Kenwood TH-D72A/E manual

TH-D72A/E[...]

Cover 2 TH-D72A/E All copyright s and other intellectua l property right s for this in-depth manual and releva nt technical document s as well as the sof tware descri bed in this in-dep th manual and rel evant technical docume nts, and help text s and manuals atta ched to the sof tware are owned by Kenwoo d Corporation. A right to use the sof tware[...]

TH-D72A/E Cover 3 •W i n d o w s ® and Windows logo ar e registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United S tates and oth er countries. •W i n d o w s V i s t a ® and .NET Framework are trad emarks or registered trademarks of Microsof t Corporation in the United S tates and other countries. • Kenwood Cor poration is a li censee [...]

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TH-D72A/E I CONTENTS 1 DEVELOPMENT CO NCEPT ............ 1 1.1 GPS Unit ............ ......................... ....... 1 1.2 Evolving Development..................... ... 2 1.3 Other New Functions........... ............... 3 2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) .................... 4 3 PREPARATIONS FOR OPERATING AP[...]

CONTENTS II TH-D72A/E 6.1.8 APRS Lock ............................. ......... 50 6.2 Base Station (Weather Station) ........ 51 6.2.1 Using Meteorological Equipme nt ..... 51 6.2.1.1 Davis Instrume nts Corp. Inc. .................. 5 1 6.2.1.2 Peet Bro s. Company ............ ............. ...... 52 7 APRS NETWORKS ........................ 53 7.1 A[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS I Hams have en joyed using FM transc eivers for years for SSTV , A TV , p acket, satelli te, EME, GPS and other communication s modes. A fundam ental reason for this ha s been that FM tra nsceivers are easy to use. Recently , personal computers and the Internet have combined to offer global communicatio ns opportunities. Y et, wi[...]

II CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Use of HF tr ansceiver to ca ll CQ and cont act to hams around the wo rld via ionosp here will n ever lose its appeal. But there is elegance in being a ble to communicate w ith only an FM tr ansceiver and by adopting the l atest technology . The global netwo rk consisting of thou sands or even mi llions of stations will on ly [...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 1 1 DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT Following is the design ing and development concept f or TH-D72A/E. • A genuine to ol for communications via voice and data that is based on the TH-D7A/E. • An out-of-the-box transceiver with an internal GPS unit (turn-ke y solution) • Equipped with a USB interface • Emphasis on ease of op eration [...]

1 DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT 2 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Next, we turned our sights to applied functions of GPS. Incorporating an internal GPS unit to suppo rt the collected po sitional information in APRS applications i s our minimu m stan dard, and it is a lso very import ant to provid e customers with appl ied functions to enha nce the convenience of the prod[...]

1 DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 3 In addition to the functions related to the internal GPS unit, the tra nsceiver has more new fe atures. Following are so me major functions w orth to be presented . • USB interface: RS-232C has been the most co mmon interface to connect a transcei ver and a PC; however , in recent years on ly few PCs are[...]

