Back to Home Technical Information on

Land Mobile Radio Equipment

Compiled by Mike Morris WA6ILQ from donations from several folks
Click here or on the logo above for the main Kenwood web site
 


Contact / Service / Parts Information:
  USA West Coast           USA East Coast           Canada          
  Kenwood Communications Corp.
2201 East Dominguez Street
PO Box 22745
Long Beach, CA 90801-5745 USA
Customer support: 310-639-4200
Repair locations and parts: 800-KENWOOD
(or) 800-536-9663
Fax: 310-537-8235
http://www.kenwoodusa.com
Kenwood Corporate Offices
3975 Johns Creek Court Suite 300
Suwanee, GA 30024
Main: (678) 474-4700
Fax: (678) 474-4730
http://www.kenwood.net
Kenwood Electronics Canada Inc.
6070 Kestrel Road
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5T1S8
 


  Kenwood Service Center West
13030 Alondra Blvd., Suite 104
Cerritos, CA 90703-2257
Repairs Only: (562) 483-874
Fax: (562) 483-8749
Kenwood Service Center East
829 Lynnhaven Pkwy., Suite 130
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Repairs Only: (757) 340-1702
Fax: (757) 340-6809
 


  Pacific Coast Parts
Orders: (800) 262-1312
www.pacparts.com
Kenwood Amateur Parts
(Also known as East Coast Transistor)
Orders: (800) 637-0388
www.kenwoodparts.com



Note that the contents of this page, like most here at www.repeater-builder.com, are totally dependent on donations of information.
If you have a hint, or a useful trick, please consider wiring it up, writing it up and sending it in.

Kenwood Amateur Radio products:

If you need help on a Kenwood amateur product, well as of May 2005 (the time of this writing), there are over 150 "Kenwood" groups on Yahoo Groups alone, plus there are a number of other web sites that cater to the Kenwood Amateur Radio enthusiast, so there is no point in covering here what can be found elsewhere...

However there isn't much out there on using Kenwood commercial equipment in the amateur radio world... but you can check out any of these Yahoo! Groups (this is a partial list, as of May 2005): (all are ...@yahoogroups.com)

Kenwood-TK-30-90-Series-Mobiles                     (TK730 & 790 series)
Kenwood_LMR                     "LMR" is the actual name for commercial two-way radio ("Land Mobile Radio")
kenwoodlmr
Kenwood2Way
kenwood_commercial_radios1
Kenwood_commercial_radio
Kenwood_05s                     (only the TK-705(D) (VHF) and TK-805(D) (UHF) models)
Kenwood_TKSeriesRadios
kenwoodtk2140_3140

The number of Kenwood-related groups has no doubt expanded since the above list was created.   I have no doubt that you will find a yahoogroup or web site that caters to your model Kenwood ham radio.

We do have a few Kenwood-related downloads here, simply because we couldn't find that info anywhere else so had to dig it up ourselves. Once we had it there was no sense not to make it available to other hams...

Information and Modifications
Repairing the Toshiba S-AV17 RF power hybrid   Used in the TM-241, TM-741 2m module, and others. By Kevin Custer W3KKC
How to mod a Kenwood TK-805 for UHF link or remote base operation   349KB PDF by Dwayne at LDG Electronics
PS-30 Schematic (with repair notes)   904KB courtesy A. Nony Mous
Anybody have the full manual?
A library of 16 different microphone, speaker-mic, accessory plug, etc. Kenwood connector diagrams   202 KB PDF
A drawing of the 6-pin RJ-style microphone connector on the TK-705 / 805, the TK-760/860 and several other models.   4KB GIF
The Kenwood PG-4S programming cable is used to program a Kenwood TM-V7A or a TM-G707A. You can make your own using info from the KC7ZRU web site page on the PG4S. Supposedly you can use an inexpensive KPG-4 (6 pin) or KPG-46 (8 pin) cable from eBay and an adapter made from a 6-pin or 8-pin jack and the plug end of a PS/2 style PC keyboard or mouse extension cord.
You can download the software for it from Kenwood using these directions (from an email from Kenwood):
Dear Kenwood Customer:

Thank you for your e-mail. 

You may download the TM-G707A or TM-V7A programmimg software from our web page:
1) Go to www.kenwood.net 
2) Click on Amateur Radio 
3) Click on Downloads 
4) Click on MCP-RCP Software 
5) Click on TM-G707A (download MCP-G707) or click on TM-V7A (download MCP-V7)

Information on how to program your TM-G707A or TM-V7 from your PC:
The optional programming cable is a PG-4S, you will probably need an adapter 
to go from a DB25 to a DB9. Try the Radio Shack # 26-269. 

