product review

Key Measurements Summary

0.13 0.14 75@10 MHz
ICOM IC-92AD Dual Band Handheld Transceiver
Reviewed by Gary Pearce, KN4AQ ARRL Contributing Author The IC-92AD came along pretty quickly as an addition to the IC-91AD, ICOMs flagship dual-display, D-STAR capable VHF-UHF handheld. The two models are so similar in form and function that you may wonder why there is an IC-92AD, and what justifies its higher price. Ill try to explain that. And since Dan Henderson, N1ND, reviewed the 91A model (without D-STAR) in December 2006 QST, Ill look at the digital capabilities of both the IC-91AD and IC-92AD.1 For more general information on D-STAR, see my article Operating D-STAR in September 2007 QST.2 Both the IC-91AD and IC-92AD are very full featured dual band (144 and 440 MHz) FM handhelds. They have lots of memories, wide receiver coverage (500 kHz to 1 GHz, except for the forbidden cell phone band), with receive modes for AM, FM and wide FM. The 91 series is D-STAR

SINAD 0.25

Receiver Sensitivity (12dB SINAD, V)
Henderson, N1ND, ICOM IC-91A Dual Band Handheld Transceiver, Product Review, QST, Dec 2006, pp 5961. QST Product Reviews are available on the Web at www.arrl. org/members-only/ prodrev/. 2G. Pearce, KN4AQ, Operating D-STAR, QST, Sep 2007, pp 30-33.
optional. The 92AD is available only with D-STAR built in. The IC-92AD exists to make emergency responders happy. It does that by having an optional GPS equipped speaker-mic. With that mic, in D-STAR digital mode, the radio can transmit the operators position with every voice transmission as part of the data stream. And it can be set to beacon a position report at adjustable intervals, similar to APRS. If you have a second GPS equipped 92AD, or a GPS equipped ICOM IC-2820H mobile, you can use that information to show a compass bearing and distance between the radios, right on the radios display Hes 2.8 miles that-a-way (Figure 1). Other D-STAR radio models can display the received coordinates numerically. The IC91AD can be connected to an external GPS, so the 92AD with the GPS mic just makes a neater, self-contained package. More on the GPS capabilities later in the article. The 92AD is also submersible (1 meter, 30 minutes). The Emcomm guys like that, too, but Ive heard a few hams scoff. One said that you perform emergency service after the hurricane, not during it, and you can buy a lot of umbrellas for the price difference. But an experience I had with another water resistant handheld came to mind. I had the radio on my belt at Disney World as my wife Cyndi, KD4ACW, and I got on one of those water rides. A sign warned: You will get wet. You may get soaked. We got soaked. That radio has never worked right since. So the 92AD has a couple of exclusives. Given the chance for a do-over, ICOM also took the opportunity to address a few issues hams had with the 91 series and made the IC-92AD a better package, with or without the GPS mic. As this is written, the 91 series is still available. You can decide if the IC-92ADs updates are worth the extra money.

I3 Rx 60@10 MHz

90 61@20 kHz*
Receiver 3rd-Order Dynamic Range (dB)

I3 Rx 40

61 65@20 kHz* 70

ChRej 50

Adjacent Channel Rejection (dB)

123 110

IF Rejection (dB)

Img 60

Image Rejection (dB)

Snd 100

252 266

Audio Output (mW)

T-R 250

50 2M 70 cm

Tx-Rx Turnaround Time (ms)

Off Scale

* Measurement noise limited

at value shown.

See www.arrl.org/members-only/prodrev, A New Look For Product Review.

Bottom Line

The IC-92AD is a very capable radio for analog and D-STAR digital VHF/UHF operation. Its expensive compared to analog-only dual-banders, and youll need to spend some time learning the digital features. In return, D-STAR offers many capabilities not available in the analog world. If youre into emcomm or search and rescue, check out the HM175GPS speaker/mic with a built-in GPS receiver.
One of These Things is Not Like the Other
Most reviewers like to see how much they can make a radio do before they crack the manual. Mark J. Wilson, K1RO