4 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E 2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) APRS Over view The TH-D72A/E APRS Handy Transceiver brings so many new capabilities and enhancements to the portable and mobile operat or , that it is hard to fully grasp the power that t his brings to APRS. Besides the built-in GPS, and significant enhanceme[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJO Y APRS WITH TH-D72A/ E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 5 Packet Network Growth Beginning in 198 3, we added VH F , HF and a phone lin e to the Vic-20 as well as a BBS messag e store and forward cap ability and began exp anding to the Co mmodore 64. It was linked with other systems on 145.01 and had the firs t dua[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) 6 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E APRS-IS In 1997, K4HG and the Mac/WinAPRS S proul brothers tied APRS to th e Internet and the APRS-IS system as shown above was born. While this was a huge success th at enabled inst ant aneous global APRS texting connectivity beyo nd our wildest dreams, it a[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJO Y APRS WITH TH-D72A/ E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 7 Te x t i n g But still most non APRS ham radio op erators just did n ot find any advant ages be yond the map s. My frustration with the gro wing lack of live huma n content in APRS continued to fester to the breaking point at a 200 6 ARRL S pecial Meeting a[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) 8 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Facebook on APRS Purely as an a side, you can think back to the Kenwood VC-H1 handhe ld SSTV device as a n attempt (before its time) to ad d the visual aspect of soci al networking to ham radio an d APRS. This was a fantastic idea. And it was fully integrated[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJO Y APRS WITH TH-D72A/ E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 9 These views show th e screens for a st ation with freq uency included i n his position packet. This is the 1 1th station in the list and it is beaconing its op era ting frequency as well as a short note te lling everyone he is also listeni ng on V oice Aler[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) 10 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Although the information appears a bit cryptic, the fact that all vo ice repeater obje cts use this same standard format makes it easy fo r the operator to understand the meaning. In this case, the local recommended voice repeater in this area is th e 147. 1[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJO Y APRS WITH TH-D72A/ E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 11 Hamfest s Another very typical obje ct that everyone loves to see is the HAMFEST objec t. This bright red APRS symbol stands out smartly on any APRS display includ ing the AvMap GPS display as shown above. At first glance, this object tells you the most im[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) 12 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Digipeater Path Information Another new info rmation feat ure of TH-D72A/E is the digipeate r path displa y shown here. This displa y shows the First and La st digipeaters us ed. Most APRS areas encourage the use of only 2 hops or less. This means, in most c[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJO Y APRS WITH TH-D72A/ E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 13 Contribution by Kenwood to APRS Kenwood has deve loped it s series of radios , TH-D7A/E, TM-D700A/E , TM-D710A/E, and now th e new TH-D72A/E to best support the original obje ctives of APRS. The display of AP RS information on the front panel of th ese rad[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4APR) 14 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E • Field Dat a Entry In addition to making excellent field data display devices, the TH-D72A/E m enus have also been designed for easy d ata, position and message en try . Often overlooked is the ability to use TH-D7A/E, TM-D700A/E, and TM-D710A /E as excel[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 15 3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS Following need to be configured before st art operating TH-D72A/E with AP RS. APRS dat a will be st amped with date an d time. Therefore, the built- in clock must be set. Since the time acquired via the GPS receiver is UTC, T ime Zone must be configu red. The st ation configured for My Call[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS 16 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Set the receiver shut-off period for the battery saver . The operatin g frequency will depen d on what region of the world you are operating. Y ou can beg in operation us ing the frequency configured for the da ta band as follows: • North America: 14 4.390 MHz • Europe: 144.8 00 MHz •[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 17 Follow the explan ations below to con figure each item listed in the previous section. T o enter the time in your local zo ne, select Menu 196 (Auxili ary-T ime Zone). Example: Set to -05:0 0 for Atlanta. Figure 3-1 Menu 196 (Auxiliary – Time Zone) Press the [F] + [MARK] keys to enable th[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS 18 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Select Menu 195 (Aux iliary-T ime) and enter the value for the time. Example: T o configure the time to be 12:00, refer to Figure 3-4. Figure 3-4 Menu 195 (Auxiliary – T ime) T o enter your own callsi gn, select Menu 300 (APRS – Basic Set – My Callsign). Example: Enter a callsign such[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 19 T o configure the da ta band, se lect Menu 310 (APRS-Int.TNC- Data Band). Figure 3-7 Menu 310 (Int.TNC – Data Band) T o configure the d ata speed, select Menu 31 1 (APRS-Int. TNC-Data S peed). Figure 3-8 Menu 31 1 (Int.TNC – Data S peed) Press the [F] + [MARK] keys to enable the interna[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS 20 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Figure 3-10 Menu 31 1 (COM Port – Input) T o use the position configu red in the menu, disable the internal GPS unit. T o configure for a GPS terminal, se lect Menu 331 (APRS - COM Port). • Input: Off Figure 3-1 1 Menu 31 1 (COM Port – Input) T o configure the po sition of your own st[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 21 T o enter a positio n comment, select Menu 390 (APRS - S tatusT ext). Select the text number . Pressing the [MHz] key displays [ ] as a mark representing the status text is in use. Figure 3-14 Menu 390 (St atusT ext – Number) Configure the f requency how freque ntly the status text is sen[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS 22 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E T o configure the packetpath, select Menu 3H0 (APRS - PacketPat h). Configure the p acket p ath type. Figure 3-19 Menu 3H0 (PacketPath – T ype) Set WIDE1-1. Figure 3-20 Menu 3H 1 (PacketPath – WIDE1-1) Set the numb er of packet hops. Figure 3-21 Menu 3H2 (PacketPath – T ot al) T o con[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 23 Example: 144.390 MHz, the APRS operation freq uency is configured for operation frequency for the d ata band. Figure 3-24 Frequency Press the [TNC] key to place a transceiver in APRS mode. After the message “Opening TNC” appears for three seconds, “APRS” appears a nd the APRS data c[...]