If you get a request for a username, and password use a different browse other 
than Netscape Communicator, or Navigator try Internet Explorer. There is NO 
requirement for a password or user name to access the software on our web 
site. 

You will need to use the COM1 or COM2 on your PC, and NOTHING CAN SHARE THAT 
PORT (example mouse) Again nothing can share those ports need for programming. 
If you have any errors, or time out messages, these are normally due to your 
PC settings, and not the radio.

PC Settings: 
1. Click on Start 
2. Click on Settings 
3. Click on Control Panel 
4. Click on Systems 
5. Click on Hardware 
6. Click on Device Manager 
7. Click on Ports (Com & LPT) 
8. Click on Communications Port (Com 1) 
9. Click on Port Settings 

Now set as follows: 
Bits Per Second: 9600 
Data Bits: 8 
Parity: NONE 
Stop Bits: 1 
Flow Control: Xon/Xoff 

If you need further assistance, please e-mail us again. 
Sincerely, Kenwood Amateur Radio Customer Support 
The files you actually receive from that download are Mg70710.exe (TM-G707) and Mv7110.exe (TM-V7A).
Local copies are here (in zip format): Mg707110.zip and Mv7110.zip.
Modifying the Kenwood "packet" connector...
Most of the newer Kenwood amateur mobile radios have a "packet" connector on them. All of these radios have a VERY annoying characteristic that shows up if you try to use the radio as a remote base or as a mobile repeater: the COS pin is carrier driven, not audio mute driven. This means that if you put the receiver into CTCSS mode the COS output still tracks the channel activity, not the squelch opening. Kenwood needs to change the firmware to add yet another menu item, one that selects the COS output to one of three modes: (1) channel activity driven (the current behavior), (2) CTCSS driven or (3) receiver unmuting driven (which takes into account the carrier/CTCSS mode). Radios with built-in TNCs (like the TM-D700) should have one additional mode: CD driven (i.e. the output is active during a valid packet signal).
Until Kenwood gets their act together, here's a quickie mod, courtest of Ken Arc AH6LE at Arcom, who says that Eric W2ZT first posted it:
The internal "SQ" line of the G707A is active with an open squelch in carrier mode. When in "CT" mode, it’s active only when the proper PL frequency is received. This behavior in other manufacturers is named "audio mute" - it's a signal that takes into account the carrier squelch/ctcss mode and the presence or absence of the CTCSS tone signal.

This "SQ" line can be found at CN4 pin 11 on the main TX-RX board or CN502 pin 11 on the Control board (behind the front panel). If you don’t wish to perform this modification to the din socket (kind of intricate), you can simply attach a wire to one of these points, then route it out of the radio and connect it to an appropriate connector.

I modified my TM-G707A by routing the internal "SQ" line to pin 6 on the radio’s mini din socket (replacing the current connection). My method of doing this required the cutting of a circuit trace on the Control board (current din connection) and routing a wire from pin 11 of CN502 to the side of the trace cut that connected to pin 6 of the din socket.

This mod will facilitate fully agile CTCSS decode &/or encode functionality using only the RC-210's A72xx1 or A72xx2 commands without the need for an external PL decoder. Additionally, the remote base controller port can be left in carrier mode. Don’t forget to change the controller’s remote base port setup from active high to active low.

Hope this helps someone.... de AH6LE
Ralph Hogan W4XE took Ken's info and did a TM-G707 photo article on it (3.8 Mb PDF file).
He later emailed an update:
I have a follow on note to my article on modifying the Kenwood G707's packet connector for allowing a CTCSS decode signal to be available instead of a COS only signal.

