WRAK968

Sounds like it may need to be re-tuned then, still this should be done with a monitor/meter and not through other radios as they cant always tell you if your in the correct frequency position. If you were in south jersey I would do it for free as it only takes a few minutes to do,

My understanding is that SDR is not the best test device. Your better off checking with an actual frequency counter. Other than that, the only other thing I can think of is that the radio had been re-tuned incorrectly and needs to be redone. This is doable in the programming software but you will need a dummy load and a meter to tell you where exactly you are on frequency.

Well, if I recall the TK8360 is a newer radio, and the older radios, TK880 which use the KPG-49D software, can be programed on Windows 10. Thus, I would say there might be an issue with your computer.

Welcome to the community Sorry to say but your a little vague with the problem here. Is the problem with the computer seeing the programming cable itself, or does the Software just not see it, or perhaps the radio doesn't see it. Each of these problems has a different solution, Drivers, Proper port selection, Proper cable, exc... There are even some technical things, for instance, are you using a USB to RS232 cable? Is the cable a genuine Kenwood cable? Without any details as to the exact issue nobody here would be able to help you much.

I didnt see the WREA898 repeater listed on the site, Double check that you are RX on 462.xxxx and TX on 467.xxxx, then double check your tones to make sure you are using the correct tones, especially DCS tones which can be "N"ormal or "I"nverted. Last, confirm both input and output tones are the same. Some repeaters run split tones to make it harder for unauthorized users to access the system.

Most common NMO mounts come with about 15 feet of coax. I've run mounts from the back of a ford explorer, down the rear piller, across the bottom of the SUV, up through the dashboard and to the back of the radio without needing any extensions, it was just long enough. With my new truck I didn't need as much cable, but rather than cutting the cable, I coiled it up under the dash. Again, 15' isnt going to affect much and as you said Application is key. For the antenna on the roof of my house, I used 40' of LMR400 which gave me much better signal quality over RG8x and even the meter showed this. I believe the meter showed 40W at the back of the radio, maybe 25W at the antenna for the 8x and about 36W with the 400. I also believe there may have been issues with the 8x but from what everyone has told me, 8x is meant more for VHF/Low band use.

V1 and V2 firmware ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE. This is because of minor hardware differences inside of the radio as well as some features the V2 radio has that the V1 radio doesn't. Overall these features aren't really used in GMRS and are more towards commercial radio For example enhanced fleetsync functionality and the available use of some MDT hardware. I have several TK880's both V1 and V2. V1 radios I used to build a small portable repeater that I can set up anywhere, even in a campground. The V2 radios are installed in our vehicles and while we use fleetsync for radio ID and text messaging on my local repeater, there isnt much use for it when I go onto another system. This is because the Fleetsync codes we use may be different to other users. Anyways, If the offer is right, $20-30 for just a radio, or maybe $50 for radio and mic in fair condition, go for it, Anything more and you could likely do better on Ebay.

There is a reason we are suppose to clear the air for emergency traffic. Sometimes the phones go down, or the battery dies, or we leave them home. Such an incident happened to a family member on her way to work. A vehicle had taken out a pole, continued on into a fenced off area containing a cell tower destroyed a trailer that was in there. The cell tower went down and all cell coverage dropped. Having seen all this, and being an emt, she called by radio and gave me what info she had and her location, I then relayed the info through to the PD using a neighbors phone (We use cell phones so no landline in the house.) Officers were dispatched and driver was charged with DUI. Turns out the trailer was running as a temporary controller until a part could be replaced in the little brick hut next to the tower. When the car struck the trailer it damaged the coax jumper going to the tower and the equipment inside. When it went down the next closest tower was about 5 miles out with heavy pine forests and hills in-between them.

Your best bet is to use the coax that comes preinstalled on the NMO mount. This cuts out SWR issues caused by poor solder jobs and takes less time at that point. With such a short run you shouldn't have much loss. I can tell ya upfront installing anything the size of LMR400 in a vehicle, then attempting to attach it to an NMO connection and your just asking for a troublesome install. (LMR400 doesn't flex easily and is quite thick, about 1/2 inch.)

