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| Reviews Summary for Kenwood TH-D7A(G) |
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You can
write your own review of the Kenwood TH-D7A(G).
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KB5VNU
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Rating: 3/5
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Apr 22, 2008 10:37
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not worth the money
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This may be a decent radio, I haven't had time to find out much about the HT itself. I bought this to be able to use it with my laptop for digital. So far I can only use it with my desktop.
I wanted to have something portable for ecomm, this was the main reason for the purchase. This only works if a). you are able to rename your USB ports on your laptop or b) you have an older laptop with serial ports. I have neither on my Dell. I am also unable to rename my USB ports. After trying myself, I called Dell to help me accomplish this. They were unable to do it either.
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N4UED
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 20, 2008 12:40
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GREAT RADIO
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hello I have owned my Kenwood TH-D7A(G) for about 3 yrs.I have used it on APRS mostly and on PACKET. It gets great audio reports as well as good audio from the speaker.I have read about the negative talk about the battery. If most are like me when you buy a radio expecting so much out of it as I did,buying another battery pack want hurt. We are to quick to complain. This radio powered by a Kenwood DC power cord for about 15 bucks cant be beat. I use a Maha 6 volt pack and a 12 volt pack from the NIcadLady. I get alot of time on APRS with both of these batteries. I also bought the cigarette adapter for easy car operation. The 4 AA pack is what I use with the adapter so it want over charge my batteries. I like the way you can send a one way e-mail to anywhere in the world using this radio. When I read that the HT antenna was cut for the NOAA FREQUENCIES I chose not to even use it. The Diamond 519 works well as many others do. There is no other radio that can do what this HT can. It came out in 1999 and is still going strong. It is perfect for pleasure events or major storm events. You can just use this radio to transmit your message back to the EOC without clogging the voice channel that is being used not stop. Read more about your radio so you can get to more out of it. It does you no good in a emergency if you have to read the manual to learn the features. 73 from Chuck
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KC9LFD
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 2, 2008 01:51
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Great performance with a unique menu system
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I've owned RS HTX-202/404's, Yaesu's VX-5r, 6r, 7r, and now a Kenwood TH-D7A(G). The RX and TX performance exceeds the VX-7R in my experience. Maybe it was the radio, or maybe it was the antennas, but regardless.
Pros: Built in TNC is awesome and terribly convenient. Easy menu navigation and neatly organized. Nice big screen, and buttons are easy to navigate, especially with APRS functions.
Cons: Dual band/memories is rather odd.. I can store memories memories per band, but it won't automatically switch between bands in case I wanted to scan all memory channels. Built in APRS software is limited for receiving messages and sending. Still works excellent for APRS broadcasts. No spectrum analyzer, something I sorely miss from my Yaesu radios.
Overall: The power levels are odd, 50mW, 500mW, and 5W, those are interesting jumps in RF output. I simply cannot argue with performance or built in TNC. I have the 9.6v 1700mAh battery and I get awesome performance, more so than my VX-7R.
In the end, I really wish I had purchased this radio instead of my VX-7R when I was shopping at AES. But I got it anyway and LOVE it. I couldn't imagine myself without it. If you want more information or have any questions for me, feel free to email me kc9lfd at kc9lfd dot org.
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KE7FEH
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 21, 2007 13:44
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Excellent
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have had the radio for about 6 months and trully enjoy it. I also like the support from Kenwood; emails returned within 1 hour. Enjoy!!
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WI7B
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 20, 2007 10:32
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Don'tr try this at the QTH!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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My TH-D7G is great. Does everything I want it to do, except make the morning latte'. However, I have read that it is not a "rugged" HT. Some have suggested that other HTs with a list of MIL specs might be better for outdoor comms.
Here is my experience, which I don't suggest anyone try duplicating. I had set the TH-D7G on a ledge overlooking an outdoor concrete stairway leading from the second floor of the condo. I had set it up to attcahed the GPS. As I turned around, a gust of wind blew over the TH-D7G onto a stair 10 feet below. It crashed face-first into the stair, the battery popping out and bouncing down to the bottom step.
AHHHH! I rushed down to the now, battery-less TH-D7G. It looked OK. Not even a scratch on the face-plate. I went to the bottom and retrieved the battery. I plugged it in and turned it on. It began send APRS data! NOw, I consider that rugged.
