ICom ID-52 Brilliant! (But Flawed)

Thank you for watching. My weekly ham related email is here: .G5DOC.net
Buy me a coffee? buymeacoffee.co...
I mostly do a weekly email on Documentally.net
There is so much to like about the ICom ID-52. But there is also a flaw with the screen. Luckily I tell you one way you might be able to fix it.
You can find me on QRZ at G5DOC.

[@2m0rot]

In Scotland I'd never see the screen again. I might just wait on future updated model, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

[@Documentally]

I’m also told it could be as a result from ultrasonic cleaner stuck behind components on reassembly. In which case it can also cause corrosion.

[@juanpabloish1]

Brand new ID52 and I have this issue - not happy!

[@Documentally]

Wow. I thought they would’ve sorted that by now. I sent mine back and it got fixed with refresh seals I think. Not that I take it out in the cold as I prefer the more robust FT5D

[@greg8814]

Thanks for sharing I don't like this radio even before I watch this video. My plan is: I'm waiting for the replacement of the Kenwood TH-D74A. Am I alone on this?

[@MrBenEye]

You demonstrate a great point. My qth is the central coast of California where the temperatures are not nearly as cold. 73!

[@Documentally]

Yes love Cali. I hope to be riding a motorbike through there in April. I’ll have a radio with me. ;-)

[@roloroles854]

nice short review ... I like it

[@Documentally]

We aim to please :-)

[@AndrejaKostic]

Really interesting video! Few comments: -The near repeater function expects the repeater's position to be actually available in the list on the radio. I still haven't received my ID-52, but other Icom radios don't have a way of showing repeaters without coordinates if you only use the near repeater option. So, since you mentioned traveling, it might be a good idea to double-check if all of the repeaters in the area of interest have their coordinates entered, so that they do show up. -From the widebanding information available on the Internet, it seems that the diodes of interest are actually on the keypad side of the radio, so it seems that widebanding it will require complete disassembly. I still haven't found the service manual for the ID-52, but I really do wonder what's the disassembly procedure, and how much waterproofing parts there are which get destroyed during disassembly. -For humidity and climate control, well the point does look a bit strange. I wonder how good is the communication between Icom's various departments internally. Namely, in some electronics factories I've seen, somewhat high humidity is actually considered positive, in order to act as one of the means to prevent electrostatic discharges. However, this then brings up the issues with humidity when assembling the radio and when servicing the radio, especially since the radio's temperature rating is -20°C to +60°C. Their marine department would definitely have experience with such issues.

[@Documentally]

You make some great points. Especially on the wide banding. If I'm honest, moving from the FT3D has me missing GPRS. If the FT5d had the 'local repeater' function I'd take this back and upgrade to that. So far finding local repeaters has been perfect. It seems it came with a decent code plug. Any other radios offering similar?

[@AndrejaKostic]

@@Documentally Sorry, I don't know of any other hand-held radios which are similar and have that function. I have the Anytone D578 mobile DMR radio, which does sort-of have a similar function, but it's much greater chore to configure. The radio has a number of "zones", which at first seem to be like memory groups. Then, you can configure GPS coverage for each of the zones, and have the radio switch zones and so on. It seems so much more complicated than the Icom system, that I didn't even try it out.

[@Documentally]

@@AndrejaKostic Yes I know a few people with the same radio and they have said the same. I wonder if iCom have got a patent on the feature. Hope not.

[@AndrejaKostic]

@@Documentally By the way, since I'm still waiting for my radio, let me ask: Is there a feature on ID-52 which tells you which VFO was the last one heard? I haven't seen anything in the manual about it. My first radio was a hand-held Wouxun KG-UV8D with two independent receivers. It had a really nice feature, which I haven't seen on other radios: After a signal broke squelch on a VFO, it would show a small telephone handset icon next to that VFO, until the squelch opens again. This way, if you have two receivers on, and aren't looking at the radio at the moment it's receiving, you can still tell on which receiver it heard the signal.

[@Documentally]

@@AndrejaKostic Hi. I don't think it does and have also asked a friend that knows the radio better than me and he also does not think it has this feature either.

[@rodwilkinson3304]

Very interesting and well presented if I may say so, certainly helping me towards making a decision whether or not to buy one !

[@on4vrt]

I have an issue with the PTT button that sometimes does not key the radio when pressed in.Sometimes during transmission the radio switches out of TX while the PTT button is held in. Maybe this also is due to moisture in the case. This is not to be expected from expensive Icom products!

[@Documentally]

Weird not seen that. Does it have High SWR protection? Have you tried it with a different antenna. Might be a fault there.

[@on4vrt]

@@Documentally It is at low power and with the stock antenna. I do think that it is moisture inside the ID-52 that's causing this problem. After having it in the shack for a few day's it was doing ok. Another thing that I found was that the audio is not all that great. I use a lot of Icom radio's but I don't know why everyone is raving about this ID-52. It's really not that amazing to be honest.

[@HamTechRadioScannerDrones]

Steamy Video :)I agree 705 best radio of all time .

[@RealWorldNLPAndHuna]

I had this happen to a phone when I was in Cyprus. I put it in a bag of salt for a day and it was sorted. Alternatively some of those bags containing Sodium Theosulphate. Personally I find salt faster.

[@Documentally]

Yes that could also work as long as you remove the seal on the back. Thanks for the comment!