The modification described breaks the serial connection to the radio - it will not allow the PC programming software, the PG-4S cable or the cloning cable to work. To resolve this I added a miniature toggle switch to select between the old COS only signal (for use while programming) and the new COS and CTCSS signal (for day -to-day operation).
Bob Dengler NO6B made W4XE's mod to his radio, and emailed in these comments:
  • The new combined CTCSS AND COS signal you get is active low, which is opposite of the COS-only signal that was there prior to the mod. This is documented in the file, but worth mentioning as you will have to reprogram the equipment connected to the radio.
  • The volume control must not be turned all the way down, otherwise the signal stays inactive (high) at all times. This really threw me after performing the the mod as I left the speaker disconnected during testing, so I kept the volume turned all the way down to prevent damage to the speaker output driver. As a result, I couldn't get any change from the inactive 5vDC level on the new combined CTCSS AND COS signal output until I accidentally bumped the volume control. Also, anything that causes a beep such as pressing a front panel button will cause the signal to go active during the beep. You may want to put a 10 ohm resistor into a plug that matches the speaker jack so that you can leave the volume turned up a little and have the speaker off.
  • Page 9 of the PDF file notes a heavy build-up of flux around the 6 pin mini-DIN connector. I found that on my G707 as well; I wonder if all those connectors were hand soldered?
Bernie Parker K5BP did the same mod to a TM-271.

Manuals
The publications group at Kenwood seems to have decided
that a "dual band" radio is dual simultaneous receive,
and a "twin band" or "two band" radio is one at a time.
TH-78 Owners/Instruction manual   294KB PDF
TH-G71A and TH-G71E Instruction Manual   2.58 MB PDF
TM-241-441-541 Owners manual   (horizontal - oriented towards reading on the screen) 2.26MB PDF
The same manual except vertically oriented (for printing)   2.2MB PDF
TM-241A Service manual   5.74 MB PDF
TM-261, TM-261EJ and TM-461 Instruction mnaual   2.9mb PDF
TM-271 Adjustments section of the service manual   This is a really poor scan. It's also contained in the service manual below.
TM-271A Service manual   36.7MB PDF
TM-721 Service Manual   15.9MB PDF
TM-641A / TM-741A / TM-741E Instruction manual   6.5 MB PDF
These radios can draw as much as 12 amps on transmit, and the DC wire that was shipped with them was undersized. Measure the voltage at the back of the radio while transmitting and if it does not remain above 13vDC you will have to check the voltage at the battery. If that is fine then you will need to change the wiring to an larger size (lower resistance) wire.
TM-641 / TM-741 Service manual   15.4MB PDF
A tip on the 641 / 741 / 941 / 642 / 742 / 942 series from Rian AG4ME:
If you have no audio output, and the light dimmer does not work then look at resistor R121 and maybe transistor Q102 in the control head becoming un-soldered.
The TH-D7AE is a dual band handheld that has a built in packet / aprs TNC.
THD7-AE Service Manual   7.35 MB PDF
The TM-D700 is a dual band mobile that has a built in packet / aprs TNC.
  TM-D700 sales brochure   679KB PDF
  This is the software package that lets the PC program the radio (freeware).   398KB executable file
  TM-D700 APRS / Packet manual   855KB PDF file
  TM-D700A Owners / operators manual   2.68MB PDF
The TM-G707 is a basic twin band mobile (one band at a time - For simultaneous receive see the TM-V7).
  TM-G707 sales brochure   817KB PDF
  TM-G707 Instruction Manual   2.5MB PDF
  Anybody have the service manual for the TM-G707 ??
The TM-V7 is the dual band mobile. The early ones had a history of developing lines in the display due to a poor design. Kenwood did a recall/replacement of the displays, but naturally some folks didn't get the word. If you have a used V7 that has lines you will have to live with it, there are no more replacements to be had. Or use it as a remote base.
  TM-V7A / TM-V7E Instruction Manual   4.9MB PDF
  TM-V7A / TM-V7E Service manual   2.7MB PDF
  A "usability" note from Dan Hopper KU4NF on the TM-V7A radio and the PC software they provide to upload and download the 180 memories... if you download the radios memory, move some locations around and thus create some newly empty locations, and then write it back to the radio it doesn't seem to delete the now-empty locations like it should, it merges the upload with the momory contents resulting in duplicate locations where the old entries are visible in the empty channels in the new data. My workaround is to delete all the memories in the radio before doing a write to the radio, thus giving the new data a clean slate to program into. How do you erase only the memories and none of the other settings? None of the power-up hotkeys seem to do this. However, if you have the radio change the VHF/UHF channel ratio, it'll prompt you to OK erasing all the memories. Do that, then change it back to your original ratio or a new ratio, and then write from the software to the radio. Kludgy, but it works.
Note from WA6ILQ - The same problem will probably happen in the TMG-707 series. If Kenwood is going to fix the duplicating problem (don't hold your breath), another feature that would be nice to add is a way to export the download as a Excel file, allowing the user to use Excel (or the spreadsheet from the free Open Office package) to manipulate the data, then import it back into the Kenwood package for uploading to the radio.
TM-V71 Instruction Manual   4.3 MB PDF courtesy A. Nony Mous
For details on the programming (PG-5G) and audio (PG-5H) cables click here: http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/pg5g_5h_e.html
The free programming software for the radio can be downloaded from Kenwood at http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/mcp_2a.html.
Or from here: Download MCP-2A Version 3.10 (filename: M2A310.exe; file size : 3.72MB),
or if you have a paranoid ISP that forbids downloading EXE files you can click
here: Download MCP-2A Version 3.10 (filename: M2A310.zip; file size : 2.95 MB).
The only difference is that the executable file inside the ZIP is renamed to M2A310.EEE, you will have to rename it to EXE before running it.
There is a firmware update to this radio according to http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/tmv71_d710_main_update_e.html that increases the usability as a remote base or EchoLink radio.
TM-V71 Service Manual   5.7 MB PDF courtesy A. Nony Mous
TM-V71 Mods   5.1 MB PDF courtesy A. Nony Mous
PS-50 Manual   For the TS-440 and others.   584KB courtesy A. Nony Mous
TS-140s / TS-680s Instruction Manual   1.16MB courtesy A. Nony Mous
User / operating manual for the TS-700 2M all mode radio   1.9 MB PDF
User / operating manual for the TS-600 6M all mode radio   3.6 MB PDF
User / operating manual for the TR-7600 with schematic   2.03MB PDF courtesy Jim MacDougald KB6ZOP
Service manual for the TS-850S in four PDF files:
Part 1   2.7 MB PDF
Part 2   1.3 MB PDF
Part 3   2.9 MB PDF
Part 4   1.4 MB PDF


