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You can
write your own review of the Icom IC-92AD.
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ZL2UFI
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 21, 2012 17:01
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Great Handheld for D-STAR
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Over my time as a ham I have owned many handhelds, my first was an ICOM IC-2A, so handhelds have moved on since those days!
I brought my 92AD in Dayton this year, along with various accessories, the GPS speaker/microphone, leatherette case, RT Systems
programming software and cables. I was able to use the handheld from Dayton and used both analogue (IRLP) and D-STAR back to
New Zealand. One of the many comments I got from the ZL hams was the quality of the audio on both modes.
With most D-STAR radios, you need good audio in to get good audio out. (see my Icom -ID-880H review)
I have 'channellised' the memories for D-STAR usage, with memories set for CQCQCQ, linking, unlinking, plus non-gateway
usage (means you can talk locally without your transmitted signal going out on the gateway). I can easily switch between various
memory positions and link/unlink to repeaters/reflectors with ease.
I have since purchased the ID-31A and I can clearly see the improvement coming for handhelds in the D-STAR world.
The new ID-51A will build on this so will be looking at that in 2013.
Not really being a fan of dual receive radios, I tend to operate more in single band mode, perhaps I should have brought the IC-80AD?
Also at Dayton I brought a third party cigarette lighter adaptor, another battery and desktop charger - all these accessories really add
to the price of any handheld, but are best brought at the time you buy the radio. Later on they become very hard to get.
I have really enjoyed this handheld, it feels like one should, weighted well and a good fit in your hand, I have had no problems using it
in the USA, Australia and back here in New Zealand. It also works well on both VHF and UHF DVAP's.
The programming software is a must any of these D-STAR radios, and I can't recommend this enough. I hope that this handheld will last
for years to come and that digital radio (including D-STAR) will continue to grow throughout the world. We just need more repeaters in ZL!
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ZL1TAP
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 19, 2012 21:11
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Good hand held
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Not a bad handheld i use it with my dvap i allso have the gps hand mic i think its a most have.Looking forward to id51 maybe i sale the id92.
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K9XXX
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Rating: 4/5
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May 28, 2012 10:22
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downgraded from 5 to 4 in followup
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This a followup to my original review.
my 92AD was still on warranty when I discovered
VFO A's habit Of dumping my repeater settings and resetting itself to 370mhz.
Sure,it only takes a few seconds to reset but that
should not be happening.
VFO A requires "babysitting".
I allowed the warranty period to lapse.
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M0HPB
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Rating: 5/5
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May 4, 2012 01:31
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Robust Radio with loads of features...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This was my first radio and at first I thought I had made such a dumb move to buy it, the manual was complicated and I felt out of my depth. However once it was programmed up (via a computer) the radio came alive and I was surprised how powerful its features are.
Clearly this is a dual band (2m/70cms) fully d-star enabled and again once programmed it really opens up the world of d-star, not only that its an exceptional dual band radio.
It states its waterproof, well I tested this in my bath dropped it in and left it for 5 mins (no bubbles phew) took it out and worked a treat. I also bought the extension GPS mic, the only downside to this is its size, I think the size of the handheld and then add this mic, it does become cumbersome, however you do have a fully enabled GPS radio with D-PRS if you so desire.
I use my 92 on a daily basis and have to say its rugged, its been dropped on the floor and knocked and banged but it still performs.
Battery life is to be expected about 6 hours on full power (occasional short QSO's) anything more eats in to the battery. Also when working d-star the handheld gets really hot, nothing to burn you but hot nonetheless.
Compared to the new IC31 the 92 does look a bit old, but make no mistake the 92 is a full on radio that will keep most happy for years to come and in my view looks and feels like a solid radio.
Would I buy another...Yes without hesitation.
M0HPB
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K7BEN
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Rating: 3/5
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Apr 9, 2012 09:25
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Marginal radio for a premium price.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The Good:
I like that the radio has wide band receive. Easy to MARS/CAP mod. The FM commercial band has good sensitivity along with the 2m/70 cm amateur bands. You can easily scan by mode bank or a group of banks. This is a nice feature if you travel a lot. The display is easy to read and the backlight is useful. The keys are also backlit. The radio fits very well in my hand and I can operate it with one hand if needed. The DStar digital mode is ‘neat’.
