‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  
WITHIN THAT PERIOD, KENWOOD UP DATED THE FIRMWARE AND THE REPEATERS LIST
TWICE.  I APPRECIATE THAT THEY INCLUDED DETAILS ABOUT WHAT WAS UPDATED IN
EACH RELEASE.  IM NOT SURE IF YOU CAN UPDATE THE FIRMWARE VIA BLUETOOTH,
BUT I WOULD NOT TRY IT, AND I STRONGLY RECOMMEND USING THE MICRO USB CABLE
FOR THIS SPECIFIC APPLICATION.  YOU CAN FIND ALL THE SOFTWARE, THE FIRMWARE
UPDATE, AND A FULL MANUAL ONLINE.  KENWOOD ALSO PROVIDES, FREE OF CHARGE,
THE ARFC D74 PROGRAM FOR CONTROLLING THE

PRODUCT REVIEW  KENWOOD TH D74A ANALOG AND D STAR VHF/UHF TRANSCEIVER
DIGITAL AND ANALOG OPERATION ON 144, 222, AND 430 MHZ, PLUS A WHOLE LOT
MORE.  REVIEWED BY PASCAL VILLENEUVE, VA2PV VA2PV ARRL.ORG  AT THE 2016
DAYTON HAMVENTION, WE WERE EXPECTING THE RELEASE OF A NEW KENWOOD DIGITAL
RADIO.  MOST OF US THOUGHT THAT THIS NEW RIG WOULD BE DOING DMR DIGITAL
MOBILE RADIO ALTHOUGH, FOR YEARS, THERE HAD BEEN RUMORS ABOUT KENWOOD
BUILDING A D STAR RADIO.  SOME PEOPLE EVEN THOUGHT THAT KENWOOD MIGHT GO
ITS OWN WAY WITH ITS COMMERCIAL DIGITAL MODE, NEXEDGE NXDN, LIKE YAESU DID
WITH THE SYSTEM FUSION RADIOS C4FM.  ON THE FIRST MORNING OF THE
CONVENTION, I RUSHED DIRECTLY TO THE KENWOOD BOOTH AND SAW THE NEW D STAR
RADIO AT THAT TIME, IT DIDNT HAVE ANY NAME OR MODEL NUMBER.  THE
REPRESENTATIVE TOOK THE RADIO OUT OF THE GLASS CASE.  I ASKED HIM IF I
COULD FILM IT FOR MY FRIEND WITH MY SMALL ACTION CAMERA, AND HE AGREED, BUT
I COULD NOT RECORD ANY AUDIO.  THAT NIGHT, I POSTED THE SHORT VIDEO ON MY
YOUTUBE CHANNEL LABOENLIGNE.CA, AND 12 HOURS LATER, IT ALREADY HAD ABOUT
5,000 VIEWS.  THIS CONFIRMED HOW MUCH THE HAM COMMUNITY WAS WAITING FOR
THIS RADIO.  IN THE PAST, THERE WAS ONLY ONE MANUFACTURER OF D STAR RADIOS
FOR THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKET.  SOME FOLKS THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A
PROPRIETARY PROTOCOL AND STAYED AWAY BECAUSE OF THIS.  THE TRUTH IS THAT D

STAR DIGITAL SMART TECHNOLOGIES FOR AMATEUR RADIO WAS DEVELOPED BY THE
JAPAN AMATEUR RADIO LEAGUE JARL AND MAY BE USED BY ANY MANUFACTURER.  NOW,
WITH TWO DIFFERENT VENDORS IN THE MARKET, MAYBE MORE HAMS WILL JOIN THIS
DIGITAL MODE.  INTRODUCTION KENWOOD DOES NOT RELEASE A NEW MODEL VERY
OFTEN, BUT WHEN IT DOES, ITS ALWAYS A LEAP FORWARD.  THE TH D74A IS A
TRIBANDER, OPERATING ON 144, 222, AND 430 MHZ.  I HAVE A MULTITUDE OF
DIGITAL HOTSPOTS IN MY SHACK, AND THIS EXTRA BAND 222 MHZ IS MORE THAN
WELCOME.  FOR YEARS, KENWOOD HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR THEIR AUTOMATIC PACKET
REPORTING SYSTEM APRS CAPABLE RADIOS, AND THIS ONE IS NO EXCEPTION.  IT
OFFERS D STAR AND FM TRANSMISSION ON ALL THREE BANDS, AND IT CAN RECEIVE
AM, LSB, USB, AND CW AS WELL.  BUT THATS NOT ALL IT ALSO OFFERS GENERAL
COVERAGE RECEPTION FROM 100 KHZ TO 76 MHZ, 76 TO 108 MHZ WFM, AND 108 TO
524 MHZ.  YES, IT COVERS THE HF BANDS IN ALL MODES, ALONG WITH THE AM AND
FM ROADCAST BANDS.  ITS EQUIPPED WITH ADJUSTABLE IF FILTERS FOR SSB AND CW
RECEPTION, AND YOU CAN EVEN ADJUST THE CW PITCH.  IT ALSO COVERS THE AIR
BAND IN AM.  FOR THOSE WITH VISION PROBLEMS, YOU CAN ACTIVATE THE VOICE
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