Do You REALLY Need APRS? (Yaesu vs Kenwood)

I bought a Yaesu FT-5DR in May this year... and it's still in the box! The Kenwood TH-D75 was announced for release in January 2024. Let's compare the two radios to see which one is better of the two for the price.

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[thuff]

For APRS the D75 wins every time. The nice thing is the Kenwood has bluetooth data for APRS and works with APRSDroid.

[darylnd]

Current price for the D75 is $750 (Ham Radio Outlet; FT-5D currently is on sale for $370). That's a bit nuts for a HT, IMHO: I thought Yaesu was on drugs at $650 for the FTM-500DR (currently on sale for $480). I predict a lot of hams will buy the D75 and (as with the D74) seldom if ever take them afield, because they're "too expensive" to expose to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

I don't currently have a HT. I'm leaning towards the ID-52--a bit less stupid expensive than the D75, but coming down a bit and now showing up on the used market--because it uses the same batteries as my IC-705. OTOH, I may revamp my station entirely with an Elecraft KX-2 and a Yaesu VX-6R.

BTW, my hang gliding instructor, decades ago, was a transplanted Aussie named Hayden. Fun guy!

Merry Christmas! I'm off to do some antenna testing before a road trip. I'm planning POTA activations at Grand Canyon and Death Valley.

73 de AE6DD, Daryl, California

[islandmagicco]

If you have an iPhone or iPad and want to get more out of your TH-D75, consider getting the B.B. Link adapter. This adapter allows iOS devices to work with the Kenwood TH-D74 and TH-D75 over Bluetooth. With it, you can run apps like RadioMail for emails and aprsfi for GPS positioning and messaging, leveraging the powerful built-in packet TNC in the radio.

[FooBar]

44:12 the DTMF implementation on the D74 and D75 MUCH superior in terms of usability! just press PTT and press the individual keys, or select a preset DTMF stream

[DonzLockz]

D75 for me, eventually. Lol
Good to see you guys back at it.👍🤠

[JamesHannibalKHSR]

Thanks for the shoutout guys! Sorry I missed the livestream this time around.

[simongordon]

My big annoyance with icom is that it doesn’t do aprs it does dprs which is proprietary, and yaesu is the only company doing c4fm or fusion so effectively more proprietary

[simongordon]

In the USA he vx8 like the vx7 is quad band as also 222, you can also get a hand held Mike which has gps

[Peter_]

It is kind of funny how people judge a radio that nobody has seen or even tested saying ;-)

[jampskan]

Regarding sending DTMF on the Yaesu, while transmitting (pressing the PTT), a DTMF box appears on the bottom left of the screen, you tap that, and a keyboard appears on the LCD with appropriate numbers and letters A-D, as well as * and # to send DTMF tones. So, per 31:35 in this video, it is not a memory. That said, I hate the touch screen for this. I also hate it for APRS message typing/accessing menu's and everything else really (I've got fat fingers). Keyboard for the win. Also, those considering the Icom ID-52, it is a direct conversion HT for AM (and everything I think) radio, and will overload more easily when listening to the Air band. (as tested when I asked Ray Novak to check out the ID-52 at the Oshkosh air show, but his radio overloaded, and my 5D pulled in the signals strong and clear. It could just be less filtering as well I suppose.) I have the Yaesu for C4FM, and bought it new for $350 during the initial release receiving a free extra orange belt clip from HRO. I have no interest in other digital modes (and that's just based on what the repeaters in my area in 9 land use), so there is no reason to purchase the new Kenwood for me. That said, I just picked up a TH-D72 on ebay for $400 + taxes and shipping $429, so now I don't have to use both my baofeng & FT5D for working sats, but since I was using the internal record feature of the Yaesu, I now have to buy a recorder and find a convenient way to plug it in to the D72. I have used the camera mic for the yaesu, it is a gimmick, but would be nice for a large hamfest (sending images of radios to your crew you rolled in with about rigs/gear they want that you spotted at the flea market, if they have Yaesu's...), I wish there was just a built in standard open mode for these rigs to send pics between all radio manufactures... One more downside to the Yaesu, my volume knob, when moved, it also likes to get the VFO to move with it, not sure if that's just mine... Another gripe, the Yaesu also does a weird thing when scanning, where it doesn't display the current frequency being scanned in real time (the FT3D did this, the 5 does not) so, if you're scanning, you have no clue where you are in the spectrum until it stops on a frequency, which is mildly annoying. I would like to know how the scanning on the Kenwood is. Sorry for the book, these are my experiences/thoughts. Well done with the show!

[pcfreak]

The FT5D has manual DTFM. Just press PTT and then a button appears on screen to access the DTMF keyboard.

At least the Yaesu can handle a rain shower. The Kenwood is way to delicate for and HT and for $750 the Kenwood should be at least water resistant. Nope, a few rain drops will damage it and Kenwood will void your warranty. Buyer beware

[ManuelPinner]

These Two Radios I have because These are very High Quality Radios, the Yeasu is more Rugget then the Kenwood D75, andthe Kenwood is a Tri bander,

[okhouri]

The information they gave about how to send APRS messages on the 5D was completely wrong. You type those messages by using the on-screen keyboard

[ManuelPinner]

from 902 to 928 that's the amateur 33 center meter band,

[raymondmartin]

I don't want any rigs, such as these ht's
with digital modes, such as C4FM,
Yaesu Fusion, and DSTAR. Those modes sound awful, like operators
have marbles in their mouth on the
air.
Also everything I have read is that the
Kenwood D74 had a bad battery life. 😢

[NDJC]

The Yaesu APRS user interface is terrible. It’s much easier with the Kenwood 74/75. Especially sending msgs. I’ve owned all three and the Kenwood 74/75 is my choice. I like D Star and we use 220 here a fair amount. Touch screens on handhelds just aren’t my cup of tea.

Full duplex for FM satellites is a plus, but after a 100 contacts or so it’s so repetitive hearing the same stations calling. If Icom added full duplex to the 705……that would been game changing for sat ops. Sad but the 905 is the same no full duplex.

[erintaylor]

I think the big three need to survive. I won't buy the Chinese cheapos because that doesn't fund the quality and innovation that these guys can.

[tmccusk]

If the D75 doesn't have full duplex it's a loser!

[bruehlt]

APRS should come standard on the flagship radio hands down. For the prices they charge the D75 will be a better, more feature rich HT than what Icom and Yaesu offer.