Pascal Villeneuve, VA2PV, va2pv@arrl.net
Product Review
Icom ID-52A Dual-Band FM/Digital
Handheld Transceiver
Reviewed by Steve Ford, WB8IMY
wb8imy@arrl.net
If the Icom ID-52A is striving to become the top-end “luxury”
analog FM and D-STAR handheld transceiver, I believe it may
have achieved its goal. This radio has a wealth of features that
place it near the top of the list, not only for digital D-STAR users,
but for FM operators as well.
If you’re tempted to compare the ID-52A to its predecessor, the
Icom ID-51A, you will quickly discover that the ID-52A is more
than a straightforward replacement. As you’re about to see, the
ID-52A has several attributes that set it apart.
One of the rst things you’ll notice is the larger color LCD (the
display is more than 2 inches diagonally). When you listen for
the rst time, you’re also likely to notice a major audio output
boost compared to the ID-51.
But those are just rst-blush impressions. As you handle the
radio with the lithium-ion battery attached, the solid con struc tion
is obvious. The ID-52A weighs slightly more than 10 ounces
and the package includes a battery charger, exi ble helical
antenna (better known as the proverbial “rubber duck”), and a
belt clip. The accompanying instruction manual is professionally
written and provides most of what you need to know, although
you will need to download additional documentation from the
Icom website if you want to explore advanced features.
Bottom Line
The ID-52A has
several attributes
that set it apart from
its predecessor.
This radio isn’t a
budget handheld,
but its abundance
of features and
functionalities
commands a price
to match.
When it comes to reception, the ID-52A spans 88 to 174 MHz
and 225 to 479 MHz. This range includes FM broadcast
(monaural only) and AM aeronautical coverage. It excelled at
both, although I had to occasionally use the attenuator function
to mitigate overload from nearby FM stations.
On the transmit side, the ID-52A offers more RF output levels
than I can recall seeing in a handheld transceiver: 5 W (High),
2.5 W (Mid), 1.0 W (Low2), 0.5 W (Low1), and a mere 0.1 W
(S-low). Even at 100 mW output, I had little difficulty reaching
local repeaters. It probably goes without saying that
I enjoyed considerable battery life at that output level.
Other standard-equipment goodies include Bluetooth wireless
connectivity, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, a
microSD memory card slot, a USB port, and 1,000 receive/
transmit memories (along with memories set aside for your
favorite FM broadcast stations).
Reprinted with permission; copyright ARRL.
www.arrl.org QST June 2022 41
Key Measurements Summary
Receiver Sensitivity (12 dB SINAD, PV)
SINAD
Receiver Third-Order Dynamic Range (dB)
I
3
RX
Receiver Third-Order Dynamic Range (dB)
I
3
RX
ChRej
IF
Img
KEY:
Values shown are for Receiver A.
See Table 1 for additional measurements.
Icom ID–52A
2 m 0.11
70 cm 0.12
0.25 0.1
(10 MHz offset)
2 m 85
70 cm 78
60 90
(20 kHz offset)
2 m 73
70 cm 73
40 70
Adjacent Channel Rejection (dB)
2 m 79
70 cm 73
50 90
IF Rejection (dB)
2 m 136
70 cm 148
60 135
Image Rejection (dB)
2 m 138
70 cm 79
60 120
QS2205-PR159
The radio carries an IPX7 rating,
which means that if you drop your
ID-52A in a body of water less than
a meter deep, you have at least 30
minutes to retrieve it before damage
occurs. Rather than test the rating,
I chose to take Icom’s word for it.
Powering Up
Despite its overall ruggedness, the
ID-52A has a comfortable ergonomic
feel. I never found myself fumbling to
access the controls, and the central
navigation and selection button was
simple to use.
A long press of the power button on
the side of the radio brings the
ID-52A to life after a slight delay of a
second or so. The LCD screen is
Table 1
Icom ID-52A, serial number 150001808
Manufacturer’s Specifi cations Measured in ARRL Lab
General
Operating modes:
FM/FM-N, AM/AM-N,1 DV (GMSK), As speci ed.
