TM-D710A_review_QST_2008.pdf

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1、From February 2008 QST ARRL product review Mark J. Wilson, K1RO Product Review Editor k1roarrl.org Bottom Line Key Measurements Summary Reviewed by Howard Robins, W1HSR ARRL Contributing Editor How do you improve on perfection? That was the question I asked myself when Kenwood introduced the TM-D710

2、A. I have been using its predecessor, the TM-D700A, for nearly five years, and considered it the finest, most feature-rich dual band mobile I had ever used.1 So, when tasked with check- ing out the TM-D710A, I saw it as a great opportunity to answer my question. Overview The TM-D710A has the same co

3、re features and functions as Kenwoods TM- V71A.2 The list is extensive, including a dual band receiver, 1000 memory channels, flexible scanning, tone squelch encode and decode and so on. As shown in Table 1, the D710As performance is nearly identical to the V71A. The wide coverage receiver is best o

4、n the 2 meter and 70 cm bands, but sensitivity is good over much of its range. As with the V71A, you can listen to both receivers at the same time (both tuned to VHF, both UHF or one of each). Transmitter power is 50 W on both bands. Much of this review will focus on the data communica- tion feature

5、s not found in the V71A and significant changes from the D700A. The D710A includes EchoLink sysop Kenwood TM-D710A Dual Band Mobile Transceiver capability described in detail in the TM- V71A review, as well as an internal TNC with Automatic Packet Position Reporting System (APRS) and AX.25 packet fu

6、nc- tionality.3,4 Its the APRS capability that the TM-D700A is best known for. With my D700A, I started with a Magellan GPS receiver and later upgraded to an AvMap G4T. Both GPS receivers worked well, but the G4T provides a large, brilliant color map that shows the full call sign and subsystem ID al

7、ong with the location of received posi- tion beacons. We ordered the new AvMap G5 GPS receiver to use with the D710A. Its shown in the title photo and described in an accompanying review. My TM-V71A review discussed Ken- woods MCP-2A memory programming software. MCP-2A works with the D710A too, requ

8、iring the same optional PC interface cable set. As with the TM-V71A, you can import repeater lists created with ARRLs TravelPlus for Repeaters and download them to the TM-D710As memories.5 14 Snd 2.3 Audio Output (W) 25050 T-R 106 Tx-Rx Turnaround Time (ms) 70 cm 2 M * Noise limited at value shown.

9、Key: Off Scale 60120 Img Image Rejection (dB) 60135 IF 4070 I3 Rx I3 Rx ChRej50 90 75 Adjacent Channel Rejection (dB) 0.25 0.14 7420 kHz* 7710 MHz 129 86 0.1 SINAD Receiver Sensitivity (12dB SINAD, V) 6090 Receiver 3rd-Order Dynamic Range (dB) Receiver 3rd-Order Dynamic Range (dB) IF Rejection (dB)

10、pr027 162 87 145 68 6820 kHz* 6910 MHz 0.15 Kenwoods TM-D710A refines and enhances the capabilities found in the venerable TM-D700A. The D710A has all the features you ex- pect for FM voice operation, plus a built-in TNC for APRS and packet as well as support for Kenwoods Sky- Command II remote cont

11、rol system. 3EchoLink software allows licensed amateurs to communicate with one another over the In- ternet, using voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology. Connections may be made from station to sta- tion or from computer to station. For detailed information, software and registration, visit www.echolink.o

12、rg. 4APRS was developed by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, to support rapid reliable exchange of information among amateurs connected to a network via packet radio. For more information on the technology and many useful links, see www.aprs.org. 5TravelPlus for Repeaters CD-ROM, 2007-2008 edition. Available fr

13、om your ARRL dealer or the ARRL Bookstore, ARRL order no. 9930. Price, $39.95 plus shipping. Telephone 860-594-0355, or toll-free in the US 888-277-5289; www.arrl. org/shop/; pubsalesarrl.org. 1S. Horzepa, WA1LOU, “Kenwood TM-D700A Dual-Band FM Mobile Transceiver,” Product Review, QST, May 2000, pp

14、60-64. QST Product Reviews are available on the Web at www.arrl.org/members-only/prodrev/. 2H. Robins, W1HSR, “Kenwood TM-V71A Dual- Band Mobile Radio,” Product Review, QST, Nov 2007, pp 71-74. From February 2008 QST ARRL table 1 Kenwood tM-d710A, serial number 90600349 Manufacturers Specifications

15、Measured in the ARRL Lab Frequency coverage: Receive, 118-524, Receive, as specified; transmit, 800-1300 MHz (cell blocked); 144-148, 430-450 MHz. transmit, 144-148, 438-450 MHz. Power requirement: Receive, 1.2 A (2 W audio); Receive, 1.4 A; transmit, 9.6 A. transmit, 13 A (max). Tested at 13.8 V. M

16、odes of operation: FM. FM, AM (receive only). Receiver Receiver Dynamic Testing AM sensitivity: 10 dB S/N: 118-174 MHz, 0.4 V; For 10 dB S+N/N: 120 MHz, 0.55 V. 174-230 MHz, 0.5 V; 230-300 MHz, 5.6 V; 300-350 MHz, 1.0 V; 350-400 MHz, 0.56 V; 400-500 MHz, 0.36 V; 500-524 MHz, 0.71 V. FM sensitivity,