Product Review Editor

k1ro@arrl.org
From September 2008 QST ARRL
Can they turn it on, set a frequency, offset and tone, then key up a repeater and make a contact all without help? With the complexity of radios these days, thats not a given. Since I already had an IC-91AD, and the 92AD is very similar, my challenge was more like the Game of Seven Differences or the Sesame Street tune quoted in the heading for this paragraph. I went hunting for the changes. Most of the time, when I found one my reaction was, Yes, thats better. The very first thing I noticed was the VOLUME control, the outer ring on the dualcontrol shaft on the top of the radio. It rotates too easily on the 91AD, so its easy to bump too loud or soft. The IC-92ADs control is stiffer and has detents, so it stays in place. Ah, the humble VOLUME control. Todays diminutive dual display radios have a problem: not enough real estate on top for two VOLUME controls. One knob does double-duty, controlling both bands. That forces a choice. Do you control both bands at once? Do you only control the Main band? Each choice is a compromise. The 91AD and 92AD let you select either method, with options in the SET menu. The 92AD has another SET menu option labeled DIAL REPLACE. I saw that while playing the seven differences game, but didnt know what it meant until I read the manual. It lets you swap the functions of the center and ring knobs on that top shaft. This radio is nothing if not choices. Another example: Scan delays are adjustable from 2 to 20 seconds. The DIAL REPLACE mystery prompts me to mention that the display has a fine-grain dot matrix that permits lots of real English words in the various menus (see Figure 2). DIAL REPLACE may have stumped me, but SET MODE, SCAN, DUP/TONE, DISPLAY and SOUNDS are all pretty intuitive, at least if you speak basic ICOM. I can never remember some of the more obscure abbreviations of earlier radio menus what does 100 DT mean on my IC-W32A? And if you forget your reading glasses, the font size can be adjusted between large and small. My next observation was that the mic connector wasnt the usual two-pin affair. Its a round, multi-pin connector, covered with a heavy rubber cap. That connector is needed for the GPS/mic, and also handles all other data and programming connections to the radio. If you have an ICOM mic from an older radio, you can get an adapter cable. The rubber cap is a little hard to put in place once popped off. Its obviously there to maintain submersibility. The rubber plug covering the dc power connector is heavy duty, too. Physically, the 92AD is a little taller than the 91AD, and maybe a hair wider

Table 1 ICOM IC-92AD, serial number 0201019
Manufacturers Specifications
Frequency coverage: Receive, 0.495- 999.990 MHz (cell blocked); transmit, 144-148, 420-450 MHz. Modes: FM, AM (receive only), WFM (receive only), DV. Power requirements: 10-16 V dc or specified battery pack. Receive, 150 mA at rated output (single watch, FM), 38 mA (single watch FM power save), 220 mA (dual watch, FM/DV) with 7.4 volt battery pack. Transmit, 2.1 A (high power, 440 MHz), 0.4 A (lowest power, 144 MHz). Receiver AM Sensitivity: 10 dB S/N, 0.5-5 MHz, 1.3 V, 5-30 MHz, 0.56 V, 118-137 MHz, 0.5 V, 222-247 MHz, 0.79 V, 247-330 MHz, 1.0 V. FM sensitivity: 12 dB SINAD, 1.6-30 MHz, 0.4 V, 30-118 MHz, 0.25 V, 118-174 MHz, 0.14 V, 174-350, 470-600 MHz, 0.32 V, 350-470 MHz, 0.16 V, 600-999 MHz, 0.56 V; WFM, 76-108 MHz, 1 V, 175-222 MHz, 1.8 V; 470-770 MHz, 2.5 V. FM two-tone, third-order IMD dynamic range: Not specified. FM two-tone, second-order IMD dynamic range: Not specified. FM adjacent-channel rejection: Not specified. Spurious response: VHF, 60 dB; UHF, 50 dB. Squelch sensitivity: Not specified. Audio output: 200 mW at 10% THD into 8. Transmitter