24 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E 4 GPS GPS, standing for Global Positioning System, is becoming comm on nowadays and following is a brief introduction . The American Defens e Department d eveloped GPS origina lly for milit ary operations . The system is available for use b y the general public. For e x ample, anybod y can use GPS in asso ciation with modern v[...]

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 25 The latitude and l ongitude information req uired by the GPS receiver do es not allow for accurate represent ation of the unevenness of the Earth’ s surface. For use with GPS, the c urrent st andard that defines the preci se shape of the Earth is called WGS-84. By using th is standa rd in conjunction with mapping st an[...]

4 GPS 26 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Figure 4-2 Connection Example of GPS Receiver The GPS18xPC is a GPS module receiver . And it in terfaces via a 9-pin D-Sub RS-232C serial port. Refer to the wirin g example using comm only-avail able DB-9 connector (male), an d a cable with 3-conductor plug (Ke nwood service part: E30-3400-1 5). Power is sourced from the[...]

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 27 For APRS, always configure th e WGS-84 Geodetic Survey System for yo ur GPS receiver . The GPS unit is mounted on the upper surface o f the body . The GPS unit incorporates SiRFstar III™ chipset that is highly accepted in the market. Figure 4-4 Internal GPS Unit During the GPS po sitioning, you ca n check the current s[...]

4 GPS 28 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Figure 4-5 GPS Satellite Information Display T o display the position in formation display , $ GPG SV or $GPGSA sh ould be select ed in Menu 2 1 1 (GPS – Setup – Senten ce). While the internal GPS unit is active, th e transceiver ’ s built-in cloc k is automatica lly configured with the time and date from the inter[...]

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 29 “T ime, Altitude, T ravel direction, sp eed” display Figure 4-7 North Up Figure 4-8 Heading Up “T arget point dist ance, T ravel direction” display Figure 4-9 North Up Figure 4-10 Heading Up “S tation List me nu (4 th page )” Figure 4-1 1 North Up Figure 4-12 Heading Up[...]

4 GPS 30 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E This function enables exportin g the NMEA 0183 raw dat a from the internal GPS uni t via the PC (USB) connector . Searching the web revea ls many applications that utilize the raw data. Some convert th e raw data into Google Earth fo rmat and oth ers display the satellite info rmation or save the tra jectory . Or , you c[...]

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 31 If the reception is inferior (such a s while you are i n a building), the GPS unit continues sear ching for a satellite resulting the batt ery longevity . T o preve nt unnecessary battery cons umption, this function will turn the GPS power source Off for the programmed duration of time if position data is not determined [...]

4 GPS 32 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E The GPS unit has two operation modes: Normal and GPS Only modes. In the Normal mode, you can use the functions of the transceiver and of the internal GPS unit at the same time. In the GPS Only mode, you cannot use it as a normal transceiver . Operating in th e GPS Only mode will enable a long er battery working time. If [...]