FM broadcast band (WFM)
Power requirements: As speci ed.
10 V dc – 16 V dc external supply
7.4 V dc with speci ed Icom battery pack
5.5 V dc with speci ed Icom battery case
Current drain (at 7.4 V dc): Measured at 12.6 V dc,
Transmit (at 5 W): <2.5 A High, 1.16 A; Med, 0.85 A; Low1, 0.49 A;
Low2, 0.6 A, S-Low, 0.34 A.
Measured at 12 V dc, 440 MHz
High 1.38 A; Med, 1 A; Low1, 0.53 A;
Low2, 0.69 A, S-Low, 0.35 A.
Current drain from internal battery not
measured.
Receive (max audio output, 8 load) Measured at 12.6 V dc, 146 MHz and
FM/FM-N, <400 mA 445 MHz.
S9 modulated signal, lights on, one
receiver on, 0.26 A.
Digital Voice (DV), <450 mA No signal, lights on, both receivers on,
0.29 A.
Receiver
Receive frequency coverage:
3
A Band: As speci ed.
108 – 174 MHz, 225 – 479 MHz
B Band: As speci ed.
137 – 174 MHz, 375 – 479 MHz
FM Broadcast Band: As speci ed.
76 – 108 MHz
Receiver Sensitivity:
A Band FM/FM-N, 12 dB SINAD:
137 – 174 MHz: <0.32 µV 146 MHz, A and B band:
225 – 259.995 MHz: <0.56 µV FM, –125 dBm (0.12 µV)
260 – 479 MHz: <0.32 µV 146 MHz, A and B band:
FM-N, –126 dBm (0.11 µV)
162.4 MHz, A and B band:
FM, –125 dBm, (0.12 µV)
164.2 MHz, A and B band:
FM-N, –126 dBm (0.11 µV)
445 MHz, A and B band:
FM, –124 dBm (0.14 µV)
445 MHz, A and B band:
FM-N, –125 dBm (0.12 µV)
A Band AM/AM-N, 10 dB S/N: 120 MHz, A band:
108 – 142 MHz: <1 µV
225 – 259.995 MHz:
<1.8 µV
–127 dBm (0.1 µV)
260 – 374.995 MHz: <1 µV
B Band, FM/FM-N, 12 dB SINAD: As measured for A band on 146 MHz and
137 – 174 MHz: <0.32 µV 445 MHz.
375 – 399.995 MHz: <0.32 µV
400 – 479 MHz: <0.32 µV
FM Broadcast Band (WFM), 12 dB SINAD:
88 – 108 MHz: <1.8 µV 100 MHz, 1.0 µV
FM two-tone, third-order IMD dynamic A Band, 20 kHz offset:
range: Not speci ed. 146 MHz: FM, 71 dB; FM-N, 73 dB
445 MHz: FM, 74 dB; FM-N, 73 dB
A Band, 10 MHz offset:
146 MHz: FM, 85 dB; FM-N, 85 dB
445 MHz: FM, 77 dB; FM-N, 78 dB
B Band, 20 kHz offset:
146 MHz: FM, 72 dB; FM-N, 71 dB
440 MHz: FM, 70 dB; FN-N, 71 dB
B Band, FM, 10 MHz offset:
146 MHz: FM, 83 dB; FM-N, 84 dB
440 MHz: FM, 75 dB; FM-N, 75 dB
2
146 MHz
42 June 2022 QST www.arrl.org
Reprinted with permission; copyright ARRL.
