The Icom IC-M94D is a nice piece of kit – a Class D DSC VHF handheld that ticks every box a mariner of any sort could want, and it floats! So when I finally pulled the trigger and spent proper money on one, I expected everything in the box to match the quality of the radio itself.

The charging cradle had other ideas.

I’m not going to pretend the OEM cradle is unusable, it works but the fit is sloppy, the plastic feels like an afterthought, and the overall impression is that it was designed to hit a price point rather than complement an expensive radio. For a unit that costs what it costs from a premium brand I’ve always loved, it’s genuinely disappointing.

Here’s my previous Icom cradle from a 15 year old Icom marine radio next to the new one. The previous one had a better fit, lots of electronic components vs uhh none on the new one and it had some actual weight to it. Laughably they want £45 for the crap on the right if you need a replacement. This price might have been justifiable for the cradle on the left but they are having a laugh here with the new one.

What did you do to your cradle design people ICOM?? You clearly used to be able to do this.

So of course I opened Fusion 360 and lost a lot of hours..

The Design

I modeled the replacement from scratch, carefully measuring the IC-M94D’s base geometry, the faceted vertical angles (I miss old-school rectangular radios), and the contact points for the charging pads. The vertical faces are all angled differently, which made getting a clean fit considerably more interesting than it had any right to be.

The result is a two-part assembly:

• Upper cradle body — a snug-fitting shell that holds the radio securely with no play. The interior follows the radio’s profile closely, and the contact recesses are positioned and sized to maintain reliable charging contact throughout. Also added a rear screw hole that the original doesn’t have but previous Icom cradles did for when needed.
• Lower base plate — a sturdy, flat-bottomed base with mounting provisions.

The two parts fit together cleanly with the insertion of the board from the original charger.

This would have been a whole lot easier with a profile of the radio to work from, something the manufacturer of course has and could have modeled a cradle around a lot quicker than me, but I got there eventually.

Print Settings

I printed mine in black PETG on a 0.4mm nozzle at 0.2mm layer height with 4 perimeters and 25% gyroid infill. . PLA will work fine for a desktop shack cradle; PETG is the sensible choice if it’s going to live anywhere warm.

No supports needed. Both parts are oriented so the functional surfaces are printed face-up, keeping the critical contact recesses clean.

Download

I realise I’m likely the only person to be bothered by this but if it’s of interest the model is free to download on MakerWorld: Icom IC-M94D DE Charging Cradle Replacement on MakerWorld

If you print one, I’d love to see it, drop a make photo on MakerWorld or leave a comment below. If the fit is slightly off for your unit (tolerances vary between printers), the Fusion 360 source is available on request, it’s straightforward to adjust the clearances or I can offer help.

Why Bother?

Because when you spend several hundred pounds on a radio, you deserve a cradle that doesn’t feel like it came out of a cereal box. And because modelling it took an evening, printing took a few hours, and the result is something I’m actually pleased to have on my desk.

Sometimes the fix is just doing it yourself .

It also holds the radio when upside down, super handy for when you’ve done something in your boat you shouldn’t have.

It also won me 2nd prize at the radio club constructions contest, which afforded a mere single Guinness at today’s mad prices. Why wouldn’t you for a Guinness.

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Designed in Autodesk Fusion 360. Printed in PETG. Filed under: things that should have shipped this way