Measured in ARRL Lab

Receive and transmit, as specified. As specified Receive (max vol, no signal), 180 mA; transmit (hi/med/low/s-low, with 8.2 V measured battery voltage), 144 MHz: 1.75/1.24/0.6/0.35 A; 440 MHz: 1.98/1.37/0.67/0.36 A.
Receiver Dynamic Testing 10 dB S+N/N, 1-kHz tone, 30% mod: 1, 3.9 MHz, 0.5 V; 14, 53 MHz, 0.34 V; 120, 146, 440 MHz, 0.42 V. For 12 dB SINAD, 29 MHz, 0.13 V; 52 MHz, 0.17 V; 146 MHz, 0.13 V; 222 MHz, 0.24 V; 440 MHz, 0.14 V; 902 MHz, 0.26 V; WFM, 100 MHz, 0.97 V. 20 kHz offset: 29 MHz, 60 dB*; 52 MHz, 59 dB; 146 MHz, 61 dB*, 222 MHz, 63 dB*; 440 MHz, 65 dB*; 902 MHz, 65 dB. 10 MHz offset: 146 MHz, 75 dB; 440 MHz, 60 dB. 146 MHz, 62 dB. 20 kHz offset: 29 MHz, 60 dB; 52 MHz, 57 dB; 146 MHz, 61 dB; 222 MHz, 60 dB; 440 MHz, 65 dB; 902 MHz, 54 dB. IF rejection, 52 MHz, 22 dB; 146 MHz, 121 dB; 440 MHz, 123 dB; 902 MHz, 110 dB; Image rejection, 52 MHz, 79 dB; 146 MHz, 88 dB; 440 MHz, 75 dB; 902 MHz, 2 dB. At threshold, VHF, 0.1 V; UHF, 0.13 V. 320 mW at 10% THD into 8. Transmitter Dynamic Testing
Power output: VHF and UHF, With battery pack or external 13.8 V dc, 5.0/2.5/0.5/0.1 W. VHF, 5.3/2.8/0.5 /0.1 W; UHF, 5.0/2.8/0.5/0.06 W; Spurious signal and harmonic suppression: VHF, 66 dB; UHF, >70 dB. 60 dB Meets FCC requirements. Transmit-receive turnaround time (PTT release Squelch on, S9 signal, VHF, 252 ms, to 50% of full audio output): Not specified. UHF, 266 ms. Receive-transmit turnaround time (tx delay): VHF, 74 ms; UHF, 77 ms. Not specified. Size (height, width, depth): 4.4 2.3 1.3 inches; weight, 11.5 ounces. Price: IC-92AD, $580; HM-175GPS speaker/mic, $350; RS-92 software and cable, $70. BP-256 battery pack (7.4 V, 1620 mAh Li-ion) and BC-167 wall charger (approx 6 hour recharge time) supplied. Available options: Replacement BP-256, $75. BC-177 desktop drop-in rapid charger (2.5 hours), $60; BP-257 battery case (2 AA cells, TX power limited to 100 mW), $30; CP-12L ($36) and CP-19R ($44) cigarette lighter cables; OPC-254L external power cable, $14. *Measurement was noise limited at the value shown.

and thicker. Even so, several hams who held it said they liked the feel of the newer model. Another change is the belt clip. The IC-91AD has a very stiff, single-piece steel clip. The 92AD has a lever with a hook at the bottom that I find easier to clip to my
belt single-handed. All these discoveries came while the radio was addressing its A side. I tried to switch to the B side. Couldnt do it. ICOM swapped the functions of three main front panel buttons, but my fingers had muscle
memory from the 91AD. Reading the labels on the 92AD solved my problem, still without resorting to the manual. After reaching the B side, I tried DV (Digital Voice) mode to key up the local D-STAR repeater. The 91AD and 92AD do digital only on the B side of the radio (they do analog on both sides). I programmed the key call sign fields needed for local repeater use (see Figure 3; this procedure is described in more detail later). But I got nothing. Stock-from-ICOM D-STAR repeaters dont have hang-time or a courtesy beep, so it can be hard to tell if youve keyed it up. I was listening on my ID-800H base station, so Id hear myself and I didnt. There are a lot of DV settings, but I was pretty sure things were right. I looked harder at the main display and noticed the tiny legend SLO in the corner. Hmmm. SLO. Slow? Something prompted me to push (and hold) the output power button. The legend changed to LOW. Okay, its the power indicator. Another push brought MID, and another brought a blank spot (for HIGH).
Figure 1 The GPS compass display shows that the last reported position of the received station is 12.5 miles NorthNortheast, and gives the exact latitude and longitude. As this radio moves, the direction and distance to the last received report is continuously updated.
had enough juice left for a finger-frying test of the adjustable time-out timer (set for three minutes) at 5 W before the battery indicator dropped the first of its two bars. Switching down to 2.5 W brought that bar back for many more minutes of transmitting. I never managed to kill the battery. I plugged in the charger and ticked off another little upgrade: a big CHARGING indicator on the display. The 91AD just flashes the tiny battery icon when charging.
Audio Reports and Memories
On the air, I asked for audio reports in both analog and digital. The first analog report was very natural sounds like you. But other reports werent so flattering, especially when I offered a comparison with the 91AD and my IC-2820H mobile. The 91AD had better fidelity, with more lows and highs. The 2820H rolled off the low end and was very sharp, giving it marks for most readable. The 92AD seemed somewhat restricted, right in the middle of the vocal spectrum. Ive heard a couple of other IC-92ADs on the air, and they sounded okay to me. Ive made recordings of all three radios, in both analog and digital mode, recorded directly from the speaker jack of my ID800H into my computer line input. You can judge for yourself by listening to the audio file, available for download from the ARRLWeb binaries page.3 The receive audio was reasonable for a handheld. Ive seen complaints that the volume isnt loud enough, but I could hear it just fine in a car with open windows at highway speeds. I dont know what more you could ask. Next it was time to fill up some memories with local repeaters. ICOM offers optional software and an interface cable for this, but it didnt come with the review radio so I did it manually. The big display makes this easy. It presents your options for naming and storing the memory all on the same screen (Figure 4). Tone settings are buried in another menu. And remember when turning tone on and off was simple? Now pressing the TONE button brings an endless series of options. Heres a secret: hold the TONE button and turn the top knob to move quickly forward and backward through the options. An UP/DOWN , LEFT/RIGHT rocker switch is embedded in the keypad for navigation through the menus. That finegrain display lets you name your memory channels with eight characters, including upper and lower case text, numbers and lots of special characters. With the radio set for single-band display, it shows both the