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 33 Pressing the [TNC] key again in th e function mode or selecting th e function menu n umber “F-2” stop s logging. Whi le the log fu nction is inac tive, “Log S top ” appears for 5 second s. Even if the log is inactive, the internal GPS un it continues to be active. In GPS Only mode, while the log is active, “ ?[...]

4 GPS 34 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Figure 4-24 During the Use combined with SmartBeaconing T o delete the log data, select Menu 220 (GPS - T rack Log - Clear All Data). Select “Y es” to delete the log dat a. Figure 4-25 Log Dat a Deletion Screen Memory usage for logg ing can be viewed in the Lo g Memory screen. The Log Me mory screen is the 4 th page [...]

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 35 Y ou can register the curren t location as a Mark Waypoint on the TH-D72A/E. A Mark W aypoint includes dat a of latitude, long itude, altitude, time, name and i con, and up to 100 poi nts can be registered. T o register a Mark W aypoint, press and hold the [MARK] key . If there is no GPS data positioned by GPS, you canno[...]

4 GPS 36 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E The dista nce from the current loca tion to the T arget Point can be confirmed in the T arget Point screen. T arget Point d isplay is the third p age from the Latitude Longi tude display reach ed by repeatedly pressing the [OK] key . However , if no GPS data is positioned by GPS, “Finding GPS satellites…” screen ap[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 37 5 APRS SOFTW ARE FOR YOUR PC UI-View32 is APRS client software designed to allow a PC to display APRS stations on a map and to use various APRS functions such as Internet gateway access. It al lows you to display on a map on your PC the APRS st ations receive d by a TH-D72A/E and, in additi on, connect to an Internet gateway .[...]

5 APRS SOFTW ARE FOR YOUR PC 38 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Use the USB cable t hat comes with the TH -D72A/E to connect the PC (USB) connecto r on the rear of the TH-D72A/E operatio n panel to the USB conn ector on your perso nal computer . Figure 5-2 For use of UI-V iew32 with the TH-D72A/E for APRS communi cations, the TH-D72A/E needs to be placed in KIS[...]

5 APRS SOFTW ARE FOR YOUR PC TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 39 Figure 5-4 KISS Setup Window 6. Click the “OK” button in the Comms Setup window to close the Comms Setup window . UI-View32 sends a command to TH-D72A/E’s built-in TNC that is changed to the KISS mode. During the process, “ST A” and “CON” on the TH-D72A/E’s d isplay blink simult ane[...]