Both are goo antennas for ham radio use, however I believe both are tuned for 440-450 where GMRS is 460-470, you may have SWR issues due to frequency mismatch which could lead to damage of your radios. There are some antennas with wider bandwidths but usually they are single band rather than dual. I'll defer to other more experienced hams on this as I'm still a little new when it comes to antenna tuning and matching.

Well, part of the issue is you are trying to push through ll the wood, walls, exc. to get out of the house, so the fewer walls, beams, plywood sheets, and definitely drywall to get through the better. The easiest way to test is to place your antenna in the attic and let the wire dangle down from the ceiling and test it before figuring out a final install plan. Chances are if one antenna cannot get out under low power, most wont get out and you might need more power just to overcome the construction. I found an area in my fathers attic (Hes in an HOA as well) where a plastic vestibule was placed and stuck an antenna in there which increased his range dramatically, so also study what your install options are. Another thing to look at is the height of your attic, if your attic peek is only 10 feet up, your range wont be that good. You should be able to hit the repeater fine, but simplex operations will likely require you to build a "hidden" antenna you can place outside. if your building is 2 or 3 stories up you should find your simplex range adequate and not need an external antenna. One last note for when you are ready to purchase your antenna, look for one that requires little to no ground plane to work as this makes things a little bit simpler when you do the final install. I think I used this one at my fathers place; https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/browning-br-6140-3571 We did not use a ground plane and at 20W output the swr is 1.3 which is acceptable.

Yeah the "yyyyyyyyy" error has something to do with passport being uploaded to the radio then configuring the radio in conventional format. Another sign is when you power up the radio and it reads "Ver 1.5xxx" or something like that. I believe if you tried to use the 49D software it would give you an error telling you to use the EF Johnson program instead. Its not a hard fix though so no worries. Fpro will install when you install the program software, though I found it always hides it in the program folder and never seems to get a shortcut. To resolve this all I did was opened the folder I loaded the file to and made a shortcut of Fpro to my radio folder. The nice thing is that Fpro works on a wide range of kenwood radios. (I wont say all as I haven't used the newer digital radios, but Im sure it works on them as well) So once you have Fpro in a convenient location you can use it to update any kenwood radio firmware. Many of us are hams and we remember what its like to be new to radio. Heck I'm still learning every day So don't worry about asking for support if you need it.

Hey there. We cannot direct link to software or firmware due to copyright issues (To my knowledge anyways) However, if you message me your E-mail I can send you the firmware package I used. I will need to know if the 880 is Version 1 or 2. This can be determined on the sticker on the back of the radio (Version 2 radios will say Version 2.0) Other than that, your 49D software disk should have a program called FPRO. This is used to update radio firmware. Ill include more detailed information when I send the firmware.

The easy way to find out is to fine the FCC-ID number on the radio and run it through the database. In this case, the radios FCC ID number should be K44-415502 Running it in the FCC database, https://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid we find this: https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/tcb/reports/Tcb731GrantForm.cfm?mode=COPY&RequestTimeout=500&tcb_code=&application_id=DxM5NhZwjuOBNeCZx3iXfw%3D%3D&fcc_id=K44415502 The radio is compliant for Parts 22, 74, 90, and 90.210. For GMRS use we want Part 95. Now, Many will say a part 90 radio is good enough for GMRS use. Usually the main reasons a part 90 radio would not be part 95 certified are due to digital signaling and encryption/scrambler, both of which are forbidden on GMRS channels.

What is the antenna mounted on? Metal pole? Fiberglass? PVC? All of these can affect SWR from my experience. Switching from fiberglass to a 6 foot metal fence post lowered SWR from 1.7 to 1.08. Another thing that affects the SWR reading is the length of feedline. I was told to make sure you measure SWR at one and a half wavelengths, which if I recall is 18 inches from the radio. Many people overlook that and get crazy readings which cause them to panic. Overall a 1.5 is reasonable (anything 1.5 or less is near perfect) I've run radios as high as 1.7 with little issue. I wouldn't run anything over 2.0 though.

