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 rel evant technical document s as well as the sof tware descri bed in this in-depth manual and rel evant technical docu ments, and help text s and manuals atta ched to the soft ware are owned by Kenwood Corpo ration. 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 tradem arks of Microsoft Corporation in th e 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 Microso ft Corporation in the United S tates and other countries. • Kenwood Cor poration is a lice nse[...]

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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 APR[...]

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 Instrumen ts Corp. Inc. .................. 51 6.2.1.2 Peet Bro s. Company ......... ........... .......... . 52 7 APRS NETWORKS ........................ 53 7.1 [...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS I Hams have en joyed using FM transc eivers for years fo r SSTV , A TV , p acket, satelli te, EME, GPS and other communication s modes. A fund amental reason for t his has been that FM transceivers are easy to use. Recently , personal computers and the Internet ha ve combined to offer global communicatio ns opportunities. Y et, w[...]

II CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Use of HF tr ansceiver to ca ll CQ and cont act to hams around the wo rld via iono sphere will never lose its appeal. But there is eleg ance in being a ble to communicat e with only an FM transceiver and by adopting the l atest technology . The global networ k consisting of th ousands or even mi llions o f stations will only g[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 1 1 DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT Following is the design ing and developme nt concept for TH-D72A/E. • A genuine to ol for communications via voice and d ata that is based on the TH-D 7A/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 operatio[...]

1 DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT 2 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Next, we turned our sights to applied functions of GPS. Incorporating an internal GPS unit t o support the collecte d positional in formation in APRS applications i s our minimum st andard , and it is also ve ry importan t to provide custome rs with applied functions to enha nce the convenie nce of the pro[...]

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 featu res. Following are so me major functions w orth to be presen ted. • USB interface: RS-232C has been th e most common interface to connect a transc eiver 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 operator , that it is hard to fully grasp the power that this brings to APRS. Be sides the built-in GPS, and significant enhancemen[...]

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 1983, we added VH F , HF and a ph one line to the Vic-20 as well as a BBS message store and forward cap ability and began exp anding to the Commodor e 64. It was linked with othe r systems on 145.01 and had the firs t dual[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4A PR) 6 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E APRS-IS In 1997, K4HG and the Mac/WinAPRS S proul brothers tied APRS to the 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 be yond our wildest dreams, it [...]

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 beyo nd the map s. My frustration with the gro wing lack of live hu man 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, WB4A PR) 8 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Facebook on APRS Purely as an a side, you can think back to th e Kenwood VC-H1 ha ndheld SSTV device as a n attempt (before its ti me) to add the visual as pect of social networking to ham ra dio and APRS. This was a fantastic idea. And it was fully integrat[...]

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. Thi s is the 1 1th station in the list and it is beaconing its op erating frequen cy as well as a sh ort note telling everyone he is also listening on V oice Aler[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4A PR) 10 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Although the information appears a bit cryptic, the fact tha t all voice repea ter objects use this same standard format makes it easy for the operator to un derstand the meaning. In this case, the local recommended voice repeater in this area is th e 147. [...]

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 HAMFE ST object. 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, WB4A PR) 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 display shows the First and La st digipeaters used . 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 its se ries of radios, TH-D7A/E, TM-D700A/E, TM-D710A/E, and now the new TH-D72A/E to best support the ori ginal objective s of APRS. The d isplay of APRS in formation on the front panel of th ese radi[...]

2 HOW YOU ENJOY APRS WITH TH-D72A/E (WRITTEN BY BOB BRUNINGA, WB4A PR) 14 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E • Field Dat a Entry In addition to making excellent field data display devices, the TH-D7 2A/E menus 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 exce[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 15 3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS Following need to be configured before st art operatin g TH-D72A/E with APRS. 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 b e configured. 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 ca n begin operation us ing the frequency configured for the dat a band as fol lows: • North America: 144.390 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 loca l zone, select Menu 196 (Auxi liary-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 t[...]

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 call sign, select Menu 300 (AP RS – Basic Set – My Callsign) . Example: Enter a callsign su[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 19 T o configure the dat a band, sele ct Menu 310 (APRS - Int.TNC - Dat a Band). Figure 3-7 Menu 310 (Int.TNC – Data Band) T o configure the dat a speed, select Me nu 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 th[...]

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 co nfigured in the menu, disable the int ernal 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 s[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 21 T o enter a status text , se lect 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 sent fo[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS 22 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E T o configure the packetpath, select Menu 3H 0 (APRS - PacketPath). 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 number of packet hops. Figure 3-21 Menu 3H2 (PacketPath – T ot al) T o conf[...]

3 PREP ARA TIONS FOR OPERA TING APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 23 Example: 144.390 MHz, the APRS operation freq uency is config ured for operation frequency for the data band. Figure 3-24 Frequency Press the [TNC] key to place a transceiver in APRS mo de. After the message “Opening TNC” appears for three seconds, “APRS” ap pears and the APRS data [...]

