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I've never really been an owner of ICOM radios. Everyone knows they are great quality, but I tried to stay with the same brand since I was familiar with it. I've been a big user of Kenwood and Yaesu. I own several Kenwood and Yaesu mobile and HT radios.
I purchased the ICOM 5100A last year, and it's a nice radio. The display is a little boring, and honestly, that's why I hesitated to purchase a Yaesu FTM-300 first. Though there are no D-Star repeaters within range of my home, it doesn't see much action there. There is much more Yaesu System Fusion around. But it has been a great performer on FM. I recently decided to follow up with the ICOM ID-52. It sat in the box for a couple of days because I wanted to ensure I had enough time to give it a run through its features. I did that this weekend, and I have been highly impressed.
The ICOM ID-52's closest competitor is the Kenwood TH-D74, which I have owned for a couple of years. The Kenwood is a feature-rich radio, but it doesn't get much use over my Yaesu FT-3D. Mostly because it feels a bit more fragile and it's so expensive. It's like a Lamborghini of radios, and it only gets to go out on track days. This is not a comparison between the Kenwood TH-D74 and the ICOM ID-52. They do have a lot of similarities, like D-Star operation. They are even similar in the way they handle memory channels and repeater lists. But I thought I'd list out some reasons why I love the ID-52. Some of the things I love are available on both radios.
1. Long battery life. Last night, I accidentally left the radio on. It was on for 12 hours before I noticed it sitting there. The battery power was only down 7%! Wow!
2. Can be charged with a USB-B cable. I really wish it took the USB-C cable, but I love that when I take it on trips, I only need my little USB cable and not a bulky charger.
3. The menus are easy to understand and navigate. The buttons make sense after a little bit of reading.
4. The free ICOM programming software, CS-52, is adequate. It will accept exports from RepeaterBook.
5. The Digital Repeater List will accept analog repeaters (even from a RepeaterBook export). This list includes GPS coordinates. The closest repeaters can be located with the radio's built-in GPS receiver. The radio even differentiates between digital and analog repeaters in the list, allowing you to display each group separately.
- Category: Reviews
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Introduction
The Motorola SL-300 is a mono band (VHF or UHF) portable radio with FM analog and DMR capabilities. This radio is slim at under an inch thick, has a stubby antenna, and is charged and programmed with a micro USB cable. At first glance, the radio appears to not have a display screen, but it actually has a shatterproof "Active View" display with a matrix of LED lights behind the radio housing. It looks like a magic trick when the display lights up. The radio is super simple to operate with a power button, channel rocker, volume buttons, and a zone button. It can store 99 memory channels. Transmit power is 1, 2 or 3 watts.
These radios are really popular amongst schools and colleges with smaller campuses at meets military specs for ruggedness.
Not for Everyone
Before I get too far in to why this is a great radio for use with a mobile DMR hotspot, if you are not into buying Motorola radios and don't have access to their Customer Programming Software (CPS), then stop reading now. This radio is not for you. You will either need to obtain an account with Motorola and pay the enrollment fee to get access to the CPS or have a good friend who is willing to do the programming for you. The Motorola ecosystem is more geared towards the commercial and government markets, not the Ham community. Their price structures reflect that. I would not recommend tackling all of that for this one radio. If you are embarking or larger projects involving Motorola radios or are already prepared for Motorola, then please, continue on.
Could it Be Any Better?
I love this radio for use as a DMR hotspot radio because of its form factor and battery life. It's a compact radio with a battery that will run all day (11-15 hours on a single charge). It's low power, which is an advantage her for prolonging the battery life. There is no need to transmit at more than the lowest one-watt setting when the hotspots are transmitting only milliwatts. The Active View LED screen is off until you need it and gives you the minimum information you might need. For talking on my hot spot, I only care about the talk group I am on.
Maybe a Couple Things Would be Nice
Although this radio was designed to utilize DMR, it was not designed to operate with the Ham community in mind. If you really need the display to give you the call sign of the station talking, this radio will not give that to you. I don't need it. I'll take battery life and ease of programming over that feature.
CPS is a Breeze
This radio is programmed with the standard Motorola CPS. I own three of these radios. Two are older and I use version 16.0 on those. My newest one required CPS 2. No problem. When programming this radio, you can enter in all of the talk groups you would like to program, then associate the talk groups to a zone and channel.
