[aprssig] Considering buying a D7 - Some Basic Questions
Stephen H. Smith
wa8lmf2 at aol.com
Fri Mar 28 12:03:04 EDT 2008
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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