Completely agree Gordon. As a percentage of wages, radios have never been so cheap!

@@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 Steve. 73!

Thanks Adrian!

Thanks Scott

Thanks Marcus

Thanks Jonathan. 73!

Thanks Adam. I bet it’ll last longer than the average smartphone too!

Thanks Tom. That is a very good analogy!

Thanks Paul. 73!

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)

Mine’s a Double Double! 73!

@@M0JSX 😂. Mine too. I wish I could ship u one!

Hi Nicholas, thanks for your comment. Very well mentioned about the adaptor in older houses. 73!

Thanks Albin. Hope you are well!

Thanks Tim. It isn’t cheap, but if it is what you are looking for, it fits the bill nicely. 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.

Thanks awesome

That I agree with. 73

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!

Glad I could help. 73!

Thanks John

Isn’t that the beauty of Amateur Radio Robert? You can spend as much or as little as you’d like and still have an enjoyable experience. 73!

Thanks Arthur. There is already a video on my channel about my US callsign.

Thanks Barry. Still using the FT-857 + ATAS in the car. I tested the ID-52 on a small micro mag

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)

Thanks! 73!

Thanks Jimbo

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.

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!

ID-31 is perfect for that. Hope to bump into you on DSTAR. 73!

Hi Terry. No HF receive on the ID-52, best off keeping your TH-D74 for that

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.

Thanks Chris

@@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

Thanks Donal. It isn’t for everyone, and is certainly pricey, but I does offer a lot of ‘bang for buck’. 73!

Very convenient that’s the size I happened to have!

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.

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 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 🙂

@@M0JSX cheers Jonathan, I'll ring Ml&s to see if they have them in stock.

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

Honestly I haven’t changed it. So as factory. 73

Robbie, I think that means it isn’t the hand held for you. And that’s okay, if we all thought the same life would be very dull! 73!

Hi Brian. I’ve paired my AirPods to the radio, not the VS-3. 73!

Hi Albin, have you had a look at my video on DSTAR? This might help with your query. 73!

Build quality is far superior in my opinion. But I think that decision will be based largely on which digital mode you would like?

Still a good radio. I prefer the FT3 for the better GPS performance.

China hasn’t got on the DSTAR train. There are good Chinese options for DMR though. 73!

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.

If the screen looks washed out, that is entirely my video creation skills. It is bright and vibrant to the eye 🙂

@@M0JSX every reviewer must have the same video creation skills then….

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!

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...

@@zviratko even with that massive oversight on Yaesu’s part, the FT-5DE is a rather nice radio. I like it because of the APRS capability.

@@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...

The supplied charger is perfectly good enough for the job. 73!

@@M0JSX you know that’s not how I do things Jonathan 😂 good enough,is far from satisfactory 😜

@@Stealthmodeactivated-h8w use USB charging then 😂

@@M0JSX it’s a bit difficult buying something that doesn’t exist

@@Stealthmodeactivated-h8w not sure I follow. The ID-52 supports USB charging.