I have two OpenSpots, the first and the third versions. One is always on at home and operates on one frequency while the OpenSpot 3 operates on another. The home OpenSpot is set up in zone two with all of its talkgroups. The OpenSpot 3 is on zone one. I can just switch zones to use the two different OpenSpots. I take the OpenSpot 3 with me mobile with the SL300. I pair the OpenSpot 3 to my iPhone's hotspot and it automatically connects to BrandMeister.
I program channel one as Talkgroup 9 so I can hear the announcements from the OpenSpot. I program channels two and three to switch profiles on the OpenSPot so I can switch to D-Star or C4FM modes and servers. I have also set up switching to a profile that connects to the PNW Digital group. I simply key up the channel with the corresponding talkgroup to change the profile and connect without having to log in to the OpenSpot's web interface. How slick is that?
Set each channel to only transmit if the channel is free.
This radio has 99 available channels, so if you don't use them all up, you can program in some favorite repeaters that are either DMR or analog. If you only have one DMR hot spot, program one zone for the hot spot and zone two for local repeaters. You are not limited to two zones just 99 channels and switching zones on the SL300 is simple.
Tips and Tricks
I programmed the RepeaterBook talkgroup (31419 on BrandMeister only) along with some of my other favorite talkgroups into the radio. I then programmed talkgroup 9 and my other static talkgroups into the same scan list. If I am listening on one of those channels, I will hear the transmission from either of them. The SL300's display will light up with the active talkgroup name. The OpenSpots are only communicating on one timeslot, so if a talkgroup is busy that is not in your scan list, you will only know if you try to key up and get the channel deny tone.
Final Thoughts
I recently went on a week-long road trip and really gave my set up a test. I could charge my radio and OpenSpot3 while driving. Charging both while talking is not a problem and will not damage either one. At pitstops, the OpenSpot3 was small enough to slip into my pocket and the radio's skeleton-style belt clip attached to a belt or pocket inconspicuously. I never missed a call or a QSO.
The sound quality coming from the tiny speaker was perfect. It had good tone and I found myself turning the volume down in the car, especially when the new-to-DMR guys came on swallowing the mic. Not much you can do about someone else over-modulating their mics. But you'll never get a complaint about your audio.
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At the RepeaterBook.com lab, we tested the SWR of the Comet SBB224 antenna using the RigExpert AA-1000. According to Comet, the antenna is a mag mount 1/4-wave on 2-meters and 5/8-wave on 1.25-meters and 70-centimeters. They report a VSWR of 1.5:1 or less. The gain on 2-meters is 1.15 dBi, 3.5 dBi on 1.25 meters, and 6.0 dBi on 70-centimeters. It is capable of handling 100 watts of power with an overall length of 36 inches. It comes in both UHF and SMA configurations. We tested the SMA version with a mag mount.
We tested the antenna on a cookie sheet and attempted to adjust the antenna length to the best possible SWR. Your results may vary as the ground plane can affect SWR.
2-meter Band
| Frequency | SWR |
| 144.000 | 1.37 |
| 145.000 | 1.36 |
| 146.000 | 1.36 |
| 147.000 | 1.35 |
1.25 -meter Band
| Frequency | SWR |
| 220.000 | 1.7 |
| 221.000 | 1.5 |
| 222.000 | 1.32 |
| 223.000 | 1.19 |
| 224.000 | 1.21 |
| 225.000 | 1.37 |
70-centimeter Band
| Frequency | SWR |
| 430.000 | 2.1 |
| 435.000 | 2.1 |
| 440.000 | 1.8 |
| 445.000 | 1.05 |
| 449.000 | 1.5 |
GMRS
This antenna is not marketed towards GMRS users. These are very high SWR readings and should not be used for transmitting on GMRS channels.
| Frequency | SWR |
| 462.000 | 3.2 |
| 467.000 | 3.0 |
33-centimeter Band
This antenna is not specifically sold as a 33-cm band antenna, but it is well-tuned.
| Frequency | SWR |
| 902.000 | 1.9 |
| 903.000 | 1.46 |
Verdict
This antenna performed remarkably well in the bands specifically marketed for and is a must-buy. The bonus is the low SWR in the 33-cm range. GMRS-licensed users should not use this antenna for GMRS use.
