Anyone here have experience with Kenwood brand radios.
I am looking at 5w multiple channels.
Kenwoods are about the only radios our volunteer fire department has left. I don't like the controls as well as the relm radios we did use but they are good radios. The old relms were not narrowband so we had to phase them out.
James
I used them at my last job, they were fine and if I followed things correctly Kenwood was pretty good about repairing them for the cost of shipping.
Never had a problem with any Kenwoods we ever owned or used
We've got Motorola SP50's
That's what we have used for years, they are now obsolete, thank you govt. I was in no hurry to buy new ones but one batt is now ng the other takes almost a full charge (both 4 years old) the antennas are cracked and the mic cables probably have less than a year in them. So it's spend ~$300 on obsolete radios or $600 on new ones - Bangs head.
The equivalent Motorolas look exactly like the Kenwoods and the kenwoods are $50 ea less and are sold by my radio guy nearby who sells a lot of kenwoods.
Oh, I didn't know that the SP50's were obsolete. Thanks for pointing that out to me.
My radio guy told me that he was not sure how much longer batteries would be available.
I am sure the mfgrs discod all the parts in anticipation of the federal move making them "illegal"
We had a set of Kenwood radios and they were good. They are pretty durable but won't survive a dozer running over them.... Don't ask me how I know...
Kenwood has been in the radio business for a long time and are known to have made some of the best radios of various types.
I did a little checking today. The SP50's were of two types, VHF or UHF. The VHF version (which can be identified by the model number within the battery compartment) is programmable from frequencies between 150 and 170 MHz, which means that it can theoretically be programmed to the MURS frequencies - 151.820 MHz, 151.880 MHz, 151.940 MHz, 154.570 MHz, and 154.600 MHz. That's Multi Use Radio Service, which is a low power (less than 2 watts) radio service that does not require a license and can be used for business. It may be a crowded band in densely populated areas, but in rural areas, might be just fine. Also, according to several sources I found online, the MURS frequencies do not fall under the FCC narrowbanding mandate, as they are "Part 95", like family radio service (FRS) and GMRS, etc. So looks like I might be able to continue using the SP50's.
Mine are actually P50s. 2 channel 4 watt VHF.
The deciding factor was that they were discod by Motorola in the mid 1990s and now parts are becoming scarce. Since mine need batts, antennas, and soon new mics the cost for parts equals the cost of a new kenwood w/mic.
Be careful of online batteries. the prices I found ranged from $16 to $52. And some are slightly lower voltage.
With my EDM batts one receller put a newer type battery (lit-ion IIRC) and my charger went berserk.
I have come to the conclusion that radio and EDM mfgrs are really in the battery business like HP,Epson and other printer mfgrs are really in the ink business.
I chose ashtech Locus GPS units because they take common everyday D or C cell batteries. No worry about them being charged and they run about 90 min after the low batt lite comes on, worst case go to nearest store and buy some. A lot cheaper than these special $100 batts. When I first got them I used them 8-10 hrs a day for 2 weeks and never replaced the batteries.
