APRS Radio comparison chart
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Radios
Comparison
TH-D7
TH-D72
TH-D74
TM-D700
TM-D710
TM-D710G
VX-8
FT-1D
FT-2D
FTM-100D
FTM-350
FTM-400D


This is a comparison chart of what APRS functions each radio has.

TH-
D7		 TH-
D72		 TH-
D74		 TM-
D700		 TM-
D710		 TM-
D710G		 VX-
8		 VX-
8D		 VX-
8G		 FT-
1D		 FT-
2D		 FTM-
100D		 FTM-
350		 FTM-
400D
Year Released 1999 2010 2016 2000 2007 2013 2009 2009 2010 2012 2015 2015 2010 2012
In production No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No Yes Yes No Yes
Built in GPS No Yes Yes No No Yes No Optional GPS/Mic Yes Yes Yes Yes Optional GPS Yes
Smart Beaconing No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Voice Alert As tone Yes Yes As tone Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Display interrupt Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tune Function No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
QSY frequency No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
QSY Tone No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
QSY Offset No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
AvMap compatible Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No ? ? Yes No
APRS output NMEA NMEA &
Kenwood		 USB & BT NMEA NMEA &
Kenwood		 NMEA &
Kenwood		 No No NMEA No ? ? NMEA No
Auto message reply No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Digipeater No Yes No Limited Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
Station list 40 100 100 40 100 100 50 50 50 60 60 100 100 100
Message list 16 100 100 16 100 100 20 30 30 60 60 100 100 100
Packet with PC Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No ? ? No No
WX interface No Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No No ? No No
User upgradable No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes
Colour Display No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No Yes

Year Released
The year the radio was first released.

In Production
Is the radio still being made.

Built in GPS
The radio comes with a GPS unit built into it.

Smart Beaconing
Can vary the time your beacon is transmitted, based on speed and change of bearing.

Voice Alert
Has the ability to set a CTSS tone on the APRS band packets. Handy to know if another station is within voice range (This will not stop other packets being decoded).

Display Interrupt
When an APRS beacon is received the display is interrupted and a summary of the information is displayed for a few seconds (this is optional).

QSY Frequency
Can transmit the frequency the other half of the radio is tuned to.

QSY Tone
Can transmit tone information the other half of the radio is tuned to.

QSY Offset
Can transmit split channel information the other half of the radio is tuned to.

Tune function
Can change channel at the press of a button to QSY information.

AvMap compatible
Has an output that can be feed into a AvMap. Please see below about the differences between NMEA and Kenwood format.

APRS Output
Outputs serial information that can be fed to a GPS unit to be displayed on it's screen. Currently their are two formats, NMEA and Kenwood. Several GPS units support NMEA and the AvMap supports Kenwood as well. The advantage with the Kenwood format (if the receiving unit is compatible) is the station will come up on the display as an icon (i.e. Car, Walker, Boat etc.). The NMEA format will just show as a dot.

Auto message reply
When you receive a message it can be programmed to automatically reply (i.e. Sorry I'm not at the radio right now, or I'm currently driving I will get back to you as soon as possible).

Digipeater
The APRS network is built up of digipeaters and igates relaying tactical information.
If the radio has this function it can be used as a digipeater, but please use this function sensibly. If you already have good coverage, turning this function on will just degrade the network.
N.B. In some countries turning this on could break the terms of your licence.

Station list
How many APRS stations the radio will store. As new ones come in the old ones will be deleted automatically.

Message list
How many APRS messages the radio will store.

Packet with PC
Can be connected to a PC for APRS or Packet use (i.e. using Ui-View).

WX interface
The ability to connect a weather station to the radio to transmit weather data over APRS.

User upgradable
The ability for the user to be able to upgrade the firmware when it becomes available. A special lead might be needed.

Colour Display
Has the radio got a colour display.