Straight Info on Kenwood radios and the Amateur 900 MHz Band
Don't let anyone sell you a TK-430, TK-480, TK-930, TK-940 or TK-980 radio as they are all 800 MHz and will not work on amateur 900 MHz.

Kenwood hasn't yet imported an amateur 900 MHz radio so the USA hams that choose Kenwood are forced into using surplus commercial radios - the TK-431 and TK-481 handhelds and the TK-931, TK-941 and TK-981 mobiles.

The TK-431 and TK-941 are not too useful for amateur 900 MHz since they have a -39 MHz repeater offset that is fixed in the firmware, and despite several man-months of reverse engineeering time there appears to be no way to change it to a -25 MHz offset. They can be used by programming two channels, one set up to transmit on the repeater input, the other set up to receive the repeater output, then turn on the scan function. Unfortunately this means that you have to wait for the carrier delay timer in the repeater to drop out before you can transmit. Plus, if you have more than one active system in the area, the scan can stop on the wrong output and you will get cut out of your conversation. As a result, the TK-431 makes a good simplex handheld, or a portable monitoring receiver, and the TK-941 mobile makes a good simplex link radio, an exciter, or a reasonable repeater receiver when placed behind a good pass-notch duplexer (but you have to change the front end filters to the ones that pass 902 MHz).

On the other hand, the TK-481 handheld and both the TK-931 and TK-981 mobiles are excellent amateur 900 MHz radios as they are not design-locked as to offset and therefore can all do the amateur standard -25 MHz split.

