When the IC 2E came out in 1981 it was £159. That's £609 in today's money. So £519 is less than people were paying for radios back then when I started in amateur radio.
@@M0JSX It's incredible. I was 14 when I got my licence and had to sell my bike and wash cars to afford a used FT 207R. Now you can buy a Yaesu handheld for under £100.
Thanks for the review. Just a tip about the abraded/ scratched screen issue. I have a ic e92d and used metal polish to get rid of the marks that had appeared over time. Probably t-cut would do the job also.
Hi Jonathan. Great to see you again and very many thanks for the review. Always found your advice genuinely helpful and think I might be making a purchase! Take care.
Excellent review, thanks Johnathan! Hmm, I really battle to justify the price-tag. Yes, I realise that this is for all practical purposes a miniature IC-705 (albeit only for VHF/UHF), so it comes with a huge amount of functionality. Still, the price does give me the heebie-jeebies. Anyway, enough dramatics from me, although I have to comment that at this price-point Icom could certainly have gone through the trouble to supply proper UK power supplies instead of this cheap adapter thingy. In the end it's all about building value in this device.
Hi Jan. Personally I like the fact Icom UK have added an adaptor and not thrown all those EU chargers into landfill. It’s a shame Icom Japan haven’t included a UK plug, but I suppose the UK is a tiny market really. 73!
@@M0JSX Yes, agreed that using an adaptor is certainly preferable to creating more e-waste. Excellent radio regardless. Thanks for your efforts Jonathan, it's great to have your voice on the Tube. Cheers, Jan (M7HNK)
Good review Jonathan. I just bought one of these radio's. I find it very impressive. Very well made. Case for it looks mediocre. As far as batteries go though aftermarket makers such as Batteries America make plenty of batteries. I have some and they are about half the price of the Icom ones and for me they have been a good option. Example. I have an Icom 32 AT thats 32 years old. Batteries America makes a battery for it that I just purchased. As far as the radio goes this ID 52 A is amazing. I had not purchased a handheld in quite some time and I must say I rather like the evolution. I am very very impressed with the build quality Jonathan as well as the overall operation of the radio. I agree with you. I say this radio is worth the price. Average price is about 599 dollars here in the states now. Great review Jonathan and thank you sir.
Thanks, Jonathan - great review! Happily I bought two batteries with my 705 and I"m glad to see these will work with the 52 when I get my hands on one. 73, keep safe de M0VRI
Hi Johnathan, nice review, I think the radios worth the price tag considering the onboard tech and the amount of development put into producing a high quality HT there not high demand consumer products like some smartphones that can retail for over £900 plus so for £512 sounds about right.
I got the 2 pin charger with my ID-51e Plus, its nasty and cheap I also had to by my own 3 pin to 2 pin converter "it came for a UK dealer you know well :-)". The 3 pin adapter shown in this video has the 2 pin outlet on the bottom, In an old UK house with all the plugs on the skirting boards it would be unusable without another 3 pin multiway adaptor. For £520 I would expect ICOM to do much better and make a UK 3 pin charger, A very good video and very informative, I do like the display but I won't be upgrading in the near future due to the price.
Hi John, i like the review and i like the radio, its new, so early adopters must accept they pay the price for the latest technology. I remember paying nearly £400. For a handheld scanner thirty years ago so i don’t think the price is too prohibitive tbh. The case could of had a flap hinged on the front side over the top to prevent bits falling in so i agree thats an oversight. Regards. Paul G7JVB.
Really interesting and particularly liked your comments regarding details and things to watch out for e.g. screen protecting. Would have been nice to hear your comparison thoughts with a TH-D74. Maybe another video? Best 73.
Thanks for your comment. I don’t have a TH-D74 for a direct comparison, however I think overall I prefer the ID-52 due to its far easier to navigate menu system. I think the 52 also has the better screen and has the advantage of being able to charge over usb. However I do like the APRS support in the 74. Both are good radios, and I don’t think either is a justifiable replacement for the other (I.e. if you have a 74, the 52 is probably not worth it)
@@M0JSX Thanks for the reply Jonathan, interesting comments but as you say the difference probably isn't enough to swap over. I have a 74 because most of my rigs are Kenwood but if I was starting fresh, maybe the 52 would be the way to go.
