[chirp_users] Observations: Kenwood TM-D700A VHF/UHF Radio

[mark at marwalk.com]

This is my experience so far with CHIRP and the TM-D700A radio. The radio
receives input from CHIRP in Live mode, with changes being in near real-time
on the control head. Turning the radio off and on and then re-downloading
the memory slots displays what was entered previously (of course it would,
why are you mentioning that?). I can understand why RT Systems stopped
supporting this model calling it a “cranky” radio. Here are some observed
anomalies, and the solutions I found to work after much experimentation:

*	Although the frequencies and memory names from CHIRP stick with the
radio, the Tones do not, and even if the correct tone is there, moving to
another memory slot and back to the previous memory loses the Tone setting.
This was odd as the re-download from the radio had the correct tones still
there, while the radio [F] --> [T.SEL] displayed a completely different and
as far as I can tell unrelated tone frequency. The solution to this has been
to load the memory into the VFO and enter the correct tone in VFO mode; then
re-save the complete setting back to its memory slot. Don’t hold the M.IN
button too long (> 1s) or it will enter as Split mode (±), and that’s a
cul-de-sac not to be trapped in (the escape is going into VFO mode and back
to the intended memory slot using another memory slot that’s in the proper
+/- offset for the target repeater). It’s unclear to me why this radio just
won’t accept what it’s told to configure.
*	This radio pays attention to which Band it’s in (see TM-D700 Manual,
p.41). By default Band A (the Left knob) is for VHF, and Band B (the Right
knob) is for UHF. I’ve learned to be sure to bring up for PTT in the Band
associated with the frequency in a specific memory slot (listening to
anything on either Band works fine with no problem). That also is the case
for programming a memory slot, that is, program VHF frequencies with Band A
and UHF frequencies with Band B, including correcting the Tone setting that
it received from CHIRP and didn’t keep.
*	I’m not sure this is something that CHIRP can solve: The Repeater
Book look ups contain errors in the Tone settings. A couple of examples I’m
directly familiar with are:

*	The 146.13/73 repeater in Frederick, MD operates on Tone only (not
CTCSS). The Repeater Book CHIRP lookup displays this repeater as TSQL (which
sets the radio into CTCSS mode when applied). This repeater does not provide
a downlink tone, resulting in dead silence in CTCSS mode.
*	The 146.295/895 repeater in Manchester, MD is a multi-access
repeater listed in the manually accessed Repeater Book listing as:
146.8950            -0.6 MHz              CSQ / 107.2        Manchester
Carroll   N3KZS   OPEN    FM AllStar IRLP
CHIRP will not load the listing for this repeater from its Repeater Book
lookup saying this radio does not support Cross Tone mode:
[146.895000/-0.600/107.2] Tone Mode: Cross; Cross Mode: -> Tone
However, I’ve successfully accessed this repeater with this radio using the
107.2 tone listed, after manually entering it into its memory slot.

 

Hope these observations help people use CHIRP to help them work through the
TM-D700A radio’s “crankiness.”

 

Thanks,
Mark
AC3EW

 

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