TCA PRC-152A (2023 GPS model) notes on use
Keypad Shortcuts :
Press and hold for 1 sec each of the following keys on the keypad for the following functions :
1 – Auxiliary Speaker mode OFF/ON
2 – Backlight mode
3 – FM broadcast & AM Air Band RX mode switching. The keypad left/right arrow buttons select
between these two bands. Press & hold 3 button to return to normal operation.
** Note – for the air band reception to work, the arrow in the display on the far left must be against
the word RADIO, or nothing will be heard at all ! So in other words, VFO A to be selected. This is
obviously a bug, Air Band RX mode should work the same way as the FM broadcast RX mode works,
the VFO selection should be irrelevant.
4 – Squelch level setting
5 – Freq scanning close call mode (Freq & CTCSS tone detection). Press 5 button again to exit this
mode.
6 – Scan up start (channel or frequency)
7 – Function differs slightly depending whether a VFO freq or memory channel is selected first.
- VFO mode – CTCSS/DCS tone selection, TX power level, repeater offset direction, repeater
offset frequency
- Channel mode – CTCSS/DCS tone selection, TX power level
For the CTCSS/DCS tone selection, use the keypad up/down arrow buttons (keys 6 & 9) to select
between CTCSS & DCS tone modes.
8 – TX power selection (Low, Mid, High)
9 – Scan down start (channel or frequency)
0 – Switch between VFO & memory channel modes
CLR – keypad lock ON/OFF
ENT – Saves currently selected VFO freq to a memory channel
Main Menu notes :
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Short press the ENT button to enter the main menu.
14 – MIC MD – must be set to OFF for the inbuilt condenser mic to work properly, otherwise
TX audio will sound very bad. When using real mil audio accessories, I have found this setting
to actually have very little affect on the TX audio quality.
32 – Zone selection (A – H) – there are now 16 channels per zone, much better for channel
scanning purposes.
33 – GPS ON/OFF – I found you have to turn this function ON & OFF twice before the GPS will
start to operate (firmware bug ??). Takes about 30secs to get a GPS lock. While getting a lock,
the small G symbol in the display will flash, stops flashing when locked ok.
34 – GPS-N-E – to display the current GPS coordinates on the screen, along with the time &
date (Note, the time is actually Hong Kong time, not UTC !). After about 30secs, will return to
the normal radio main screen. Decimal degrees format only at this stage.
35 – GPS List – Apparently will show the GPS coordinates of other radios, up to 20. I don’t
have another 2023 model PRC-152A to test this with.
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36 – TX GPS – to TX your coordinates to other radios, for the GPS list. Need more info about
this, how often will it TX the data etc… I cannot hear any data being transmitted from mine
when this selection is turned on. Suspect needs to be set up with the PC software first to
work.
37 – RX GPS – select whether to RX GPS data or not, for the GPS List
40 – HOP (High Output Power) – turns on the high power 15w TX mode, for real Harris 12v
batt packs only.
41 – RX-LED – if ON, any RX signal will automatically turn on the backlight
41 – TX-LED – if ON, will turn on the backlight with each transmission.
Other Observations :
The weird alarm mode appears to be gone now.
Overall machining & finish on the radio case is better than that of the 2019 model I have.
The case is definitely CNC machined, not cast (have taken it apart to confirm this).
Still waiting for from TCA :-
User handbook, hard or soft copies
PC programming software (doubt the older version will work, as the new radio firmware is
very different). Firmware update !
Firmware bugs & other issues (June 2023) :- Accessory audio – MIC MD mic gain issue – mic gain from any magnetic element mic is too
low, regardless of the MIC MD menu setting
- RX signal indicator – full scale with any level RX signal
- GPS RX turning ON – need to do this twice, firmware bug ?
- GPS time display – currently set to Hong Kong time, needs to be set to UTC time
Desirable firmware tweaks :- Small R indicator in top left of display – needs to show a T when transmitting
- Squelch indicator in top line of display – needs to vary with the selected squelch setting, not
just NOI all the time. (bottom line squelch setting indication should just be shifted to this top
line position instead, like the real radio has)
- GPS – Additional info displayed – speed, heading, altitude. GPS satellite list. Seconds added
to the time display. Ability to change the co-ordinates display format.
- Airband RX – ability to store freqs to memory channels.
- LCD backlight – ability to vary backlight intensity (if able to do this)
- GPS position TX - Add menu item to allow entry of a user ID for the GPS position TX data
- GPS position TX – Add menu item for GPS TX time interval setting
- MIC gain – addition of a variable mic gain setting