5 APRS SOFTW ARE FOR YOUR PC 40 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E The APRS program currently ru ns on a number of plat forms. These programs are co nstantly being updated and ca n be downloade d from the Inte rnet. Most prog rams are shareware and the latest versions are available at the T APR (T ucson Amateu r Packet Radio) FTP site: ftp://ftp.t apr .org/ aprssi[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 41 6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS While monito ring APRS sta tions from around the world that may appear on yo ur map, you can easily send messages to them. An inte rest is now growing in APRS QSOs wh ere one station may call CQ looking for respon ses in the conven tional style of a h am contact. Due to the num ber of characters[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS 42 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Characters can be entered using the enco der or 10-key numeric keyp ad as you wo uld when texting from a cell phon e. Further details of important functions follow . If the position beacon for a mobile station is configured to be transmitted at a fixed time interval, it would be inef ficient use[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 43 Refer to the diagram be low to understa nd what occurs when both Deca y Algorithm and Prop ortional Pathing are used at the same time. Figure 6-3 Switching between Decay Algorithm and Propo rtional Pathing (when Sto pped = 1 (knot); Moving = 3 (knot s)) As the example abov e shows, when the mobi[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS 44 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E T able 6-2 Configuration Example T able 6-3 V ariable Rate Beaconing Example: (with LOW SPEED = 5, HIGH SPEED = 70, SLOW RA TE = 30 min, F AST RA TE = 120 sec) Figure 6-4 Speed vs TX Interval T ime Note: The unit of S peed can be configured by using Menu 3V0. When the mobile st ation’ s speed [...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 45 By changing the valu e of TURN SLOPE, you ca n adjust how Corn er Pegging responds as the mobile station executes curves. When th e value of TURN SLOPE is increased, a large he ading angle chang e is necessary to cause a posi tion beacon transmission, es pecially at low sp eeds. When the value o[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS 46 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Figure 6-5 Speed vs T urn Threshold Here are the TH-D72A/E d efault configurations for positio n beacon transmissions using the SmartBeaconing configuration a s shown below . T able 6-7 SmartBeaconi ng Configuration V alues Note: If SmartBeaconing does not result in appropriate beacon transmissi[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 47 The QSY functio n uses AFRS (Automatic Frequenc y Reporting System) to report a fr equency on which voice commun ications can be established. A station using the QSY function em beds the frequency info rmation of your voi ce band in a position be acon transmission . A receiving sta tion of the i[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS 48 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Configuration Example (Insert one sp ace after th e frequency before entering Wide/ Narrow , T one/CTCSS/ DCS and Shif t/ Offset.) • “446.100 MHz”: V oice frequency configure d for 446.100 MHz, Wide -band FM, T one freq uency = None, Simplex • “446.100 MHz T071”: V oice frequency con[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 49 The TH-D72A/E receives QSY in formation not only from another TH-D72 A/ E, but also location information from other sof tware as well as QSY informatio n and repeater frequ ency object information embedded in st atus text. Y o u can confirm the QSY informa tion that is received as embedded dat a[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS 50 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Y ou can configure callsigns to whi ch you want to reply . When the “ ” wildcard is used, the transceiver will respond to all me ssage senders. But if you set “W 6DJY”, the transceiver will reply only to W6DJY . Configuring “W6*” will trigge r a repl y on ly to senders with W6 as t h[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 51 Weather observation equipment int ended for use at ho me is becoming m ore common in th e United S tates. Using this eq uipment, you can obs erve and measure wind direction , wind velocity , air temperature, hu midity , rainfall, atmospheric pr essure, etc. This information can be useful to othe[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS 52 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E The weather st ation, UL TIMETER 2100 ( http://www .peet bros.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=2 ) can also be used with TH- D72A/E. T o communicate with V antage Pro2, configure the TH-D72A/E communication ba ud rate (Menu 330) to 2400 bp s as well. Note:  Because the GPS receiver and the weathe r [...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 53 7 APRS NETWORKS In the beginning , APRS networks consisted o nly of general p acket transmissions throu gh digit al repeaters. T o expand network coverage much further , HF gateway stations that were interfaced with the VHF st ations were added. This arra ngement evolved still further when it became common for personal compute[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS 54 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Figure 7-1 APRS Netw ork Conceptual Drawing I-Gate I-Gate I-Gate Client Client Client Client Client Client Client I-Gate I-Gate Ti e r 2 Server Ti e r 2 Server Ti e r 2 Server Ti e r 2 Server Core Server Core Server Core Server Ti e r 2 Server[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 55 With TH-D72A/E it is possible to tran smit email by using the Messag e function. First, press the [MSG] ke y to show the Message List on the screen. Next, press [MENU] to show the Message L ist Menu on the scree n. And press “NEW” to create a m essage on the screen. Enter “EMAIL” in the “TO:” field [...]

7 APRS NETWORKS 56 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Figure 7-4 T ransmission Flow for Email Note:  Y ou cannot send email from a persona l computer to a mobile station.  Just like other APRS packets, the conten t of the ema il you sent c an be monitored by other stations  2-byte codes cannot be sent.  In case the Email Serve r is down, Email is no t [...]

7 APRS NETWORKS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 57 The greatest feature of APRS is th e network that is spreadin g around the world. The hea rt of the network is made up of many digi tal repe aters commonly referred to a s digipeaters. Of course, digipeaters a re well-known among tho se who have used p acket radi o for years. Digipeater s receive data ove r-the[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS 58 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E With UIFLOOD activated (On), wh en a digipeater rece ives a UI frame with a character strin g for alias in the form XXXXn-N where XXXX matches the ali as ch aracter string in the digi peater , the digipeater subtract s 1 from N and processes the p acket reporting on ly the revised character string so as not to [...]

