Breaking · Hamvention 2026
Icom Unveils ID-5200: First Mobile Rig With a Waterfall Display
Dayton Hamvention · Xenia, Ohio · May 2026
Twelve years after the beloved ID-5100, Icom has launched its successor — and it's a gadget lover's dream. The ID-5200A/E dual-band mobile features a 4.3-inch color touchscreen, independent dials for A and B bands, and something no mobile transceiver has had before: a real-time waterfall display. Watch band activity scroll by while you drive the Strip or chase a repeater net across the Mojave.
Enhanced D-STAR support includes Terminal Mode and Access Point Mode over built-in Wi-Fi, true dual-band simultaneous receive (FM/FM, FM/DV, even DV/DV), and Bluetooth connectivity to your phone or PC. APRS support is planned via a future firmware update. Expected availability: summer 2026.
Concept · Mobile HF
The X-026 Mystery: Icom's Next-Gen Mobile Platform?
Speculation Desk · Tokyo Ham Fair expected later 2026
At Hamvention 2026, Icom displayed the X-026 — a concept mock-up that has the community buzzing. Teaser footage showed a vehicle-focused setup with what appears to be a detachable control head and multiple antenna connections. Many hams hope this could be the long-awaited successor to the IC-7100 mobile HF rig. Official specs remain under wraps until Tokyo Ham Fair.
Space · ARISS
Ham Radio on the Moon? ARISS and AMSAT Plot Lunar Communications
AREx Program · CAVIAR Project
Remember when Japan's JS1YMG sent Morse from the lunar surface? That was just the beginning. ARISS and AMSAT's Amateur Radio Exploration (AREx) partnership is studying CAVIAR — Communications, Audio, Video and Imaging using Amateur Radio — for future crewed lunar missions. The vision: voice, digital, and even video links between astronauts and students on Earth, using 5 GHz and 10 GHz bands supported by a global ground network.
Open Source
M17: The DMR Alternative Built by Hams, for Hams
Digital Desk · m17project.org
Tired of proprietary digital voice? M17 is a fully open RF protocol — open spec, open source code, open hardware, and the open Codec2 vocoder. No license fees, no locked-down chips. Run it on a Connect Systems CS7000, reflash a TYT MD-380 with OpenRTX, or build a Module17 modem with a Raspberry Pi. Community forks like WPSD-M17 keep M17 alive on MMDVM hotspots even as mainline firmware shifts. This is ham spirit at its finest.
Experiment
FT8 Over LoRa: WSJT-X Logic Meets Heltec Hardware
Projects · G5LSI ft8-lora firmware
Leandro Soares Indrusiak (G5LSI) has ported the FT8 QSO state machine to run over LoRa packets on a Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3 board — no PC, no traditional FT8 waveform, just the familiar CQ → report → 73 exchange in a battery-friendly, web-controlled package. Perfect for club demos, field experiments, or understanding how protocol layers really work.
Gear
AH-6: Icom's Pocket-Sized HF Antenna Tuner
Accessories · 1.8–50 MHz
Also shown at Hamvention: the AH-6 automatic antenna tuner. Compact, IP54-rated, and compatible with both long-wire and 50 Ω antennas from 160m through 6m. Tunes in 2–3 seconds. Ideal for portable HF ops from Red Rock Canyon or your hotel room (check local rules first!).
