I took it to my local HRO and compared it to 3 other brand new74s and a 51 they had there. I sent it to Kenwood USA service, paid $80 fee because it was 2 months out of warranty (the first year I barely used it for voice, mainly for APRS) and it came back “repaired and adjusted”. Is was really not very loud compared to the 51s and a VX-3. I got multiple complaints and started testing my 74. I own multiple generations of the Icom ID-51 and they all are the loudest handhelds I own. I sold the 74 for 2 reasons: the 72 can do full duplex which is awesome not just for satellites and second reason and biggest issue for me was the low tx audio of the 74. I had one many years ago, got the 74 last year and went back to the 72 today. All the implemented feature come at a price: The Kenwood TH-D72 is relatively large compared to other – not that versatile – handhelds and weighs a whopping 370g. For this purpose the radio functions can be switched off completely which reduces the power consumption by 40%. Moreover, the internal SiRF Star III GPS receiver works together with APRS features or as a sole position tracker. The Kenwood TH-D72 has a built-in 1200 / 9600 baud TNC (AX.25 protocol, KISS mode) and can be used as a standalone digipeater. In terms of transmitting power the Kenwood TH-D72 offers three settings: High (5W), Low (0.5W) and – perfect for field days or ham fests – Extra Low (0.05W).Īlso, this handheld comes with both a COM- and a USB port which makes it easy to connect external devices or to use the TH-D72 with many of the available Packet Radio- or APRS software packages. The second difference between the two models is the step frequency in the 144 MHz band which is 5 kHz for the TH-D72A and 12.5 kHz for the TH-D72E. The European version can handle 118 MHz (AM, RX), 144 MHz (FM, RX/TX), 300 MHz (FM, RX) and 440 MHz (FM, RX/TX) while the American version uses the 430 MHz band. When it comes to RX/TX properties there are differences between the American and European version of this handheld (TH-D72A / TH-D72E). Although this still does not sound like a bargain the TH-D72 is definitely worth it. Including shipping to Austria (UPS) the total price was around €400. After having had the Kenwood TH-D72 on the radar for quite some time that price tag finally tipped the scale. UK based amateur radio store ML&S recently dropped the price from £429.95 to £299.95 (incl. The release of the brand-new TH-D74 led to significant price reductions. That versatility is indeed the reason why the Kenwood TH-D72 is still one of the top-notch handhelds out there – even after all those years it has been on the market. wheather stations or external GPS antennas for improved performance. In the case of the Kenwood TH-D72 all of the functions work straight out of the box and while there is no need for external equipment this particular handheld is still as flexible as to be used with eg. While there are quite a bunch of similar products by other manufacturers such as Yaesu those often require additional accessories in order to utilize the full range of features. TM-D710) into a handheld and hence made it perfect for outdoor use. The Kenwood TH-D72 handheld radio used to be real big-time when released back in 2010: Kenwood basically squeezed all the functions and features of their mobile VHF/UHF APRS rigs (eg.
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