Icom ID-52E
This section will have "how to" guides for operating D-Star with the Icom ID-52 radio.
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Entering My Call Sign and TX Message
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1. From the VFO or Memory screen and not DR mode press the Menu key.
2. Now scroll down to My Station using the Nav key and select using the center button.
3. Now you can select My Call Sign. You get the option to enter multiple callsigns should the radio be shared.
4. To enter your callsign you now have to press Quick to Edit or Clear that option.
5. Select Edit and now to enter your callsign use the Nav key, up and down changes the characters and right moves to the next character position. If you need to delete a character move the cursor to it and press the VFO/MHZ key.
6. You will see a / on the second line, here you can enter four characters and most people enter the radio model or if they have a short name that can go there. To get to the line move to the right and the cursor will move down.
7. Enter characters as before and when complete press the center key of the Nav key.
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You can now enter a message that can be displayed on the receiving stations screen should they have that option enabled. Here you can have your name and location or any message you want.
1. Press VFO to go back a menu and move down and select TX Message.
2. Again you have the option to enter several messages here.
3. To enter messages press Quick to Edit or Clear that option.
4. Select Edit and now to enter your message. This is done the same as entering your callsign.
5. When finished press the center key of the Nav key and you will return to your message list. If you have multiple messages whichever one is highlighted blue when you press the center key of the Nav key will be selected and used when transmitting.
6. Press the Menu key to return to the A / B band(s).
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Enter repeater / hotspot details
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1. From the VFO or Memory screen and not DR mode press the Menu key.
2. Move to the Set icon using the Nav key and select using the center button.
3. Now scroll to Memory and select.
4. Now you can select Repeater List. You will see several folders, if you have never loaded the setting there will be no names. If previously configured you may see names here. My first folder is 01: Local. I use this for my hotspots and gateways. You could do the same or local repeaters.
5. Scroll and select the folder you wish to add a frequency to.
6. To enter a frequency you now have to press Quick to Add. You will see other options that will be of use in the future.
7. Select Add and there are quite a few fields to edit to add a frequency.
8. First option is the Type of frequency you want to add. Select Type and choose what you are adding. If you are adding your hotspot choose DV Repeater. DR Mode is not just for D-Star repeaters, you can also add FM repeaters and then use the Near Repeater feature using the GPS.
9. Move down to Name and select. Enter the name / callsign (e.g. Hotpsot) using the Nav key, up and down changes the characters and right moves to the next character position and when complete press the center key of the Nav key.
10. Move down to Sub Name. Any text you enter here will not be seen in DR Mode. You will only see this text when selecting DR Memory in the folder view.
11. Move down to Call Sign. Here enter the callsign with spaces and then the port identifier (e.g. G1HIJ B). The port identifier must be in the eigth character space and this is where alot of issues occur when people cannot access a repeater or hotspot. Repeater convention is 23cm = A, 70cm = B and 2m = C. When using multiple hotspots you can use what you want.
12. You will now see that the GW Call Sign has automatically been updated the callsign and a letter G.
13. Move down to Group. If you did not move to a folder and select, here you choose a folder. This can also be used if editing a memory entry.
14. Move to Use (From). Set this to YES if you wish to be able to dial this up in the From field.
15. Move to Frequency and enter the frequency you want. UK stations note there are specific frequencies for hotspot use so your radio does not interfere with other users or services (satelites). They are: 144.925 MHz, 144.9375 MHz, 144.950 MHz, 434.000 MHz, 438.800MHz.
16. Move to Dup. Here you must use either Dup- or Dup+ even for a simpex hotspot. Again this is a common error where Off is chosen and hotspots cannot be accessed.
17. Move to Offset Freq. For a repeater enter the offset and for a simplex hotspot or gateway enter 0.000.00. Again this is a comon error when entering a hotspot frequency and it default to a set offset.
18. Move to Position. If you are not going to use this entry with the near Repeater feature then you do not need to edit it. If you are select Approximate or Exact.
19. Move to UTC Offset. Unless you are entering repeaters in a different time zone do not worry about this field.
20. Move down and you will see one or two options depending on whether you are adding or editing. If adding you will see <<Add Write>> and if editing also <<Overwrite>>. Select the appropriate one and confirm Yes or No. You should now see you entry in the list.
