| CX5CBA |
Rating:  |
2019-10-04 | |
| Great HT, the best for APRS |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Tengo un D72 hace aproximadamente 7 años, previamente tuve el D7. Teniendo en cuenta que es un Handy que tiene varios años de fabricación, intentaré ser objetivo y olvidarme del nuevo D74 que presenta muchas funciones nuevas.
Como puntos a favor:
Es casi perfecto en APRS, en comparación con mi reciente FTM-100DR, el D72 decodifica más paquetes, incluso no sé por qué el FTM-100 copia algunos pero los ignora y no los muestra en pantalla, el D72 muestra todo. Digo “casi perfecto” porque podrían haberse incorporado funciones como transmitir objetos APRS o alternancia de diferentes beacons, aunque es una “necesidad” muy personal.
Puede conectarse por cable USB a un Smartphone con APRSDROID, aunque pierde un poco la practicidad.
Puede conectarse al PC también por cable USB y usarlo como TNC para el UI-View32 por ejemplo, de esta manera puede hacerse un iGate rápidamente.
Respecto a los receptores, tiene muy buena sensibilidad, aunque cuando se le conecta una antena exterior suele saturarse la entrada ante la presencia de señales fuertes. Esto es lógico porque su receptor fue diseñado para la antena incluida y no para una antena de mayor rendimiento.
Al ser FULL DUPLEX me permite comunicar fácilmente con satélites de FM como el SO-50 escuchando mi voz “de bajada” al mismo tiempo que transmito. También es muy fácil comunicar en APRS con la ISS sin necesidad de usar un PC o el Smartphone. La función FULL DUPLEX ya no está presente en el D74 ni en ningún otro que se venda actualmente.
La visibilidad del display es buena con y sin luz encendida, aunque dado el tamaño de su display no despliega demasiada información aunque se puede cambiar de página fácilmente.
La disposición de las teclas es buena y tiene las funciones más utilizadas con solo presionar una tecla.
La duración de la batería es buena, de acuerdo a las especificaciones del manual. Con 50mW, recepción dual e incluso GPS encendido, puedo usarlo aproximadamente 15 horas. Lo uso con dos baterías, intercambiando la original con una adquirida en Batteries America, ambas se mantienen con un rendimiento del 90% luego de casi 7 años y cientos de recargas, siempre esperando a que se agoten completamente para realizar la carga completa (practica fundamental para extender la vida útil de las baterías de Li-Ion).
La calidad de construcción es excelente y estéticamente es muy agradable, en la mano se siente la calidad y uno se da cuenta que no es un equipo más.
Las funciones y el menú son muy intuitivos, puede configurarse en un 80% sin necesidad de leer el manual
Como puntos mejorables:
La calidad del audio que se escucha por el altavoz no es la mejor, no tiene mucho grave ya que el altavoz es pequeño y por dentro no tiene mucho espacio para desarrollar los tonos graves. He escuchado equipos menos sofisticados como el Yaesu FT-60 con un audio más potente y más grave, supongo que favorecido por tener el mismo tamaño pero con más espacio interior para un altavoz más grande.
Las teclas del cursor no pueden iluminarse y son algo imprecisas por lo que en la noche pueden apretarse las teclas indeseadas, sobre todo si se tiene un pulgar grande. Esto es controlable y no genera mayor problema.
En resumen, es un equipo de excelente calidad tanto de diseño exterior como de sus funciones y su rendimiento. Pienso comprar un D74 este año pero de ninguna manera pienso vender o dejar de usar el TH-D72.
Los interesados en tener uno deberían apresurarse a comprarlo porque ya tiene casi una década de fabricación y no podríamos extrañarnos si Kenwood deja de producirlo a corto plazo.
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| K9OBX |
Rating: |
2019-06-28 | |
| BEST HT I HAVE |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have been a Yaesu HT guy since I got into Ham Radio. This is my first Kenwood. I AM IMPRESSED!!! Kenwood puts out a very polished product in this radio. I talked to a friend for almost an hour, walking inside the local mall, while my wife and daughter were shopping. The battery held up great and I was surprised at how well I was able to hit the repeater with the radio on its lowest power setting while indoors.
I used the Kenwood software from the Kenwood site to program it in the first 15 minutes I had this radio. I have setup the TNC and the APRS settings, which is very easy to do, and used it for APRS. This radio is perfect for APRS.