73,
---* Ken
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W7SAZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 15, 2007 23:33
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Good mod to Batteries America BT-11h Battery Case
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After experiencing a problem with the diode in my Batteries America BT-11h Battery Case I made a successful attempt to fix it. With very gradual pulling, the inside panel of the battery case (the panel with the contacts that feed energy to the radio) came clean off!
I soldered a jumper wire across the diode to bypass it and glued the inside panel back on with model airplane cement.
With the diode bypassed, I get full power out of the battery pack, AND, when I connect 12V to the jack on the side of the radio, the NiMH batteries trickle charge!
The diode was in series with the batteries to prevent recharging of non-rechargeable batteries. Of course, if I use non-rechargeable batteries in the pack, I will not connect 12V to the radio!
Now back to enjoying my versatile D7A with a newly modified more versatile battery pack!
Regards,
George
W7SAZ
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WA7HJV
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 29, 2007 11:52
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EchoLInk nodes not decoding THD7A DTMF tones
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Greetings to all,
For years I have been using my FT-60R in my airplane to work various EchoLink nodes as I travel here and there. I have never had a problem with the EL nodes decoding my DTMF tones with that radio or any of the other 3 HT's and 2 mobile rigs I own. (various brands)
Recently I purchased a used THD7AG so that I could run APRS and EchoLink simultaneously.
The radio worked great on APRS. Unfortunately, of the 20 or so EL nodes that I use reguarly, not one including my own could decode all of the DTMF tones from the THD7.
Three weeks ago I purchased a brand new THD7AG from HRO thinking that there was a problem with the used one. Same thing. I promptly sent the new radio to Kenwood for alignment thinking that it had a problem. They sent it back stating that no problem was found... meets Kenwood specs, etc.
By this time I am checking around and find that others have the same problem. Their THD7A's are not being decoded by EchoLink nodes. This involves several THD7A's and several EL nodes. While one EL node might decode 5 or six keys from one radio, another node will only decode 3 or 4 and not the same ones.
I am aware that the EL nodes can be tweaked for DTMF twist, etc. Experimenting with my node I found that I could tweak it enough to get all but 4 keys from my new THD7 to decode. The problem here is that the audio input level is very low when I do this and I still don't decode all of the tones. Also, I can't go tweak everybody's node just to work with my radio.
I have looked high and low on the net and have not found anything about this.
Does anyone have any info or insight on this situation.
If not, could someone tell me where I could purchase a small DTMF generator like the one Radio Shack used to sell 25 years ago or so?
Thank you in advance.
Jack WA7HJV
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VE2EWQ
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 18, 2007 19:16
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TH-D7G
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I am also experiencing a similar problem as W7SAZ. I purchased a PB-39H from Batteries America and initially I was able to transmit at full power but after about 6 months of use the battery does not retain it full charge or it seems. The bar graph hits S9 on initial transmit for approximately 1 second and then drops to S5 and remains there. I have tried to recharge the battery numerous times but with no success. I can only assume that the Batteries America PB39H is a poor design. I definitely enjoy the TH-D7AG when powered adequately.
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KE7FEH
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 14, 2007 16:48
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Very Nice Rig Though
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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A great rig! Lots of great features. The battery issue is a problem. 16 hour charge 7 hours (low power) at best minimal use. I wish Kenwood would use lithium batteries instead.
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W7SAZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 8, 2007 01:18
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Problems with Batteries America BT-11h Battery Case
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I thought I found a great battery pack for this ideal APRS HT!
I loaded my Batteries America BT-11h Battery Case with six AA NiMH batteries and it worked fine for receiving, full power beaconing and low power transmissions. I did experience problems with high power continuous TX. Watching the D7A power meter, TX power would very quickly drop to close to zero! Initially I thought my rechargeable batteries were low on charge or overdue for replacement. Later I tried using fresh AA alkaline batteries and found the same problem. I checked the batteries and they are fine.
The symptoms suggest that the battery pack diode, which prevents charging of the batteries, is rapidly increasing resistance under low or full power Tx. In effect, my battery pack is useless for continuous Tx power over 0.05W.
Is anyone else using the Batteries America BT-11h Battery Case for the Kenwood D7A? What is your experience?
Thanks,
George
W7SAZ
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