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Enter Your Call Sign details
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1. From the VFO or Memory screen and not DR mode press the Menu key.
2. Move to the Set icon using the Nav key and select using the center button.
3. Now scroll to Memory and select.
4. Now you can select Your Call Sign. You may or may not have entries in here depending on where you got your radio from. When D-Star was first developed the theory was connecting to repeaters or call sign routing to another station. You may also want to connect to a reflector. These call signs and reflectors could be saved in this list to save time manually entering them when wanting to connect. I store my regular reflectors and any call signs I do want in here to speed things up. There are some basic entries you will want. To broadcast through repeater and or reflector you will need CQCQCQ. To find out what a repeater or hotspot is connected to you will want the character I and to unlink a reflector the character U. The busy reflectors are REF001C and REF030C. There are litterally hundreds of reflectors each with many modules. Nowadays we can also include CCS7 ID's. Explanation of CCS7 can be found elsewhere on this site. If you just want to try a reflector there is no need to enter it here, I'll cover that in another section.
5. Now we will complete five fields unless but if they are in your radio carry on reading. To add a new entry press Quick, you will also see other options that will be of use in the future.
6. Select Add.
7. The first field is Name. Here you can have a label for a command, a callsign or whatever. Edit the same as other text fields. Using the Nav key, up and down changes the characters and right moves to the next character position. and when complete press the center key of the Nav key. For example the first entry I would have CQCQCQ.
8. Move down to the Callsign field and enter CQCQCQ.
9. Move down and select <<Add Write>>.
10. Confirm Yes or No. If selecting Yes you will see your entry in the list, if No you can move the the field you wish to edit and then <<Add Write>> again.
11. Repeat the above to add the following entries.
12. You can send a status request to a repeater or hotspot to see if it is connected and what to. In Name enter Status.
13. In Callsign move the cursor across to the 8th character space and enter the letter I. This must be in the last position to work.
14. Repeat for the following.
15. You can unlink a reflector from a repeater or hotspot by sending a disconnect request. In Name enter Unlink.
16. In Callsign move the cursor across to the 8th character space and enter the letter U. This must be in the last position to work.
17. If you have regular reflectors that you use I would enter them next.
18. In Name enter the Reflector name or another label e.g. Papa Network. We'll enter the two most common reflectors. Enter REF001C.
19. In Callsign enter REF001CL. The letter L at the end of the reflector is instructing the repeater or hotspot to link. Notice the L is in the 8th character position.
20. Add another entry and in Name enter REF030C.
21 In Callsign enter REF030CL.
22. In your list you should see CQCQCQ, Status, Unlink, REF001C and REF030C. As you scroll down you will see at the bottom of the screen the Callsign. This is enough to get you going on D-Star. As you ffind other reflectors you like to use you can add them in. Pi-Star commands such as SHUTDOWN, UPDATE or REBOOT can also be added here (note these need to be configured in Pi-Star within Config>Expert>Pi-Star Remote).
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To edit or delete an entry.
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1. Go into Your Call Sign list and scroll to the entry you want to edit or delete.
2. Press the Quick key.
3. To edit scroll and select Edit. Using the same method as before make your changes. If you need to delete a character move the cursor to it and press the VFO/MHZ key.
4. When finished select <<Overwrite>>. You will also see <<Add Write>> which is useful if adding additonal modules for a reflector and there are only minor changes.
5. To delete scroll to Delete. You will then get the option to confirm by selecting Yes or No.​​​​​
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Using DR Mode
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There is alot to using DR Mode and something that is to log to put into words in any detail. Take your time and watch all of the video as it will explain the D-Star use of DR Mode. FM repeaters can also be used in DR Mode but these will be covered in the video covering the use of the Near Repeater feature.
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Using the GPS - videos to follow
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The GPS feature can be used to send your location details to any station that is receiving you either direct or through a repeater/gateway. If their radio is configured correctly it will display your callsign, location and bearing / distance. If the repeater/gateway is also configured correctly it should pass your data to other services. This can be Google Maps and / or the aprs.fi website. If you look on a reflector dashboard you will see a callsign in orange or a GPS symbol next to it. If you use Pi-Star clicking on the GPS letters next to a callsign will take you to the aprs.fi site.