17、12 dB SINAD: 118-174 MHz, For 12 dB SINAD: 144 MHz, 0.14 V; 0.32 V; 174-230 MHz, 0.4 V; 230-300 MHz, 222 MHz, 0.25 V; 5.6 V; 300-350 MHz, 1.0 V; 350-400 MHz, 430 MHz, 0.15 V; 0.56 V; 400-500 MHz, 0.28 V; 500-524 MHz, 906 MHz, 1.9 V; 0.56 V; 800-1240 MHz, 7.1 V; 1240-1300 MHz, 1240 MHz, 1.5 V. 2.2 V.

18、 FM two-tone, third-order IMD dynamic range: 20 kHz offset: 146 MHz, 74 dB; Not specified. 440 MHz, 68 dB.* 10 MHz offset: 146 MHz, 77 dB; 440 MHz, 69 dB. FM two-tone, second-order IMD dynamic range: 87 dB. Not specified. FM adjacent channel rejection: Not specified. 20 kHz offset: 146 MHz, 75 dB; 4

19、40 MHz, 68 dB. Spurious and image rejection: Not specified. First IF rejection, 146 MHz, 129 dB; 440 MHz, 145 dB. Image rejection, 146 MHz, 86 dB; 440 MHz, 87 dB. S-meter sensitivity: Not specified. Max indication: 146 MHz, 3.8 V; 440 MHz, 3.7 V. Squelch sensitivity: 0.1 V. At threshold: 146, 440 MH

20、z, 0.1 V. Receiver audio output: 2 W at 5% THD into 8 . 2.3 W at 5% THD into 8 . Transmitter Transmitter Dynamic Testing Power output (H/M/L): 50/10/5 W. 146 MHz, 51 / 10 / 3.9 W; 440 MHz, 45 / 12 / 4.8 W. Spurious-signal and harmonic suppression: VHF, 72 dB; UHF, 66 dB. 60 dB. Meets FCC requirement

21、s. Transmit-receive turnaround time (PTT release S9 signal, 146, MHz, 106 ms; to 50% audio output): Not specified. 440 MHz, 162 ms. Receive-transmit turnaround time (tx delay): 146 MHz, 75 ms; 440 MHz, 76 ms. Not specified. Bit-error rate (BER), 9600-baud: Not specified. 146 MHz: Receiver BER at 12-

22、dB SINAD, 3.2104; at 16 dB SINAD, 1.0105; at 50 dBm, 1.0105. 146 MHz: Transmitter BER at 12 dB SINAD, 1.6103; at 12 dB SINAD +30 dB, 1.0105. 440 MHz: Receiver BER at 12-dB SINAD, 3.8104; at 16 dB SINAD, 1.0105; at 50 dBm, 1.0105. 440 MHz: Transmitter BER at 12-dB SINAD, 1.8103 at 12-dB SINAD +30 dB,

23、 1.0105. Size (height, width, depth): Main unit, 1.7 5.6 5.7 inches; control head, 2.8 6.2 1.5 inches; weight: main unit, 2.6 pounds; control head, 0.66 pound. Price: TM-D710A, $600; VGS-1 voice unit, $70; PG-5H PC interface cable, $60. Note: Unless otherwise noted, all dynamic range measurements ar

24、e taken at the ARRL Lab standard spacing of 20 kHz. *Measurement was noise limited at the value indicated. In addition to a very basic printed book, a lengthy TM-D710A Owners Manual is provided on a CD-ROM in multiple PDF files. Kenwood did a great job on much of this document. There is a lot to kno

25、w about this radio, and the organization and detailed content mitigate much of the complexity. The radios menus are also very well or- ganized and leave little to the imagination. I strongly recommend participation in the Yahoo Groups that have been established for APRS, the TM-D710A and the AvMap G

26、5. As good as they are, the manuals only scratch the surface, and interaction with other users will help you get the most out of your investment. Little Black Box The TM-D710A main unit can be mount- ed in any convenient location. A recessed RJ-45 modular jack on the front panel is for the umbilical

27、 cable from the control head. Another RJ-45 jack, on a side panel, is for the microphone. Your antenna connects to a single SO-239 jack on the rear panel. A 6-pin mini-DIN data port is typically used to con- nect to an external TNC or PC sound card, while an 8-pin mini-DIN PC port connects to your c

28、omputers RS-232 serial port via an optional cable. The internal speaker provides superb audio quality, but you can connect external speakers for each of the receivers. Control Head As with the D700A, the D710A control head doesnt attach to the main unit. The radio comes with a desk mount and a mount

29、 for vehicle installation. The head is easily de- tachable so you dont have to leave it in your vehicle. (TM-D700A instructions warned about losing the control head: There are no direct replacements. Kenwood recently introduced the RC-D710A control head to convert a TM-V71A to a TM-D710A. The RC-D71

30、0A can be purchased to replace a lost D710A control head, but better to just treat the one you have with care.) The control heads mounting arrange- ment is the same as for the D700A, but the connectors are RJ-45, not RJ-11. This is because the GPS receiver now connects to the control head, not the m

31、ain unit. If you are replacing an installed D700A with a D710A, you will have to change out the umbilical between the main unit and the head and you wont need the GPS wire. The control head has a COM port on the back not found on the D700A. Its for using the internal TNC for packet communica- tion.

