What’s with all the Kenwood D74’s being auctioned off that are from Japan? Are they not good for use here in the US? I figured maybe a used D74 would be good. The couple of American auctions I saw I might as well pay a hundred extra and get a D75
Flood of Japanese Amateur Equipment
- Thread starter K2KOH
- Start date
A Japanese version would have a different band plan in the radio.
Going forward I would only purchase USA version of any ham radio. Many areas outside the United States don't use the full 2 meter band and many use much lower for 70CM like 430, rather 440 frequencies.
It's a gamble to purchase radios for outside the USA without knowing if radio can operate in our band segments.
Going forward I would only purchase USA version of any ham radio. Many areas outside the United States don't use the full 2 meter band and many use much lower for 70CM like 430, rather 440 frequencies.
It's a gamble to purchase radios for outside the USA without knowing if radio can operate in our band segments.
The U.S. band plan for 2m and 70cm is different from the Japanese plan for those bands. I'm told that Japanese amateur radio rules require that their band plan be hard-coded into the radios. I've seen many stories on social media that boil down to Japanese radios cannot be modified to follow U.S. band plans. Not even the much-discussed "MARS" mod for out of band transmit can fix the Japanese restrictions. Based on this, I would not buy a Japanese-spec radio and expect it to work in the U.S.
Also, the 222 MHz band is a North American-only band. A Japanese-spec radio will not have the 222 MHz band.
Also, the 222 MHz band is a North American-only band. A Japanese-spec radio will not have the 222 MHz band.
k6cpo
Member
Sellers in Japan have taken a hint from the popularity of cheap Chinese radios in the US and are now starting to sell Japanese market radios on e-Bay. They have discovered American hams are cheap and will jump on a "bargain" price without doing any further research. The ham radio Facebook pages are full of questions from those that have purchased Japanese market radios and then discovered all they're good for is as an APRS igate.