Manufacturer’s Specifi cations Measured in ARRL Lab
FM two-tone, second-order IMD dynamic A band, FM:
range: Not speci ed. 146 MHz: 55.2/90.82 MHz test tones,
Adjacent-channel rejection: A band, FM, 20 kHz offset:
FM: >50 dB 146 MHz, 78 dB; 445 MHz, 72 dB
FM-N, DV: >55 dB A band, FM-N, 20 kHz offset:
IF rejection: Not speci ed. A band, FM:
Image rejection: Not speci ed. A and B band:
Squelch sensitivity: Not speci ed. A and B band:
146 MHz, 0.36 µV (min), 1.41 µV (max) 445 MHz, 0.2 µV (min), 0.93 µV (max)
S-meter sensitivity: Not speci ed. A band, 10-bar indication:
146 MHz, 1.38 µV 440 MHz, 0.82 µV
Audio output into 8
Internal speaker: 0.75 W at 10% THD Not measured
External speaker: 0.2 W at 10% THD 0.26 W at 10% THD
88 dB
440 MHz: 146.02/300MHz test tones,
114 dB
4
146 MHz, 79 dB, 445 MHz, 73 dB
146 MHz, 136 dB
445 MHz, 148 dB
B band, FM:
146 MHz, 138 dB
445 MHz, 143 dB
146 MHz, >138 dB
445 MHz, 79 dB
B band, 10-bar indication:
146 MHz,1.64 µV
440 MHz, 1.16µV
0.22 W at 1% THD
Transmitters
Transmit frequency coverage: As speci ed.
144-148 MHz; 430-450 MHz
Power output at 7.4 V dc: Battery power (8.4 V dc) or 12.6 V dc
High, 5 W; Mid, 2.5 W; Low2, 1 W 146 MHz:
Low1, 0.5 W; S-Low, 0.1 W. Hi: 5.13 W; Med, 2.64 W; Low2, 1.05 W
Spurious signal and harmonic suppression: Meets FCC requirements:
<–60 dBc (High/Mid) 146 MHz: <– 70 dBc
<–13 dBm (Low2, Low1, S-Low) 445 MHz: –68 dBc
Transmit-receive turnaround time Band A and B, Squelch on, S-9 signal:
(PTT release to 50% of full audio output): 144 MHz: 94 ms
Not speci ed. 440 MHz: 95 ms
Receive-transmit turnaround time Band A and B:
(TX delay): Not speci ed. 146 MHz: 69 ms
Size (height, width, depth): 4.8 × 2.4 × 1.2 inches (excluding protrusions).
Antenna length: 7 inches. Weight: 12 ounces (with battery and antenna).
1
Receive only
External voltage speci ed as 10 V dc – 16 V dc
3
A and B band frequency coverage and speci cations guaranteed only between 144 – 148 MHz
and 440 – 450 MHz
4
Measurements phase-noise limited at values shown
5
Power output did not vary signi cantly with external voltage from 10 V dc to 16 V dc, or with use
of a fully charged internal battery
external power:
Low1, 0.55 W; S-Slow, 0.11 W
440 MHz:
Hi: 4.92 W; Med, 2.44 W; Low2, 1.05 W
Low1, 0.5 W; S-Low, 0.11 W
440 MHz: 69 ms
5
bright and colorful, and I appreciated
the icons Icom provides to enhance
the menu screen (see Figure 1). I
should mention that the ID-52A is
not a touchscreen radio; you must
browse the menu and make selections using the navigation button,
much in the same way you’d use a
computer mouse.
As with most dual-band handhelds,
you can toggle the display to show
both bands or just a single band.
The dual watch feature allows monitoring of two frequencies or bands
simultaneously. You can listen to two
UHF signals, two VHF signals, or
VHF/UHF simultaneously. You can
even monitor two D-STAR DV signals at the same time, which is a
novel addition to the ID-52A compared to its predecessor.
The screen also gives you the option
to view band activity in a colorful
waterfall display. This is the rst
handheld radio I’ve seen that offered
this type of display technology. Your
receive frequency is represented by
a red line and multicolored bars indicate activity on either side of that
frequency (see Figure 2).
