[aprssig] TM-D700 gps connector mod

[Dave Baxter]

Hi...

Chances are like I found in the past, many of the "consumer grade" 2.5mm
plugs, are too small to make a reliable connection in any 2.5mm jack.
It's as much a problem for D7 users, as anything.

Pro:	Nice mod, much better connection than whatever you do with a
mini jack plug, 2.5 or 3.5mm.

Con:	Pin's 1 & 9, Hmmmmm.   Hope nothing clashes when a PC is
connected with a 9 way straight cable, and something bangs heads, if
that would happen?   Kenwood's serial drivers have not exactly been
proved particularly rugged in the past.   Please mark up the back of
your radio, so (if you sell or loan it) people will know it's been
mod'd.   Even to remind you, some years from now.

In the "Olden" days, with D25 connectors, there was a secondary
communication channel specified, as well as the "normal" one we all
know.   Anyone with a Tek datacoms analyzer will know the pins that use.
HD15 connectors anybody?  (15 pins in the same form factor as a D9,
commonly used for VGA on the back of PC's.)

73

Dave G0WBX.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tapio Sokura [mailto:oh2kku at iki.fi] 
> Sent: 01 October 2009 00:14
> To: TAPR APRS Mailing List
> Subject: [aprssig] TM-D700 gps connector mod
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I finally got fed up with the flimsy 2.5mm stereo TRS socket 
> used in the Kenwood TM-D700 for GPS connections. I don't know 
> about others, but mine is constantly failing to produce a 
> reliable connection. In other words: 
> it fails reliably.
> 
> So I popped the covers of the radio and looked around a bit. 
> Then I decided to reroute the GPS communication lines to the 
> D9 serial port connector, because several of the D9 pins are 
> originally unused on the TM-D700. Now I have a solid GPS 
> connection. I wish I'd thought to do that earlier.
> 
> I took a few pics and added some more words here:
> http://wiki.ham.fi/Kenwood_TM-D700_gps_mod.en
> 
>    Tapio
> 
> 
>