Kenwood TM281 powering

[MrMaverick]

Hello everyone! I am new to the GMRS community so maybe this question is cringe noob level however I haven't had a lot of results looking on forums or Youtube. I have a Kenwood tm281 which I am very familiar with due to my line of work and I just got a personal one that I would like to set up in my house. the question is can I get any old 12v converter and wire in the radio? I know they can draw quite a bit of power when transmitting so maybe it needs some real beefy converter to handle power draw? Maybe its a simple question y'all can answer or kindly point me to some appropriate forums

[SteveShannon]

12 minutes ago, MrMaverick said:

Hello everyone! I am new to the GMRS community so maybe this question is cringe noob level however I haven't had a lot of results looking on forums or Youtube. I have a Kenwood tm281 which I am very familiar with due to my line of work and I just got a personal one that I would like to set up in my house. the question is can I get any old 12v converter and wire in the radio? I know they can draw quite a bit of power when transmitting so maybe it needs some real beefy converter to handle power draw? Maybe its a simple question y'all can answer or kindly point me to some appropriate forums

Get a good power supply rated to provide 13.8 vDC at least 30% more current (amps) than you think you need. 
I like Samlex. Others on these forums have had good experiences with Astron and Meanwell. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, MrMaverick said:

Hello everyone! I am new to the GMRS community so maybe this question is cringe noob level however I haven't had a lot of results looking on forums or Youtube. I have a Kenwood tm281 which I am very familiar with due to my line of work and I just got a personal one that I would like to set up in my house. the question is can I get any old 12v converter and wire in the radio? I know they can draw quite a bit of power when transmitting so maybe it needs some real beefy converter to handle power draw? Maybe its a simple question y'all can answer or kindly point me to some appropriate forums

That radio according to kenwood uses 14ps or less on high power 65watts.  So a 20amp might work fine but I’d personally just run a 30amp unit that way you have zero problems 

[wayoverthere]

6 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

  So a 20amp might work fine but I’d personally just run a 30amp unit that way you have zero problems 

7 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

Get a good power supply rated to provide 13.8 vDC at least 30% more current (amps) than you think you need. 
I like Samlex. Others on these forums have had good experiences with Astron and Meanwell. 

Both good advice....headroom is never a bad thing (and nice if you want to run more than one radio).

The 2 extra bits I'll add is that an Alinco has been doing well for me (dm-30tr) since early 2020, and to watch the ratings on power supplies....some only list a peak, and some supplies vary how much the gap is between continuous output and peak output.

My Alinco is rated for 20a continuous, 30a peak, and most specs focus on the peak, while Samlex tend to be listed by their continuous rating.

Side note: DXE has this nice 23a samlex psu+mount, says for Kenwood radios (tm-281 is listed as one of them, too).