How to Program an ID-52A — Step by Step

A colour screen driven by a D-pad. The common settings live in a QUICK menu that changes depending on what you are doing, and the rest sit in a named MENU tree.

This page covers: Icom ID-52A, Icom ID-52A PLUS, Icom ID-52E, Icom ID-52E PLUS. They share the same firmware, so the steps below are identical on all of them whatever name is printed on the front.

Two menus, and the QUICK one changes under you

The QUICK menu shows different items depending on what the radio is doing at that moment. TONE only appears when you are in FM, so if you cannot find it, check the mode first — on a radio bought for D-STAR it is easy to be sitting in DV without noticing.

What you can do on this radio

Rather do this on your phone, standing at the radio?

The app walks you through the same steps one at a time, on a screen sized for a phone.

Open Radio Rosetta

Save a repeater to a memory channel on an ID-52A

This radio is sold for D-STAR, and its manual spends most of its time there. For an ordinary FM repeater the job is simpler than the manual makes it look: get into FM, set the frequency, set the duplex and tone from the QUICK menu, then write it to a channel.

Have these to hand before you start

  • The repeater's output frequency.
  • Its tone, if it uses one.
  • Its offset direction and amount.
  1. Press VFO/MHz to get into VFO mode.VFO/MHzThe screen should show: A frequency, with no memory channel name above it.
  2. Press MODE until the screen says FM.MODEThe screen should show: FM in the mode area.Watch out. Do this before anything else. The TONE item does not appear in the QUICK menu at all unless the radio is in FM or FM-N, and on a radio bought for D-STAR it is easy to be sitting in DV without having noticed.
  3. Turn the dial to the repeater's output frequency.dial → the repeater's output frequencyThe screen should show: Your frequency.Pressing VFO/MHz again makes the MHz digit blink so the dial moves in whole megahertz, which is much faster than spinning through in 5 kHz steps. Press it once more to go back to fine tuning.
  4. Press QUICK, move down to DUP, press ENT, then choose the direction the repeater uses.QUICK›▲▼ DUP›ENT›▲▼ DUP− or DUP+›ENTThe screen should show: D− or D+ appears along the top row.That little D− is the confirmation. If it is not there, the radio is still simplex and will transmit straight back on the frequency you are listening to.
  5. Press QUICK again, choose TONE, and set it to TONE.QUICK›▲▼ TONE›ENT›▲▼ TONE›ENTThe screen should show: A tone icon appears.TONE sends your tone and lets you hear everything. TSQL also silences the radio unless a tone comes back, which is a different job.
  6. The tone frequency itself lives elsewhere: MENU, then SET, then DUP/TONE, then Repeater Tone.MENU›▲▼ SET›▲▼ DUP/TONE›▲▼ Repeater Tone›dial → your tone›ENTThe screen should show: A list of tone frequencies.Watch out. Two different places for one job. QUICK sets whether a tone is sent; MENU sets which tone. Setting only the first is the usual reason a repeater ignores you.
  7. Hold MW for a second, choose Write to New CH, pick your channel, press ENT, then confirm YES.hold MW›▲▼ Write to New CH›ENT›dial → a channel›ENT›▲▼ YES›ENTThe screen should show: A short beep and a long one when you start, then the channel contents briefly.Holding MW for three seconds instead drops it into the first blank channel without asking, which is quicker when you do not care about the number.

Press MR to switch to memory mode and your repeater is on the channel you chose. If you want it in a particular group, press QUICK during the write and choose Group Select first.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the transmit tone (CTCSS / PL) on an ID-52A

Two settings in two different menus. Both are needed.

  1. Make sure the radio is in FM first.MODEThe screen should show: FM in the mode area.TONE simply is not in the QUICK menu in any other mode.
  2. Press QUICK, choose TONE, set it to TONE.QUICK›▲▼ TONE›ENT›▲▼ TONE›ENTThe screen should show: A tone icon appears.
  3. Then MENU, SET, DUP/TONE, Repeater Tone to choose which tone.MENU›▲▼ SET›▲▼ DUP/TONE›▲▼ Repeater Tone›dial → your tone›ENTThe screen should show: The tone frequency.

Repeater Tone is the one you send. TSQL Freq, sitting right under it in the same menu, is the tone the radio expects to hear back — a different setting for a different purpose, and easy to change by mistake when you are scrolling past it.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the offset direction and amount on an ID-52A

Split across two places, like the tone. The direction is in the QUICK menu; how far is in the MENU tree.

  1. Press QUICK, choose DUP, and pick the direction.QUICK›▲▼ DUP›ENT›▲▼ DUP−, DUP+ or OFF›ENTThe screen should show: D− or D+ along the top row, or neither if you chose OFF.
  2. For the amount: MENU, SET, DUP/TONE, Offset Freq.MENU›▲▼ SET›▲▼ DUP/TONE›▲▼ Offset Freq›dial → the amount›ENTThe screen should show: The offset in MHz.

The D− or D+ on the top row tells you the direction is set. It tells you nothing about whether the amount is right, so if the repeater still does not answer, that is the next thing to check.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Change the transmit power on an ID-52A

  1. Hold the LO key for a second and the power window opens. Turn the dial to the level you want.hold LO›dial → a power level›ENTThe screen should show: The Select Output Power window.You can keep LO held down and turn the dial at the same time, which is quicker once you know it works.

Five levels: S-Low, Low1, Low2, Mid and High — roughly 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5 and 5 watts. Worth knowing that the radio reduces its own power to about 2.5 watts when it gets hot, and stops transmitting altogether after that to protect itself, so a long high-power transmission may not be putting out what you think it is.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Lock the keypad on an ID-52A

  1. Hold the lock key for a second.hold LOCKThe screen should show: LOCK ON.Hold it again to unlock, and the screen says LOCK OFF.

The transmit button, the squelch and the volume all still work while locked — only the keys and the dial are held. So a locked radio in a bag can still be keyed up by something pressing against the transmit button.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Not covered yet on this radio

Delete a memory channel · Factory reset · Listen on the repeater's input · Name a memory channel · Set the receive tone · Set the squelch · Turn off dual watch · Turn off the roger beep · Turn off the voice announcements

These are honestly missing rather than hidden. Nothing goes on this page until it has been checked on the radio itself, and guessing at a keystroke is exactly the failure these pages exist to avoid.

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