The Bad:
DStar apparently does not work very well while moving. It does not like or know how to handle multipath. We had an analog repeater that was converted to DStar with no other changes; frequency, duplexer, antenna etc. When it was analog and I would go for my walk with the radio I would get reports of ‘picket fencing’ and ‘fading’ but I could still be understood. This was with the same 92AD handheld while walking in the same area. With DStar I had garbled audio on every transmission. I was constantly asked to try again or repeat myself. I finally gave up because I was frustrating the other people on the repeater. The antenna that comes with the radio is poor. It does not receive the 2 meter band very well and is very poor when receiving the shortwave, CB or 6 meter bands. The radio uses a proprietary connector for speaker/ microphone and data. After hours of searching the internet I found that this is not a common connector. You cannot buy the connector and make your own cables, you must buy them at a premium price from an Icom dealer. Last I checked, the programming cable was $95 and a the adapter to a regular speaker/mic was $49 . If you want to use any of the advanced DStar features, you have to purchase a $210 microphone.
The Ugly:
The audio quality sounds bad. Especially on DStar. Although the radio feels solid, the front ,plastic part of the radio scratches real easy. The paint job on the metal part of the radio is very poor. It rubs off real easy or chips off if scuffed against anything. Maybe I need to spend another $35 dollars on a case. So let’s look at the real price of the radio. The radio itself is $580 dollars. If you want to program it with a computer it’s going to cost you another $100. If you don’t want it scratched up you will need to drop another $35 dollars on a carry case. If you want to use a standard headset or speaker/mic it will cost you another $49 for the adapter. Want to use the GPS feature of Dstar. It will cost you $210 for the GPS microphone. If you want a decent antenna it will cost you about another $49 dollars from Diamond. So let’s add all that up and you have spent $1023 for what is still a marginally decent radio.
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AE7G
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 22, 2012 15:55
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potent radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I am new to this radio, I have been doing D Star for about two months. I have compared this to the ID-880h and IC-80ad.
This radio is much easier to understand and operate than the other two D Star models. The screen menus are better written and there are fewer tricky menu setting glitches that can interfere with your ability to make the radio do what is intended. Nice feel and size plus military spec waterproofing. This is a costly radio and you have to pay separately for programming software and cable.
Huge capabilities and so far it performs like a champ.
This is more expensive than other D Star choices but I think you get what you pay for.
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IW7CDL
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Rating: 2/5
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Feb 13, 2012 18:08
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Nice radio but expensive
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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The fact it's D*Star makes the only difference but overall the IC-E92D (European version) is a not-so-sensitive expensive equipment.
The wide band receiver (0.5-1GHz) is basically useless, the display is crowded by useless information, the menu is frustrating which make mandatory the purchase of the RS-92 at an additional cost of 79 Euro or 99 USD and you will use it just ONCE!
All the rubber-plugs which makes this radio waterproof are just an additional nuisance to the usage. Keyboard too small, D*Star operational on one band only, shift and tone for repeaters impossible to setup in one-shot... looks like a small version of the 2820.
The GPS is provided by an additional HEAVY microphone with a HUGE GPS antenna on top and an hard spring cable making the portability of this equipment impossible.
Audio knob works in a very strange way, if you want to mute the radio or lower the audio, you have to turn it a lot of times.
Analog mode is average, the power output measured by my instruments was always not more than 3 Watts compare to the claimed 5 Watt on VHF.
An experimental product sold as professional radio.
Think twice before buying it...
A message to ICOM France: PROVIDE CUSTOMER SUPPORT, REPLY TO THE EMAILS OR PICKUP THE PHONE IF SOMEONE WRITES OR CALLS YOU!
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SAPPHIRE
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Rating: 1/5
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Feb 9, 2012 08:26
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Display defective
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Display defective after 1 year. The receiver is good. High price.
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AD9Z
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 5, 2011 18:16
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Best Handheld I've Ever Owned!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This is my first D-star radio. It is the easiest handheld to program I've ever owned! Some people told me to buy the software, in my opinion, it's not needed! Very simple menu. Take a little time to read the manual and it's a piece of cake. If your thinking about trying d-star, go for the 92ad! D-STAR is awesome! I still love HF, but why not try everything this hobby has to offer???!
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MW0GUK
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 19, 2011 02:35
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Great bit of kit
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Some people say the DStar stuff is expensive but look at what you get
It is a very good hand held for 2m and 70cm with really good audio quality on both recieve and transmit. That in itself is good
The DSat capability adds SSOOOOOOOOO much to what you can do and the areas that you can have a qso with (10,500 miles on 5 watts UHF hand held!!!!)
Battery life is unbelievably long.
It can send data at the same time as voice which with the GPS microphone is really good fun. I havent tried other data modes as yet but the potential is built in.
It is really good rugged build quality.
The only slight down side is that it can be a bit complicated to program from the keypad and I found it much easier to program via a laptop. Indeed this was so easy that I didn't need the manual to program so long as you know how DSar works. The Nifty guide to DStar is great for this
Highly recommend and it is not expensive when you consider all that you get.
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