After 3 years this HT still goes with me everywhere.(And I have multiple HTs from C4FM to analog.) If I could give it 6 stars I would. This little rig makes me want to buy other Kenwood products.....It's that good... |
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| N2SUB |
Rating:  |
2019-03-01 | |
| She's dead Jim |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I've had mine for exactly 30 days. I've messed around a little with the APRS feature, but none of my packets were digipeated. I'm new to APRS and I figured that I was doing something wrong. I read the manual, programmed it using the software, and when I went to use it to hit a repeater, it wasn't putting out any output power. It looks like it's working, but a known-to-be-good power meter says different. It could have been like this from the day I got it, which is why the APRS wasn't getting picked up. It's a nice radio, but it just doesn't work. Sadly, I have to go back to using my Baofeng until we get this straightened out. Not cool! |
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| IZ1PON |
Rating: |
2016-09-23 | |
| TH-D72E: Eccellente |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Il nuovo TH-D72E risulta un ricetrasmettitore portatile VHF-UHF di grande interesse.
Le principali qualità sono:
- GPS,APRS, ECHOLINK,TNC di serie integrati nella radio
- GPS in classe SiRFstar III ad alte prestazioni per la radiolocalizzazione
- Interfacciabilità totale tramite porta USB
- Pannello frontale ergonomico completo ed estremamente intuitivo
- Elevata autonomia della batterie (non riscontrabile in altri portatili)
- Sistema SKY COMMAND SYSTEM II che rende pilotabile da remoto una stazione HF
- Software di controllo Kenwood MCP-4A(scaricabile gratuitamente)molto ben fatto ed intuibile
- Nella confezione vi sono tuti gli accessori più utili (cavo USB, caricatore universale...)
- Ergonometria d'uso eccezionale!
Infatti l'ergonometria d'uso è a dir poco stupefacente, "cade bene in mano" e nonostante le dimensioni risulta estremamente pratico!
Anche dopo ore di utilizzo non si avverte il fastidioso indolenzimento del dito sul PTT tipico dei portatili.
In definitiva tutto quello che serve per un traffico in portatile VHF-UHF di alto livello. |
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| VA6GC |
Rating: |
2016-09-05 | |
| First Kenwood radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I am a Yaesu guy! I bought this unit because I wanted an APRS function when riding my bike (Honda CTX 1300).
At first I was a little overwhelmed with the initial setup so I bought programing software from RT Systems. This was a great start but the software is missing a lot of radio options.
The manual is good support with a lot of information. I went to the internet to get a quick setup from fellow hams/clubs.
Overall I am happy, for $510 CDN it's a good radio. My friend with a similar radio says he puts the TH-D72A in a saddlebag and rides for 8 hrs. transmitting APRS info on the supplied battery.
I copied frequency files direct from my VX-6R program (RT Systems) and use band "B" for communications.
Glen
VA6GC
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| W8MPX |
Rating: |
2016-05-15 | |
| RX speaker stop working |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
i had my Kenwood D72A and the Rx stop working send to repair 125.00 it cost more the labor than the 25 cents speaker and i have my for 4 years the radio i baby it have a cover all the time , the radio never was out of the house one day i was monitoring and i didn't hear no one. have to send it for repair cost was 125.00 . Soon i got the radio i sold the radio. Kenwood know this problem and they don't do anything to fix the problem they keep putting the same 25 cents speaker. i love the radio it is the best Ht aprs out there but i will stay away from Kenwood Ht. This radio was all the time in the house ,do you imagine this radio being in the outdoor. Kenwood you know about this problems for years fix the problem we paid to much money for this radio and you put a cheap speaker
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W8MPX on 2011-12-19
The rig it's build very good very good receiving it doesn't not get hot aprs. Gps all in one don't have to by extra accessories like other brands not bad for the price this radio will give me busy this winter good job Kenwood |
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| W1RJZ |
Rating: |
2016-05-07 | |
| Questionable Parts Quality |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This HT has lot's of features and good audio--when it's working. I don't use this HT much--in fact, I baby it. Yet it has had to go in for repairs twice in less than two years. First it needed a speaker replacement (under warranty). I used a Kenwood external mic and it stopped working-it just beeped every 3-4 seconds. I found out that it needed a "flexible PC board" (not under warranty). Yet, my $35 backup HT that is abused keeps on ticking. |
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| AE7G |
Rating: |
2015-08-20 | |
| Well integrated data radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I been into APRS for about fifteen years and I have used both the original D700 and a Tracker 2. I have also used D PRS tracking through a D Star radio.
