KENWOOD TK780H-1

[nokones]

I was able to find a complete brand new still in the box a Kenwood TK780H-1 for $150. I received the radio today.

[wayoverthere]

3 minutes ago, nokones said:

I was able to find a complete brand new still in the box a Kenwood TK780H-1 for $150. I received the radio today.

What a steal!

[WRXB215]

Isn't that a VHF radio?

[Lscott]

1 hour ago, WRXB215 said:

Isn't that a VHF radio?

Yes. Then it comes in two frequency splits to make it more interesting.

https://two-way.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/TK780-specs.pdf

If the goal was to get a 2M radio for ham it might be ok with the right spilt, 136-162, otherwise the seller is the one who got the steal on the deal.

I always get the manufacturer’s brochure for any radio I’m interested in to double check the specifications first. A few that looked good initially I just forgot about it once I saw the specifications.
 

The second thing is look up the FCC ID to see what the frequency range is. You can look up the official frequency range on the FCC’s database with the ID. Most sellers show the tags on the radio. If they don’t ask for a photo. A lot of sellers get the description all wrong. If they don’t have the ID’s or photo then forget it. There are some dishonest sellers out there trying to dump basically worthless radios for high prices.

[WRXA448]

.

[nokones]

6 hours ago, Lscott said:

Yes. Then it comes in two frequency splits to make it more interesting.

https://two-way.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/TK780-specs.pdf

If the goal was to get a 2M radio for ham it might be ok with the right spilt, 136-162, otherwise the seller is the one who got the steal on the deal.

I always get the manufacturer’s brochure for any radio I’m interested in to double check the specifications first. A few that looked good initially I just forgot about it once I saw the specifications.
 

The second thing is look up the FCC ID to see what the frequency range is. You can look up the official frequency range on the FCC’s database with the ID. Most sellers show the tags on the radio. If they don’t ask for a photo. A lot of sellers get the description all wrong. If they don’t have the ID’s or photo then forget it. There are some dishonest sellers out there trying to dump basically worthless radios for high prices.

Yes it is a VHF radio. The dash 1 in the model number means the band split is 146-174 MHz and the "H" means it's the high powered 45 watt version and the actual RF output is 49+ watts.

[Lscott]

7 hours ago, nokones said:

Yes it is a VHF radio. The dash 1 in the model number means the band split is 146-174 MHz and the "H" means it's the high powered 45 watt version and the actual RF output is 49+ watts.

My experience with Kenwood radios is it’s possible to operate the radio outside of its official band split a bit. With the lower official limit of 146 it’s likely you can get it down to 144. I’ve had better luck with the 40 MHz range in the band split than the 70 MHz or higher ones. 

Where possible I try to get the 400-470 split on UHF. That covers the Ham 70cm band, GMRS and the usual commercial frequencies. This range seems to be more common on the dual FM/digital mode radios. It’s much harder to find in the analog only models

On VHF I love my analog only TK-2170’s, those are 136-174 split. Perfect for Ham 2M, MURS, marine, FM railroads and NOAA weather. These are the VHF version of the TH-3170 I typically use for Ham 70cm repeaters and GMRS.

[nokones]

The Dash 1 Band Split is perfect for me as I won't be using any 2M freqs. I operate on freqs. between 151 and 159 Megs.