Also note that crossband repeat is NOT ALLOWED on GMRS (Repeaters are not allowed on MURS anyways, but crossbanding both MURS and GMRS is also not allowed)

Well, if there was a product link its missing, But, what you could do is get a 2" exhaust clamp, use the flat side of the bracket on the clamp to rivit a 90 degree NMO bracket in place onto it, then use the clamp to mount the antenna. Could do the same with any antenna mount that has a 90 degree bracket, but the only ones I've seen are NMO.

I totally forgot they got a second grantee code. DOH! As for part 95, if I recall if the radio was part 95 for gmrs before the rule change the radio is grandfathered to part 95E otherwise most of the older GMRS equipment including repeaters are no longer and never will be legal for GMRS use.

Ok, to start off with Part 95, The FCC has offered tools to the public to be able to get this info. https://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid Click the link and add in the radios FCC ID. Example, Kenwoods Grantee code is ALH and the TK880's product code is 24593110. Click search, You'll see there is only one grant, if there were more, you would have to match the data displayed to your radios specs. Since there is only 1 grant, click on the check mark under "Display Grant" Here we have a simple sheet from the FCC, and under FCC Rules Part, we can see that the TK880 is Part 22, 74, 90, and 95 certified for both transmission modes (Wide and narrow) So now we know the TK880 is part 95 certified and we know how to look up the certification of other radios if we ever want to Now for the scan issue. I've never used the 863, but doing a little research, the only scan mode that doesn't "Autoscan" is "List type system scan" It would seem the other mode/s will force the radio into scan. Kenwood redesigned the scan feature on this particular radio and it seems like a lot of people didn't really like it. (Also someone says the 863 is purely a trunking radio and stuck like that, which is why conventional users have such a hard time with it) Heres the link to the info I found on the radio, not sure if it'll help but, https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/tk-863g-scanning-problems.354047/

You will need to install the USB drivers if you are using a USB-RS232 converter. Each converter is different. Likewise, if you purchased a USB cable there is likely a built in USB-seriel converter built in, youll need to contact the person who sold it to you for advice on where to find the drivers

Cool, I also heard there is a section of the 900Mhz band that doesnt need a license, however I cant seem to get anymore info on it. My googlefu sucks so perhaps you have some info?

780 and 880 are basically the same radio and software, just one is VHF and one UHF. When you install the program, go to Model-Model Information. This will open a small window. Under Model Type, Select TK880 Mobile Frequency should be K (450-490) Format you want Conventional Options, If you have an ANI board you can select it, Scrambler is not needed. Now the software is set for the 880 and will let you enter UHF frequencies into it Also note, the same software does the 981 (900 mhz radio) Just select that model radio and your set. Im not sure how the 900 MHz stuff works though as it only seems to let me select "trunking" so you'll need to ask someone else for that. Also if you get an error message about the radio software, and when you turn the radio on you get version 1.5xxxx let me know and Ill send you the correct firmware. Some radios were updated to passport which the kenwood software doesnt like at all. Any other questions feel free to ask

To follow up on what John said here, Kenwood is a commercial/Emergency use radio, which means the quality is there, but I believe the interference between the roof and any power/cable lines run through the roof is your main culprit. I doubt anyone here could tell you is 10W is enough to get out cleanly but it would get out better than 5W. The main questions is, do you have a reason to run a 40W radio when you only plan to run 10W. If the answer is that you plan to only run 10W, TK880's sell for like $50 or less. I've gotten all of mine for around $30 by waiting till the right deal came up. 880H's are a bit more expensive, usually about $75-100, so the cost alone may be a reason to get the lower unit. If your goal is to try and reach a distant repeater with the higher output there are other factors you need to consider. such as building materials and construction.

LOL, I was thinking it had to do with chipsets or something haha

What exactly is a CCR anyways? Im thinking its Chinese crap radio, but something tells me there is a professional meaning and Im curious lol