In November, 1994, I purchased an ICOM IC-W21A dual-band handheld
  transceiver.  The model was being closed out, and offered at a very
  attractive price.  The radio did not have a touchtone keypad, but
  because I do not use an autopatch, I did not need one.

  The IC-W21A had the option, through use of a keypad entry, to expand
  the receiver coverage to include 100-200MHz, 400-500MHz and 800-1000MHz.
  With 64 memory channels and the usual scan functions, the radio could
  be used as a scanner as well as a dual-band handheld.  It was very
  convenient to have a scanner and transceiver in one unit.  The IC-W21A
  operated mobile with a power of 5 watts using Icom's CP-13L cigarette
  lighter plug.  The transceiver seemed to offer all that I wanted, but
  my satisfaction was short-lived.

  The sixth week I owned the radio, I was talking to a group on 2m during
  the morning commute, when the radio went dead.  I found that the DC
  power input jack where the CP-13L power cord plugged in did not work,
  but the radio would work with its battery.  I returned the radio to
  Icom for repair under the warranty, and received it back 30 days later.
  The DC input diode had blown and was replaced.  Two weeks later, during
  the morning commute, the DC input diode went out again.  I returned the
  radio to Icom, and this time I received the radio back in 14 days.  Six
  months later, while walking on the Strand in Galveston with the radio
  on my belt, the PTT assembly fell off and was lost.  I again returned
  the radio to Icom for repair, and received it back in 31 days.  Two
  weeks later, the DC input diode went out again.  The pattern had become
  painfully clear to me.  One of the buttons on the radio was badly worn
  and difficult to depress, so I requested that Icom replace the button
  as well as the DC input diode.  I did not hear from Icom for over six
  weeks, so I called them to find out the status of the repair.  The
  button assembly was out of stock and back ordered from Japan, and it
  could be several months until they could repair the radio.

  I had not yet owned the radio one year, and had to have it repaired
  under the warranty four times.  I began discussions with Icom about
  sending me another radio, as I had decided that I did not want that
  particular radio back.  Icom no longer had the IC-W21A in stock, but
  they did have the IC-W21AT, a similar radio with a touchtone keypad.
  After ten days of talking back and forth, Icom agreed to send me an
  IC-W21AT.  It was 102 days after I sent my old radio to Icom that I
  received the new radio.  I had owned my dual-band handheld for a total
  of 377 days, but I had been without it for a total of 177 days or 47
  percent of that time.

  I do not know if my experience was typical for IC-W21A owners, but I
  was able to locate two other amateur operators in Houston who had
  purchased IC-W21A's.  Carl Cunert WB8SVR, had one and was very
  satisfied.  He reported no problems, and in fact encouraged others
  to purchase the radio at the special closeout price.  Bob Brigham
  AA5ZK, also had an IC-W21A.  He reportedly had problems with the
  DC input diode, and seldom used the radio because it didn't work
  properly with an external DC power supply.

  I have to honestly say that the IC-W21A was a good radio when it
  worked, and I miss having a scanner and transceiver in one unit.
  The IC-W21AT does not have the expanded receiver capability.  Do
  I like my new IC-W21AT?  Ask me in a few months.