Icom ID5100 - HM-207 Update
I've been working on the ID-5100 to see if it can produce better audio on FM and Dstar.
Luckily, it seems to have the same basic mic circuit architecture as the ID-51A Dstar HT - which
in my opinion has the best Dstar audio of any rig. The 5100's FM audio is crisp, but not bad.
The difference with the 5100 is that we are using a HM-207 which has the exact same mic element and coupler
circuit as the HM-151 from the IC-7000. The Bass, Treble and level controls on the 5100 do help make
the HM-207 sound better. People are finding that Bass set to Boost and Treble set to Cut or Normal - seems
to result in the best audio. Use the same settings for receive. (but don't set the receive Bass Boost
(a third setting that is available for Bass boosting) to Boost). Just use the basic Bass and Treble settings in RX.
The TX tone settings have no effect in FM.
I put my type #2 element in the HM-207 and did the rest of my standard HM-151 upgrades to it.
It has more gain over-all, so I set the 5100's mic level to 2 instead of 3. The result is a definite
improvement over stock. I've been getting reports on the REF004B reflector, and it seems that
everyone likes the new audio. One of the top voice-over talents on Madison Ave. in NYC is a Ham
and helped me walk in the frequency response curve. He was very happy with the final results.
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Here are the audio test samples. The ID-51A and the ID-5100 in all combinations.
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Conditions:
Recorder: Sony SX700
Receiver: ID-880H
Audio was direct coupled to the recorder. ID-51A TX Bass Normal, Treble Boost. ID-5100
TX Bass Boost, Treble Normal.
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ID-51A HT DV ID-5100 Upgraded on DV ID-5100 Stock on DV
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ID-5100 Stock on FM ID-5100 Upgraded on FM ID-51A on FM
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The overall difference seems to be more presence and clarity. That's what I'm hearing from stations
giving me feedback too. The average audio levels are higher than the ID- 51A. There is a boost in
articulation on the upgraded 5100 setup. This helps the signal's readability on the receive end.
Tonal balance seems really good on the upgraded 5100 as well.
On FM, the improvement is even more pronounced - because the 5100 TX tone controls have no effect on FM.
I was just trying to "match" the quality of the ID51A, but it seems the 5100 with the HM-207
upgrade out-performs the ID-51A. For this reason, I'm adding an HM-207 mic upgrade on the
site here. This is an incremental quality improvement to an already great radio. If you want that last
bit of improvement possible, send on your HM-207 to me and I'm happy to upgrade it.
This upgrade is also $43 plus $12 shipping ($55) (Priority 2-3 day with full $100 insurance)
Bob