Bluetooth
I used the ID-52A to pair my wireless
Bluetooth headset and the setup
worked perfectly. Sound quality was
excellent in both receive and
transmit. The speci ed range is
about 30 feet, but during one test I
was wandering in the back yard at a
distance of about 40 to 50 feet. Even
at this distance, the connection
remained stable with no dropouts.
If you own an Android or Apple
mobile device, you can install the
RS-MS1 remote control software
from Google Play or the Apple App
Store and use the Bluetooth connection to do all sorts of clever things
with the ID-52A, such as send text
messages in the D-STAR mode,
swap small images, and more (see
Figure 3).
Reprinted with permission; copyright ARRL.
www.arrl.org QST June 2022 43
Figure 1 — The landing page of the
ID-52A’s main menu uses icons to help
you locate the areas you want to access.
Figure 2 — The ID-52A’s color waterfall
display is a unique feature. Your receive
frequency is indicated by the red line.
If you have a Windows device such as a Surface tablet,
it may be possible to use the RS-MS1A software
with an Android emulator such as Bluestacks (www.
bluestacks.com), but I didn’t attempt this.
Memory Programming
While you can certainly program the ID-52A’s memory
channels manually, I found it far easier to simply connect a USB cable between the radio and my computer
and accomplish the task in software. Icom offers a free
programming application for Windows called CS-52
that you can download from their website. With CS-52
you can add, edit, and delete memory channels
through an easy-to-use interface.
You can even record entire on-air
conversations for later listening
— through the radio or through
your computer. This is a good
reason to purchase a card with
substantial capacity.
D-STAR
Of course, D-STAR — Digital
Smart Technologies for Amateur
Radio — is one of the chief reasons to consider the ID-52A. If
you’re not familiar with D-STAR,
the short story is that it is a digital
communication protocol devel-
oped in a joint venture between
Icom and the Japan Amateur Radio League in the late
1990s. In the nearly 25 years since its introduction,
D-STAR has spread throughout the world with thousands of repeater systems, many of which also function
as gateways to the global D-STAR network via internet
linking.
Its compact size notwithstanding, the ID-52A is a fullfeatured D-STAR transceiver. It is so feature rich that
I soon found myself downloading the Advanced manual
from the Icom website. The transceiver has too many
functions to adequately address in the printed manual
supplied with the radio, so I’d highly recommend grabbing a copy of the Advanced manual.
And not only can you program the radio via USB, you
can charge the ID-52A’s battery that way as well. Before
you attempt a USB connection, however, you’ll need to
download and install the Icom USB driver software.
If you’d prefer not to program via USB, you can also
dump the radio’s memory contents to a microSD card,
transfer the microSD card to your computer via a card
reader/writer, and then use CS-52 to manipulate the
data in that fashion. Of course, you must write everything back to the card, plug the card back into the
ID-52A, and then load the new information from the
card. I tried both methods and found the USB connection to be far more convenient.
Icom doesn’t include a USB cable with the ID-52A, but
it is just a standard micro-USB model you can nd
almost anywhere. The same is true for the microSD
card; Icom doesn’t supply one, but these cards are
commonly available and inexpensive.
When it comes to data, the ID-52A can record and
store much more than memory channels. You can prerecord voice messages and transmit them on demand.
Thanks to the built-in GPS receiver and the extensive
repeater list stored in the ID-52A’s memory, nding a
nearby D-STAR repeater took about 30 seconds. As
soon as the GPS receiver acquires a sufficient number
of satellites (when the GPS icon on the screen stops
blinking), you can use the DR function to display all
D-STAR repeaters within a given distance. At the top of
my list was a repeater within less than 10 miles of my
home. I selected the repeater, and I was instantly ready
to communicate. (You can also use the list to search for
analog FM repeaters.)
During my conversations, D-STAR’s performance was
awless. Even the audio quality seemed improved
compared to what I remembered several years ago. In
many instances, when I established contact the screen
would brie y display the location information of the
other station.
The repeater I was using had a gateway to the D-STAR
network, so I was able to enjoy a few chats with amateurs thousands of miles away. To use a D-STAR
gateway, however, your call sign must be registered
on the D-STAR network.
