# Kenwood thd74a



## sgtusmc98

Does anyone have a Kenwood thd74a? Just got one but it's in the mail. Haven't messed with Dstar or aprs yet so it will be new. Half way think it won't work so well where I am but if it doesn't I figured it would be good for surrounding areas.


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## bkt

I don't have one (yet) but it's on my wish list. It's a very capable little radio. Please post a review once you get yours.


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## sgtusmc98

bkt said:


> I don't have one (yet) but it's on my wish list. It's a very capable little radio. Please post a review once you get yours.


I will try to post a review but I have nothing to compare it to in the digital realm. I hope it impresses me, granted my hf was used but to this point it will be the most expensive radio I bought.


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## bkt

sgtusmc98 said:


> I will try to post a review but I have nothing to compare it to in the digital realm. I hope it impresses me, granted my hf was used but to this point it will be the most expensive radio I bought.


Yeah, that's not a cheap radio but it does have some neat features. The APRS thing is useful for sending quick digital messages. The digital side of things might be really nice for reaching out further than you can with conventional analog.

Maybe I'm not giving Kenwood and the other manufacturers their due credit, but I can't help wondering why the user interface isn't a flat screen that lets the user customize what they want. The THF74a with a large, hi-res display (like any smartphone these days) and the ability to rearrange the display - with a panadapter! - would be really great. I'd jump at that.


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## sgtusmc98

bkt said:


> I don't have one (yet) but it's on my wish list. It's a very capable little radio. Please post a review once you get yours.


Here is the first review, it frustrated the crap out of me for the past few days. I tried manually programming via the manual but that didn't work. I downloaded the software from Kenwood and had problems with that. Finally called Kenwood support and it actually helped. The guy I talked to emailed me instructions for manually programming the analog frequencies and with actual instructions it's pretty easy. After using the software I had to do a factory reset, I told the guy about a code the radio showed after using the program and he said it sounded like it was corrupted.

My computer is old and that may have been the problem but anyway that's where I'm at. Haven't had the ability to go digital yet because of where I live.

By Kenwood's own admission the manual you get with the radio is limited, you have to download or view a PDF manual online for a complete manual that still doesn't show you how to manually program analog.

It does "feel" like a nice radio for what that's worth but no real field test yet.

Below is what the Kenwood guy emailed me.

Kenwood TH-D74A Quick Start Programming

1. Press the VFO

2. Press ENT/Multi-Scroll Key button, and enter your frequency from the
keypad (example 146.670)

3. Press TONE/8 until a T in a white box appears in the top portion
of the display

4. Now you may select your PL/TONE press the F button, and now press
the TONE/8/T.SEL select (example 100.0 Hz) by turning the main
tuning knob. Now to store your tone selection press the
OK/A/B/DUAL button

5. To select the shift - or + press the F button, and now press the
SHIFT/7/REV button. It will cycle through them every time you
press the F button, and SHIFT/7/REV button.

6. You may now store all this information into a memory location.

7. Press the F button, now press MR/2/M.IN button turn the main
tuning knob to the memory location of your choice (example 1.

8. To store it press the ENT/Multi-Scroll Key button.
To exit the Memory Channel List press the PTT

9. To recall your memories press the MR/2/M.IN button


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## tmttactical

Did not know you all spoke Greek!!! LOL Did not understand any of it. Sounds like a good way to a migraine. Wish yall luck. :surrender:


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## bkt

Well, good luck getting it programmed. The instructions you posted seem OK but it's missing the offset. Maybe the radio assumes the offset based on the receive frequency? If so, why would it ask the direction (shift) of the offset? Weird. That's not great but I'm sure you can override it if you need to.

I use chirp to program my TH-F6a and Baofeng radios and it works great - it's really easy to import repeaters from Repeaterbook and other sources. The TH-D74a isn't shown in the list of supported radios, yet, so you'll have to rely on the Kenwood software for now.


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## sgtusmc98

I have been using Dstar some lately, don't think it would be of much value in a massive disaster but it's fun traveling. The thd74 had a memory bank of Dstar repeaters and can scan local repeaters with the aid of the gps, it's handy not having to program in frequencies


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## bkt

sgtusmc98 said:


> I have been using Dstar some lately, don't think it would be of much value in a massive disaster but it's fun traveling. The thd74 had a memory bank of Dstar repeaters and can scan local repeaters with the aid of the gps, it's handy not having to program in frequencies


Yes, this is a really nice benefit - having local repeaters within a bank of memories no matter where you go by having a built-in GPS set it all up.

Have you had more luck programming it?


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## Pessimistic2

sgtusmc98 said:


> Does anyone have a Kenwood thd74a? Just got one but it's in the mail. Haven't messed with Dstar or aprs yet so it will be new. Half way think it won't work so well where I am but if it doesn't I figured it would be good for surrounding areas.