3www.arrl.org/files/qst-binaries.

The 2.5 W Sweet Spot

The IC-92AD has four power levels 100 mW (SLO), 500 mW, 2.5 W and 5 W. The 91AD has just the 500 mW and 5 W levels. The new radios extra power levels address two complaints about the IC-91AD: battery life and heat. On longer transmissions at 5 W, both radios get pretty hot and uncomfortable to hold. They should. Theyre dissipating about 4 W, the same as one of those old, big Christmas tree light bulbs. Try wrapping your hand around one of them for a minute! The manual warns you about it (the radios heat, not the Christmas light). Both radios use lithium-ion batteries that seem to give other handhelds nearly indefinite life, but the 91AD appears to chew up its battery quickly. The IC-92AD has a somewhat higher capacity battery and marginally lower current drain. The big advantage for battery life is that 2.5 W MID power setting. Its just 3 dB down from 5 W and not very noticeable in FM (a slightly noisy signal will get a little noisier). Its not noticeable at all in DV, where signals stay full quieting until theyre almost gone, unless youre right at that minimum signal threshold. At 2.5 W, current drain drops significantly (see Table 1). The radio gets warm, but not hot, with long transmissions. The batteries for the 91AD and 92AD are slightly different sizes so, alas, they cant share batteries or drop-in chargers. I was successful in keying up the repeater once I raised power. My call sign and the short message Id programmed with my name and the radio model number scrolled
Figure 2 The large display and fine dotmatrix pattern allow longer words, many in something like real English.
Figure 3 These four key call sign fields (YOUR, RPT1, RPT2 and MY) are the heart of D-STAR repeater operation and routing through the Internet.
Figure 4 The display shows many of the memory channel parameters on one screen.
across my base station display. D-STAR digital sends that information with each transmission, right along with your voice. I kept the IC-92AD turned on from 7 AM to near midnight several times, with a few short ragchews at 2.5 W, a little more listening, but mostly squelched receive. It
list is shared with other Gateways. Thats part of what MYCALL is for. So if I plug your call in to my radios YOUR field, my local repeater plays another game a D-STAR version of Wheres Waldo? It looks at its list to see what repeater, anywhere on the network, anywhere in the world, you keyed up last. Then it instantly routes my transmission to that repeater. I can also put a specific repeaters call sign in the YOUR field to manually route my transmission to that repeater. In that case, Id need to precede the call sign with a / that says this is a repeater call. And Id need to include the port letter, which Ill explain next. The middle two fields shown in Figure 3 are RPT1 and RPT2. RPT1 is almost always the call sign of the local repeater. In this example, its KI4WXS in Charlotte. But notice the B hanging out there on the end. Thats the port letter. ICOM has D-STAR repeaters for 144, 440 and 1200 MHz, and many installations have all three bands. They all share a single call sign. Since transmissions are routed by call sign, I need to enter the extra letter to specify which repeater I want my signal to reach. The convention is A for 1200 MHz, B for 440 MHz and C for 144 MHz. The RPT2 field in Figure 3 shows KI4WXS G. The G stands for Gateway. The current recommendation is that I leave the Gateway call sign in RPT2 pretty much all the time. When D-STAR first arrived, ICOM said to set that Lets Do Digital to Not Use if you werent going to actually Now Im going to tax your ability Figure 5 The HM-175GPS speaker/mic includes a GPS use the Gateway. Youll see that in the to absorb new stuff. The details of receiver, making a self-contained package. Its big, as manual. Thats changed, primarily D-STAR programming arent easy shown here with a more conventional speaker/mic. to support use of a device called the to grasp at first. I interviewed several DV Dongle, which lets hams access of the hams at the leading edge of D-STAR repeaters from their home D-STAR for my video documentary Digital call sign if I want to talk to you. For routine, computers over the Internet. Dongle users Voice for Amateur Radio.4 I asked each of local operation on repeaters or simplex, that (get over it, thats the name) can only hear them to demonstrate how to program a radio field holds CQCQCQ, but there are circum- stations that have the Gateway addressed for the various D-STAR functions. Doing stances in which Id put your individual call in RPT2. this off the cuff, each of my experts made sign. One example is call sign squelch. You Now, if you think about it, youve got the a mistake in one detail or another. What can tell your D-STAR radio that you only potential for a lot of call sign programming. chance do we mere mortals have? want to hear transmissions directed spe- as you route your signal to specific hams Lets all take a deep breath and give it a cifically to you a very personal squelch around the world. Fortunately, the memory try. Im only going to touch the basics. This control. So to open your speaker, I put your channels store the YOUR, RPT1 and RPT2 is a review, not an instruction manual. But call sign in the YOUR field. Neat trick. fields along with the usual frequency, offset, I am planning on producing a short, new If youll bear with me, Ill push that tone and mode. So for every combination of video that concentrates on D-STAR radio YOUR example a little further. D-STAR local repeater, distant repeater, and friends programming. The one will be free, hosted is a network of repeaters, linked by the call sign, you use a memory channel. Youll on YouTube, and it should be ready by the Internet through Gateways Linux based need to get creative in naming those chantime this review is printed. Check my Web computers running at the repeater sites. The nels. By the way, to use a Gateway, you have Gateway keeps a list of all the users who 4S.Ford,WB8IMY, ShortTakes Amateur have keyed up the repeater recently, and the to be registered. Thats done locally, through Radio Video News, QST, August 2008, p 64.

