Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

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cb4ever104
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by cb4ever104 »

bigpimp347 wrote:no wonder these were only £125..
I can almost get them brabd new for that price .

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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by bigpimp347 »

*edit to say £135 after seeing the advert*

these radios are from spain..or sold to the spanish market.
the serial sticker says

'emisora receptor CB/27' i know a bit of spanish,
CE stamped and of course made in china..

so i suspect these are factory/shop returns, bought by someone in the know via someone in a lot of know to be repaired/bodged and sold..

ok nothing wrong with repairing faulty goods for resale after all thats what graded items are, or shop returns..
but to sell them as brand new when clearly they are not, they should be advertised as what they are possible shop turns.

the insides being a mess is maybe covered by the advert stating all their radios are 'tested and aligned' prior to despatch, which was on a few of their older adverts for rados, i suppose if you say your radios have been tested and aligned prior to sale then that would answer why most the post stickers are broke, wax is clearly been touched and other dodgy looking soldering.

also this is from his advert..

FM 1.2 WATTS TO 20 WATTS VARIABLE actual 0w to 13w
AM 1.5 WATTS TO 10 WATTS VARIABLE actual 6w swing to 8w (thats your lot)
SSB VOICE PEAKS 3 WATTS TO 20 WATTS VARIABLE i never saw more than 5w on SSB.
SSB WHISTLE 5 WATTS TO 30 WATTS VARIABLE just touched 20 if i was lucky,

and lets not forget it warbled like crap too..!!!

(i would be grateful if some has the voltages for the mosfet set up as turning both down a fraction has cleared up the audio no end on SSB but i want it right)
I want to Die Asleep like my Grandad did,
Unlike his Passengers, Screaming and Shouting.!
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by astradyne »

Mudslinger wrote:I was tempted to buy one, and I am glad I didn't now.
Same here. No wonder the price was so low on them. I'm glad I decided against it. That workmanship really is a disgrace.

Of course returning it wouldn't be an option as they would just say you've had the lids off and done that yourself. It was tested fine when it left them blah blah.

Poor show for radio zing indeed.

Does anyone know the name of their "tech" ? Not COBRAWORXSHOPZ is it :lol:
Never, ever, ever....bloody anything ever!

Far too many radio's to list here. But I do own a legal one...
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by bigpimp347 »

*UPDATE*

this radio caught fire..!!!!

no tish he was chatting with his mate and his signal faded, then smoke filled his car..
he took it out quick and a lot of smoke was pouring out the back..
now TX was less than 10w as power was turned down inside.
wiring in the car was good, engine running so around 13.8v

I've seen the damage.

a large cap and a ferrite link have fell out the board in the regulator area, both sides of the board around the tracks to the regulator are black and burnt, fuse did not blow,
now there are components in said area that can not be identified, even looking t an albrecht/magnum i can find the cap, not the ferrite link.

also noted a bodge on the back of the driver mosfet, where it is bolted to the metal frame there was a large piece of alloy bolted to it, lets say this is loose and touching a SMD on the board, also the insulator on said mosfet is melted
maybe both are linked ??

so if you own an itica check the alloy heatsink on the driver. make sure it's not loose or able to move (it has one screw off center holding it in)
also be aware it might catch fire for no reason :)

he's contacting the seller and see i he can zing the radio back to them as it's only 4 month or so old.
if i get to see it again i'll get some photo's of it :)

no wonder they were cheap..!!
I want to Die Asleep like my Grandad did,
Unlike his Passengers, Screaming and Shouting.!
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by 26FB308 »

I too had one of these for a short while, it was fine, however when sold it the new buyer had some issues with it. I had the lid off just to move the jumpers, the board was much cleaner than that. I spoke with Simon at RZ who told me that they did not twiddle with them before sale, and yes they came in from Spain.
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by bigpimp347 »

funny that as all his radios on his sales he claims are tested and tuned and aligned before sale :)
so he must ship them to his semi-retired rig doctor in wales to butcher them..
either way, this said one has been returned and if he 'see's fit' he'll exchange it..

i doubt even his one day a week rig tech could sort that pile of crap out..
I want to Die Asleep like my Grandad did,
Unlike his Passengers, Screaming and Shouting.!
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by Base Jumper »

bigpimp347 wrote:it's not mine, it's a mates,
not saying what radio zing place it was but they were cheap for a reason, maybe this is it ??

Why not just say he got it from Radio Zing on ebay ?
You can shoot your mouth off about most things, so why sit on the fence now ?