7 APRS NETWORKS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 59 Although UITRACE using th e normal APRS netwo rk path of WIDEn-N can be a pr oblem if mobiles activate their digipe ater at the wrong time, it is al so so powerful, that it is a shame not to be able to use it easily if required. For this reason, all AP RS mobiles are encou raged to activate the UITRACE permanen[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS 60 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Example 2: This is a genera l recommendation for permanen t digipeaters installed at a high locat ion. • Digipeat Digipeat(MyCall): On • UIdigipeat UIdigi: On Aliases: SAR (other local paths can be defined he re) Note: SAR stands for “Search and Rescue”. • UIflood UIflood: On Alias: SS or SSS Substitu[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 61 the same time also hit th e WIDEn-N network when th ey are in good cov erage areas. For this reas on, the usual 2 hop recomme ndation for mobiles is n ot WIDE2-2. This is because tho se packet s would not be recognized b y these fill-in dig is. Instead, we encourag e all mobiles to use the 2-hop p ath of WIDE1-[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS 62 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Since all of these tra nsceivers can be use d as backup emergency digipeaters anytime, an ywhere, someone that is unab le to hit an y digipeaters fro m their curren t location with eith er WIDEn-N or SS n- N can always try TEM P1-1,WIDE2-2 to get ou t. Or , if all the digipeaters in an area are off-the-a ir , h[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 63 In contrast to WIDEn-N which generates packets equally in all directions, you can use ST A TE/ SECTION/REGION to restrict packets to only be relaye d within the specified bound ary . Abbreviations, such as two letter “AZ” fo r Arizona or three or four letter abbreviation s such as “NCA” for Northern Cal[...]

64 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E 8 MCP-4A MEMOR Y CONTROL PROGR AM (FOR USE WITH TH-D72A/E) MCP-4A is a software designed for use with your personal computer to edit an d manage memory channel and men u data for TH-D72 A/E. For convenience of us ers, Kenwood distrib utes the softwar e via our corporate we b site as a free service for user s. In addition to th[...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGR AM (FOR USE WI TH TH-D72A/E) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 65 1. Check that the specificati ons for your computer me et the following that are neces sary to use MCP-4A. T able 8-1 MCP-4A Comput er Specifications T able Note:  If using Windows XP , it is necessary to install the “Microsoft .NET Fram ework 2. 0 (Service Pack 1[...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGRAM (FO R USE WITH TH-D72A/E) 66 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E 4. Click “S tart” > “Program” > “KENWOOD” > “MCP-4A” to start MCP- 4A. Figure 8-2 MCP-4A Splash Window 5. Select the co mmunication p ort. S pecif y in the COM Port frame the commu nication port (COM Port) that will be used to communicate via yo[...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGR AM (FOR USE WI TH TH-D72A/E) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 67 Figure 8-4 MCP-4A Read T ransceiver Advisory Message Figure 8-5 MCP-4A Program Menu: Read Dat a from the T ransceiver[...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGRAM (FO R USE WITH TH-D72A/E) 68 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E MCP-4A has many function s. This section list s the useful functions of MCP- 4A including added function s. • Simple oper ation. • Graphical disp lay of SmartBeaconing. • Importing other MC P files. • Setting the font sizes. • Exporting .html Files. • Config[...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGR AM (FOR USE WI TH TH-D72A/E) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 69 This section describ es how to read a file. T o read a file, select “Open” from the File pulldo wn menu, select “TH-D 7 2 MCP-4A File (*.mc4)” in the “Files of type” drop down list, and open the d esired file created in TH- D72A/E. With MCP-4A, it is possib[...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGRAM (FO R USE WITH TH-D72A/E) 70 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Only files created for K- type models (USA and Canada) can be imported in to MCP-4A. The referenced sof tware can be down loaded from the followin g Kenwood U.S.A. Corporation web site: http://www .kenwoodusa.com/Support/Amateur_ Radio/ T able 8-3 MCP-4A Import able Fi [...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGR AM (FOR USE WI TH TH-D72A/E) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 71 Figure 8-6 GPS Dat a Reading Screen When the reading is com plete, the PGS log data is saved in NMEA file format in the MCP-4A folder . The GPS Logger window shows the saved NM EA files. The file name is the time and date when the data is read. T wo types of NMEA file [...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGRAM (FO R USE WITH TH-D72A/E) 72 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E T o display the read GPS log data in a map progra m, convert the dat e to KML or GPX file format. In the GPS Logger window , select the desired log da ta and press the “Save” button. “T rack” and “Rate of Preservation ” appear . Ch anging the value o f Rate [...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGR AM (FOR USE WI TH TH-D72A/E) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 73 The following sections pr ovide det ailed descripti ons of the features referred to in “8.2 Main Fun ctions of MCP-4A”. The configuratio n screens and writin g and reading screen s of the configuratio n data for MCP-4A can be displaye d easily in the Simple Operati[...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGRAM (FO R USE WITH TH-D72A/E) 74 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E The font sizes used in the va rious windows can b e selected from three choic es. In the “Font” of the Vie w pulldo wn menu, the f ont size can be selected f rom “Normal”, “L arge” or “Extra Large”. Note:  Use an Operating System function to change th[...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGR AM (FOR USE WI TH TH-D72A/E) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 75 MCP-4A allows selectio n of a bitmap imag e which appears on the transceiver display when the transceiver’s power is turned on . Differen t images can be configured for GPS Only mode and for Normal mod e. From the Edit pulldown menu select “Menu” > “Ra dio?[...]