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All of the following can be configured using the Icom CS-52 or RT Systems WCS-D52 software. The settings I have chosen are to prolong battery life, both SBAS and GLONASS satellites improve position accuracy but at the expense of battery life.
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Enabling GPS to use current location from the internal receiver
1. From any screen press the Menu key.
2. Move to the GPS icon using the Nav key and select using the center button.
3. Now select GPS Set and select.
4. Select GPS Select and select. You now have the choice of Off, On or Manual. On will use your current position in any message whereas Manual will use a stored position. More on this later as it is really useful when wanting to save battery power if you are not out and about.
5. For now select On.
6. I have found the following settings work. In GPS Option, SBAS is set to Off, GLONASS is set to Off, Power Save is set to Auto and Satellite Information is set to GPS Only.
7. To check your position go back through the menus using the VFO/MHz key until you are back on the main GPS screen and then select GPS Position. All being well you should see your current position.
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Storing co-ordinates to memory position
1. From any screen press the Menu key.
2. Move to the GPS icon using the Nav key and select using the center button.
3. Now select GPS Memory and select.
4. You can rename a folder by scrolling to it and pressing the Quick key. Edit the name and press the Nav key center button to save.
5. Select a folder then press the Quick key to Add a new memory.
6. Select Name and edit, then the Nav key center button to save.
7. Scroll down to Latitude and press the Nav key center button to edit and once entered press again store.
8. Scroll down to Longtitude and press the Nav key center button to edit and once entered press again store.
9. Scroll down to <<Add Write>> and select using the Nav key center button then confirm.
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Enabling GPS to use a memory position
1. From any screen press the Menu key.
2. Move to the GPS icon using the Nav key and select using the center button.
3. Now select GPS Set and select.
4. Select GPS Select and select. You now have the choice of Off, On or Manual, select Manual.
5. Now scroll and select Manual Position. Now press the Quick key and select Set From GPS Memory.
6. You will then see any groups that have positions stored. Select the Group and then memory you have previously saved, choose Overwrite the Manual Position.
7. Press the Menu key to get back to your operating screen.
8. When you next transmit and check your location on a map it should show the memory position and not your current position.
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Configuring radio to send D-PRS
1. From any screen press the Menu key.
2. Move to the GPS icon using the Nav key and select using the center button.
3. Now select GPS TX Mode and then D-PRS.
4. Check the Unproto Address is set correctly by selecting this, it should be API52,DSTAR* then press the VFO/MHz key to go back a screen.
5. Scroll down to TX Format and select Position.
6. Select Symbol and then scroll to what you want, I have selected 1: Person and then you will be taken back to the previous page.
7. Select SSID and then scroll to what you want and then you will be taken back to the previous page.
8. Select Comment. I have had an issue here whereby my co-ordinates were sent to other radios, Google maps via a Reflector but not aprs.fi so be careful. Look carefully at the comment line, mine had a second line, if necessary go to your comment field and press the Quick key, then select Clear. Re-enter your text by pressing the Quick key, select Edit and then enter your text. Alternatively, scroll to another comment you wish to edit and press Quick key, select Edit. Enter your text then, when finished press the center key of the Nav key to return to the previous screen.
9. You can also set your Time Stamp format (mine is set to DHM (date, hour, minute)), Altitude (mine is set to ON for when out back-packing) and Data Extension (mine is set to Course/Speed).
10. When finished press Menu to return to your operating screen.
11. Most importantly we only want the GPS to be broadcast when you transmit and not at regular interval. Press the Menu key.
12. Move to the GPS icon using the Nav key and select using the center button.
13. Scroll all the way down on to the second screen and select GPS Auto TX. Ensure this is set to OFF. Press the Menu key to get back to your operating screen.
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Configuring CS-52 settings
Go to the GPS settings folder and update and you can find the settings that need to be changed in the following screens. The settings below are for a manual fixed position report of your position to save power, for a real time location change GPS Select to On.
