New Option for the IC-R2500/IC-PCR2500

[MarkWestin]

Hello,

I just noticed the following on Universal Radio's Web Site:

Order # Model Description List Price Your Price
#4747 UT-122 P25 Digital voice decoder. To be announced

All of those who were wondering why Icom didn't announce a P25 Decoder for this radio, here is your answer. Also, I don't think that P25 is very popular in Japan, so they are marketing the "D-Star" option to the Japanese market.

Mark

 

[MacombMonitor]

Hello,

I just noticed the following on Universal Radio's Web Site:

Order # Model Description List Price Your Price
#4747 UT-122 P25 Digital voice decoder. To be announced

All of those who were wondering why Icom didn't announce a P25 Decoder for this radio, here is your answer. Also, I don't think that P25 is very popular in Japan, so they are marketing the "D-Star" option to the Japanese market.

Mark

Interesting Mark! I know AOR currently offers a P25 module for their AR8600 MkIIB, but it is of limited value considering the AR8600 doesn't trunk. The ICOM on the other hand can trunk with the help of TrunkPCR, so maybe it will all come together!

 

[hotdjdave]

About time iCOM joined the P25 world. Now if we could get them to do trunk tracking.

I wonder it will work on the PCR1000 and/or PCR1500.

 

[EricCottrell]

Interesting Mark! I know AOR currently offers a P25 module for their AR8600 MkIIB, but it is of limited value considering the AR8600 doesn't trunk. The ICOM on the other hand can trunk with the help of TrunkPCR, so maybe it will all come together!

Hello,

I have a P25 board in my AOR 8600. I was using it with Trunker to trunktrack the Nashua, NH system and heard the P25 digital stuff just fine.

73 Eric

 

[vince48]

Dave
Most likely the 1500. I hope we see or hear something soon about this option.

vince48

 

[MacombMonitor]

Hello,

I have a P25 board in my AOR 8600. I was using it with Trunker to trunktrack the Nashua, NH system and heard the P25 digital stuff just fine.

73 Eric

Super! I'm not that familiar with the AOR 8600. I had read that it did not trunk, wasn't aware that Trunker worked with it.

Bill

 

[KC1UA]

Very interesting. It certainly would be nice if the UT-122 were backwards compatible as well. Not likely, but Icom would probably sell a lot more of them if they worked with the 1500, 1000, and maybe the IC-R8500...the only alternative for the latter being the near $400 AOR ARD-25 decoder that works off of the 10.7 MHz IF output.

It would be very nice to have P25 capability in a true communications receiver for those of us that use one for DX and other purposes, such as Eric's.

 

[n4voxgill]

Icom is selling 2 meter ham radios in the US with D Star. So if you want to monitor them you would have to buy the D Star option.

 

[MacombMonitor]

Icom is selling 2 meter ham radios in the US with D Star. So if you want to monitor them you would have to buy the D Star option.

How would using ICOM's D Star digital mode be of any benefit to amateur radio?

 

[bagmouse7]

Since the R2500 has dual radios, ICOM has everything they need to in the R2500 to do some super nice trunking. One reveicer can be locked to the control channel, and the other can receive the active voice signal. With this P25 decoder, is should also be able to support most all of the popular trunk systems.
Is should be interesting to see what software they come up with to control everything...

 

[MacombMonitor]

Since the R2500 has dual radios, ICOM has everything they need to in the R2500 to do some super nice trunking. One reveicer can be locked to the control channel, and the other can receive the active voice signal. With this P25 decoder, is should also be able to support most all of the popular trunk systems.
Is should be interesting to see what software they come up with to control everything...

Don't count oun ICOM to come up with any innovative software. That has never been their strong point. More likely third party developers will have to create it. But yes, the radio certainly has some interesting possibilities!

 

[electricsheep]

Is the module Dstar or P25? I thought the digital module for that radio was Dstar... Or is Dstar P25? I didn't think they were the same.

 

[MarkWestin]

Hello,

Which do you want?

#3504 UT-118 Unit provides D-STAR® digital voice reception. $248.00 $189.95

or

#4747 UT-122 P25 Digital voice decoder. To be announced

So you can have either, (but probably not both)

Mark

 

[MacombMonitor]

Is the module Dstar or P25? I thought the digital module for that radio was Dstar... Or is Dstar P25? I didn't think they were the same.

The U-118 module is for D-STAR, and the U-122 is the P25 Digital Decoder...two different options.

 

[electricsheep]

Can you have them BOTH installed?? THAT would be nice...

 

[MacombMonitor]

Very interesting. It certainly would be nice if the UT-122 were backwards compatible as well. Not likely, but Icom would probably sell a lot more of them if they worked with the 1500, 1000, and maybe the IC-R8500...the only alternative for the latter being the near $400 AOR ARD-25 decoder that works off of the 10.7 MHz IF output.

It would be very nice to have P25 capability in a true communications receiver for those of us that use one for DX and other purposes, such as Eric's.

Per ICOM tech in Japan, the P25 option will only work with the R2500/PCR-2500.

 

[MacombMonitor]

Can you have them BOTH installed?? THAT would be nice...

Haven't been able to confirm that yet. However I did find out that you can not have the UT-108 DTMF Decoder, and the UT-118 D-STAR option installed at the same time.

 

[bagmouse7]

I wish there was some way we could convince Pete Mahy (the TalkPCR author) to come out of retirement and code for the R-2500!

 

[electricsheep]

I wish there was some way we could convince Pete Mahy (the TalkPCR author) to come out of retirement and code for the R-2500!

Why not just use Trunkpcr. It does everything Talkpcr did and more. I don't use trunkpcr for the trunking features, just the conventional features, and I find it as powerful, if not more so than talkpcr was when it was killed.

 

[bagmouse7]

Thanks for the tip, I will try out the conventional features in TrunkPCR.