Boomer:
Like you, I recently purchased a TH-D7A(G) and a Garmin GPS receiver. Mine is a GPSMap 96C, because I also wanted to use the GPS for air navigation. I’ve also had a lot of trouble figuring out the settings. After reading lots of online advice, I think I’ve finally got a fix worked out.
Can’t really help with the Garmin GPS 12 set-up, but your settings look nominal. Just double-check that the interface is set for NMEA in/out.
Most of the settings on your TH-D7A look fine. Where we differ is shown below:
1. Frequency 144.39 – MAKE SURE you set the Offset to 0.00MHz. The default setting is 0.60MHz, which is fine for repeaters, but not APRS data packets. I originally overlooked this point, so may have sent a bunch of packets on the wrong frequency.
2. Activate CTCSS with PL = 100.0. This will give you Voice Alert (
http://nwp.ampr2.net/nwaprs/VoiceAlert) capability, which may be very handy for contacting hams using APRS who are within range, via voice. If you make contact, you’ll want to QSY to continue your QSO. This is a very slick concept that needs to be publicized and practiced.
3. UNPROTOCOL = APK002 – I used the Kenwood default setting, and haven’t experimented with the APRS Unprotocol, although by looking at raw data, I see that others have.
4. PACKET PATH RELAY = WIDE3-3. This setting is recommended by APRS guru Bob Bruninga for those of us in rural, less densely-populated areas. You also might try: WIDE1-1,WIDE 2-1, which is the recommended mobile setting if there are more digipeaters in your area.
5. WAYPOINT: 9 digits NMEA – I didn’t know what it meant either, so thought bigger must be better! Will have to research this one further.
6. MY POSITION: I entered my home QTH in the POS1 fields so I can have something to tx if I’m too lazy to hook up a GPS.
Ensure you have a good TH-D7–GPS interface cable. The generic interface cable that came with the D7 looks too puny, so I got one through
http://stores.ebay.com/GPSgeek, (or
http://www.gpsgeek.com/). Whether it’s a simple interface cable or one that includes a 12v power connection, I think this is a far better solution than trying to solder a cable up myself.
If you don’t already have one, get the Kenwood PG-4W Programming Cable for the D7A. I didn’t think that generic cable would stand up to HT–PC interface abuse either, so went with this much more robust version. I got mine through GigaParts (
http://www.gigaparts.com/) and was pleased with their service.
Next, go to the TH-D7 product area at the Kenwood USA site (
http://www.kenwood.net/indexkenwood.cfm?do=ProductDetails&ProdID=5018&Group=5), download and install the TH-D7AG (MCP) Memory Control Program Software program on your computer. The Kenwood site also has other D7A-related materials. You’ll find the Memory Control Program helpful as you experiment with various configurations until you find one that works. As you program your D7A, make sure you save a copy of each configuration you’ve written to the HT just in case you get lost and wish you could go back to a configuration that was less problematic. Believe me, I’ve been there *8^) Having saved configurations is especially useful if you decide to do a FULL RESET of your D7. My online research revealed that several users recommend resetting if the problem doesn’t resolve. I decided to do that today, but all I had to do was save the current configuration, FULL RESET, read the configuration back in, double-check all the settings, and I was in business.
Now, to operate your rig:
1. Turn both your GPS and D7 OFF.
2. Connect antennas and interface cable to the units. I minimized the rat’s nest with some coiled cable lacing I picked up at RadioShack.
3. Power up the GPS, acquire satellites, and get a location solution.
4. Power up the D7, make sure the display window shows the TNC and BCON icons and A: 144.390. If BCON is not displayed, press BCON and check that BCON is displayed. If it displays PACKET, press again until it displays BCON.
5. In addition to occasional flashes of the red tx LED, you will see MY POSITION flash on the display for a few seconds every couple minutes, indicating that your D7 is receiving your recently-sent packet from nearby digis.
The best APRS database is at FindU.com (
http://www.findu.com/). It’s not particularly user-friendly, but you’ll find that several folks have web sites that massage the data quite nicely. The one I’ve used most so far is wulfden:
http://www.wulfden.org/APRSQuery.shtml.
THE authoritative APRS site is that of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR:
http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/aprs.html. You’ll also find good info at APRSWiki:
http://info.aprs.net/wikka.php?wakka=APRS, ARRL:
http://www.arrl.org/, Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Group:
http://www.tapr.org/, and of course, eHam.net! If you Google APRS, you’ll find lots of good information sources, although some of it is out-dated. I’d only go with the most recent stuff.
So are you on a KC135 crew? When I was an Army officer on active duty in Germany nearly 30 years ago, a buddy of mine returned to a Stateside assignment and somehow finagled his way onto a KC135 mission. Must be fun to fly all over the world on your belly--I have to do all my flying right side up!
Hope this helps.
73
Tom
KC9IRG
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Topic: TH-D7A and Garmin GPS 12 (Read 6881 times)