The reviews from users are all very good....seems to be one of the best.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13063
Excerpt from reviews: "WS8B	Rating: 4/5	Dec 1, 2016 14:20	Send this review to a friend
Swiss Army Knife of Radios Time owned: 0 to 3 months
Using an overused phrase, the TH-D74A is the "Swiss-Army-Knife" of radios. I purchased one from R and L in Ohio a week ago, so my evaluation will be only for my initial impression. I would like to rate the radio a five but the included documentation leaves the operator with a lot of un answered questions. Kenwood has posted a better manual located at:
http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/software_download.html
Having been a ham for over 37 years, I have used many HT's over my time. I remember fondly the Yaesu FT-207R - big as a brick and as heavy. The D74A is reminiscent of the older, simpler radios in appearance but that's where the similarity ends. Turn it on and the color display will be impressive. The radio has sub-menus of sub-menus of sub-menus. A helpful multi-scroll key (joy stick) is in the upper center of the radio. This is used to manipulate the multitude of sub-menus. 
Operating specifications and main features are covered in other reviews so I will stick to my initial observations. The radio does everything as advertised and more. The only weak feature is the low band reception via the internal antenna. I was not able to receive any stations with it. When I connected to the external antenna, the radio performed just like the big low band rigs. Sounded great.
All the keys, including the transmit switch are plastic. No worry about rubbing off the numbers and letters from rubber keys. The sound is awesome. Nice, loud and crisp. My vintage Kenwood speaker microphone worked like it was made for the radio. 
This radio is not for the beginner or the faint of heart. To get the D-Star and APRS up and running took a lot of time. Without "how-to" videos on YouTube, I would have had a lot of trouble. Downloading the programming software helped. 
Two important points - 1) make sure you have USB function = mass storage turned on (menu step 981) so that you can read and write to the micro SD card. 2) this is VERY important. Before loading the micro SD card export your radio image to the card, upload and save the image. Make a copy of the image and load your memory details to the image copy. Save it as Image 2 or some other name then load it up to your radio. Doing otherwise will cause some functions to be lost. When you do an upload for the first time, the software will warn you.

I will add that the display is outstanding. Being reflective, it works very well in bright sunlight. I also want to add that programming can be done 4 ways:

Via: direct input, mini USB, Micro SD card and Bluetooth(r). All fully programmed, the radio will search based on the GPS geospatial reference and download D-Star repeaters in the area. It will then upload the repeater parameters complete with frequency, tone, and appropriate D-Star parameters. In other words - no convoluted D-Star programming.


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## Flight1630

tmttactical said:


> Did not know you all spoke Greek!!! LOL Did not understand any of it. Sounds like a good way to a migraine. Wish yall luck. :surrender:


tmtactical we do not have the edumacation for such technical reviews lolvract:


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## bacpacker

I have an old Kenwood D-7. 1st HT to run APRS. it worked great for that, but wasn't easy to program either. Sounds like the 74 is a couple steps up from those. I'll have to look into that.
I have 2 D-700 mobilies, probably replaced by newer models by now, but they are good rigs as well. I really liked running APRS with them. We used them to support bike rides and runs and really paid benefits. I could see a lot of use in a search and rescue situation.


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## sgtusmc98

bkt said:


> Yes, this is a really nice benefit - having local repeaters within a bank of memories no matter where you go by having a built-in GPS set it all up.
> 
> Have you had more luck programming it?


I have not tried hooking it up to the computer again. Otherwise manually programming repeaters is easy even if the offset is non typical. Programming is easy if you can figure it out, that sounds stupid but this is the deal: the manual you get is not complete and it refers to an online PDF that is better, the online PDF is better but not always right. The best way to learn Is through the manuals and the Facebook group.

It has so many "things" that it's easy to not be successful at something because one thing is off.

All the bells and whistles don't work right now, winlink and packets don't work now but Kenwood has been told obviously and should be getting a firmware update to fix that.

For me I had never used digital or APRS. I feel pretty good about Dstar but can't figure out why my APRS won't track on the APRS.fi map. I had a lot of people trying to help me with Dstar last week so I'm giving them a break. In the end I figured out the problem anyway. One of the guys on Facebook has the 3rd radio made, Kenwood gave it to him to figure out and he did most of it with no manual so he is helpful and he has videos on YouTube, look up the radio and Don is his name on YouTube. It's a learning process for sure.

Battery life is a bit short, with use you have about 6 hrs where as I have left my Baofeng uv5r on for several days, but the Kenwood out performs the Baofeng for sure when it comes to transmitting.

The Dstar audio is better than most radio audios, I have been complimented several times on spending the time to get it right but all I did was turn it on.


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## bkt

I hope Kenwood irons out the wrinkles soon. Their manual for the TH-F6A is really good and the radio is really easy intuitive to use and program.

Battery life is a bit lame, but if you carry one or two charged batteries with you, you should be OK. True, it's not as good as the Baofeng, but the Kenwood is doing a lot more.

APRS has been hit-or-miss with me, too, using a Baofeng, TNC and an Android tablet. I did manage to see myself on aprs.fi but all the waypoints I would have expected weren't there. I blame my antenna and receivers in my area.


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## sgtusmc98

The more I used the Kenwood thd74 the more I like it, I can’t use it to its potential because of my area and I haven’t even tried somethings with it but it’s easy to use and works very well. I do think the price has come down $200 since I bought it.


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## vja4Him

I just received my new Kenwood TH-D74A in the mail today. I am new to Ham Radio and still learning the menus .... I definitely need a better antenna than the factory rubber duck .... Any suggestions ... ?


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