having sent the mic to Bob Nagy on 3/17, I expected to be without it for two weeks. The mic came back today and I immediately connected it to my '7000, and then adjusted the levels per Bob's recommendations.
Count me as Satisfied Customer #79 (eight pages of reviews on this with an average of 5.0 out of 5) on this web site... the audio reports I am receiving are nothing short of fantastic. People who know my voice tell me that I sound very natural and clear on the air.
If you have the IC-7000 and have not yet done this upgrade, you are indeed missing out on the radio's fullest potential.
Just do it. |
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| N2DY |
Rating: |
2009-03-20 | |
| Definitely Worthwhile |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I recently picked up an IC-7000 for use in the mobile. Quite honestly I received pretty good audio reports stock from the factory. However, I read the reviews here of Bob's modification and I had to try it. Well, it was certainly worth it. Audio did improve and the mic output increased to a level that allows it to operate on any mode without fiddling with the gain settings. Also, as some noted, the slightly hollow sound that existed because Icom mounted the mic element away from the opening in the mic was gone. The audio with the new element is punchy and clear and I no longer need to use the compressor on SSB in order to get adequate modulation. The increased gain and clarity make the rig sound reasonably good even on AM. The added weight makes the mic feel better and makes it less likely to slide around when I put it down on the seat in the car. Turnaround time was lightning fast and communications from Bob were excellent. He has priced this mod just right. It is cheap enough to say what the heck and give it a try. So go ahead. You won't be disappointed. |
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| K3JB |
Rating: |
2009-02-09 | |
| A must modification !! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| It has all been said before , great Modification, fast turn around service, first class help from Bob. I have a Heil mike I was going to use with this radio, after Bob completed the mod with weight on the HM-151 my sound reports are all better on the AB5N Mod than the Heil. |
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| WV4I |
Rating: |
2009-02-04 | |
| Wow!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I received IC-7000 serial number 0510201 in Jan 2009 and it obviously needed help with the transmit audio right out of the box. You can experiment with settings, but I'd suggest shipping right to AB5N, get the mod and the added weight, and be done with it. Specifically, with compression off, and the mike set at 100% gain, SSB mode (don't work FM), I was still getting very little ALC bump and well under 100W on IC-7000 and LDG AT200 Pro peak reading watt meters. With the transmit audio monitor on, and wearing a Heil headset, the xmt audio was very shallow, to say the least. I can't imagine why this would be desirable in a mobile sized rig, where you usually want more punch, not less. Even in a base application, this xmt audio would be marginal even if the only station on freq and calling. With the mod done, I followed Bob's (AB5N) recommended settings of 50-75% mike gain, compression off, and the radio sounds great now, both thru monitor/headset, and to other stations. I can't really tell the difference between compression on and off listening wise, but note a slight decrease in ALC bump, but do have mike gain down to 25% with comp off, per Bob's instructions.
All in all, I would say the AB5N mike mod does more to improve the xmt audio of the IC-7000, than did the W4RT OBP MH-31 mike mod for the FT-857D, a must for the latter as well.
Great product, service, fast turnaround. I can't imagine owning a $1k plus rig and tolerating the out of the box xmt audio when this mod is readily available.
Thanks Bob/AB5N. |
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| K9IUQ |
Rating: |
2009-02-03 | |
| Substantial Improvement |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Have had this for a while and it is a good improvement over the stock mic. Priced reasonably.Fast turn around and I sent a personal check, no problem. Get the added weight mod too as it makes the mic *feel* better. Highly recommended for all 7000 users...
Stan K9IUQ |
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| K3DLB |
Rating: |
2009-02-02 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Excellent modification. Excellent service. Super fast shipping. The mic works great and I am getting many compliments. I especially like the added weight.
Thank you Bob. |
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