Looks like Cobraworxshopz welding ...sorry soldering
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by bigpimp347 »

Base Jumper wrote: Why not just say he got it from Radio Zing on ebay ?
You can shoot your mouth off about most things, so why sit on the fence now ?

Looks like Cobraworxshopz welding ...sorry soldering
but because you don't want to incriminate anyone or say anything slanderous that could land you in trouble..

but thanks for pointing it out.
I want to Die Asleep like my Grandad did,
Unlike his Passengers, Screaming and Shouting.!
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by rizz »

cb4ever104 wrote:
bigpimp347 wrote:no wonder these were only £125..
I can almost get them brabd new for that price .

Sammy
I didnt think they made these anymore ? are these and the jopix superstar 3900,s being made again or are they new old stock ?
Yaesu FT7900, Superstar 3900 Red Display, President Lincoln, Adonis 308, Astatic road devil, Microset 27-200T Amp. Sirio Gp-3 5/8th 2m Antenna.
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by bigpimp347 »

here's the latest..
radiozing took one look inside the radio and send my mate a brand new one..!!

if it's like the original in the post it'll need to work before it's really usable, but they honor'd their crap radios..

i still say they bought them as factory returns and had them 'fixed' hence why they are so cheap, or were :)
I want to Die Asleep like my Grandad did,
Unlike his Passengers, Screaming and Shouting.!
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by Base Jumper »

bigpimp347 wrote:here's the latest..
radiozing took one look inside the radio and send my mate a brand new one..!!

if it's like the original in the post it'll need to work before it's really usable, but they honor'd their crap radios..

i still say they bought them as factory returns and had them 'fixed' hence why they are so cheap, or were :)

Glad to see you've found your back bone, It will be interesting to see if it was just a one off ( which can happen ) or like you say factory returns.
The truth is out there 8)
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by Warden »

I think your mate went inside screw drivering and this was the end result maybe. :?: There must be lots of people out there who go inside fiddling then when it breaks try to blame the shop/supplier. Be very careful what you post about companies on the internet without a shred of evidence.
I have bought from the same company and not had a single faulty item. Just ordered another radio today. Will post again when it arrives and give an update of the radio and condition.
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by Mudslinger »

As long as what is posted is the truth then there shouldn't be any libel issues.
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by bigpimp347 »

Warden wrote:I think your mate went inside screw drivering and this was the end result maybe. :?: There must be lots of people out there who go inside fiddling then when it breaks try to blame the shop/supplier. Be very careful what you post about companies on the internet without a shred of evidence.
I have bought from the same company and not had a single faulty item. Just ordered another radio today. Will post again when it arrives and give an update of the radio and condition.
as you can see from the original pictures, this was a BRAND NEW radio already twiddled when my mate bought it BRAND NEW from Radiozing.
so some screwdriver wielding fairy got in there and broke all the stickers and twiddled it and ballsed all the power up..
i took the photo's while i was setting the power back up to a more usable power, which anyone knows me it's around 10w AM/FM and up to 20w SSB for supposedly high power radios.
the radio has been working fine and quite literally just caught fire.

there has been no twiddling, no CBer's or idiots in the radio, he buys a lot of new radios, and also buys and sells as new condition radios, he never takes lids off, i can guarantee it.

any way, the radio was replaced with a new radio, I've yet to check inside to see if it was the same abortion as the last one, but who knows..
I want to Die Asleep like my Grandad did,
Unlike his Passengers, Screaming and Shouting.!
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Re: Jopix Itaca now i know why they're so cheap..!!

Post by razmouk »

I bought one of these early last year from radiozing for £125. I was really pleased with it initially, was perfect for where I was intending to use it.
Like others have said, out of the blue, thick white smoke started bellowing from the back of the radio. No safety cutout occurred and if I hadn't been present who knows what could have happened in my home. I was on low power, a swr of 1:1, and a constant 13.8 v from a diamond psu. I didn't bother going inside, the seals were intact, I simply returned it to radiozing. After several email exchanges, they agreed to refund money due to no replacements being in stock. Sadly, they implied that I must have been at fault because the finals had blown. I know my setup is and was perfect and felt pretty insulted about the accusation but thankful I had my money refunded.
I have had plenty of gear from radiozing, and all have been fine other than this. What really annoys me after reading this thread is that this problem was obviously not an isolated problem, yet I was made to feel guilty!
Anyway, nice radio really, looked great and worked a1, but only good for bonfires!
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