Handheld, wideband & APRS

[ve2ihs]

Hi all, first post.

I currently run a TH-D7 with an older gps in my truck and motorcycle, quite funny setups. I'm on the market for an upgrade...

Questions is, is there a wideband/dualband handheld aprs ready radio out there? I'd like a handheld with integrated gps for APRS. I'm biased kenwood of all things, the th-d74 is my choice, but it's not wide band.

What are your opinion ? I guess my option is the th-d74 and some reliable other brand handheld, if so, what is your recommendation for a cheaper (200$-400$) wideband receiver with a th-d74 combo?

Thanks and have a nice 2021

 

[vagrant]

What does "wide band" mean to you? What frequency range do you want that the D74 cannot receive? Also, the Kenwood D74 is no longer in production. You can find a used one from time to time. This is a recent thing due to a fire in Japan at a microchip plant. No word if they will go back into production again.

Have you looked at a Byonics RTG dedicated APRS transmitter? Install one for your truck and motorcycle. I use one in my vehicle and installed an on/off switch for it. It works well, although I do use a much improved antenna.

If you are looking for a handheld with built-in GPS, Yaesu makes the FT3DR.

As to a wide band receiver, the Icom R30 is very nice.

 

[jonwienke]

The AnyTone AT-D878UV covers VHF, UHF, and 220 (if you're willing to unlock the full frequency range of the radio), has built-in GPS, and can be programmed to transmit either the analog or DMR variants of APRS either at the end of TX, or a set time interval. It can also receive DMR APRS packets, and if the receiving radio has GPS active, it will display distance and bearing to the transmitter.

 

[redbeard]

What does "wide band" mean to you?

This is the big question. The Kenwood most certainly is wideband in the sense that most ham radio VHF/UHF is still wideband 25kHz channel spacing and 5kHz deviation. Narrowband 12.5/2.5 may be possible on that radio but I haven't seen the manual to be sure. It's certainly not locked to narrowband as most newer public safety radios are.

As you can see, 'wideband' means different things to different people depending on context. Perhaps you are using the wrong word to describe your needs.

 

[vagrant]

@redbeard Yes it is "the" question. My guess is "wide band" in this context is the frequency range, but that sort of stumps me as the D74 can pull in HF frequencies as well and different modes. The only thing left are frequencies above 500 Mhz, which the OP may want to monitor. Anyways, I'm glad I purchased one a while back. The features it offers replaced four different radios.
- Icom 31
- Yaesu VR-500
- Kenwood TH-F6A
- Kenwood D72A (Well, except for the duplex)

The D74 along with the Icom R30 handle my receive needs well enough when remote.

 

[ve2ihs]

Thanks all for the replies! I didn't know about the AKM factory fire in 2020; now that is interesting, couple of products got impacted, apparantly digital cameras also, shows the vulnerability of supply chains.

I'll try to research more, I was getting lost in all thoses Yaesu models and all. That Icom R30 looks very neat! Yes indeed I meant frequencies over 500 Mhz. And sorry redbeard, English is not my native tongue.

I knew about that byonics, but I'd like to keep the @smgte fonctionnality ( send text messages )

Thanks all again.

 

[jonwienke]

The 878 will cover 136-174 and 400-512MHz, 12.5 and 25KHz channels, and send/receive text messages.

 

[AK9R]

Does Bridgecom need to update their AnyTone AT-D878UV FAQ?

Q: Can the 878 RECEIVE APRS data?

A: No, not at this time (Jan 2019)- it can only transmit analog APRS data (and Digital also)

 

[jonwienke]

Does Bridgecom need to update their AnyTone AT-D878UV FAQ?

Yes. The 878 can receive digital APRS, but not analog. It also has a memory that stores APRS pings, but the display format seems to be a bit borked, like they mixed decimal and minute/second somehow. But the display that pops up when the ping is received accurately indicates distance and bearing to the transmitter.

 

[jwt873]

The ability to both transmit and receive on 144.39 is handy. With the D74 I can see where my friends are. The info pops up on the screen. It's sometimes nice to know if we're heading to a meeting spot.

But.. I carry an iPad and can call up the aprs.fi web site using a browser. This lets me track APRS stations without any sort of radio. So with a phone or tablet, you can get away without APRS receive.

The wide band receive on the TH-D74 is handy. Just about all HTs nowadays can listen to the FM broadcast band.. The D74 can listen to the AM broadcast band. It has a built in ferrite antenna which helps with MF performance. You can even go down further and listen to the aircraft NDB beacons. (Although for other than the broadcast band, you really need a proper external antenna).

It's a pretty good performer on HF as well. Receives international shortwave AM stations and ham radio USB/LSB and CW transmissions.

 

[jonwienke]

It doesn't show very well in the photo, but the small red dot on the W of the compass display indicates the bearing--due west 4 meters away.

 

[AK9R]

@jonwienke in post #7, you said that the AnyTone AT-D878UV can send/receive text messages. I assumed that to mean APRS messages in the same manner that Kenwood (and Yaesu) APRS radios can receive/display APRS messages and have functions for the user to enter/send APRS messages.

Bridgecom, who sells this radio, says that it cannot receive APRS data. No mention is made of APRS messages.