32、Note that memory programming with the MCP-2A software requires connection between your computers serial port and the From February 2008 QST ARRL table 1 Kenwood tM-d710A, serial number 90600349 PC port on the main unit. So, if your main unit is in the trunk as mine is, and you frequently change prog

33、ramming, consider running a data cable to the pas- senger compartment. You will also need a shielded Ethernet type cable and coupler for the mic. (Sure would be convenient if the mic connected to the con- trol head.) There are seven buttons below the LCD screen, one more than the D700A. The new butt

34、on is called KEY. The KEY button switches the functions of the other six buttons from radio functions (F, TONE, REV, LOW, PF1, PF2) to a new set of APRS specific functions (F, MSG, LIST, BCON, POS, P.MON). The change makes accessing APRS functions a lot more convenient. The layout of the other butto

35、ns and controls are similar to the D700A CALL, VFO, MR on the left, and PWR, PM, TNC on the right. Press F, followed by the tuning control, to get into menu mode. While the control head is only slightly larger than the D700As, the display area and fonts are larger and easier on the eyes. A vertical

36、bar in the center helps segregate information for the two bands. Above the frequency display, a new information line displays the current time, along with call signs of received duplicated APRS packets and an indicator of what sort of packet it was. When your beacon or sent message is received (from

37、 a digipeater) MY POSITION or MY MESSAGE is displayed in this screen position. Only new packets interrupt the fre- quency display and are displayed across the full width of the screen (a settable option). APRS Features Beaconing, messaging and routing func- tions have been enhanced, full digipeater

38、capabilities added and menus streamlined. The control head display and dedicated APRS buttons make accessing these func- tions more straightforward. The received station list can be sorted by call sign, date/time or distance. The list can be filtered to create lists of digipeaters, mobile stations,

39、weather reports and so on. Packet filtering allows you to select a position distance limit and to choose the types of packets you want to receive (weather, di- gipeater, mobile and so on). This is useful to keep the amount of information manageable in areas with lots of APRS activity. The D710A supp

40、orts 29 station icons; the D700A supports 19. Many D700A users send a 100 Hz tone with beacons and set the receiver subaudible tone to 100 Hz on the APRS channel. This opens the squelch so we hear beacon packet (1 2 4 8 16 32 32 32 minutes, and so on). You can also set the radio to use a decay algor

41、ithm for transmitting, if the speed is 1 knot or slower, and switch to proportional pathing when the speed picks up. Weather station support in- cludes wind direction and speed, temperature and rainfall in last hour. Connect your compat- ible weather station to the GPS port on the D710A, set some op

42、tions, and you are an APRS weather station. A Kenwood proprietary data sentence is available for output to the AvMap G5 with target speed, course and altitude in addition to target ID and position. The D700A only outputs ID and position data. AX.25 Packet The COM port on the back of the con- trol he

43、ad connects the internal TNC to a computer. Using Windows HyperTerminal software, I was able to connect to packet nodes and even leave a message in a friends personal mailbox. When I tried to use Airmail software to connect to a local Telpac gateway (the interface between local VHF packet radio acti

44、vity and the Winlink 2000 network), I discovered that Airmail didnt have any Kenwood models in its list of compatible TNCs. I tried a few of the other TNC setups but none worked correctly. Even though Kenwood indicates its TNC is Winlink com- pliant, there are no indications that Airmail will suppor

45、t Kenwood built-in TNCs in the future, so I looked for other options. Someone suggested that I try Paclink to see if it would work with the TM-D710A to interact with Telpac gateways. I did and it does. Paclink allows you to use common email applications to send and receive mail via your radio link.

46、This is a fairly complex implementation involving several programs. In addition to your e-mail software, you need Microsoft.NET Framework, Paclink AGW Packet Client, Paclink Post Office and AGWPE Pro. For details, see www.winlink. org/Client.htm. AWGPE Pro has a long list of compatible TNCs. The TM-

47、D700A selec- tion worked fine with the D710A. Kenwood cautions that the built-in TNC does not offer all functions that might be supported by external TNCs. The parameter and command sets seem to be as complete as my Kantronics KPC-3+ standalone TNC. Other Features Different operators will make frequ

48、ent use of different functions, so Kenwood pro- vides some pushbuttons (PF keys) that can Figure 1 Here, the TM-D710As control head is set up for APRS operation on the left side and voice operation on the right. clatter when within range of one another, indicating that we are close enough for simple

49、x voice communication. Theres now a settable menu option called Voice Alert on the D710A for this function. You can set one of the D710As bands for APRS data operation and the other band for voice operation. Using the settable QSY function, the D710A can embed your voice (QSY) frequency into a status text. When this voice frequency information is received by another D710A, it is displayed on the station list. Pressing the TUNE button sets the voice band of your radio to the QSY