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FT3DR or D74 for APRS

binrat

binrat

WDX Club Coordinator
Staff member
Nov 5, 2008
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The Great White north
OK folks,
I'm primarily portable (SOTA) and I am looking at a HT capable to send APRS messages to Spot myself. So does anyone here have experience with both radios??
My criteria is easy of operation when sitting on a summit and sending an APRS message.
 

DON’T DO THE FT3DR! Kenwood D74 all the way. I have the D74 and love it...was going to buy the new Yaesu but thank God I read the reviews. Kenwood is hands down the APRS leader.

My D74 catches more packets than my FTM400XDR. The FTM400 is using a diamond 7900 super gainer roof mounted on the truck. The D74 is using a rubber duck. Don’t get blinded by the super nice display on the FT3...the D74 is nothing to complain about.
 
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KM6RPT said:
I see it on sale at Ham Radio Outlet and Gigaparts now. Why will it be cheaper in April and in Arizona?
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I'm from Canada. The local store is $150 more than HRO. That's including exchange etc. I'm headed to AZ for holidays in April.
But I got a sweet deal on a lightly used D-74.
 
Can confirm the APRS modem on the FT3D is junk in comparison to those Kenwood uses. Mine has trouble decoding signals that are sometimes as high as S9. The TM-D710 I have will decode S3 with ease.
 
I found a very gently used D-74. Battery life bewteen charges on those really sucks. I left the truck with the radio beaconing as recommended for hiking, Never made it to the summit before the battery was dead. Sold the radio and made some money on it. Local radio store matched the HRO price for FT3DR. Its ok for APRS but with a lot longer battery life.
 
Mudfoot said:
Did this virus crap change affect you're trip?
Click to expand...
Oh yes, No Az in April. Then work is cutting hours in attempts not to layoff people. So I'm on 12 days off with time on my hands and generally crappy weather. I'm making light weight 2 mr yagis for all my SOTA friends around here.
I may put up a 40-10 efhw if I can get motivated to do so.
 

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