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

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 25 The latitude and l ongitude information re quired by the GPS rece iver does not allow for accura te represent ation of the unevenness of the Earth’ s surface. Fo r use with GPS, the c urrent st andard that defines the preci se shape of the Earth is cal led WGS-84. By using th is standard in conjunction with mapping st [...]

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 R S-232C serial port. Refer to the wirin g example using co mmonly-avail able DB-9 connector (male), and a cable with 3-conductor plug (Kenwood 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 incorporate s SiRFstar III™ chipset that is highly accepted in the market . Figure 4-4 Internal GPS Unit During the GPS position ing, you ca n check the curre n[...]

4 GPS 28 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Figure 4-5 GPS Satellite Information Display T o display the position information display , $GPG SV or $GPGSA should b e selected in Menu 21 1 (GPS – Setup – Senten ce). While the internal GP S unit is act ive, the transcei ver ’s built-in clo ck is automa tically con figured with the time and date from the interna[...]

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 exporting the NMEA 0183 raw dat a from the internal GPS unit via the PC (USB) connector . Searching the web revea ls many applications th at utilize the raw da ta. Some convert the raw data into Google Earth fo rmat and oth ers display the sate llite information or save the trajectory . Or , you can[...]

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 31 If the reception is inferior (such a s while you are i n a building), the GPS un it contin ues searching fo r a satellite resulting the batt ery longevity . T o prevent unnecessary b attery consumption, this f unction will turn the GPS power source Off for the programmed duration of time if position data is not determine[...]

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 transceive r 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 mo de or selecting the fu nction menu number “F-2 ” stops logging. Whi le the log fu nction is inac tive, “Log S top” appears for 5 seconds. Even if the lo g 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 Da ta). Select “Y es” to d elete the log dat a. Figure 4-25 Log Dat a Deletion Screen Memory usage for logg ing can be viewed in the Log Memo ry screen. The Log Memory scre en is the 4 th pag[...]

4 GPS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 35 Y ou can register t he current location as a M ark W aypoint on the TH-D72A/E. A Mark W aypoint includes dat a of latitude, long itude, altitude, time, name an d icon, and up to 100 p oints can be registered. T o register a Mark W aypoint, press and hol d the [MARK] key . If there is no GPS data positioned b y GPS, you c[...]

4 GPS 36 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E The dist ance from the current loca tion to the T arget Point can be confir med in the T arget Point screen. T arget Point display is the third p age from the Latitu de Longitude displa y reached by repeatedly pressing the [OK] key . However , if no GPS dat a is positioned by GPS, “Finding GPS satellites…” screen a[...]

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 tha t comes with the TH -D72A/E to connect t he PC (USB) co nnector on the rear o f the TH-D72A/E operatio n panel to the USB co nnector on your perso nal computer . Figure 5-2 For use of UI-V iew32 with the TH-D72A/E for APRS commu nications, the TH-D72A/E needs to be placed in K[...]

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 change d to the KISS mode. During the process, “ST A” and “CON” on the TH-D72A/E’s d isplay blink simu ltan[...]

5 APRS SOFTW ARE FOR YOUR PC 40 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E The APRS program currentl y runs on a number of plat forms. These programs are co nstantly being updated an d can be downloa ded from the Internet. M ost programs a re shareware and the latest versions are available at the T A PR (T ucson Amateu r Packet Radio) FTP site: ftp://ftp.tapr .org/ aprssi[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 41 6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS While monito ring APRS stat ions from around the world tha t may appear on your map , you can easily send messages to them. An inte rest is now growing in APRS QSOs where one station may call CQ looking for respon ses in the co nventional style of a ham contact. Due to the n umber of chara cters[...]

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 woul d when texting from a cell phon e. If the position beacon for a mobile station is configured to b e transmitted at a fixed tim e interval, it would be inef fici ent use of air-time to co ntinue transmitti ng at th[...]

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 Propor tional Pathing are used at the same time. Figure 6-3 Switching between Decay Algorithm and Propo rtional Pathing (when Sto pped = 1 (knot); Movin g = 3 (knot s)) As the example abov e shows, when the mob[...]

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 value of TURN SLOPE, you ca n adjust how C orner Pegging responds as the mobile station executes curves. When th e value of TURN SLOPE is in creased, a large head ing angle change is necessary to cause a posi tion beacon transmission, es pecially at low speeds. When the value of [...]

