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Author Topic: Yaesu FT-400 vs Kenwood TH-D710 Base/Mobile  (Read 160 times)

N4SRN

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Yaesu FT-400 vs Kenwood TH-D710 Base/Mobile
« on: June 20, 2020, 06:07:08 AM »

I have Yaesu FT-400s in my car and shack. The mobile is acting up and needs to go back to Yaesu for a fix. I had bought a Kenwood TH-D710GA on sale for my car that arrives Monday but now might put it in my shack and move my shack Yaesu FT-400 to my car.

This seems to make better sense as having a transceiver with a TNC in my shack would be useful. Am I missing any considerations? I have a Kenwood TH-710GA Go-Box for portable use already.

Bret/N4SRN
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Bret/N4SRN
Bedford, NH  USA

WA5RR

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Re: Yaesu FT-400 vs Kenwood TH-D710 Base/Mobile
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2020, 07:30:08 AM »

I have owned a D-700 and D-710GA and currently have an FTM-400 in the truck. Both radios are great for APRS and FM work. For me, I found the tedious method of entering APRS messages on the D-710 to be frustrating. With the FTM-400 and its touchscreen, this makes it much easier.

The only drawback to the FTM-400 for me is that the internal TNC cannot be accessed from an outboard computer. The D-710 allowed me to hook up to it and use the 1200 and 9600-baud capable internal TNC to run packet or access the BPQ-32 BBS port I ran on 70cm.

Both radios feature stable output, crossband repeater function, and paging capability. The one addition that I like on the FTM-400 is System Fusion. In some of the fringe areas on simplex, YSF can help make the contact. Also, the Group Monitor function while using YSF is great for mobile position tracking without APRS. This comes in handy for those of us that use it for Skywarn operations and move around to better vantage points.

So, you have some fine radios to work with now! Best of luck!

73,
Korey-WA5RR
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KG7LEA

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Re: Yaesu FT-400 vs Kenwood TH-D710 Base/Mobile
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2020, 11:31:03 AM »

I keep my 710G in my shack and an older, out-of-production radio in the truck because if I lose the truck radio I'm only out $130. The 710 is great for mobile operations with the APRS although the texting feature is not very useful. It's nice to change up the icon and text readout from the panel. The APRS signal through a mag mount is better than signals from an HT or even a dedicated beacon. I sold my beacon for that reason.

The TNC for Winlink packet is essential for serious public service work, but it is incompatible with the VARA technology that is becoming popular. For normal email 1200 packet is plenty fast. If I am not in range of a VARA gateway I will bring out my programming cable and use the TNC.
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