Icom ID-5100A 50W VHF/UHF Dual Band Digital Mobile Transceiver

Since my last review I have added a hood over the control head in the truck. Significantly better - but still - shouldn't need to do that, and I have never had this issue with any other radio I've ever used in amateur, Emergency Management, or LE. (Actually, I gotta say it looks pretty cool).
That said:
I still really like this radio, the rest of it's functioning is rock solid. Having fun with D-Star which I haven't done in several years.
With slight modification to the side of the sun shade for the control cable to the control head, this is the sun shade I used:
TFY Sun Shade Visor for Mobile Phones & Remote Controllers

I bought this radio to add D-Star among other things in my F-150. I have two Kenwood's, NX-5700 and 5800, for DMR, GMRS, Amateur, and EM Comm, and they are great radios. However, I can't do U/U or V/V with the control head. For that purpose, and the addition of D-Star, I added this ID-5100 to the ever growing collection of radios in my mobile ham shack. I started programming the radio on the desk in my radio room and was enjoying it so much I almost didn't move it to the truck. Having moved it to the truck, I immediately noticed that in areas where I suffer intermod interference in other radios I've had in the truck in the past, this radio seems to hold it's own quite nicely. Feels like the front end of this radio, (unmodified), is as tight as the front ends on the Kenwood's in the truck, (which I paid a LOT more for).
That said:
I found the display hard to read in direct sunlight with these old eyes. I see that Icom is offering a black display on their IC-2730B and I think that would be an excellent idea for this ID-5100 which is my reason for knocking it down one star. Other that that, I really like this radio. I consider it a great addition.

I've had this radio for about 5 years. I have 2 of them. In the mobile the LCD screen will burn out in the sun heat here in Southern California. The radio in the house, the audio output is really noisy. Other than those two problems the radios are great.

Pros - The easiest radio to manually program, display is easy on tired old eyes, menu system is a very short learning curve.

Cons - Icom doesn't mention a single thing about the size of jack the data port needs, only for the ext speaker ports on the back of the radio and the antenna port. RT systems sent me the wrong cable, a 3.5mm stereo jack, when the radio requires a 2.5mm stereo jack to connect your PC (USB to 2.5mm stereo jack). Icom failed when skipping this important information.

Here's the link to RT Systems to the correct data transfer cable. [external link removed]

I've had this radio for four years and love it. It crossbands, lets me monitor two frequencies (digital or FM), and sounds great coming and going. Loads repeaters around the country and quickly locates D-Star and FMrepeates when traveling! However, Icom should include the mounting bracket and Mic extension.

This was my 1st radio after getting my Tech. Mostly use it as a base station radio but have taken it on road trips. For mobile use, the near repeater function is great. You load repeater lists onto a memory card then transfer them to the radio. As you travel you can get a list of nearby repeaters this way. I don't do any DStar as there are no users near me but otherwise the radio is great. A standard CAT6 cable and RJ45 coupler serves as an extension cable for the mike, BTW.

it is above and beyond any expectations I had for any radio in it's class

I've had my 5100 for several months, I really enjoy how easy it is to setup. I would recommend this radio to any new ham.

I have one in my truck and I`m looking at a 2nd one for my shack. Been very happy with this radio. Also looking at a 7300 for my 1st HF radio.

I also live in Florida and it does get hot. However, it gets hot most everywhere in a closed vehicle. We have a longer heat time frame but I’ve seen higher temperatures in the Md South and Mid West. Most anywhere a mobile radio needs to be removed during the heat of the day. It’s a real pain with power, antenna and ground wiring plus the mount system itself. But I’ve found no way around it. It applies to all radios regardless of make / model. I’ve insulated, tried computer cooling fans, no viable answer yet.