[aprssig] Considering buying a D7 - Some Basic Questions

[Stephen H. Smith]

Steve Noskowicz wrote:
>   It'll be nice to have the portable APRS as well as the Sky Command 
> capabilities.  Neither the latest QST article on the (G), nor the original
> article gave info about what is included with the radio (except the GPS cable).
>
>  Specific questions:
>
> Does it have an in-radio charger?
>   

The radio's DC input can accept 12 VDC directly.  With 12 VDC in, the TX 
power increases over that from the 9.6 VDC battery alone.

> If so, is it a wall transformer / power supply with that really small inverted
> (female) power plug?
>   

Yes, it is a 12 VDC "wall wart" with the submini coax power plug on it's 
cable. 

> Can the radio transmit on the above charger?
>   

No.  The charger can't supply the full TX current drain. It falls out of 
regulation and puts AC hum on the TX signal.

> Is the supplied GPS cable &  2.5mm connector similar to the D700 one? (very
> thin, soft and fairly long)
>   

It's the same cable with the same pinout.

> What is the PC connector?
>
>   

Another 2.5mm stereo mini-jack. 


> I'm pretty sure the interface is TTL and that there are level converter designs
> on the web.  (I've designed and built my own level converters for the 706 and
> TH-F6A)
>
>   

You don't need any level converters.   The serial I/O works directly 
with standard RS232 serial ports.  It's NOT like earlier serial I/Os on 
Kenwood's earlier HF rigs that required optional external adapter boxes 
or level shifters to work with normal serial ports.


> Comments welcome on:
>     I believe I've heard that the battery life is a bit short.  The ARRL
> articles say 90ma drain Rx.  That's fairly high.  The one they are selling is a
> 9.6v. 600mah battery. instead of the 6v. 650 mah.  which amounts to 6-2/3 hours
> Rx.
>   

Actually the run time would be less for that mA-h battery capacity since 
you wouldn't want to TOTALLY run down the battery before recharging.



--

Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
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