Lscott Posted 16 hours ago Report Posted 16 hours ago Well I just got a clean looking license free TK-3701D dPMR446 radio, NOT DMR446, which is the other allowed digital mode. The idea is to run some tests between it and the Icom's I have with the more functional dPMR digital voice mode. I want to see if they will communicate. There are some slight differences that might bugger it up. I won't know until I can get around to running some tests. Other thing there radios are the functional equivalent of FRS here, but in the EU where it's license free, 0.5 watts, and digital voice is allowed. I'll bet some Ding-Dong will bring their radios here on vacation and try to use it while at some major tourist attraction like Disneyland, Yellowstone etc. The radios only work from 446.0000 to 446.2000, the Ham 70cm band. Anyone ever bump into something like this on the air? If one has a spectrum analyzer, or SDR, it would look like the ultra narrow band NXDN mode, the modulation is the same but the digital protocol is different. https://kenwoodcommunications.co.uk/files/file/comms/uk/brochures/TK-3701D_20191030_LR.pdf https://kenwoodcommunications.co.uk/files/file/comms/uk/pmr446/PMR446-White-Paper-V6_18AUG2016_JT_KB.pdf Quote
WRYS709 Posted 16 hours ago Report Posted 16 hours ago Are there any “legitimate” domestic (US) uses for this radio? Quote
Lscott Posted 10 hours ago Author Report Posted 10 hours ago 6 hours ago, WRYS709 said: Are there any “legitimate” domestic (US) uses for this radio? Yeah, works on the Ham band. Would be a novelty. Without another compatible radio, or decoder for an SDR, good luck monitoring the digital voice traffic. Almost as good as encryption but since it’s publicly documented the FCC can’t really complain it’s a “secret code” thus illegal on the Ham band. The point to remember is the modulation used is exactly the same as the low data rate NXDN mode. The later the FCC has emission designators for that. You can’t tell the difference with a spectrum analyzer. What’s different is the CAI, common air interface a.k.a. the digital protocol used. Note the radio is restricted to just the official dPMR446 frequencies in self programming mode. The radio programming software is also locked to the same frequencies. My main objective was to do some testing to see if it will communicate with a full feature dPMR radio. I have some Icom dPMR radios. There are a few “slight” differences which might bigger that up. There are in fact two different ETSI standards, one each, for the two, dPMR446 verses dPMR. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/500-ic-f3162dt-front-and-back-sidepng/?context=new Quote
WRYS709 Posted 5 hours ago Report Posted 5 hours ago Reminds me of the Cotre C001D DMR HTs that were briefly available from Amazon for $17 and actually worked! Quote
Lscott Posted 55 minutes ago Author Report Posted 55 minutes ago 4 hours ago, WRYS709 said: Reminds me of the Cotre C001D DMR HTs that were briefly available from Amazon for $17 and actually worked! This radio was a bit more expensive, GBP 90. I had it shipped from the UK through eBay's international system. https://www.ebay.com/itm/126800820122?var=427899179724 I had to get it before the "de minimus" tariff exception for goods under $800 disappears on 8/29/2025. Otherwise it would be a ridiculous price with the minimum tariff required. No more shopping for stuff outside the USA on eBay anymore. https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america/2024/11/de-minimis-exemption-changes-coming.html Quote
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