ko66 Posted December 16, 2019 Report Posted December 16, 2019 Hi All! I'm located in Lancaster, Ca my call sign is WRER544 .I have not purchased Equipment but I will be, I would like to setup a internet link repeater to add to the pool. I don't know which radios on anything to get any suggestions would be great!! nice to meet you all! Quote
ko66 Posted December 17, 2019 Author Report Posted December 17, 2019 if I offended anyone I'm sorry Quote
DeoVindice Posted December 17, 2019 Report Posted December 17, 2019 I don't think you offended anyone. Welcome to the forum! Are you planning to start with a handheld, mobile, or base station radio? ko66 1 Quote
ko66 Posted December 17, 2019 Author Report Posted December 17, 2019 DeoVinDice, Thank you !! I am diving in on all 3 I have my ideas just have to research, I'm also thinking about a repeater internet linked. All I really see is Midland for radios they go up to 40w but not the 50w we are allowed I'm assuming there's a very good reason for that. Quote
RCM Posted December 17, 2019 Report Posted December 17, 2019 Few if any uhf radios go all the way to the 50 watt level. That's fine though, as there is no discernible difference between 40 watts and 50 watts. I strongly recommend that you avoid those Midland radios. They are nothing but rebranded Chinese radios with a hugely inflated price tag, and their performance is subpar. A real commercial radio in the standard 25 watt power level will outperform it, and the commercial radios are also available in a 40 or 45 watt version. Best of all, you can buy two or three good condition commercial radios plus programming cable and software for the price of one Midland MXT400.Or, skip the programming and buy your commercial radios from a seller who will program them with the frequencies you need. kipandlee, ko66 and Radioguy7268 3 Quote
ko66 Posted December 18, 2019 Author Report Posted December 18, 2019 Few if any uhf radios go all the way to the 50 watt level. That's fine though, as there is no discernible difference between 40 watts and 50 watts. I strongly recommend that you avoid those Midland radios. They are nothing but rebranded Chinese radios with a hugely inflated price tag, and their performance is subpar. A real commercial radio in the standard 25 watt power level will outperform it, and the commercial radios are also available in a 40 or 45 watt version. Best of all, you can buy two or three good condition commercial radios plus programming cable and software for the price of one Midland MXT400.Or, skip the programming and buy your commercial radios from a seller who will program them with the frequencies you need. What would you recommend? Quote
RCM Posted December 18, 2019 Report Posted December 18, 2019 What would you recommend?Kenwood TK-880, short answer. There are other good ones too; some of the other (both newer and older) Kenwoods for example. Also a couple of the Motorolas, such as the M1225 if you don't need more than about 20 channels and don't mind paying a shop to program it. The software for those is out there, but it takes some searching.The software for Kenwoods is easy to find. Also some of the Kenwoods can be programmed without a computer (TK-805 for example) and the TK-880 and possibly others can be programmed that way once that feature is enabled. Quote
ko66 Posted December 18, 2019 Author Report Posted December 18, 2019 Kenwood TK-880, short answer. There are other good ones too; some of the other (both newer and older) Kenwoods for example. Also a couple of the Motorolas, such as the M1225 if you don't need more than about 20 channels and don't mind paying a shop to program it. The software for those is out there, but it takes some searching.The software for Kenwoods is easy to find. Also some of the Kenwoods can be programmed without a computer (TK-805 for example) and the TK-880 and possibly others can be programmed that way once that feature is enabled.Thank you !! RCM 1 Quote
ko66 Posted December 20, 2019 Author Report Posted December 20, 2019 Kenwood TK-880, short answer. There are other good ones too; some of the other (both newer and older) Kenwoods for example. Also a couple of the Motorolas, such as the M1225 if you don't need more than about 20 channels and don't mind paying a shop to program it. The software for those is out there, but it takes some searching.The software for Kenwoods is easy to find. Also some of the Kenwoods can be programmed without a computer (TK-805 for example) and the TK-880 and possibly others can be programmed that way once that feature is enabled.What would you recommend for mobile? Quote
DeoVindice Posted December 20, 2019 Report Posted December 20, 2019 The TK-880 makes a great mobile rig as well. I run TK-390s and TK-380s for handhelds, and a TK-880 each for mobile and base. I also have a few TK-360Gs that will be for non-radio-savvy family members - just a channel dial and volume switch to understand. RCM 1 Quote
RCM Posted December 20, 2019 Report Posted December 20, 2019 What would you recommend for mobile?Those are mobiles. As DeoVindice said, TK380s and TK390s for handhelds. Actually I would (did) just get TK380s. Not only do they have a better user interface and bigger display than the '390; they also use the same software as the TK-880. The handhelds are a different programming cable than the mobile. But you can build a channel list in the program for the mobile, program it, then switch cables and change a couple of parameters in the software and dump the same channel list into the TK-380. With the '390 you would have to have different software and start from scratch.The '380 holds more channels than the '390, too. Quote
sierramadre Posted December 20, 2019 Report Posted December 20, 2019 Hi ko66, I'm right over the mountains just outside Pasadena. I just got a license and so am learning things as well. I ended up with a Btech GMRS-V1. ko66 1 Quote
ko66 Posted December 21, 2019 Author Report Posted December 21, 2019 Hi ko66, I'm right over the mountains just outside Pasadena. I just got a license and so am learning things as well. I ended up with a Btech GMRS-V1.Hi sierramadre, Maybe we can catch a repeater somehow and chat I do see any active ones out this way Toadman 1 Quote
ko66 Posted January 9, 2020 Author Report Posted January 9, 2020 Got my hands on a TK -880 and in the process of programming it. RCM and kipandlee 2 Quote
ko66 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Report Posted January 16, 2020 Anyone familiar with programming the tk-880? or is there a way to import everything I need from a file? Quote
axorlov Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 There are some users of TK-880 (and other Kenwood iron) on this board, with the experience in programming it. You sure can import everything from the file, but would, say, my file be of any use to you?KPG-49D software is fairly straightforward. What exactly do you want to have? Repeaters? With a specific tones? Or a simplex operation? Or, maybe, both? Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.