Ham Radio 2.0: Episode 64 - Unboxing and Testing the Kenwood TH-D74A Triband DSTAR HT

Kenwood has upgraded their game and jumped onto the DSTAR bandwagon. This Triband HT includes the 220MHz band, and is capable of DSTAR on all 3 bands. Today I looked through the menus, do some setups, and performs some analog QSOs on this new HT. #kc5hwb #texasjproductions

[@Brewdog2001]

I get that these are expensive, but at the same point we live in a world where just about everyone has a cell phone that costs as much as these radios and we buy a new one of those every 2 years. So far from what I have read and what I have seen this radio seems to be a very good package of features and the audio is the most clear I have ever heard.

[@JohnDoe-zg6fn]

I would much rather carry a radio for comms than a phone.

[@thedwighty]

Mine arrived today. My first radio.

[@joeframo3347]

Jason I love how you set your platform really good buddy you're one of the best on KZbin when it comes to discussions and new radios like the th74 a 5 Watts on 220 wow I love it thanks again from Atlanta Georgia

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks. I love 220. I'm going to do some 220 USB videos upcoming.

[@DinoVelvet512]

cool channel. thanks for taking the time to review the ham rigs

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks for watching

[@MrBracey1970]

I’ve just bought one today,can’t wait to learn what it can do!

[@hamhouke]

So much for the price coming down. These things are made of unobtanium now. If you can find one, the are going used for $700-800+

[@Fraiyia]

Paris Texas ! I did my cross country flights out at PRX.

[@HamRadio2]

Great folks out there

[@RS-xn7ej]

I liked the real world QSO at 20:30 buddy, well done and thanks for the review. I am in the UK. Subbed to your channel too.

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks for watching.

[@joeframo3347]

Hellyeah Jason you're showing us to Kenwood hell yeah

[@tobin292]

Could you please do a comparison of the Kenwood D74A and the Icom ID-51A Plus (or Plus 2). I would love to see how they compare. Thanks!

[@HamRadio2]

I actually have both of those radios, but I am such a DSTAR Noob. I have been doing some playing with it, in attempts to learn it more, but I don't know it well enough yet. I will consider this though, thanks for watching

[@michaelcolgan3410]

Ham Radio 2.0 l

[@ForensicPI]

Thanks for your video, might get one :)

[@senseidadproductions]

Thanks for you review - as always they are very informative. Have you or have you heard of any better antennas to get for the unit? Keep up the great work!

[@HamRadio2]

That;s funny because I JUST bought a new antenna for this radio 2 days ago. Here is the one I got, and so far it works GREAT! amzn.to/2LcrT51

[@senseidadproductions]

@@HamRadio2 thanks! i'll give it a try.

[@petbytes7167]

Did you happen to try the 15” high gain antenna on the D74 to see if there was any improvement over the stock antenna? I use a Diamond SRH320A on my D72A and F6A which performs much better than the stock antennas. de K6KNS

[@HamRadio2]

No, haven't tried that.

[@roberthousedorfii1743]

wow, who was the 2ND guy who was commenting, after all was said and said, and what radio was HE using? his radio sounded frikkin amazing!!

[@322doug]

whats the title of the general class lessons, or have u not had time to post it yet, just checking..... didnt wanna miss them.

[@HamRadio2]

Hammer USN Not posted yet. They're scheduled to post this week

[@322doug]

ok, man, just checking , dont wanna miss em

[@concealed-tech]

Not connecting to a reflector is like yelling from a mall parking lot. Need to get into the food court to try all the vendors. Start with some of the big ones like ref 30c and 1c and branch from there. Once you get use to the ref system there is dcs and xreflector as well. I ended up with a 2m dvap so I can walk about .5 mile around my house and connect to whatever ref I want. Good for long qso not occupying the repeaters.

[@HamRadio2]

Yes true, but someone else listening to that same repeater in DSTAR should hear me. The problem is that this repeater is actually a Fusion repeater with a DSTAR option connected to it (some device purchased at Dayton this year) so it is unlikely that anyone is listening to DSTAR on this machine.

[@concealed-tech]

Is it listed as a d-star machine or a fusion machine in like rfinder and whatnot? No one will ever use it if that can't find it. Also if you are connected to say 30c on that machine and someone with d-star keyed in that repeater they could still here you. They would just here everyone else that your connected to as well. So if me and you are talking and say jimbo connects to that local repeater he would just hear the link and me and you talking.