The battery fits the ID-31 and ID-51, and the 705, and now the ID-52 there is no reason for them to stop making this battery in the near future. From past experience of Icom this battery will continue to be used on the next radio to come along as it saves on R&D development costs
While that is true Alan, Icom do have a bit of history in this. Although they are using the BP-271/272/307 with their current line up, there is nothing to guarantee the next radio will too. I do appreciate that any new radio is probably a few years down the line at the moment (except the announced SHF works)
I had some very light scratching on the screen of my D74, I used a product called "Polywatch" and a microfibre cloth to polish the scratches out. One side effect was that I ended up with a screen plastic that looked like new. I'm buying the 52 this week to go alongside my D74 (I like having full APRS). I'll also be getting a BP-307 and a desk charger, suddenly a £520 radio is more like £700, but what can you do, lol. 73's M7GSS (KD9PBT when I'm Stateside)
Like all these things when you start to add accessories, the price ramps up dramatically! I used the D74 for a while and think it is brilliant, very envious of you having both to play with! 73!
Nice radio, but rather pricey if all you need is D-Star. I think the ID31 Plus is a better option for hotspot use, so I won't be upgrading. It doesn't look like Icom will be introducing an ID32 either, shame that because I prefer the smaller size - especially with a BP-272 & SRH805S... perfect little shack radio that's not top-heavy & stands upright without falling over.
Hi a great video disappointing the nasty plug on the charger. I will stick with the D74 my go to hand held for now but the 705 is often in use thanks to you. All the best
Thanks Bruce. I like the D74 too. I very nearly bought one after road testing the demo at the shop for a while. But I think my brain ‘thinks Icom’a little easier! I’m pleased you are enjoying your IC-705. I knew it was right up your street!
I looked into this radio briefly as all the new features kind of intrigued me! But then the price.... 500+ dollars for an HT? I decided not worth it! D-Star.... OK.... No big deal..... D-Star was popular around here 10 years ago, and faded away only to be replaced by DMR...... DMR was all the rage,,,,, for a while..... and that too faded away..... Last DMR use I only heard 3or 4 other stations on the repeater... And Yeasu with there system Fusion...... 3 systems and none of them being used enough to warrant a 500+ dollar investment. Analog repeaters? I can access them with a 20 dollar Baofeng or my really old Alinco DJ-560! Don’t need an expensive HT to do that.
Why do different dealers charge pretty much the same price for radio equipment in the UK? In other areas, TV, Phones, Home appliances etc you can buy the same product but make significant savings by shopping around. Not the case in Ham Radio through, be interested to hear your thoughts. Good luck in your new chapter.
Good question Simon. Simple price matching each other really. Then you reach a natural bottoming out point where no dealer can stay in business and charge less.
Hi Jonathan, Quick question for you. Did you find a better screen protector for your ID-52, other than the one you showed during RU-vid video uploaded 19 Jan 2022. Recently acquired ID-52 myself and I am looking for a good screen protector. Please keep up the good work on RU-vid and yes, I have subscribed to your channel LOL. Best regards William (Bill) Van-Den-Bergh G6YTZ
Hi William, I haven’t, but I also haven’t looked for one. I suspect the best option would be to cut one down to size from a larger screen. Not ideal, but may be the best option.
Just went ahead and purchased Jonathan - well I had to get a nights sleep some how! Great review - and it covered various things I needed a heads up on. Pity the case is missing a fold over top to keep the crud out! 73 de GI8WFA.
I bought mine from eBay. I cannot really recommend the one I have as it is peeling at the top (as you can see in the video) if I find a better option I’ll be sure to post an update.
@@M0JSX thanks I was just enquiring about that with the ARRL , the idea would be to do the course and test online here which they seem to say is possible but would be good to have a video guide of how to go about it
I’ve use my AirPods with the 705 with great success. I do wonder about all the Bluetooth speaker mics you see on the market for use with Zello, and whether they might work with the 705/52. 73!
Hi Johnathan - I undrerstand you have managed to pair your Apple Ear buds to your Icom VS-3. Ive tried but as yet not managed it, can you let me know how you did this please?
Hi Jonathan, I have the Kenwood TH D74, I must admit I'm not a lover of DStar at all, however I do use the HF receive quite a lot via my EFHW (that is when my main HF comes out with me portable and it's packed away ready), Does the ID-52 have HF receive on it like the Kenwood?
Hello Johnathan, I've recently bought an Id52e and been looking at add on's. I saw the desk charger and i'm deciding to purchase but i notice it doesn't come with the power supply. Can i use the charger/power supply that's supplied with the 52e?