Programming:
You will need both software and a programming cable to set up your radio... The DOS programs listed below CANNOT use a USB-based programming cable.
Radio Software System Cable Comments
TK-431 handheld KPG-16D DOS KPG-22 -39mhz offset only
TK-481 handheld (early)
serial number before 30100001
KPG-35D DOS KPG-36  
TK-481 handheld (late)
serial number of 30100001 or greater
KPG-49D Windows KPG-36 Preferred
TK-931 mobile KPG-5D DOS KPG-4 (6 pin) or KPG-46 (8 pin) Preferred
TK-941 mobile KPG-25D DOS KPG-4 (6 pin) or KPG-46 (8 pin) -39mhz offset only
TK-981 mobile KPG-49D Windows KPG-4 (6 pin) or KPG-46 (8 pin) Preferred
The programming cables are essentially RS-232 to TTL converters and homebrew diagrams are on this page. The handheld programming cable plugs into the speaker-microphone connector(s), the mobile cable plugs into the front panel microphone jack. Both connect a serial port from your computer to the radio and is used to load your frequencies and other parameters into the radio. None of the above radios are front panel programmable.
Note that Kenwood numbers the pins backward from Ethernet. The KPG-4 and the KPG-46 are the exact same unit except for the RJ connector on the radio end of the cable. The KPG-4 has a 6-pin (RJ-11 / RJ-12-style) connector. The earlier KPG-46 has an 8-pin connector (RJ-45 style) and the center 6 pins are wired the same and the outer 2 pins are not used. If you are careful the 6-pin KPG-4 will work perfectly in the 8-pin mic jack. The plastic tab should only let you put the 6-pin plug into the middle of the 8-pin jack since pins 1 & 8 on the 8-pin jack aren't used for programming purposes. If you want you can build an adapter starting with a 6-pin RJ-12 jack wired to a stub of a common 8-pin RJ45 ethernet cable. See this schematic for a KPG-4 and KPG-46 cable. Or look here for another one that has a bit more detail.
If anyone would like to put together a programming article (with screen shots? they are not hard to do) we'd be happy to put it here.
Email lists: There are two 900 MHz lists and the first one listed below has 90% of the traffic. Note that these are 900 MHz lists (any radio, not just Kenwood) and do not take kindly to off-topic discussions. Personally, I'd subscribe to both. If you change your mind you can always unsubscribe later.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AR902Mhz   From the description text: "This listserv is used to further experimentation and utilization of the 902-928 MHz amateur radio spectrum using voice and data communications. Please limit your posts to information relating to these subjects ONLY. Want and For-Sale ads allowed. Do not post EBAY links. Do NOT list non-900 MHz applicable items."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/900mhz   From the description text: "For those interested in utilizing the 900 MHz amateur radio band. This group is here to discuss modification of commercial radio gear to amateur radio use, repeater construction for 900 MHz, and other related topics relating to the 900 MHz amateur radio band."


900 MHz Kenwood Radio Manuals and Info
As mentioned above a model number ending in a zero is 800 MHz, and ending in a 1 is 900 MHz
In other words, TK or TM-nn0=800 MHz, TK or TM-nn1=900 MHz.
Handhelds:
Anybody have a step-by-step programming procedure for the 900 MHz TK-431 or 481 handheld ?
Anybody have the catalog page / specifications sheet PDF or service manual PDF for the TK-431 handheld ?   Or one we can scan ?
Catalog page / Spec Sheet for the TK-480 (800 MHz) or TK-481 (900 MHz) handheld   704KB PDF
Kenwood TK-480 / TK-481 900 MHz hand held service manual including parts lists   Revised for units with serial numbers after 30100001, dated March 2001   64 pages, 2.83MB PDF file, donated by A. Nony Mous
TK-480/481 transceivers with a serial number of 30100001 or greater have a red triangle above the "W" in the KENWOOD logo label at the top of the front panel. You will also find the model name plate marked as “Ver 2.0” on the rear of the transceiver. You must use the KPG-49D to program Version 2.0 units. You cannot use the KPG-35D software for Ver. 2.0 radios. The KPG-36 cable is used with either software.
Anybody know what the part number for the nylon or leather case ? Or the speaker-mic ? Is there a public safety speaker-mic (with the antenna on top of it) ?
Mobiles:
Anybody have a step-by-step programming procedure for the 900 MHz TK-931 or TK-981 mobile?
Catalog page / Spec Sheet for the TK-930 (800 MHz) or TK-931 (900 MHz)   891KB PDF, donated by A. Nony Mous.
This is a very poor scan, anybody have a better one?
Anybody have a PDF of the catalog page / spec Sheet for the TK-94n mobile ?   Or one we can scan ?
Catalog page / Spec Sheet for the TK-980 (800 MHz) or TK-981 (900 MHz)   353KB PDF, donated by A. Nony Mous
Anybody have a PDF of the owners manual / users manual for the TK-93n mobile ??
Kenwood TK-840, TK-940 and TK-941 900 MHz mobile instruction manual undated   1.75 MB PDF file, donated by A. Nony Mous
Kenwood TK-770 (VHF), TK-880 (UHF), TK-980 (800) and TK-981 (900) mobile instruction manual undated   1.1 MB PDF file, donated by A. Nony Mous
Kenwood TK-941 900 MHz mobile service manual dated Aug-1994   6.2 MB PDF file, donated by A. Nony Mous
Anybody have a PDF of the Kenwood TK-980 / TK-981 mobile service manual PN B51-8478-10 ?
Kenwood TK-980 / TK-981 mobile service manual supplement dated Jan-2005   908 KB PDF file, donated by A. Nony Mous
From the cover page: "This service manual applied to products with 30600001 or subsequent serial numbers. In terms of the products with the serial numbers earlier than 30600001, refer to the TK-980/981 service manual as per part No. B51-8478-10."
Kenwood TK-980 / TK-981 mobile service manual supplement dated Jan-2005   908 KB PDF file, donated by A. Nony Mous
From the cover page: "This service manual applied product with 50100001 (TK-980), 60600001 (TK-981) or subsequent serial numbers."
The TK-931 mobile microphone is a KMC-2A or B, the DTMF mobile microphone is a KMC-18 or KMC-18A (it's a 12-button mic). The base mic is a KMC-9C.
Anyone know the part number of the the TK-931 mobile mounting bracket ?
The TK-981 mobile microphone is a KMC-27A or B, the DTMF mobile microphone is a KMC-28A (it's a 12-button mic). The "A" is significant as the KMC-28 has a different connector to the radio, the mic must be a KMC-28A. The base mic is a KMC-9C.
Anyone know the part number of the the TK-981 mobile mounting bracket ?