[@HamRadio2]

Andrew Clark It's been submitted to dstarusers but I've not seen it show up yet

[@mark12.31]

As always, great review Jason! Looking forward to seeing where the price on these settles in 6-8 months and also wondering (assuming?) if a mobile version of the radio is in the works down the road. Maybe even with a color touch screen? Hmm...

[@HamRadio2]

Mark C Would love to see a mobile. I've not heard of one though.

[@Spartan483]

can you do a update on this radio and place more info on the D- Star portion Thanks KD2LVG 73

[@HamRadio2]

I might do that eventually, but I rarely use DSTAR.

[@twohandsandaradio]

Just heard on our local net that Kenwood has stopped production of the D74A.

[@rckvra]

What is the battery life on this radio I just purchased it.

[@HamRadio2]

Mine will last 2-3 days on standby. If you key up alot, it will run it down faster, so it depends on how much you use it to talk.

[@stephenbrett4216]

Not good

[@denisemcjunkins4391]

Waiting on the radio to aeeice and then maybe I will try the online testing in a bit. I ordered several of the books. Technical,general and extra class study books. Hopefully the testing will resume soon.

[@denisemcjunkins4391]

I think etsy has a case for the kenwood that will protect it more. The kenwood reminds me of how I had to type in programs on an old gateway computer years ago. Maybe screen brightness and volume causes battery to use up quicker.

[@HamRadio2]

Yes, the screen brightness does affect it

[@tonycantrell9547]

I'm not a radio guru like you,lol. but I have ICOM id-51 and it's kick my learning curve lacking ass.

[@HamRadio2]

I just need to take the time and learn it. I've been spending my time on other things recently.

[@pattansey9201]

I have a D74 and have registered and tried to use this on a repeater and it is kicking my but. I am

[@jasontremblay1713]

just new at ham radio, whats HT stand for

[@HamRadio2]

Handie Talkie. A handheld radio.

[@jasontremblay1713]

thank you it 899.00 here in Ontario Canada, oh what does it come with to charge it, you said you didn't like the fat there was no desk top charger,,

[@meuswe]

Can you communicate on this from coast to coast?

[@HamRadio2]

Yes

[@mattsmithdoctorrules2256]

@@HamRadio2 can it work with the winsyestem and baynetsyestem and carlasyestem7? I wana be able to TX and RX on those

[@denisemcjunkins4391]

I used to be on ham radio in the 70s and 80s. I used my dads call letters on tye radio. Now I want to get back in to ham radio. I purchased a repeater directory so I would know what was in our area. There are several d-star repeaters in our area. I was dexisibg between the icom and the kenwood. After watching several cideos I dexided on the kenwood d-74.

[@peytonbass5396]

I hear so many of the experienced guy's state not to start out with this radio as your first HT. Any reason for that? I've purchased the obligatory UV-5R, the 878+ and now the TH-d74A. Of the three, I would say that I prefer the Kenwood. But I hear some many say not to use it as a new Tech. Why is that?

[@RonHamilton]

Price?

[@alexb1903]

price did not drop here in South-Africa since publishing of your video....

[@HamRadio2]

I'm sorry to hear that. They've only dropped a bit here around me.

[@radiohobbyist13]

The stock battery on the Icom ID -51A PLUS is only 1150 mAh, on the Kenwood it's 1800 mAh. And the 1880 mAh battery for the Icom is a whopping $100, are they out of their minds?

[@aaronisbell8592]

Am I missing something? At around 8:25 you say it's a japanese made radio then within 1-2 minutes you show the box and it says " Made in Malaysia".

[@HamRadio2]

Kenwood is a Japanese company. But like many other companies, they have hardware made in other places. So Kenwood is Japanese, but this model is apparently made in Malaysia (lots of Motorola hardware is also made in Malaysia)

[@aaronisbell8592]

Thanks for the Reply. Do you have any more impressions of the radio other than the unboxing video?

[@HamRadio2]

I use this radio often as my daily carry and love it. The battery life could be improved, but other than that, it is solid

[@DavidLindes]

Hi Jason (and/or anyone seeing this that cares to respond)... I've been off-air for a long time, and just looking to get back up again, and trying to decide what to get. This is currently among my top contenders, but I'm doing more research in various ways before hitting that buy button, and I've got a question for you. I noticed this video is from way back in 2016 (so just over 4 years ago)... Any idea what the likelihood is that Kenwood would come out with something to replace this any time soon(ish)? If it seems likely, I might just get a cheap analog rig (which I might do anyway, even if I get this) for the moment, and wait to go digital for the next iteration... But if it's likely to be a while, I might go ahead and buy now. Any thoughts? Thanks, and 73s!