76 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E 9 HOW T O UPDA TE FIRMW ARE This section d escribes how to update t he firmware of th e TH-D72A/E transceiver itself and of the TNC. In order to update the eq uipment, each of the following is req uired: • Equipment to be updated (TH-D72A/E) • Computer • Communication cable (USB Cable th at comes with TH-D72A/E) • Firm[...]

9 HOW TO UPDA TE FIRMWARE TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 77 Y ou can view the firmware version by the p rocedure below . Use one of the following two ways of verifying. 1. Press 2 [TNC] on TH-D72A/E to display “APRSxx”. 2. Tu r n t h e p o w e r O F F . 3. Hold #[ENT] down and turn the power ON. 4. V erify the followin g is displayed. • Number on the fir[...]

9 HOW TO UPDA T E FIRMW ARE 78 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Download th e latest version of update software from the Kenwood w eb site URL shown be low: (URL is subject to ch ange.) http://www .kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/software_download.html Carefully re ad the update instructions provided when you do wnload the sof tware. Begi n the procedure onl[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 79 10 MISCELLANEOUS T OPICS I find that using t he Kenwood TH-D72A/E with built-in GPS is very convenient for travel And a lso APRS operations are simpl e without the use of an external GPS device. But at times it is import ant for me to have a visual display of APRS act ivity around me without the use of a computer . TH-D72A/E u[...]

10 MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS 80 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Basic Setup Instructions for Kenwood TH-D72A/E Radio has been fully reset. Menu 1 10 Battery Saver OFF 1 1 1 APO OFF 194 Date set 195 T ime set 196 UTC offs et 201 Battery Saver GPS OFF 300 Enter C all sign Push A/B Band K ey Set A Band to 144.390 F-1 Internal GPS of f 330 COM port speed 9600 331 Input [...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 81 1 1 APPENDIX Revision History Revision Date Summary of Changes May 15, 201 1 Release of the first edition.[...]

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We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the fo llowing hams who have helped to compile this booklet: Mr . B ob Bruninga, W B4APR, Mr . Jonathan T aylor , K1RFD, Mr . S teve Bragg, KA9MV A, an d Mr . Don Arnold, W6GPS. Also, we would like to thank all hams who support and maint ain the APRS and EchoLink network in the world.[...]

Revision 1.01 May 15, 201 1[...]