[ICOM] IC-208

[James E Good]

Greetings and Happy New Year to all on the list.

As the new owner of an Icom 208H a few questions come to mind.  In reading the owner's manual, it is clear that the operator should NOT try to program the radio while driving.  (The manual even advises against operating the radio while driving.)  Last night I hooked the 208 to a base station supply used to power the radio in the radio room and managed to program about four or five repeater frequencies into the 208.  The first repeater programmed works just fine.  Hopefully the others will work as well.

The main question:  If the operator is advised against manually programming the frequencies while driving, how could a new frequency or repeater be entered?  Would the radio (the 208) have to be removed from the vehicle, taken to the shack, connected to a computer and then have the software do the programming?  (The alternative to that would be to manually enter the information while in the shack.)  Or could/should a co-pilot, also a licensed ham, enter the information?

Next question:  What is the approximate cost of the programming software (CS-208) with either the USB (OPC-478U) or the RS-232C (OPC-478) and are there schematics available to make the OPC-478?

Thanks in advance.  73.
Jim Good KD5VXH