Hi Mat, I don’t believe it is the same connector unfortunately. I think most UK dealers will include the correct PSU though. Contact your favourite dealer and double check before purchase 🙂
All sorted Jonathan, ordered through ML&s, nice to see Icom uk provide the charger with the desktop stand, works perfectly and charges a little quicker than the charger supied with the radio. All in all really pleased with the radio, still learning but enjoying my purchase. Cheers Jonathan
The price of these radios is getting ridiculous in my opinion. For this money it should have WiFi for firmware updates, repeater list etc, having to program the radio with a repeater list is really backward. Sick of this 1 digi mode mentality , why don't they all just agree to all have DMR, D-Star and fusion support ? Now I mostly use the free blue DV software and the DVMega globetrotter, the globetrotter sits at home and acts as a server so I never need to have a dongle sticking out of the phone or laptop. It needs a static IP, the sound quality is much better both RX and TX. My phone now is my HT as I couldn't be bothered with repeaters and the snobbery and cliques. BlueDV for windows is amazing.
Interesting thoughts, but I doubt we’ll ever see a commercial product which supports multiple digital modes. That’s why so many people are buying the OpenSpot hotspot which will cross mode from/to all modes. 73!
@@M0JSX Crossmode is convenient but sound quality can suffer. I've seen some videos of People crossmoding with the OS3 and they log in to the web interface and change modes and channels this way from their phone but they don't need to go through this trouble, I can do all this from my Anytone 878 but it was difficult to program the 878 and OS3 but the payoff is making it very simple to change channels and cross mode all from the radio without having to log into the OS3 each time. If someone has a Fusion or D-star radio it's a lot more difficult because you can't program these radios like the DMR radio so in this case you'll have to go into the OS3 interface and change modes and channels or if I remember correctly with the FT-3D you could enter channels manually by using DTMF codes but you have to remember the channel numbers and that's a pain in the ass. IF someone is a one channel talker that never moves from say Americalink then they'll have no problem.
Screen looks washed out 👎 it’s a shame , I was really looking forward to this radio but for that kind of money with a 50pence adapter and no drop in charger is poor on Icoms part. I have DMR radios that came with UK power supply and drop in charger and 3000mah battery for £150 . I honestly can’t see that radio being worth £350 more …….
The ID52 screen is not washed out and is very good in bright sunlight as it comes from Icom's Marine and Airband range. I also have the THD74 and it's unreadable in bright sunlight with the black background but ok when using the white background with black text. Agree with you Jonathan on the screen protectors issue, I had a screen on another handy damaged when using a case so I no longer use cases but holders. The screen on THD74 is very soft and easily damaged so even though it's not touch screen I have fitted a screen protector to mine and also the ID52. Enjoyed the video. Cheers, Mike G1ZRN.
Thanks for your comment Richard. I wanted a DSTAR handheld that is easily going to last the next 10 years or so. But we are all free to form our own opinions and I understand this isn’t the radio for you. 73!
microUSB in this day and age? Shameful. It's like with audio companies playing catch up with the tech world - they may know how to produce great radios, but they have no clue about IT stuff. Same goes for Yaesu for their firmware upgrade procedures and connectivity, inability to change stuff in firmware people hate (scanning, you know what I mean ;-)). It's like they designed this stuff 10 years ago...
Hi Jan, while I admit I was a little disappointed Icom didn’t use USB-C, I’m happy it is there at all - similarly with the IC-705. I’d value a great radio with a slightly outdated connector, than a poor radio with a bang up to date connector. 73!
@@M0JSX Yeah, I'm more pissed at Yaesu as their FT-5DE is coming to me today. I will have to get their octopussy wire-x kit and connect multiple weird connectors if I want to use it as a proper data station. This is really straight out of 80s...
@@M0JSX I mostly got it because of the vast RX range. I don't have a HAM license (yet) so my use is rather limited :/ But to be honest, as an IT guy, I see this whole HAM (digital) world as a huge mess. C4FM, DMR, D-Star, no interoperability, logging hotspots around to interconnect - yes, on one hand it's pretty cool, but in reality it's really really sad. Old HAMs (which is majority here) don't really care for digital because it's new and weird, and younger people disregard it because it's a huge unusable nonsensical mess... Commercial vendor are probably happy, though, selling DMR radios and preset codeplugs to the service industry...