Kenwood Land Mobile (commercial) Radio products:

www.repeater-builder is looking for information on the various models of current and older low band, high band or UHF Kenwood commercial mobiles, amateur and commercial repeaters with emphasis on:
  • what the differences are between the various models
  • how to identify the frequency ranges (i.e. how to tell if it's UHF, VHF, etc)
  • which ones are crystal versus synthesized
  • what makes one particular model better over another (i.e. which ones are a waste of time)
  • what it takes to move them onto amateur radio frequencies
  • if they aren't crystal controlled, information on how to program them (i.e. hardware programmer, PC program or front panel programming) would be appreciated, as well as what PC software do you need (and how to get it legally)
If you have something to contribute, don't worry about your writing ability, your spelling, or anything else. Just write something up, even if it's just an email, and send it to us. We'll do the rest. Please read this article on writing for repeater-builder, then drop us an email.

Examples:

And the finished page will have your name as contributor at the top of the web page, and your name on the copyright at the bottom (for a sample see http://www.repeater-builder.com/mitrek/mitrek-6m-kd3ij.html).


What we have now:

Here is some general information on Kenwood model numbers courtesy of Gene Hornung WBØPKP:

Portables

TK-100's Low band portables (30 to 50 MHz)
TK-200's Hi band portables (150 to 174 MHz)
TK-300's UHF portables (450 to 470 MHz)
TK-4x0's 800 MHz portables
TK-4x1's 900 MHz portables

The radios starting with the x20 (i.e. 220 & 320) series are programmable. The x20 and x40 will NOT go down into the ham bands, the rest will if the software will accept the data. They are front panel programmable, however (see the article below). The radios from x50 and on require programming software and a special cable. You might find them on Ebay.

Mobiles

TM-4x0's 800 MHz mobiles
TM-4x1's 900 MHz mobiles
TK-600's Low band mobile
TK-700's Hi band mobile
TK-800's UHF mobile
TK-9x0's 800 MHz mobiles
TK-9x1's 900 MHz mobiles

These are all programmable radios. The x01S and x20 require special programming boxes and use a PROM or EPROM. The x05 and x05D (has scan) are front panel or computer programmable. All others require software and cables. Most of these radios will go into the ham bands with some retuning if the software will accept the data.

Most of the Kenwood mobiles share synthesizer components on transmit and receive. This makes it very difficult to make a repeater out of one radio. It is just as easy to use two or a single radio such as the GE MASTR II.

Repeaters

Model Band Mounting Power
TKR-720 Hi band see text below 100% duty cycle at 15w, 50% at 50w
TKR-820 UHF see text below 100% duty cycle at 5w, 50% at 20w
TKR-730 Hi band single height Anybody have this information ?
TKR-830 UHF single height Anybody have this information ?
TKR-750 Hi band double height 100% duty cycle at 25w, 50% at 50w
TKR-850 UHF double height 100% duty cycle at 25w, 50% at 40w

The TKR-720 and TKR-820 repeaters were the earlier models and are reliable and easy to use. They have a built-in power supply. They are desktop repeaters, dimensions are 5" H x 13" W x 15" D and while they are a tabletop design there are rack mount brackets available. The power adjustment is by a pot on the TX board. An extra fan will help. They do require a programming box or interface cable and software. I am currently using a TKR-820 on the amateur band. There is room in the cabinet under the transceiver module to mount a six cavity mobile duplexer. I mounted a Hamtronics voice IDer inside the cabinet - they have a rather basic controller internally and have a connector for an outside controller. I have had no problems with the TKR-x20 series units.