[@rogerparrett3242]

Just found your channel. Excellent! Subscribed! 73...Roger / NQ8RP

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks for watching

[@kimberlyalcantarabayo678]

Is the Display Scratch Proof ?

[@HamRadio2]

Not that they have advertised. For the price, it should be.

[@kimberlyalcantarabayo678]

Thanks buds... my husband will love this rig ...I just hope they can send it to the Philippines. Though he's from Las Vegas but he's using his FCC Ham License here. Represent ! :)

[@1800sfarmhouse]

Use a cellphone screen protector. I did, works great.

[@1800sfarmhouse]

Why can't I get my 74 into DR mode. This radio is to advanced for my mild retardation....

[@radiohobbyist13]

Will there be a mobile version?

[@HamRadio2]

I'm hoping

[@slik560]

Good review. I'm likely going to get one of these soon as the local ham radio store [yes, they still DO exist] has them on sale for $550. Lots of strong points, the biggest being that it was not made in freaking CHINA. :) The testing seemed a little suspect.....that a China radio would sound better? Hmmmm. I would put Kenwood WAY above the chinese units.

[@hnbbs]

Nice video. Jim N0UWY

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks Jim, 73

[@kimberlyalcantarabayo678]

LOL Baofeng sounds better than a Kenwood TH-D74...now that's funny

[@Sam-w9des]

yeah and look at the price difference lol

[@komodo7184]

you can adjust that in the EQ settings

[@erics6177]

+1 baofeng ftw!

[@user-jt5vm3mi1w]

What model was the Baofeng?

[@troyr57]

why don't you record the actual un-boxing??

[@HamRadio2]

LOL, well people have complained that the unboxing is unnecessary, but others have told me that they liked that part. So I do unboxings of most radios, this one I didn't do.

[@troyr57]

yes, I was joking, anyway I had called you yesterday about the one spot, hopefully I will get with you later about that. K5TLR

[@traildriver2te10m2]

Прикольный чувак! Даже с оператором не хочет делиться, вот жмот :) Но все равно в теме.

[@clifflynn19]

LOL bout fell out my chair when he said a 30 dollar radio sounded better than your 700 dollar radio (btw I mean this in best way not trolling per say)

[@HamRadio2]

Yeah... well I was about 3 miles from the repeater during that QSO, and I tried 3 radios. All sounded about the same. The Kenwood is really overpriced at $650, imo. The Baofeng, while not as good in quality, does work well for a $65 radio (this was the triban UV-5X3, not the $30 UV-5R) but still..... he was talking about the highs/lows of the TX sound on each rig.

[@jimfielder]

If you delve deeper into the Kenwood settings there is 5 band audio equalizer to optimize the Tx and Rx. So maybe the settings were not set, and then too, BaoFeng fanatics always think they are best.

[@radiohobbyist13]

Imagine doing D-Star on 222 simplex, almost as good as being encrypted. No D-Star 222 repeaters though, and probably never will be.

[@Dave_N2OA]

There's a few. I'm putting one up this year. Fingers crossed that there is a mobile version around the corner.

[@jiml40]

It should be Fusion😊😎

[@ThatCleanMT]

jiml40 no. It shouldn’t.

[@timsavage8624]

I have a Kenwood TH-D74A and it says in the manual that it will do DMR. I have not figured out yet how to get it to do either D-Star or DMR. I would love to find out how to do these things. Please dedicate another episode on how to do those things when , of course, you learn how. Thanks, Tim - WA4PTZ Knoxville, Tennessee

[@HamRadio2]

The D74A will NOT do DMR. Where in the manual are you seeing this? This is a DSTAR/analog radio only.

[@user-hh3lg4ro4g]

Why is it so hard to make this kind of digital tri band radio with freaking touch screen already ??!! What kind of madness is going on in HAM industry !!

[@HamRadio2]

Unless you have the fingers of a Gnome or an Infant, then touchscreen on this radio would be worthless.

[@LTVoyager]

Touch screens are old technology. Voice recognition and command is the way to go.

[@williamlutz5566]

thanks! KG4NWQ

[@stephenbrett4216]

Turn bleep off

[@enternamehere6574]

lol kenwood just makes overpriced trash

[@HamRadio2]

Disagree with that, they are some of the best radios.

[@1800sfarmhouse]

You just can't afford Kenwood, stick to your Chinese crap

[@davidjaxson59]

What is the point of making such a comment? If you don't like Kenwood don't purchase one, but there is no value in insulting those that like Kenwood.