frequency and your memory name. In dualdisplay, you choose one or the other. Programming is easy, but with 800 memory channels on the A side, 400 more on the B side (the A and B sides are separate they dont share memory channels), and 24 more scan-limit pairs on each side, its going to take some time. Memory channels are especially useful for D-STAR, which Ill explain in a minute. So the software is a good investment. There is no national simplex channel for D-STAR, as 146.52 MHz is for FM voice. The D-STAR community is discussing the options, and the leading contender is 145.67, but that is used for conventional packet in some areas. The UHF discussion hasnt even gotten that far. Back to memory programming the BANK NAME doesnt refer to the financial institution from which you obtained a loan to buy the radio (if you loaded it up with the GPS mic, software, cables, a rapid charger and extra battery, you crossed the $1000 mark a while ago). With that many memories, you need a second level of management. Both the 91AD and 92AD have 26 memory banks, labeled A through Z. Each bank holds 100 channels. You can cherrypick individual memory channels and place them in banks. When you select a bank, youre limiting the radio to the 100 or fewer memories in that bank for scanning or manual tuning.
site www.ARVideoNews.com. To describe programming, Im going to shift perspective and write mostly in the first-person I do something with my call sign. Thats because the nomenclature of ICOMs programming is from that perspective. My call is KN4AQ. Your call is well, you know what your call is. Heres the key D-STAR operation is based on call signs. There are four call sign fields in every D-STAR radio. What I put in those fields controls where my signal is heard. The 91AD and 92AD present these four fields together on one screen labeled CALL SIGN (see Figure 3). The bottom field, MY, gets my call sign, KN4AQ, as long as Im using the radio. If I hand the radio to my wife, she switches it to KD4ACW. The top field, YOUR, is where I put your
and show up on the compass your repeaters Gateway Addisplay that shows the direction ministrator. Youll be able to and distance between radios track him or her down through (see Figure 1). And that was dstarusers.org. very cool. I was following Ken, There is news on the GateKC4YOZ, up to the Charlotte way front. Until recently, weve D-STAR repeater site, and we all said that you cant link regot far enough apart that I could peaters in D-STAR in the same read his bearing and distance. way as IRLP and Echolink If GPS has you thinking all network communication APRS, Ill warn you that Dwas between individuals. Now STAR data is not on-air comyou can, two different ways. patible with AX.25 packet ICOMs G2 Gateway software data. Theyre both digital, but now permits connections bethe similarity ends there. The tween as many as 10 individual 91AD and 92AD do have repeaters. The Administrator D-STARs low speed data sets up the conference and Figure 6 My position, course and speed, as reported on FindU.com, courtesy of the Dplus program running on the capability. A 1200 bps data users must put a conference Charlotte D-STAR Gateway. signal rides along with every name in the YOUR field. And voice transmission. You need a the third-party Dplus program lets the Administrator connect the repeater only after receiving an EMR transmission computer and another optional cable to use to a conference server. Users dont have to with my volume up once was I able to then it theres no access to this data via the do anything special. Everyone on all the hear them with my volume down. After that, radios controls or display. There are several conferenced repeaters hears everyone else. EMR worked every time. Try this before third-party programs already available for using this data stream for text messages That wasnt so hard, was it? Weve still you rely on it! and small file transfers, and more on the got to cover two more features, and that GPS GPS on D-STAR way. Again, this data is not AX.25 packet microphone. The IC-92ADs GPS speaker-mic (HM- compatible. Turn Up the Volume! 