Icom ID-51A Review: VHF/UHF D-Star Handi-Talkie with GPS

[Moleculo]

I bought the Icom ID-31 UHF only radio when it came out to venture into the world of D-Star. If you read my review of that radio (located here) you'll find that I thought the radio was well thought out and contained innovative features not seen in other HT's, but that it's UHF only capability forced it to be a radio with a very narrow audience. My suggestion to Icom was to do a similar radio that was VHF/UHF. Apparently I wasn't alone and Icom listened.

I had been waiting for availability of the new VHF/UHF ID-51A since it was announced. When I saw that my local HRO received stock, I made sure I got one before their initial shipment was sold out.

Here is a pic of everything included in the box:

As you can see, it's basically the same package as the ID-31. The printed basic manual is included on the CD, but you'll probably want to reference the extended manual that is also included on the CD. The CD also contains the programming software.

The radio seems to be a solidly built, rugged little radio. It's got an IPX7 rating, which means that it can withstand being submersed in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. Does anyone want to see me do a dunk test?

The radio really has a nice overall feel in your hand; it's not too big or too small.

The included battery is only an 1150 mAh battery, which helps keep the size slim, but could affect overall performance life of the radio. I'll need to run this through some tests with the GPS enabled to see how long it can really last.

Here are a few pictures of the ID-51 next to the ID-31 for size comparison:

As you can tell, the main reason for the difference in size is the larger screen to accommodate dual VFOs.

The screen really is very nice, crisp and clear. The backlight is off in these pictures and my photos don't do it justice:

Here's what it looks like with the AM/FM broadcast receive enabled while monitoring VHF/UHF, which is a feature the ID-31 did not have:

The extra height on the new screen is really helpful while using the GPS since it can now display a little more info without scrolling. Here it is display the bearing and distance to a waypoint, which just happens to be Icom's headquarters:

Now that you've seen a few pictures, I'll next spend a little time discussing the software and let you hear the comments on audio quality from my first QSO that was recorded on the radio.

Stay tuned to this thread as I comment on the various features of this neat HT.

 

[Moleculo]

I did a little playing with the radio last night on the local repeater to get some feedback on the FM audio characteristics. I also played with the QSO Record function while I was at it.

I've attached a brief recording of my TX FM audio. The comments I received about the characteristics varied from "excellent" to "a bit muted". At one point a local asked me if the radio is waterproof (it is), after which he replied that it had the characteristic audio of every waterproof radio - the waterproof membrane over the mic deadens the audio a bit. Listen to the recording and judge for yourself.

On Digital mode, the audio reports are quite nice. In fact, the initial reports are that it sounds better than the ID-31 and also better than when using analog mode. I've attached a recording of a sample QSO so you can hear the comment. Keep in mind that the digital recording of my TX voice is NOT characteristic of how it actually sounds when modulated digitally.

QSO Recorder

The QSO recorder on both the ID-31 and ID-51 is a really neat feature. However, you need to tweak the default setting to get it to work well. The default RX recording mode only records when the squelch is broken. I found that with this setting, it doesn't always record weak signals. In my opinion, you should change the RX REC Condition setting to "ALWAYS" instead of "Squelch Auto".

The other setting to look at is the FILE SPLIT function. This setting causes every TX and RX transmission to save as it's own file. While this sounds like a good idea, my experience indicates that under a quick-key type of QSO, the radio is too busy writing the last transmission to the memory card and misses the key up of the next transmission. Set this setting to OFF to just record everything as one WAV file until you stop the recording and everything is fine.

Overall the QSO Recorder is a really nice feature. I can think of a lot of uses for it from recording satellite passes for future logging to recording jammers. The best part is that because it's saved as a WAV file on a micro SD Card, you just pop it into your computer for playback and saving.

 

[Moleculo]

QSO Recording Playback Note

A quick note on playback of the saved QSO: You can play any saved qso right on the radio without using a PC. To do this, go into the menu and select the "Voice Memo" menu item. Select "QSO Recorder" and then "Play Files". The best part about this method is that the radio shows the frequency, date/time, and length of the QSO right on the screen. I'm sure this info is saved as an attribute of the WAV file, but I haven't yet figured out how to retrieve the info on the PC.

The play back on the radio sounds VERY good - just like if you are listening to it in person.

 

[Moleculo]

Included Software

Like the ID-31A, the ID-51A comes with programming software to help you manage the radio. The software lets you configure every aspect of the radio including basic settings, memory groups (more on this feature later), reflectors, and digital repeater settings.

Here is an example of the software navigation, showing the various settings groups on the navigation tree to the left with a list of reflectors that you can maintain to the right. In this example, you can see that I've added a few DCS and Xreflectors.

In this example, I've pulled up the list of D-Star repeaters to edit. You can add your own and edit the built-in list:

The software makes it very easy to edit the various settings stored on your memory card, but it also lets you read the values directly from the radio using a programming cable and clone to another radio. As a whole, the software is terrific. However, there is one thing I don't like - there is no way to read in common settings from an Icom ID-31A radio or file and apply them to an ID-51. I tried to figure out a way to import my D-Star settings and also my custom reflector lists to no avail. It would be really nice if some updates to the software were released that would allow some import/export features between the two similar radios.

 

[Moleculo]

More on the programming software...

I just spent the better part of the evening trying to import hundreds of repeater into the radio using the included software. Unfortunately, this process leaves a lot to be desired. After I dealt with the usual CSV file format issues, I found two major issues:

1. The software can only import 100 memory entries at a time, grouped into each memory bank. The result is that you have to import each ID-51 memory bank from a unique file. This doesn't sound like a big deal until you have to follow this process for hundreds of records.