The TKR-750 and TKR-850 are rack mount units and have a built-in temperature controlled fan on the heat sink. The internal controller is more capable than that in the 720/820 series and can be programmed by a PC. Basically you configure it with your RX & TX frequencies and the PL tone frequency. If you are using an external controller you set it to "duplex base" mode, with COR on Aux out 1 and TOR (tone decode) on Aux out 2. Power control is also set by the software. They are multichannel capable. One thing you can do is have different Morse code identifiers for each channel, and set it up to change channels when the main supply fails and it switches to backup power. The second channel ID message can have something extra in it to tell you you're on backup power.

DE Gene WBØPKP

Comments from email threads on the repeater-builder Yahoo! Group:

  • Since the commercial UHF allocation in most of the world is 440-470 MHz all the Kenwood UHF repeaters are designed to cover that range. This makes moving a recent Kenwood to the 440-450 MHz repeater section of the USA amateur band a snap - just program them for the new frequencies and retune the RF stages (they come from the factory pretuned (and stagger-tuned at that) in the 460 MHz region). The oldest ones are iffy - you will have to try it and see if it works. First measure the performace on the existing commercial frequencies, then program both RX and TX for 455.0, then tune, measure and compare, then program the RX and TX for 450.0 and tune, measure, and compare, then 449.0 and tune, measure, and compare, then 448.0, then 447.0, then 446.0 and repeat all the way to 440.0. You will soon figure out at which point which stages are refusing to tune, and you can fix it. Then program it for your channel and peak it.
  • Note that Kenwood's first synthesized repeater - the TKR-720 (high band) and TKR-820 (UHF) - requires either a KPT-20 or KPT-50 hardware programmer. There is a software package for it but it requires the KPT-50 in order for it to work.
  • The TKR-720 and TKR-820 have a minimal internal controller that can be disabled by grounding a pin on the accessory connector, and at that point other pins become COR, repeat audio out, PTT, repeat audio in, etc. More details in the "Some notes on interfacing the Kenwood TKR-720 and TKR-820 repeaters" article below.
  • The TKR-750K1 version is for 146-174 MHz, while the TKR-750K2 version is for 136-150 MHz. These are RF hardware design limits, the K1 version does not perform well in the 144-146 MHz portion of the 2m band and cannot be "stretched".
  • The K1 version repeater takes the KPG-66D software. The later-model K2 repeater takes KPG-91D software. The software does not interchange between repeater models / versions.
  • If you are planning on buying a second-hand TKR-750 for use as a 2m repeater then look for a K2 version, even if you are going to be using a 147 MHz pair. You never know, you may have to move it to a 145 MHz pair someday. And the resale value will be a lot higher.

Some notes on interfacing the Kenwood TKR-720 and TKR-820 repeaters   A "quickie" page that was put together to share two pages of handwritten notes from my file cabinet that cover interfacing a TKR-n20 repeater to an external repeater controller. If anybody wants to turn them into a photo article feel free to do so and send it in.

Homebrew programming interface equivalent to the KPG-4   This is the RS-232 to TTL cable for programming most any commercial or amateur Kenwood radio.   35KB PDF from K9MN

Another version of the above KPG-4 replacement   This diagram is similar to the above with additional info - it shows the DB9 and DB25 connections, and the handheld connections.   77KB PDF from KC7GF

A list of Kenwood Radios, the software needed, and the programming cables needed   A work in progress, contributions needed!   By Mike WA6ILQ

Kenwood TK-250 and TK-350 instruction manual   1.4 MB PDF file, donated by A. Nony Mous

Kenwood TK-860G and 862G service manual   5.9MB PDF file, donated by A. Nony Mous

Mark Seidler N9XK has done a bunch of research on the TK-805 UHF radio. He has a web page (offsite link) on how to front-panel program them. The information applies to the TK-705 VHF radio as well.

Art Bross KC7GF used to have a Kenwood TK-705 and TK-805 Radio page but the hosting company went away. He moved it to a Yahoogroup at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/kenwood_05s. The information available there covers programming from a PC as well as programming them from the front panel. The TK-705D and TK-805D will work fine with no modifications in the ham bands, however you will need the "H" version to get 45 watts out of them. The stock non-H versions only put out around 30 watts (retuning with a service monitor makes them better). Art's group page also has links to other Kenwood-related sites. He also has some downloadable manuals available at http://www.rfstuff.com/store/manuals.asp.

