Icom Releases New HT -- ID-31A Plus 5W UHF D-STAR Transceiver

D-Star and System Fusion radios are NOT over priced. They are made in Japan and use better components.
How can you compare them to Chinese clone knock offs.
Motorola make DMR radios that you can drive a truck over... are they too exoensive too?
You get what you pay for.

 

IMO the worst thing in modern digital amateur radio is proprietary codec. This is not a matter of price anyway. One could donate to voluntary developers much more than retail price of commercial product. Proprietary codec just violates HAM spirit. Situation is seemed to be absolutely stupid. There is free codec; why aren't we (I mean radios from Big Three) using it?

 

All you have to do is send the admin an email and it will be done.

 

I would consider a D-Star radio if they also included DMR as a mode out of the box. For $300+ it should be a multi-mode digital radio.

 

Because the China radios sound bad. I have most of them and the Moto DMR, Yaesu Fusion, and 3 D-star radios. Everyone on a Moto $400 radio on DMR sounds good. Folks including myself when using a MD-380 sound like a CB with the Modulation Diode clipped. Many in DMR ask them to adjust the TX AGC, but unlike a Moto the MD-380s do not have such a feature. The newer G2-G3 d-star radios have the new AMBE chips and sound almost as good as C4FM Fusion in DN mode.

On Analog the Beo radios are single SDR chips and the receive is about 35% of the range of a Kenwood or Yaesu radios receiver. Yes I have owned most all of them to test and then gave away them. They also have spurs so bad, someone must have paid off the FCC, as Anytones are much better than the Beo radios. [I have snap shots off my calibrated spectrum analyser I could post of the UV6R, when you take off its antenna, the power on 299mhz spur is greater than the 2 meter fundamental. the factory antenna is the filter]

FYI on 50% duty cycle, DMR has 1/2 the average power of C4FM at 100% duty cycle. I'll let the folks that know explain that one.

 

Because the AMBE chip is the Best sounding, anyone can buy one for $25 in qty=1, so its not a hidden thing only the huge radio goods can buy. Several folks have built multi-mode USB sticks with them. The free codecs just don't work as good and why the commercial radio companies buy the AMBE chip as well.

You do know the Transistor was a proprietary part of AT&T, and Sony had to buy rights to make them for the first transistor radios.

By the time we are about to die the AMBEs and their clones will be like transistors today and hams will be upset about the Proprietary Sub-Space radio chip and they wont do ham radio over the solar system because you have to pay someone $25 for a special chip to do so... Ha !

 

It's expired per:

And while there aren't a lot of hams with the math background to do the stuff in software... there are a few implementations. The latest is in op25.

I'd love to see better communications from the ham community to the R&D people at the "big three." Does anyone even know any names of the R&D people at Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu?

I am very irritated with Yaesu. They were the last folks to enter the digital game, and yet felt the need to introduce another proprietary digital format.

 

there are a lot of comments in this string that don't really pertain to the original post, which was introducing a new version of the ID-31 the 31a plus! Is it worth upgrading from a previous ID-31? Not sure. Do I love my ID-31a Plus? Absolutely! I also have an ID-51a Plus 2 - so same generation, and I'm not sure which one I love more. The size (and shape) of the ID-31 is awesome. It slips easily into any pocket so it is comfortable and minimizes the nerd effect of carrying a radio in public! I think it is better sized and shaped than any other digital radio.

Some have brought up that the price is high, but you get what you pay for. The ID-31a Plus is quality made in Japan. Some tout the inexpensiveness of Chinese DMR radios, but if you compare it to the Anytone 878, the Icom is currently only $5 more! I have three Anytones, and they have louder speakers, but every single one them developed a slippery VFO in a very short time, and have difficulty stripping out tones on certain repeaters - which made them useless on those repeaters.

Some made comments comparing DMR to D-Star, but the bottom line is that there is no comparison in ease of front panel programming between the ID-31a / 51a and a DMR radio. The ID-31 is super easy, and I can program a new repeater in about a minute. Try that on a DMR radio.

It seems that the expansion of DMR is primarily driven by cheap radios. With this in mind, I don't think people take the value of their time into account when making a digital choice. Sure, one can save a few bucks by selecting a DMR radio instead of an Icom, but then they have to take more time to program it. So is saving a few bucks on the initial purchase really worth it in the long run? For me, I would rather save time and pay a few bucks more than take the time to write custom code plugs, or even worse - have to rely on other people's code plugs!

Also, the ID-31's ability to find a close repeater based on position is super cool when driving to another area - which is something I don't think any other radio does. Analog works great on the ID-31, and D-Star sounds very good.

Here is one of the best discussions I have read regarding DMR vs D-Star: http://www.mikemyers.me/blog/2016/2/19/d-star-dmr-fusion-which-is-right-for-you-7nhdl. The only thing I would add is that there are now mixed mode repeaters for D-Star too.

I highly recommend the ID-31a+ for anyone considering a new HT. I think it is great for the beginner and veteran user alike. It is great for the beginner because you don't end up having to re-buy a radio when you get tired of your cheap radio. The only real thing the ID-31 is missing compared to the ID-51 is VHF, but with the ability to tune into any reflector, and many systems transmitting on VHF and UHF simultaneously, I don't consider it a big loss. And I have found that with all my devices, the ones that more easily fit into my pocket tend to be the ones I use more - and the ID-31a Plus is no exception. Enjoy