175GPS) shown in Figure 5 comes with There is a bridge between D-STAR and The last two features Ill describe are the built-in sticker shock. Were not used to the APRS networks. A third-party applicaBreak-In and Emergency modes, common paying $350 or more for a speaker/mic, but tion called Dplus runs on the Gateway. It to the 91AD and 92AD handhelds, and the of course this one has a GPS receiver and can pick off your GPS data and forward it it plugs conveniently into the radio with no to the APRS network via the Internet. Your ID-800H and IC-2820H mobiles. location shows up on APRS displays, and These transmit modes allow you to be adapter or power cables. The mic is large and heavy for a hand- on Internet sites like Find-U (see Figure heard by D-STAR stations who are using any of the various forms of selective squelch held. Itll tug hard at the collar of your shirt 6). The manual falls short here. I was suc(call sign squelch, which I described earlier, if you clip it there. And GPS is its only trick. cessful using instructions supplied by Ken, and Digital Code Squelch (DCS), which There are no up/down buttons or volume KC4YOZ. I suggest contacting your local is similar to analogs CTCSS). Just turn control. You might expect some extras D-STAR experts. on BREAK-IN with a keypad button on the for the price, but this mic is designed for IC-91AD, or in a menu on the 92AD, and emergency responders in the field, so KISS In Conclusion The IC-92AD is a very capable, complete everyone on the channel hears you, regard- applies. It has one illuminated yellow button to turn the GPS on and off. That button radio for analog and digital VHF/UHF opless of their squelch settings. lights up while the GPS is acquiring satellite eration. The only significant downsides I Emergency mode is even cooler. What do you do when a conversation on signals and blinks when it has a lock. Under found are the mediocre transmit audio, the the radio interrupts something youre doing open sky, it took about a minute to lock. It price and the complexity (youll need some a phone call, writing an article on your took longer but did get a lock indoors in local help to get the most out if this radio). If youre into emcomm or search and rescue, computer, sleeping? You turn the volume some single-story, wood-frame buildings. I turned to the manual (for the first time!) the GPS mic is a great addition. down. And there it sits until you remember Manufacturer: ICOM America, 2380 to turn it up again. If I activate EMERGENCY before trying to use the GPS function. I understood the instructions up to the point 116th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004; tel 800MODE (again, keypad on the 91AD, menu on the 92AD), I can reach into your radio of telling me to plug in the mic. Then it lost 872-4266; www.icomamerica.com. me under the heading Sentence formatand turn your volume back up! I felt a little strange as I experimented ter setting. While ICOMs manuals are with this, almost like I was dialing 911 just usually above average, they all fall short to see if it worked. Only problem was, it in explaining general D-STAR operation. didnt work! I tried all four of my D-STAR Without some prior knowledge, they leave radios. I turned their volume down, then you hanging. I gleaned enough from the manual to transmitted to them with a radio in EMR. They stayed quiet. The manual was just as let me poke around the menus and get the silent, referring to the specified volume GPS functions turned on in both the 92AD level without telling me how to specify handheld and my IC-2820 mobile. It turns that level (or even who specifies it, because out that you need very little from the manual apparently it isnt me). I experimented, and to get GPS data to flow between these radios