So far, I've not seen any evidence that the AnyTone AT-D878UV can send/receive APRS messages. I'm not talking about DMR messages or some hybrid of DMR and APRS, I'm talking about APRS messages sent over analog APRS frequencies. The example shown in post #11 appears to be a truncated position report. I say "truncated" because APRS position reports contain much more than just the lat/lon of the sending station.

Here is what a TH-D74 looks like when you receive an APRS message:


And, here is what a Kenwood TH-D74 looks like when you are composing an APRS message to send:

 

[AK9R]

Questions is, is there a wideband/dualband handheld aprs ready radio out there? I'd like a handheld with integrated gps for APRS. I'm biased kenwood of all things, the th-d74 is my choice, but it's not wide band.

You probably aren't going to find everything you want in one radio.

The Kenwood TH-D74 can receive from 0.1 to 524 MHz with some gaps and it has full APRS capability, but it's out of production. The TH-D72 can receive from 118 to 524 MHz and has full APRS capability, but it's out of production.

The Yaesu FT-3DR can receive from 0.5 to 985 MHz with some gaps and has full APRS capability. It should be available from most amateur radio dealers. The Yaesu FT-2DR can receive the AM broadcast band plus 30 to 999 MHz with some gaps and has full APRS capability. It may be in short supply at dealers as I believe it's out of production.

 

[n5ims]

One thing that may or may not be of importance to you that the Kenwood HTs have is full access to the built-in TNC. This allows you to do things like Winlink to send emails using a tablet or laptop using just the HT. They talk using Bluetooth so you won't have extra wires or the like connecting them. Most other HTs don't allow this, even those that include analog APRS capability.

On the D74 being out of production. Kenwood has not (at least I haven't seen an announcement on that) announced that it is discontinued, just that production has halted due to parts supply issued. It is unknown if they will simply start up production once the supply issues have been resolved or if it will be replaced by a new model. Sales of the radio have been good so I expect them to either start production back up or tweak the design a bit to use different part(s) that are available. If they make a replacement model, they may eliminate the DSTAR feature (the chip in question requires it) and hopefully will add back the full duplex feature that was in the D72 but wasn't in the D74. This was a sore spot for folks that do satellite work.

 

[redbeard]

Thanks all for the replies! I didn't know about the AKM factory fire in 2020; now that is interesting, couple of products got impacted, apparantly digital cameras also, shows the vulnerability of supply chains.

I'll try to research more, I was getting lost in all thoses Yaesu models and all. That Icom R30 looks very neat! Yes indeed I meant frequencies over 500 Mhz. And sorry redbeard, English is not my native tongue.

I knew about that byonics, but I'd like to keep the @smgte fonctionnality ( send text messages )

Thanks all again.

OK so by wideband you really mean extended receive capability. Well you aren't going to get much better than the D74 with HF SSB and such. The frequencies above 512MHz are pointless to include in a ham radio, between 512 and 700 is nothing but TV and LTE that is unmonitorable. 700MHz is exclusively P25 digital modulation in the parts that aren't LTE. 800MHz is going to be mostly trunking, with a large percentage being P25, with DMR following closely. There are few analog trunk systems left there and they are all slowly going away. A normal ham radio does neither trunking nor P25 so again, useless to have in a ham radio. 900MHz is about the same with the exception of 33cm but we still don't see many ham radios covering that high up.

So by your definintion, wideband reception above 512MHz is pointless in a ham radio and should not be a factor when choosing a radio. If you want to listen up there buy a scanner.

 

[ve2ihs]

@redbeard Excellent! That exactly what I needed to hear, as per all your response, I'll try to get hold of one of the last D74 out there and I really like that Icom r30.

 

[jonwienke]

@jonwienke in post #7, you said that the AnyTone AT-D878UV can send/receive text messages. I assumed that to mean APRS messages in the same manner that Kenwood (and Yaesu) APRS radios can receive/display APRS messages and have functions for the user to enter/send APRS messages.

Bridgecom's listing is at least partially incorrect. The 878 can at least receive DMR APRS position report packets, as shown in the photo I posted previously. The menu and CPS show no option for receiving analog APRS packets of any type.

The 878 has 3 options for SMS messages:

​

I don't know if any of the listed options involve APRS, or if they are all separate standards or protocols.

 

[N4DJC]

Get the D74A if you can find one. The APRS implementation is excellent.

 

[SuperG900]

I have an Anytone 878, and as far as I can tell, it can only squawk an APRS beacon - there's no APRS receive capability. On the analog side, there's just enough smarts to transmit an APRS packet. In digital (dAPRS) mode, it will send a beacon via DMR. This works quite well too.

As far as DMR SMS (and APRS messaging) - not sure if there is any sort of bridging available, I have been able to send an (BrandMeister) DMR SMS and bridge it over to cell phone in the past - IRC it took specially formatted message to do it.

 

[jonwienke]

I have an Anytone 878, and as far as I can tell, it can only squawk an APRS beacon - there's no APRS receive capability. On the analog side, there's just enough smarts to transmit an APRS packet. In digital (dAPRS) mode, it will send a beacon via DMR. This works quite well too.

See post #11. It has a photo of an 878 receiving a DMR APRS position beacon packet, and displaying range and bearing to the source radio. The 878 can only send analog APRS beacon packets, but it can send and receive DMR APRS beacon packets.