Icom IC-E92 D-Star

Icom IC-E92D

I have owned this radio for two weeks now and after testing it out for a short time so I thought it might be a good time to write a review.

I don't know where to start as it is my first review of such a radio. The handheld is very robust and has a solid feel to it. I first started using it on a mountain top above Colwyn Bay and straight away I worked someone in Blackpool on its rubber duck as I sat in the car amazed.

On using the radio for 20 mins it did start to become warm like any other radio and I was using full power but not hot to the touch like some others that I have come across. I was also treating it like a mobile radio, the QSOs were longer than normal to give it a better test.

The radio is rather larger than the standard handhelds out there, like the VX-7R, but with it having so many things built in I don't think it is a bad thing. The radio has a dual receive facility V-U, U-V, U-U, V-V. The only thing to mention is D Star or DV mode is only on B VFO and not on both. I bought the handheld with the HM-17S GPS mic, spare battery and the BC-177 rapid desk charger.

The HM-175 GPS spk mic (added option) is possibly the best mic I have found for Handhelds since being licenced. It seems to be very well built and has a nice feel to it. I am told it is the same mic they use in the corporate field.

The BC-177 rapid desk charger (which is an added option) you are able to charge either a spare battery or the radio itself. It's handy if you buy the spare BP-256.

Back onto the radio now. With its full DTMF keypad you will be able to open the APRS nodes. The menu layout is very simple and when I was looking into this radio I saw review after review saying it took four hours to program one repeater. I have to say they are wrong. The menu could not be more simple to use. I was extremley worried by this and was debaiting to buy the software kit as well but am glad I didn't! I don't like to use any software kits to program the radios as I find it gives myself a better feel around the radios.

The menu layout is very simple and straight forward. Press menu and you will come to a list of options, like 'Display' or 'Dup/Tone' and so on. If you want anything to do with 'Offsets' or 'CCTCS Tones' it's all in the 'Dup/Tone' menu. To navigate around the menu you use the keypad - 2 is up, 4 is left, 5 is enter, 6 is right, and 8 is down.

Bad points

• No ear phone socket on speaker mic??
  
• Only one VFO for DV / D Star mode
  

Good points

• 4 Power settings
  
• Well built
  
• Easy menu
  
• Waterproof