Icom radios survive the wildnerness

Icom radios survive the wildnerness

First there was the story of Icom radios defying heat. Now Icom radios are proving their unsurpassed quality and worth yet again by taking on Mother Nature.

Icom radios were provided by Icom NZ’s Principal dealer Signals NZ to Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management Group who had loaned radios to ECan for their volunteer weekends to eradicate wilding conifers. These volunteer weekends are crucial for the environment as the wildling conifers obscure scenic views, decrease production of pastoral farms, increase the risk of fire, reduce stream water yield in flow sensitive catchments, displace threatened habitats and species, and impact on cultural and historic sites. It was on one of these wildling eradication weekends that Icom’s IC-F3G was lost.

Left for two years in the wilderness to fend for itself, Environment Canterbury (ECan) had given up all hope of seeing little Radio 53 (Icom’s IC-F3G) make its way back to the charging dock safely. Living amongst the wild tussocks of the high country and braving two seasons worth of rain, snow and sunburn, the IC-F3G was thought to be lost for good. So it was a great surprise when one of the volunteers stumbled upon it in the high country’s bush.

After retrieving the burnt Icom radio from the Burnham army camp’s fire and seeing it burst back into life, Andrew Howe from the Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management Group thought it worth a shot to see if this one would do the same. Other than the red button on the side being turned a faded shade of pink and being caked with mud and debris but after a full battery charge, Icom’s IC-F3G burst into life and was ready to go again! It was tested on their Marleys channel and was transmitting and receiving fine. Radio 53 is back in service and ready to be deployed again into the wilderness – just another great example of how much innovation and quality workmanship goes into Icom radios.

ENDS

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