[@marioasunan270]

Thanks mate.... I was about to buy this radio but hmmmm..... I'll wait for a while until they perfect it.

[@RF_Burns]

Interesting. I hope Icom bring out a UHF only ID32. I prefer the small form factor.

[@moondog_radio]

Love my ID-31.

[@SteveHartmanVideos]

this is a very interesting flaw. I wonder if that fixes the screen issue.

[@Documentally]

Yes so far so good but I've not taken it out in any cold temperatures yet.

[@WillLeingang]

Thanks for the heads up!

[@Documentally]

I still have it. It's getting warmer so no issues. :-)

[@djtecthreat]

I'm between this one and the FT-5DR. Would you say the GPS repeater scan is worth going for the Icom?

[@Documentally]

It's a tough one. There are pros and cons for both. I'm currently writing them up for a post on my weekly email at G5DOC.net. The big downside for me in regards to Yaesu is they don't USB charge. I could live without the location search but it's a nice to have. I'll share more in the email. Also a way to USB charge the FT5D ;-)

[@preston1614]

I will never buy another radio without the near repeater search. If you sit at home or just use it locally it doesn't matter. If your like me and travel for work it's the best feature I have ever found in this hobby. Trash the yeasu, the icom is where it's at. I just converted two yeasu ftm400 guys to the icom 5100 solely for the near repeater search feature. For example, I traveled to Colorado, the first day I wasn't on the radio at all because I hadn't downloaded the Colorado repeaters to my radio yet. That night in the hotel I downloaded 500 repeater and the next day I got on the radio and there's 10 repeaters all named the same but in different locations. Well this forced me to pull over, get out my phone, find the frequency of the closest repeater, change my radio from channel name to chfreq, find the repeater.... and then do it all again when I got to my other destination. What a headache. With the icom 5100 I show up to a place far from home, near repeater search and I'm on the air, no programming required, just 2 button clicks... when I'm on the road I can click scan near repeaters and it constantly scans the 20 closest repeaters as I travel. It's an amazing feature, I'll never go back to a dumb radio like any yeasu.

[@moondog_radio]

@@preston1614 Temporary skip is another ICOM-only feature that is super nice. Hard going back after using that.

[@neilspector9221]

@@preston1614I also travel for work a lot and the Icom 52a or 51a near repeater search is so nice. Not even a need to programming software anymore. The only thing I do is make sure the latest near repeater list is updated.

[@GSA0281]

In My opinion E92D is still best handy which icom made.

[@TheXone7]

Don't send it back!! I just have purchased it because of your reviews haha! Cheers, will test that display when it arrives.

[@Documentally]

I think you will be fine :-)

[@VA7BC]

Good point!

[@martin6038]

Hmm that's pretty poor that flaw depends on if removing sticker voids warranty ! Just subscbed

[@Documentally]

Cheers for the sub Martin. In an update just for you I was out with the radio this morning and I had the same happen again. To less of an extent but it still steamed up a bit. Might try a hairdryer next.

[@TheM6aae]

Where did you haggle please Christian?

[@Documentally]

I’m afraid it’s not fair for me to mention the place in a public channel just in case they get bombarded with requests :-) it’s a well loved ham radio store though. I find negotiating a price works much better face-to-face. Not online. (DM me?)

[@mrtonicsvls3624]

It can do cross band analogic V/U or U/V?

[@ManuelPinner]

I have a Yeasu FT5D HT made in Japan! Where They have High Quality Standards!

[@theend5304]

Please check and tell me if it can TX up to 450 MHz? Not up to 440, but up to 450. Maybe A or E?

[@Documentally]

I'm on the UK version 'E' and you cannot transmit on 450MHz. It says 'Out of band' message on the screen.

[@theend5304]

@@Documentally Thank you so much for the accurate first-hand information!!

[@BigjohnZ06]

This is why I Don’t Buy a New Radio as soon as it releases, wait at least 6 months to a year.

[@MrN9ja]

Tried to send a DM on your website, but received a not found 404 message. While the factories ARE climate controlled, the radio is not hermetically sealed. In the basic manual, the following warning explains the IPX7* rating. Without the proper items in place, the radio will breath in humidity from the surrounding environment... Sorry to say, the fog is a byproduct of the heat from transmitting and the moisture in the air inside the radio at the time, which is not trapped from the factory.

[@Documentally]

Hi Ray, Thanks for the message and sorry for you not being able to get through. For future reference I have open DM's on Twitter @Documentally. I really need to read the manual as I'm not sure what you mean by 'the proper items.' I was just reporting on a message passed on from Icom who reported that this was a known issue and it was down to humidity in the factory. I then speculated that it was due to the radio being waterproof and moisture being trapped inside. I will look up more info on the 'breathing' that you mention. Thank you. Incidentally the temperature dropped below freezing today and I had the same issue.

[@patm5165]

What is an airing cupboard?

[@Documentally]

Some houses in the UK have one. It's normally a space where the water boiler is and you store towels and bed linen. And Icom IC-705's ;-) At least I do.

[@simfinful]

Who has an airing cupboard in these days of no immersion heater on the top landing? :-)

[@Documentally]

I’ve got a feeling your hairdryer might also work ;-)

[@johnpritchard5410]

stickery bit...

[@alanh4364]

made cheap in China.............

[@susieroberts8175]

No, made in Japan. Thank goodness.

[@darrylyoung1121]

not all all.

[@ericpittman5657]

😁 P r o m o s m.