WRTT440 Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 Hello All. I finally put together a base station for the house. I'm using a Kenwood TK-880-1 purchased from ebay, a 30 amp power supply from ebay, about 30 feet of LMR-400 type cable and a Tram 1486 antenna tuned for the GMRS band. The power supply is a bit overkill as the max needed would be 8 amps for this radio. But I didn't want to have to replace it if I later upgrade to a higher power GMRS radio. Today I was able to make my first "radio test" to a repeater (WRPD520) about 21.5 miles away using the TK-880 on high power, about 19.5 watts, with 1.25 SWR. Lscott and WRXB215 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labreja Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 That's really great! My wife and I use the Kenwood TK-880s for our base and both our vehicles. I find them reasonably priced, easy to program, and overall, just a great radio. Good luck with it and have fun! WRTT440 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axorlov Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 Congrats! TK-880 is a robust chunk of a radio. 250 programmable channels, zones, operator-selected tone, reasonably fast scan, you name it. WRTT440 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ULTRA2 Posted July 19, 2023 Report Share Posted July 19, 2023 What's the difference between the TK880 and the TK8160? I have the 8160 as a base, and I'm happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axorlov Posted July 19, 2023 Report Share Posted July 19, 2023 1 hour ago, ULTRA2 said: What's the difference between the TK880 and the TK8160? I have the 8160 as a base, and I'm happy with it. Hardware is different. These are different radios. And that does not preclude you from being happy with 8160! WRTT440 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrfc Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 I have 4 TK 880-1 RADIOS . They are great radios for GMRS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nokones Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 I just acquired a refurbished TK880K a couple months ago in a Club raffle. At first, I thought that I would give it away to a Club newbie in need of a mobile radio since I already have several non-CCR mobile radios, except for one unfortunately, that I shouldn't have bought in the first place. I never been a Kenwood fan or had a use for one but, I quickly grown to like the radio once I got into the programming of the radio and learned its radio capabilities, and fit the radio into my radio use choices and inventory/cache. They do make great GMRS radios and the radio features include zone programming, talkaround, a true monitor/PL Defeat that just doesn't blow squelch like a CCR, Home channel, and soft key programming. I like the size of the radio and it allows me to temporarily use the radio in one of my cars that really can't accommodate a permanent mobile radio installation. The radio is really not too shabby. For a quality and inexpensive radio for a person that doesn't have very much disposable income and want to play with radios, and learn how to program their own radio(s), this radio is for you. WRXB215 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 25 minutes ago, nokones said: I never been a Kenwood fan or had a use for one but, I quickly grown to like the radio once I got into the programming of the radio and learned its radio capabilities, and fit the radio into my radio use choices and inventory/cache. Looks like I see another up and coming Kenwood fan like me. TK-780(H)_880(H).pdf WRXB215 and Sshannon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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.