Counterfeit ICOM Equipment

[bezking]

Hi all,

Just a heads up, Icom has released this bulletin, regarding Chinese counterfeit Icom products:

Important Notice | Icom Inc

 

[RadioDaze]

I don't believe a word of it.

Now let me get back to playing my $200 Gibson Les Paul Custom. When you distract me, I tend to scratch it with my $39 Rolex.

 

[kilowa22]

Apparently the label is the best detector

ICOM V8 Label

 

[kilowa22]

Ic-f21

Icom Counterfeit F-21 radios

 

[talkpair]

i noticed they left the "Made in Japan" intact !

It not only tarnishes Icom, but the Japanese as well.

I'd like to know where the money comes from to reverse engineer the product, and retool a factory to assemble these things.

 

[W2NJS]

There's an old saying that goes, "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery." To me the real question is about who exactly is selling this imitation stuff (have we seen any in the USA yet?) and then letting it be known who is serving as an outlet for it. I believe that the sale of this type of equipment, or anything else bearing a registered trade mark, is illegal in the United States. It certainly applies to fake watches so it would also apply, I think, to fake trademarked radios.

 

[K2KOH]

I would say most of these are more than likely coming off ebay from the "gray market" of Hong Kong radios. There are some reputable dealers from Hong Kong, but like everything else, a select few screws everything up

 

[davidgcet]

as cheap as Icom is anyway, why even bother faking it? they can't be selling them at too huge a discount or they would be selling at cost.

 

[shockhazard69]

Do these work better than the Motolora radios?

 

[mjthomas59]

I bought a Motorola GP380 radio off ebay about a year ago. I knew before I bought that this was one of the "95% new" radios courtesy of some Hong Kong or chinese factory. Overall I was surprised at how well it functioned. The only problem i've had so far is an occassional warning beep when I power it on. If I cycle it a few times afterward the error will go away. The reception and transmit seem to be in line with a legit motorola ht1250 and ht1550. The software and cable came with the radio and has been a snap to program. The GP380 all in all seems to have the functions of 1550. I got the 95% new for about $120 and we all know what a legit 1550 would cost. Now I wouldn't bet my life on a "95%" new radio that may or may not be type accepted by the FCC, but as something to leave in my personal vehicle to use in an emergency or to use to monitor other agencies (no i'm not a whacker, i'm full-time public safety) I don't find it all that bad of a deal. And hey if its gets stolen i'm not out $1000 for a real moto.

Either way I don't like the idea of being deceived by advertising and unknowingly purchasing something that isn't in fact what it says it is. I'd be curious though if these radios aren't being assembled using actual Icom parts with sub-par tolerances when the parts are assembled. You just have to figure that most of the individual pieces in these radios are produced in overseas, making it simple to duplicate the manufacturing process. These may even be factory 2nd parts that are being put together to make a complete radio.

Thanks for the heads up! I wouldnt want to be the guy that spent full-price on a radio only to find out that it isn't the real deal.

 

[ElroyJetson]

The Motorola radios from Hong Kong are apparently NOT counterfeits. Apparently, they came from Motorola after an incident with the fire sprinkler system going off in the entire portable radio factory. Any products that were even suspected of having been wet were scrapped off the line. How they ended up in Hong Kong is a topic for speculation but apparently that's what happened.


Elroy

 

[lep]

I have a friend who was general counsel of a company that made sportswear, he had a serious problem with "bogus" merchandise, most was made in the same factory as the 'authentic' branded-label stuff, just made at night or on weekends when the inspectors weren't there, then it was sold with no royalties to the trademark owner. If not authorized by the trademark owner it is, by definition, "counterfeit" yet it was all made in the same factory by the same workers, this was clothing...but it is not too great a leap to consider these same factors might apply to electronics.

 

[shockhazard69]

I'm sure when they disposed of the "water damaged" radios, they just sold them to make up for their losses.