Field programming the TK-270 or TK-370 Handhelds   A writeup on front panel programming of these models. It's somewhat cryptic and since I don't have one of the radios to experiment with I can't build on it, if anyone wants to add some detail (or some photos) feel free to, then email it to us.

Ken Arck AH6LE owns Arcom Communications and they make repeater controllers, including the RC-110, RC-210 and RC-810 models. Ken has provided a writeup on connecting a RC-210 to a TKR-x50 series repeater. The 210 uses a simple enough interface that the information will be of value on any repeater controller.

Com-Spec has hookup information for their TP-38 community repeater panel to the TKR-720 or TKR-820 at their web site. There is enough information buried in their web page to guide you in hooking up a generic repeater controller (like an ACC, an RLC or an Scom) to the TKR720 or 820...   a local copy is here just in case...

Here's a few photos of the Kenwood repeaters (7xx=highband, 8xx=UHF):


Here's a photo of the older TKR-720 / 820     Kenwood brochure (120KB pdf)
There is a rack mount kit, or you can set it on a rack shelf.
The black square at the bottom right corner is the microphone jack.
Here's another photo
Anybody have the TKR-720 service manual in PDF ?
A schematic of the TKR-720 on 48 separate pages   2MB PDF
The TKR-820 service manual 3.6MB PDF
Another copy of the TKR-820 service manual, a better scan, but a larger file   27 MB PDF
If you have broadband and the download time, this is the one to get
How to connect a Com-Spec TP-38 repeat panel to a TKR-x20 ...or almost any other repeater controller   87KB PDF


Here's a photo of the newer TKR-730 / 830
Anyone have any experience with it?
Any PDF'd brochures or manuals available?


Here's a photo of the TKR-740 / 840, Kenwood's current top-of-the-line repeater
Kenwood 740 / 840 brochure (130KB pdf)
Kenwood 740c / 840c brochure (86KB pdf)
Kenwood 740 / 840 description (62KB pdf)
The 740 comes in three versions: TKR-740K is RX 146-162 MHz,
the TKR-740K2 is RX 158-174 MHz, the TKR-740K3 is RX 136-150 MHz.
All are TX 136-174 MHz
If you are going to order a new one for an amateur radio channel
make sure you order (and receive) a K3 version.


And the Kenwood TKR-750 / 850     Kenwood brochure (170KB pdf)
TKR-750 service manual   (5MB pdf)
TKR-850 service manual   (5MB pdf)
Function Reference (FUNC) For The TKR-750/850 Version 2 and TKR-751/851   648KB PDF
Field Programming Reference (FPRG) For The TKR-750/850 Version 2 and TKR-751/851   1.8MB PDF

Yes, you are seeing a faint "4" on the LED display in the upper picture, a "1" and a "32" on the LED displays in the middle pictures and a "16" in the bottom picture. Both the exciter synthesizer and receiver synthesizer are based on a mobile design and hence are multichannel - useful when you keep one extra repeater on the shelf to use it as a spare at several different radio sites that operate on different frequencies - just load all the frequencies into the channel bank of the spare repeater, then when you need to install it just set it to the appropriate channel, tweak the transmitter and receiver, and then cable it up to the existing duplexer / antenna system at the site.

The TKR-720 and TKR-820 were discontinued around October/November 2004.


And finally, the the high power Kenwood repeaters - essentially one of the
above units plus a power supply and a power amplifier, all in a cabinet.

Anybody have a photo of a single-channel repeater?

The photo on this brochure shows a conventional single-channel repeater system:
Kenwood brochure: TKR-7400 / 8300 / 8400 (52KB pdf)

The photos on this brochure show a 3-channel and a 5-channel trunked system:
Kenwood brochure: TKR-7400 / 8400 (87KB pdf)


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Information provided from various sources as listed in the text.
Hand-coded HTML © Copyright date of last edit by Mike Morris WA6ILQ.
You can contact Mike at (callsign) at repeater-builder dot com

This page originally posted on 14-Oct-2004

This web page, this web site, the information presented in and on its pages and in these modifications and conversions is © Copyrighted 1995 and (date of last update) by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors. All Rights Reserved, including that of paper and web publication elsewhere.