44 June 2022 QST www.arrl.org
Reprinted with permission; copyright ARRL.
If you are not already registered,
you can register using the website
https://regist.dstargateway.org.
There you will also nd a link with
instructions, as well as a video to
help you through the process. When
the registration is completed, usually within 24 hours, you can use
the same web page to verify your
registration, this will also provide the
gateway to use with the ID-52A
when in Access Point Terminal
mode.
But what if you don’t have a nearby
D-STAR repeater? With the ID-52A
you can still access the D-STAR
network by connecting the radio to
your computer and using it in “terminal” mode in conjunction with
Icom’s RS-MS3W software and
your home internet connection. The
ID-52A can also function as an
access point to allow other D-STAR
radios to reach the network.
Although the ID-52A can be used
with any external hotspot that is
Figure 3 — If you own an Android or Apple
mobile device, the RS-MS1 remote control
software will use the ID-52A’s wireless Bluetooth connection to do all sorts of clever
things, such as exchange text messages in
the D-STAR mode.
compatible with D-STAR, the
Access Point Terminal Mode with the radio can only
access the Icom G3 Gateway Software repeaters, and
re ectors that are supported by the ircDDB gateway
software.
The RS-MS3W software has its own manual, but the
Advanced manual supplies most of the information.
Setup is not particularly intuitive, so it helps if you
know your way around computers and networks. For
instance, depending on the type of network router you
own, you may have to con gure it to open a port
RS-MS3W can use to reach the internet. While the
setup process can be challenging, once you have it up
and running, you’ll be able to use your ID-52A to enjoy
conversations with other hams throughout the network.
In terminal mode the radio is physically tethered to the
computer through the USB cable and does not transmit
RF, but in access point mode the ID-52A functions as
an RF “hotspot” that can be accessed with other
D-STAR transceivers.
And then there is D-PRS. You might say D-PRS is the
D-STAR implementation of the Automatic Packet
Reporting System, or APRS. However, unlike APRS,
D-PRS is not a protocol but a conversion speci cation.
When you’re operating in the
D-STAR digital voice mode (DV),
the 4800 bps data stream devotes
about 3600 bps to voice information.
The remaining 1200 bps is used for
synchronization and user-de ned
capabilities. Icom made use of this
user-de ned space to pass radio
messages (simple display messages) and serial data.
Icom placed GPS position information in the serial data. They
designed D-PRS to take this GPS
information and make it presentable
to the APRS world. D-PRS removes
the need for designing specialpurpose mapping software just for
the unique Icom GPS data stream.
If you really want to dig deeply into
how D-PRS works, read the paper
by Peter Loveall, AE5PL, at www.
aprs-is.net/images/D-PRS.pdf.
In the ID-52A, D-PRS has quite a
few functions worth trying. One of
my favorites is the ability to establish
an area around the location of
another D-STAR user that triggers a
notice whenever he or she travels beyond that location.
This could be valuable for public service applications.
The ID-52A also has the ability to use the Near Me
Repeater function of the DR Mode for both D-STAR
and FM repeaters. You can update your list from
www.dstarinfo.com and create your own custom list.
So, if you’re traveling in the region where you don’t
know the local repeaters, this is very useful to scan the
closest repeater to your position. This scan list is automatically updated using your current position to identify
the in-range repeaters.
A Highly Capable Handheld
The ID-52A isn’t a budget handheld; this abundance
of features and functionalities commands a price to
match. But if you want to join the D-STAR community,
either through a local repeater or a terminal/access
connection, the ID-52A has everything you’ll need to
make it happen. The same is true for analog FM. With
the ID-52A you are in the enviable position of being
able to easily enjoy the best of both worlds.
Manufacturer: Icom America; 12421 Willows Road
NE, Kirkland, WA, 98034; www.icomamerica.com.
Price: $650.
Reprinted with permission; copyright ARRL.
www.arrl.org QST June 2022 45
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