2. There is no way to add out of band stations that you wish to monitor. When you add an out of band station, you get a little yellow exclamation point sign. The help indicates that you can only input frequencies that are valid for your Amateur License to TX on. I'm going to keep looking for a way to resolve this, but if this is truly the case, it's a complete bummer. I like using my HT's as a scanner and this limitation defeats that purpose.

If I find out more about the software, I'll be sure to post the info.

 

[Moleculo]

More out-of-band programming info:

You can easily program the radio to store an out of band frequency, but you cannot add one through the software, which is rather frustrating. What's worse, if you store an out of band frequency to the radio, save the config to an SD Card, you cannot then import the same file into the radio without getting a file data error. Next I'm going to modify the radio for out-of-band transmit to see if it still has the same limitation.

 

[N1IC]

Here are some videos of my review: Icom ID-51 (ID-51A) First Quick Review - NickToday Blog | NickToday Blog

 

[Luke_C]

Mol,

How's the GPS working out? I've been waiting for a HT with a good, useable GPS interface more like the stand alone units. We're getting close, I think, to having that.

--Luke

 

[Moleculo]

Mol,

How's the GPS working out? I've been waiting for a HT with a good, useable GPS interface more like the stand alone units. We're getting close, I think, to having that.

--Luke

I've been concentrating on the Anytone AT-5888UV review for the past few weeks, so now that I'm basically done with that, I'll refocus my efforts on this radio.


The GPS functionality on this radio is VERY strong, although I haven't yet found a way to output the GPS information to another device (like a PC). You can, however enable GPS logging, which logs your position as you move to the SD Card in a standard GPS message: CGA, RMC, GSA, or VTG, depending on how you set it. I'll take some photos of the GPS in action and post them with descriptions.

 

[Luke_C]

Mol,

What about mapping? Can this do tracking, backtracking, etc.? Waypoints?

I'm thinking more like the Garmin Rhino sort of thing, by 2 meter. I'd buy one straight away.

--Luke

 

[N1IC]

I've been concentrating on the Anytone AT-5888UV review for the past few weeks, so now that I'm basically done with that, I'll refocus my efforts on this radio.


The GPS functionality on this radio is VERY strong, although I haven't yet found a way to output the GPS information to another device (like a PC). You can, however enable GPS logging, which logs your position as you move to the SD Card in a standard GPS message: CGA, RMC, GSA, or VTG, depending on how you set it. I'll take some photos of the GPS in action and post them with descriptions.

GPS is one of it's strong points I'm going to do a quick demo of the saving capabilities soon of this RIG I think it has great potential for emergency communications.

 

[Moleculo]

Mol,

What about mapping? Can this do tracking, backtracking, etc.? Waypoints?

I'm thinking more like the Garmin Rhino sort of thing, by 2 meter. I'd buy one straight away.

--Luke

There are no built-in maps, although it does do tracking of waypoints and directions toward saved waypoints.

I found the setting to output the GPS to a PC, but I haven't gotten it to work yet. Part of the problem is that even though Icom released Windows 8 drivers for their cable, the driver still isn't working on my Windows 8 PC. I have another PC I'm going to try it on...

 

[Moleculo]

GPS Out Update

I successfully used the ID-51a as a real time GPS tracking tonight with output to my Windows 8 notebook. I had several issues getting it to work properly, but in the end, I DID get it to work.

To start, the Windows 8 drivers on Icom's website did not work for me. Once installed, I could not get them to uninstall, no matter what I tried. The final solution was to install the Windows 7 drivers, then go into the Port Settings for the Icom USB Serial device under Windows Device Manager, then going to the Driver tab and telling it to "Roll Back Driver". This forced Windows 8 to use the Windows 7 driver and it magically started working. Using this configuration, I was able to use the CS-51 programming software to read the radio after which I knew the GPS output would also work.

The setting to enable GPS Out on the radio is found by selecting Menu>GPS>GPS Set>GPS Out>On. I initially tried to get Google Earth to read the GPS stream by telling it to look for NMEA data, but unfortunately Google Earth was never able to see the device. I suppose I can get it to work if I fool around with the serial port settings, but instead I tried APRSIS32 and it immediately saw the NMEA data after configuring the serial port. I gave it a quick test by driving around the block with my laptop and it successfully tracked me!

The GPS features on this radio are very, very strong.

 

[Moleculo]

Last night I performed the expanded TX/RX MARS mod explained here: http://www.worldwidedx.com/icom/152241-icom-id-51-official-mars-expanded-tx-rx-mod.html One thing to remember - take the SD card out before taking apart the radio. If you don't, it will catch on the case making it difficult to disassemble.

One of the problems I mentioned prior to modification was the ability to store out of band frequencies that you might want to monitor. Even though the radio would store the frequency into a memory channel, the PC software did not like the saved files that contained those frequencies. I'm happy to report that after modification, the software no longer complains about the saved config files on the memory card, and it also works perfectly when reading or writing the radio config via the programming cable.

This news is a type of double-edged sword. If you want to use the radio to scan local non-ham frequencies like police or fire, you cannot use the software for programming unless you modify the radio. Many people who are not MARS ops don't like modifying the radio and will dislike this design. However, the modification is quite simple, so most will probably choose to just remove the offending diodes.

Next, I'll profile the power output on the out out of band frequencies.

 

[rstrathman]

Small anteana.

Dumb question. Has anyone found a small dual band antennae
That will fit ? Like a miracle baby etc. When I was at ham radio outlet and tried to screw a regular diamond antenna (the small one) into the radio it bumped into side of the GPS it wouldn't go flush with the radio.