TK-3701D.jpg
By Lscott
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This is a special radio I've added to my collection from a seller in the UK. The price was fairly cheap, GBP 90, about $120 USD at the exchange rate at the time of purchase. Most sellers want about $175 to over $250 for the radio. The price didn’t include Michigan sales tax or eBay’s international shipping. The radio included a battery pack and charger base (220VAC plug on the wall wart). Have to find a side cover plate for the programming/remote mic port and a belt clip since these were missing.
It's a combo FM/digital radio. The digital mode is dPMR446. Both FM and digital use fixed frequencies that lie within the US Ham 70cm band so it's usable there ONLY. The radio has no FCC ID or certification to be used anywhere else.
I went back and purchased a second one, from the same UK seller, just so I have at least two that are guaranteed to communicate with each other. The seller in the UK had the lowest price I could find on a used model. Just can’t find these for sale from a US seller, unless it’s imported.
https://bhvtotaal.nl/media/productdownloads//b/r/brochure_kenwood_tk-3701d.pdf
https://kenwoodcommunications.co.uk/files/file/comms/uk/brochures/TK-3701D_20191030_LR.pdf
The radio requires KPG-202D to do the programming. I found the software on line with the install key to download. The programming cable is the same one used on my NX-1300 radios, and many of the cheap Chinese radios.
I know how to hex edit the code plug so it’s possible to operate the radio outside of the normal EU PMR446, dPMR446 band if required.
This radio is a replacement for the older TK-3401D, which apparently there are V1, V2 and V3 versions.
https://kenwoodcommunications.co.uk/files/file/comms/uk/brochures/nx/TK-3401D-Brochure-LR.pdf
Also seems there is another model type, TK-3601D, with a display. It look more suitable for light use, like restaurant, hotel etc. use, not a more industrial environment.
The radio is designed for license free use in the EU zone. The dPMR446 mode is very slightly different from the full featured dPMR mode used commercially in the EU. The dPMR446 version has a simpler programming model compared to the full featured dPMR mode. The two standards for reference are the document names below. There is just enough of a difference than it would very likely prevent the two modes from communicating with each other, thus a higher power dPMR mode radio won't work with a low power dMPR446 mode radio on digital.
For dPMR446 : ETSI TS 102 490 V1.9.1 (2016-08)
For dPMR : ETSI TS 102 658 V2.6.1 (2019-01)
I should point out the TK-3701D is really an NX-1300 series radio loaded with the special dPMR446 firmware, instead of the usual DMR or NXDN one. Looking at the service manual for both I can't really see any differences from a general schematic layout, but I didn’t check for any component value differences. In case anybody is thinking can an NX-1300 be converted to a TK-3701D? From my research the answer is no. Can’t force the dPMR446 firmware on the radio according to a few people I asked.
The programming software has a "Tune" mode for service. The procedure is outlined in the service manual for the radio. I might be able to pump up the default power from about 0.5 watts to maybe 1 to 2 watts. That would be nice.
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