On 2008-05-30, Charles Talleyrand wrote:
A McCoy MAC-1700 as a slide in replacement for the 170b
-or-
An Icom 200 as an additional radio (with the flaky KX170b as backup).

I own a bunch of Icom ham radios. (Eight, to be precise.) I also have an
IC-A24. Icom makes fine gear that's never given me a moment of trouble, and
I wouldn't hesitate to get one. (The only reason N55ZC has an SL40 instead
of an IC-A210 as COM2 is because the rest of the stack is Garmin, and I
wanted a sole source solution.)

OTOH, have you considered installation costs? The MAC-1700 (or the MX-170B)
will cost you less to install, just because they *are* slide-in
replacements; the IC-A200 will require some rewiring and a new tray. That
may tip the balance.
--
Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.com
http://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.net
Fairmont, MN (FRM) (Yes, that's me!)
AMD Zodiac CH601XLi N55ZC (ordered 17 March, delivery 10 June)