 

[rexgame]

I have a friend who was general counsel of a company that made sportswear, he had a serious problem with "bogus" merchandise, most was made in the same factory as the 'authentic' branded-label stuff, just made at night or on weekends when the inspectors weren't there, then it was sold with no royalties to the trademark owner. If not authorized by the trademark owner it is, by definition, "counterfeit" yet it was all made in the same factory by the same workers, this was clothing...but it is not too great a leap to consider these same factors might apply to electronics.

This happens often in audio equipment. You may have two or three speaker lines coming out of the factory from competitors, and the "night shift" may have their own, that look and sound a lot like the originals.

 

[mjthomas59]

I'm not sure i'd buy the "whole factory took water damage" theory on these. The supply chain is still in place over a year after I saw the first ones hit ebay(and they were likely available before I actually saw them). I don't know for sure, i've heard a number of rumors on them. Some say they are just taking C and D grade parts and throwing them together, forcing a codeplug onto them, and thats that. Others think they are all using mismatched and reverse engineered parts for gp68 radios and forcing codeplugs onto them to make them act like gp360's and gp380's.

Either way the Hong Kong models don't typically have serial numbers on them which obviously makes them suspect.

Still though they are cheap, easy to program, and with only minor bugs they probably aren't all that bad. You have to consider though that about every novice user of these Hong Kong radios has had codeplug errors or completely bricked the radio. If you have more knowledge of how to force programming onto these things and are familiar with how to "massage" moto gear then you can typically make them work well.

Here is a website for those that have the Moto GP series and are having problems with the Hong Kong models: Motorola GP Series Discussion Board

 

[gmrsoutlet]

Although this is rather old news - the message is worth repeating. Beware of product sourced and sold outside of the official "Dealer Sales Channel", or you may be on your own with a hunk of junk.

This is why it is important to buy from an Icom America Authorized Dealer. I am very passionate about this, and that is why it is part of my signature here on Radio Reference.

When buying from an Authorized Dealer, not only are you guaranteed to get "real" product, you will also have a warranty. Icom only honors the warranty on product purchased from a US Authorized Land Mobile Dealer.

There are about 5-8 retailers online here in the United States (not Hong Kong - right here on US soil) that are selling product at deep discounts that are not Authorized Dealers. Several even get mentioned here from time to time (some more often then others) as "great places to buy". Regardless of what these resellers tell you, there is no warranty. If you send in a radio for repair with proof of purchase form a non-Authrozied Dealer you will not get service.

Any Authorized Dealer should be able and willing to share with your their Icom Dealer number so you can verify with Icom. Also you can check for yourself on the Icom website under the "Where To Buy" link. Simply enter the zip code of the address for the Dealer and their dealership will be listed if they are Authorized.

 

[ascension]

I would like to report my experience with counterfeit ICOM equipment: IC-VF82 bought on eBay appeared to be a fake/clone. At first glance I was surprised just by quality of screws used: they could be coming from elsewhere but not Japan (very low quality)... When I opened cover for installing of optional digital unit, there were NO connector at all. Then I removed radio from its case and everything became clear: this was produced by fakers... I have uploaded several photographs to my web hosting:
Fake ICOM radios on eBay: example of IC-V82
The same seller sells a number of other ICOM radios, namely IC-V8, IC-V89, IC-V85, IC-U85 with same conditions (no returns) and with attractive pricing, volume discounts. I'm sure they are coming from the same factory...
Hope this information will be helpful to someone because I was very disappointed when it bacame clear that I have a clone instead of genuine ICOM.

 

[MTS2000des]

gotta love BROKENSTOLENPHONYRADIOS.COM AKA EBAY. You get what you pay for.

 

[K9WG]

gotta love BROKENSTOLENPHONYRADIOS.COM AKA EBAY. You get what you pay for.

I have gotten some good equipment off of eBay, you just have to be careful.
(I have sold quite a bit of equipment too.)

 

[jaspence]

Bogus Icom

I had a similar incident, and received a full refund through the Paypal Resolution process.