[aprssig] D710 standalone control head!

[Stephen H. Smith]

Ken H> wrote:
>
>
> On 9/29/07, *Bob Bruninga* <bruninga at usna.edu 
> <mailto:bruninga at usna.edu>> wrote:
>
>     Today at DCC, kenwood announced that the new D710 control head
>     will be sold separately too, since it can be used for APRS with
>     any radio, not just the D710.
>
>     It will make a nice stand alone APRS unit in many mobile
>     applications that need two-way mobile APRS functions.
>
>     wb4apr, Bob
>
>  
> Bob, can you talk a bit more about this new D710 head?  How do you 
> mean it can be used separate TX and RX audio of any other rig?  Does 
> this mean for folks who have lost the control head to the D700A - this 
> 710 head can be used to put the radio back in service?
>
>
>  How can this D710 control head be used for a "stand alone APRS 
> unit"?  Just the "head" connected to a GPS?  Where is the amp?  Freq 
> control is in the head?  OR do you mean this could serve as a TNC with 
> another radio/GPS system? 



Think of it as a TNC and an LCD text display in a box sort of like a 
HamHud.   The GPS plugs into the head.  Then the head connects with 
receive audio, tx audio and PTT only to the target radio.   The radio 
control functions (channel, volume, squelch, memories, etc) don't do 
anything.  

Ideally you would use the 6-pin mini-DIN data/packet connector on the 
back of many radios to connect it.   Or perhaps the 13-pin DIN connector 
on the back of a Kenwood TS-2000 where you can pick up the RX audio of 
each of the two radios separately, along with squelch indicator, tx 
audio and PTT. 



One question I have is:

Does the head have some kind of RS-232 serial port connection on it so 
that you could connect it to an external computer with APRS program as 
you do in the D700/710 "packet " mode.





--

Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
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