Kenwood TK3302U programming

[LeoG]

Anyone know what I need to program this HT?  Friend of mine acquired one and would like it reprogrammed to GMRS channels.  It's currently programmed on 8 of the 16 channels from 456-467 MHz with mostly digital tones.  I tried reading it with various settings in legacy CHIRP with no success.  I used my TDH3 to find out what frequency and tones are in there currently.

[WRXB215]

@Lscott Is one of the best go-tos for all things Kenwood. I'm sure he'll be along with some info.

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, LeoG said:

Anyone know what I need to program this HT?  Friend of mine acquired one and would like it reprogrammed to GMRS channels.  It's currently programmed on 8 of the 16 channels from 456-467 MHz with mostly digital tones.  I tried reading it with various settings in legacy CHIRP with no success.  I used my TDH3 to find out what frequency and tones are in there currently.

Gonna have to get the kenwood software.  It’s proprietary from kenwood or other dealers or people that have it.  It’s something like KPG-119DN Or maybe 118 depends on the radio version.  I’m not into kenwoods as much as Motorolas but it’s not as easy as plugging into chirp or rt systems.  The learning curve is much greater with the kenwood and Motorola software.  

[Lscott]

If it's a TK-3302UK radio the attached software should work. Unzip the file and copy the contents for disks 1 through 4 to an empty folder. All the files must be in that folder. Then run the "setup.exe" file to install. Use the install key found in "SeriaL.txt" file. 

KPG-119D V2.00.zip Brochure-TK-2302_3302.pdf

[LeoG]

Doesn't have the K at the end but I'll give it a shot tonight.  At worst it won't read it and I delete it off my computer. 

 

Thanks.

[Lscott]

The "K" means its a North American market code. Without it it should work just fine. Hopefully the ding-dong who programmed the radio didn't use read/write passwords, particularly the write one. That will stop you from writing a new code plug to the radio. In that case you have to find a "engineer" key and reinstall the software using it. That unlocks the password reset function in the programming software.

[LeoG]

Well I got the program installed.  No radio with me though.  Thanks again, hope it works.

[LeoG]

9 minutes ago, Lscott said:

The "K" means its a North American market code. Without it it should work just fine. Hopefully the ding-dong who programmed the radio didn't use read/write passwords, particularly the write one. That will stop you from writing a new code plug to the radio. In that case you have to find a "engineer" key and reinstall the software using it. That unlocks the password reset function in the programming software.

At that point I'll give the radio back and tell the guy good luck.  He got it for free so no loss on anyones part.

[Lscott]

1 hour ago, LeoG said:

At that point I'll give the radio back and tell the guy good luck.  He got it for free so no loss on anyones part.

Hopefully it's not password locked. I've read where this is done by unscrupulous radio shops to lock the customer, who owns the radio BTW, into going back to them for any changes.

The 16 channel radios are great to give to people who are radio phobic or are likely to just start pressing buttons at random. These are almost impossible to screw up.

I remember buying a used TK-3160 or TK-3260 radio that looked exactly like the one you're trying to program. The radio channel select knob couldn't be turned. At first I thought the selector was shot so I used some channel locks to try and turn it. Had nothing to lose at this point. Turned out the channel select knob was SUPER GLUED so it couldn't be turned!!! Stupid part was it had been glued to a position where the channel wasn't programmed so the radio wouldn't work. I found out only one channel was programmed when I read the radio later. I some how think it was done by whoever used it because they had a bug about something and wanted to sabotage the radio without it looking like it was deliberately vandalized. There was NO hint of any glue showing so whoever did it was VERY careful.

You never know what you'll likely find when buying used radios.

[LeoG]

Works like a charm Lscott.  No problems what so ever programming it.  Not password protected.  In like flynn.

 

Thanks Again.

[Lscott]

24 minutes ago, LeoG said:

Works like a charm Lscott.  No problems what so ever programming it.  Not password protected.  In like flynn.

 

Thanks Again.

Have fun. If you have any questions I can install the software here and look at the code plug if necessary.

[LeoG]

Seems simple enough.  The only thing I didn't recognize is the last column "Opt Signal"

But it seems to have everything needed.  The analog and digital tones are all in one pull down which I haven't seen before.  But that makes little to no difference.

 

 

[Lscott]

3 minutes ago, LeoG said:

The only thing I didn't recognize is the last column "Opt Signal"

I believe that's for multi tone signaling. I wouldn't select it since it's never used in GMRS or Ham from what I've seen by me. For Kenwood it's their "FleetSYNC" or MDC-1200 signaling I think.

[Lscott]

One interesting "feature" with Kenwood radios is you can "push" them a bit beyond their official band split. When you try to enter a out of band split frequency you'll get a warning popup. Just click OK and it will take the entry. Doesn't mean the radio will work there. It depends on the range of the VCO and and the PLL can lock. It likely varies by radio so you have to try it and see. If not you get an error tone out of the radio's speaker.

My 128 channel TK-3170's, lower end is 450 MHz, and I have a bunch of Ham 70cm repeaters in them. The radios work.

I tried some of the simple 16 channel Kenwood radios with the lower band split of 450MHz. About the lowest frequency the PLL would lock was around 435MHz. Plenty for the repeater section of the band and the upper simplex section too.

I have noticed that many of the older Kenwood digital radios had band splits of 400 to 470 MHz. Perfect for Ham and GMRS. If I see any used for a decent price in that range I'll consider a purchase.

 

[LeoG]

I'm spoiled with the chynese junk with a digital screen and keypad programming.  But this seems like a rugged radio that should last my friend as long as he wants it to.

[Lscott]

30 minutes ago, LeoG said:

I'm spoiled with the chynese junk with a digital screen and keypad programming.  But this seems like a rugged radio that should last my friend as long as he wants it to.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/286079880475?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=wblQe9xfQCm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=j_t98fioS_6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[LeoG]

Condition:

For parts or not working

 

And it's VHF which does me no good because the only license I have is GMRS for radio.

[Lscott]

If it’s a TK-3302 then that’s a UHF band radio. Look at the downloaded brochure. It’s clearly identified. I see sellers getting this mixed up all the time.

The deal with “for parts or not working” means they haven’t tested the radios and can’t say in the ad the radios work. That’s basically an eBay requirement thing. Likely some or all of them work. 

[Lscott]

 Now if it was a TK-2302 that would be the VHF version. The band split on those is 136 to 174. It could be programmed for the 5 license free MURS channels and RX only on the 7 NOAA weather channels. Good for hiking and camping.

[LeoG]

I told my friend that there was one available on ebay.  If he wants a pair of them that would be a good way to go.