We will re-run these tests with the antenna mounted to a vehicle and report back on the results.
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At the RepeaterBook.com lab, we tested the SWR of the PulseLarsen NMO 2/70 antenna using the RigExpert AA-1000. According to PulseLarsen, the antenna is a mag mount 1/2-wave on 2-meters and collinear on 70-centimeters. The gain is reported as 2.4 dBi on 2-meters and 4.0 dBi on 70-cm. It can handle 100 watts of power with an overall length of 34.5 inches. The equivalent Comet antenna is the SBB-5, which is significantly cheaper.
We tested the antenna on a cookie sheet to replicate a situation such as the use of a go-box at a park. We attempted to adjust the antenna length to the best possible SWR. Your results may vary.
2-meter Band
| Frequency | SWR |
| 144.000 | 1.42 |
| 145.000 | 1.28 |
| 146.000 | 1.23 |
| 147.000 | 1.29 |
70-centimeter Band
| Frequency | SWR |
| 430.000 | 1.9 |
| 435.000 | 1.48 |
| 440.000 | 1.11 |
| 445.000 | 1.20 |
| 449.000 | 1.7 |
1.25-meter Band
SWR on this band was about 3.4. This antenna is not intended for use on 1.25-m frequencies.
GMRS
SWR on the GMRS channels ranged from 2.1 to 2.9. This antenna is not intended for use on GRMS frequencies.
33-centimeter Band
SWR on the repeater uplink frequencies ranged from 2.5 to 3.1. This antenna is not intended for use on 33-cm frequencies.
Verdict
This is definitely a "you get what you pay for" product. The Larsen antenna performed very well on the frequencies most likely to be used by mobile users. It is an antenna that is specifically designed for Ham use on the 2-m/440 bands and it does it very well. This antenna is not suited for venturing outside of the Ham bands or other bands. This antenna is probably one of the most expensive antennas marketed for Hams in this category but performs very well.
This antenna is priced just a bit cheaper than Comet antennas, but the Comet antennas seem to perform a little better for the money.
We will re-run these tests with the antenna mounted to a vehicle and report back on the results.
- Category: Reviews
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At the RepeaterBook.com lab, we tested the SWR of the Diamond MR77 antenna using the RigExpert AA-1000. According to Diamond, the antenna is a mag mount 1/4-wave on 2-meters and a 5/8-wave on 70-centimeters. The gain is reported as 2.15 dBi on 2-meters and 3.4 dBi on 70-cm. It can handle 70 watts of power with an overall length of 20 inches. It comes in both UHF and SMA configurations. We tested the UHF version.
We tested the antenna on a cookie sheet and attempted to adjust the antenna length to the best possible SWR. Your results may vary.
2-meter Band
| Frequency | SWR |
| 144.000 | 2.0 |
| 145.000 | 1.9 |
| 146.000 | 1.9 |
| 147.000 | 1.8 |
70-centimeter Band
| Frequency | SWR |
| 430.000 | 2.2 |
| 435.000 | 1.9 |
| 440.000 | 1.9 |
| 445.000 | 1.5 |
| 449.000 | 1.23 |
GMRS
| Frequency | SWR |
| 462.000 | 1.34 |
| 467.000 | 1.42 |
33-centimeter Band
This antenna is not specifically sold as a 33-cm band antenna, but it is well-tuned.
| Frequency | SWR |
| 902.000 | 1.8 |
Verdict
This antenna did not perform well enough to consider it for a radio station that will just be transmitting on the 2-meter and 70-centimeter bands. SWR should under 1.5 on the frequencies primarily be used. However, if you are looking for an antenna that will work on both the 2-meter and 70-cm bands along with GMRS, this antenna performed very well on the GMRS frequency range and could be an excellent middle-of-the-road antenna for that. The bonus is the performance in the 33-centimeter band.
This antenna is priced just a bit cheaper than Comet antennas, but the Comet antennas seem to perform a little better for the money.
We will re-run these tests with the antenna mounted to a vehicle and report back on the results.
