1. Using the Kenwood TM-D700A and TH-D7A
Tony Campbell W5ADC

2. Tony – W5ADC Been licensed since 1978.
Have been active in satellite communications.
Became active with APRS over 2 years.
Active SSID
W5ADC-10 Home Weather Station
W5ADC-14 Mobile
You may also see
W5ADC-15 Portable TM-D700A
W5ADC-7 TH-D7A
W5ADC-8 TinyTrak 3

3. Kenwood TH-D7A(G) Nice HT with APRS features
Dual band 114/440 MHz 5 Watts
Basic TNC
On screen text monitoring
PC programmable
Just add a GPS and go

4. Basic Interconnection Diagram Purpose Built Radios
GPS
NMEA Data In/Out

5. TH-D7(G) Operation Main Screen
TNC
Beacon
Data
Band
Frequency or Channel Name

6. TH-D7A(G) Basic FunctionsOK
ESC
TNC
Position
Message
Beacon
List Stations

7. TH-D7A(G) Operation Station List
Call and SSID
Entered by Pressing [LIST]

8. TH-D7A(G) Operation Fixed Station
Press [OK]
To Step Between
Screens

9. TH-D7A(G) Operation Mobile Station
Press [OK]
To Step Between
Screens

10. TH-D7A(G) Operation Weather Station
Press [OK]
To Step Between
Screens

11. TH-D7A(G) Operation Position

12. Connecting the GPS Receiver
DB9 Plug with Pins
White/Data to GPS
White/Pin 3
Red/Pin 2
Shield/Pin 5
Shield/GND
Red/Data from GPS
This cable should work with any GPS receiver
That is designed to connect to a 9 pin serial port.

13. Setup of GPS Receiver NMEA/NMEA (NMEA In/Out) NMEA 0183 2.0 4800 baud
WGS84

14. TH-D7A(G) Configuration APRS
Set UTC Offset 2-O (TIME ZONE)
As Required
Select Data Band (DATA BAND) A
Packet Transfer Rate 2-M (PACKET SPEED)
1200 bps

15. TH-D7A(G) Configuration APRS (Con’t)
Program Call Sign 2-1 (MY CALLSIGN)
W5ADC-14
Select Station Icon 2-8 (STATION ICON)
Select as Desired
Select Position Comment 2-6 (POSITION COMMENT)
Off Duty/Returning/Priority/…/In Service
Enter Status Text 2-9 (STATUS TEXT)
Up to 5 user selectable Messages
Packet Path 2-B (PACKET PATH)
RELAY,WIDE2-2 or RELAY,WIDE

16. TH-D7A(G) Configuration APRS (Con’t)
Packet Transmit Method 2-C (PACKET TX)
AUTO
Transmit Interval 2-D (TX INTERVAL)
No more often than 3 minutes
Status Text Transmit Rate 2-A (STATUS TX RATE)
1/3 Can range from OFF to 1/1 to 1/8
Reception Limit 2-7 (POSITION LIMIT)
OFF Can range from 10 to 2500
Position Ambiguity 2-5 (POS AMBIGUITY)
OFF Can be used to limit the accuracy of the position data transmitted

17. TH-D7A(G) Configuration The Easy Way
Use the configuration program available from Kenwood for free.
Go to and get MC7G110.exe
All you need is a computer with a serial port and a PG-4W cable or build your own.
DB9 Plug with Sockets
White/Data to PC
White/Pin 3
Red/Pin 2
Shield/Pin 5
Shield/GND
Red/Data from PC

18. Sample Screens

19. Kenwood TM-D700A Coolest APRS radio on the market
Dual band 114/440 MHz 50/35 Watts
Decent 1200/9600 bps TNC
Built-in Digipeater
On screen text monitoring
PC programmable
Just add a GPS and go

20. TM-D700A Operation Main Screen
Beacon
TNC APRS Mode
GPS Blinking
Data Band
Correct Frequency

21. TM-D700A Operation APRS Menu
Entered by Pressing and Holding “F” Button for 1 second
GPS
Station List
Position Screen
Packet Monitor
Message Screen
Beacon

22. TM-D700A Operation Station List
Call and SSID
Time of Last Packet
Station Type/Situation
View Details
Press to send message

23. TM-D700A Operation Fixed Station
Call and SSID
Icon
Status Text

24. TM-D700A Operation Mobile Station
Location
Distance and Heading from me
Call and SSID
Icon
Direction Speed Altitude

25. TM-D700A Operation Weather Station
Station Location
Distance and Heading
Call and SSID
Icon
Wind Direction, Speed, Temperature and Rain in Past Hour

26. TM-D700A Operation Packet Monitor

27. TM-D700A Operation Main Message Screen

28. TM-D700A Operation Message List

29. TM-D700A Operation Message Detail

30. TM-D700A Operation Position
Time
Speed
Heading
Altitude and Grid Square
Location

31. TM-D700A Configuration APRS
Set Internal Clock (TIME)
As Required
Set Date (DATE)
Set UTC Offset (TIME ZONE)
Select Data Band 3-I (DATA BAND) A
Packet Transfer Rate 3-J (PACKET SPEED)
1200 bps

32. TM-D700A Configuration APRS (Con’t)
Program Call Sign 3-1 (MY CALLSIGN)
W5ADC-14
Select Station Icon 3-8 (STATION ICON)
Select as Desired
Select Position Comment 3-6 (POSITION COMMENT)
Off Duty/Returning/Priority/…/In Service
Enter Status Text 3-9 (STATUS TEXT)
Up to 5 user selectable Messages
Packet Path 3-B (PACKET PATH)
RELAY,WIDE2-2 or RELAY,WIDE

33. TM-D700A Configuration APRS (Con’t)
Packet Transmit Method 3-C (PACKET TX)
AUTO
Transmit Interval 3-D (TX INTERVAL)
No more often than 3 minutes
Status Text Transmit Rate 3-A (STATUS TX RATE)
1/3 Can range from OFF to 1/1 to 1/8
Reception Limit 3-7 (POSITION LIMIT)
OFF Can range from 10 to 2500
Position Ambiguity 3-5 (POS AMBIGUITY)
OFF Can be used to limit the accuracy of the position data transmitted

34. TM-D700A Configuration The Easy Way
Use the configuration program available from Kenwood for free.
Go to and get MCP_D700.exe
All you need is a computer with a serial port and a cable pinned 1-1, 2-2…9-9.

35. Sample Screens

36. Thank You
And Good Tracking