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 default co nfigurations for position beacon tra nsmissions using the SmartBeaconing con figuration as sho wn below . T able 6-7 SmartBeaconi ng Configuration V alues Note: If SmartBeaconing does not result in appropriate beacon transmiss[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 47 The QSY functio n uses AFRS (Automatic Frequency Re porting System) to report a freq uency on which voice commun ications can be established. A station using t he QSY function embeds the frequency info rmation of your voi ce band in a position beac on transmission. A rece iving stat ion 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 enteri ng Wide/ Narrow , T one/CTCSS/ DCS and Shif t/ Offset.) • “446.100 MHz”: V oice frequency configure d for 446.100 MHz, Wide-b and FM, T one frequency = None, Simplex • “446.100 MHz T071 ”: V oice frequency co[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 49 The TH-D72A/E receives QSY info rmation not only from another TH-D72 A/ E, but also location information from other sof tware as well as QSY information an d repeater frequen cy 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 . Configu ring “W6*” will trig ger a repl y only to senders with W6 as the[...]

6 OPERA TIONAL EXAMPLES OF APRS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 51 Weather observation equipment inten ded for use at home is becoming m ore common in the 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 informati on can be useful to othe r[...]

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, configur e the TH-D72A/E commu nication baud rate (M enu 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 beginni ng, APRS networks consiste d only of general p acket transmissions th rough digit al repeaters. T o expand network coverage much further , HF gateway stations that were interface d with the VHF st ations were added. This arra ngement evolved still further when it became common for personal comput[...]

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 possibl e to transmit email by using the Mess age function. First, press the [MSG] key to show the Message List on the sc reen. 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 not d[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 57 The greatest feature of APRS i s the network that is spread ing around the world. The hea rt of the network is made up of many di gital repe aters commonly referre d to as digipeaters. Of course, digipeaters a re well-known among those who have used packet radi o for years. Digipe aters receive data over-the-ai[...]

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 stri ng so as not to[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 59 Although UITRACE usin g the normal APRS ne twork path of WIDEn-N can be a problem if mob iles activate their digi peater at the wrong time, i t is also so powerful, that it is a sh ame not to be able to use it easily if required. For this reason, all AP RS mobiles are encourag ed to activate the UITRACE permane[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS 60 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E Example 2: This is a general recommendation for perman ent digipeaters installed at a high location. • 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 Substituti[...]

7 APRS NETWORKS TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 61 the same time also hi t the WIDEn-N network when they a re in good covera ge areas. For this reas on, the usual 2 hop re commendation for mobiles is n ot WIDE2-2. This is because th ose packet s would not be recognize d by these fill-in d igis. Instead, we encourag e all mobiles to use the 2-ho p path 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, anywhe re, someone that is una ble 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 ge t out. Or , if all the digipeaters in an area are of f-the-air , 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 b oundary . 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 and man age 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 specifi cations for your compute r meet the following that are ne cessary 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 mmunicatio n port. S pecif y in the COM Port frame the com munication 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 add ed function s. • Simple oper ation. • Graphical disp lay of SmartBeaconin g. • Importing other MC P files. • Setting the font sizes. • Exporting .html Files. • Conf[...]

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 -D7 2 MCP-4A File (*.mc4)” in the “Files of type” dr opdown list, and open th e desired 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 into MCP-4A. The referenced sof tware can be down loaded from the follow ing Kenwood U.S.A. Corporatio n 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 th e 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 p rogram, convert the d ate to KML or GPX f ile format. In the GPS Logger window , select the desired log da ta and press the “Save” button. “T rack” and “Rate of Preservation ” appear . Changing the valu e of Rate [...]

8 MCP-4A MEMORY CONTROL PROGR AM (FOR USE WI TH TH-D72A/E) TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 73 The following section s provide det ailed descripti ons of the features refe rred to in “8.2 Main Fun ctions of MCP-4A”. The configuratio n screens and writ ing and readin g screens of the con figuration da ta for MCP-4A can be displaye d easily in the Simple Op er[...]

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

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 im age which appear s on the transceive r display when the transceiver’s power is turned on . Diffe rent images can be configur ed for GPS Only mode and for Normal mod e. From the Edit pulldown menu select “Menu” > “Ra di[...]

76 CONTENTS TH-D72A/E 9 HOW T O UPDA TE FIRMW ARE This section describ es how to update t he firmware o f the TH-D72A/ E transceiver itself and of the TNC. In order to update the equipment, e ach of the follo wing is required: • Equipment to be updated (TH-D72A/E) • Computer • Communication cable (USB Cable that 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 following 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 fro m the Kenw ood web site URL shown be low: (URL is subject to ch ange.) http://www .kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/software_download.html Carefully read the update instructions pro vided when you downl oad the sof tware. Begin the procedure onl[...]

TH-D72A/E CONTENTS 79 10 MISCELLANEOUS T OPICS I find that using t he Kenwood TH-D72 A/E with built-in GPS is very convenient fo r travel And also APRS operations are simple without the use of an externa l GPS device. But at times it is impor tant for me to have a visual display of APRS activit y around me withou t the use of a compu ter . TH-D72A/[...]

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 of fset 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 fir st 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.[...]

Version 1.0 0 May 15, 201 1[...]