This radio is a major step forward in the APRS world. I do a lot of bicycle support and having a single unit that can both allow voice communication and full APRS operation including the gps, all in one compact handheld, is a huge convenience.
There are some stand alone APRS devices that cost less but they aren't also a fully functional quality dual band HT.
Kenwood is more fair than other HT providers in that it does not charge extra for programming software. In addition accessories for earlier models, including their handheld microphones and power adapters, work with this radio.
I was able to get the radio configured and up and running fairly easily following the instructions. There were no good instructions available for configuration in APRSpoint, but I got it figured out with a little work.
Everything works fine and the unit can be used in an event to provide simultaneous APRS and voice function in one self-contained unit.
The one thing I found annoying is the constant data noise from APRS traffic. I had to turn the speaker audio volume completely down to zero on the data band to restore a comfortable listening experience. |
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| N7KFD |
Rating: |
2015-05-24 | |
| Another Fine Kenwood Product |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
To start with I own a TH-D7A, a TH-K20 and recently purchased the TH-D72 and I don't see the sensitive PTT that others have talked about in any of them and all of them take the same amount of pressure to activate. The D72 is a fine radio packed with features that have already been discussed here, my only addition is that they all work great. The display is crisp and clear and I love the back light. Putting your own picture in the start up screen is a little tricky but the result is cool. I've compared the stock antenna with a diamond that I bought for the D7A and I believe they are right in line with each other in that neither one out performs the other.
The battery easily lasts all day if the GPS and APRS are turned off, if they are turned on you'll need to have a spare but they can be found online reasonably cheap. As expected from Kenwood the menu system is easy to navigate and most settings there are set and forget and any functions you will need to access on a regular basis can be done through the keypad. The USB port is a nice addition and was very happy Kenwood included it and the free programming software is also easy to navigate and includes access to the memory options so they can be programmed in your computer and downloaded in to the radio.
Pressing the function key brings you into a different menu system than the "Menu" key and a battery level indicator resides there which was also a nice addition. The built in GPS makes APRS much easier compared to the D7A, I don't have to carry a separate GPS unit anymore. I haven't used all of the GPS features but it looks like it can be used for more than just APRS such as setting way points and tracking.
I really like this radio but I'm a big Kenwood fan so my opinion is a little biased. It's definitely an improvement over the D7A with more features and plenty of upgrades. If you're in the market for an APRS handheld I highly recommend this radio.
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| SA6CKE |
Rating: |
2014-09-14 | |
| Good radio, sensitive PTT |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is my experience with the TH-D72E radio.
I can agree that the PTT is sensitive and that it's very easy to accidentally push it. It's not critical, but it has happened more than once when I have had it in my pocket.
Another thing that I have found out is that the charger adapter (100-240V, 50/60Hz, 0.3A, 13.8V DC 0.65A, CE-marked SPS-12-011) is not filtering the 50Hz AC from the grid very well. It's actually REALLY bad, however it's not the radio itself that's at fault. I don't know if others have experienced the same thing or if I have a bad charger. Flipping the cord doesn't make any difference. I also have noted that plugging in the charger to the radio while it's on makes it restart (which at least to me seems a bit "cheap" today)
What I missed in the package was the desktop stand (KSC-32 or similar) to use when charging. Nicer than have to flip up the rubber seal and plug in the charger. Lowers the wear on the rubber seal as well. (And the Wouxun I have did come with a stand)
Aside from that it's a good radio and worth it's price anyway. The hardest thing with setting up APRS was to figure out which frequency to use - and the major problem was revealed to be that I lacked a digipeater within hearing distance of my QTH - hardly the fault of the radio.
The supplied software allowing for grouping of frequencies/channels is good. However why can't there be a standard on how to exchange frequency information? It would be great if you as I have a mix of radios of different brands.
The scan function is also good, you can select frequencies to exclude so that you can scan only the needed local repeaters. Even here I would like to have had different scan groups depending on situation - e.g. one group when in my home area and an another when I'm in a different area. But this is of course the problem with most radios.
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