Part of our Handheld Radios (HTs) guide.
If you have gotten into D-STAR and are ready to move past a budget dual-band handheld, the ID-52 is Icom’s answer to what a flagship D-STAR radio should be, and it shows in almost every part of the radio.
Display and Interface
The ID-52’s color display is a real step up from the small monochrome screens on most budget handhelds, making D-STAR callsign routing, repeater lists, and GPS data actually pleasant to navigate rather than a chore. Icom’s menu logic takes some getting used to if you are coming from a Yaesu or Chinese radio, but it is consistent with other Icom gear once you learn it.
True Dual Receive
Unlike many budget dual-band radios that only fake simultaneous dual watch, the ID-52 offers genuine independent dual receive, letting you monitor two frequencies at once without the compromises some cheaper radios make. This matters if you regularly monitor a repeater and a simplex or GMRS frequency at the same time.
GPS and D-STAR Integration
Built-in GPS ties directly into D-STAR’s callsign routing and position reporting features, letting you share location data over the D-STAR network in a way that feels genuinely integrated rather than bolted on. This is one of D-STAR’s actual strengths as a digital voice mode, and the ID-52 is built to take full advantage of it.
Is It Worth the Price
The ID-52 costs significantly more than budget dual-mode radios that also do D-STAR as one of several supported modes. If you are D-STAR-committed and want the best possible experience with Icom’s flagship features, the price is justified. If you are still exploring digital voice modes generally and might switch to DMR or Fusion later, a cheaper multi-mode radio makes more sense until you know D-STAR is where you want to stay. For Fusion’s equivalent flagship handheld, see the Yaesu FT5D Review.