Newbie Questions

[bcard519]

I work at a plant, we have 10 NX-300's that we don't really use. I see that If I get a programming cable and the KPG-111D software I can do some programming of the radios.

I am curious as to what kinda things this programming can do:
Does it let me change frequencies and channels? For example there is a feature that if the radio it turned on its side etc.... it activates an emergency alarm on the radio, is it possible to turn this off?
How hard is the software to use, is it user friendly?

Basically I just wanna make sure the software will work for the application before I invest too much time and money into it.

Thanks for the insight

Brandon

 

[kd4efm]

Well, basically, you can do whatever with the radio (within the same freq range that is *vhf or uhf)

Too much to say, but you can change whatever you want if the radios are not password protected
or on a trunked radio system (Type C trunking)

Money, around 225 to 270 roughly for a cable (KPG-36XM) and GENUINE KPG-111DN software.

 

[mmckenna]

I
Basically I just wanna make sure the software will work for the application before I invest too much time and money into it.

Do understand that anything you do with these radios requires a valid license.
If you are going to use them for work, your employer should have a license.
If you are going to use them for personal use, you'll need to get your own license.

But, as they go, nice radios.

 

[jaspence]

If these radios use a rented repeater, then they must be licensed, and any experimenting could cause problems for anyone else on the repeater or even using simplex. If your company is the license holder, you could cost them a great deal of money experimenting. Most radios used in a company situation are assigned one or more frequencies to avoid interfering with other businesses, and changing frequencies is a bad idea

 

[bcard519]

We own a valid license. Radios work fine. We would just like to remove the emergency/ man down feature.
Does anyone know how to do that? It's incredibly annoying. There is no hazardous areas in the plant, so its not like we have to worried about confined spaces or anything like that.

 

[mikewazowski]

We own a valid license. Radios work fine. We would just like to remove the emergency/ man down feature.

Where I work, tampering with a safety feature is grounds for dismissal. You might want to check with your employer before making changes to their radios.

 

[bcard519]

Easy there MikeOxlong lol.
My employer is the one telling me to fix the radios, no one wants to use it because as soon as they lean over or crouch to work on something..... the emergency siren goes off and activates the man down channel.
No one is going to dismiss me for doing what they asked.
We use the buddy system, no more flying solo.

 

[mmckenna]

Kenwood KPG-111DN is the programming software for these radios (as well as a few others). As radio programming software goes, it's not super hard to use, but it's not something for the uninitiated, either.

You'll also need the Kenwood KPG-36 programming cable. This will interface between a PC USB port and the connector on the side of the radio.

-Keep in mind that these radios are capable of being read, write or read/write locked with a password. You could purchase the software and cable and find that the radios will not allow you to read their configuration or write over it.-

You'll load the software on your PC.
Connect the cable to your PC
Connect the cable to your radio.
Turn the radio on.
Under the "Setup" dropdown, set the Comm port the radio is connected to.
On top, select the "Program" button and select "Read data from the transceiver"

———STOP———
—VERY FIRST THING YOU DO, BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE IS READ THE CONFIGURATION FROM THE RADIO AND SAVE IT IN AT LEAST TWO PLACES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-
So often people will jump into making changes to the radio, make a mistake, brick the radio or lose all the configurations, and not have a backup. Don't be that guy. Always save a fall back. Don't rely on pulling data out of the other radios as they may have individual radio ID's that will be different. Save yourself the headache...

So, here's what you do once you have completed everything above:
-On the top row of KPG-111, select "EDIT".
-Select "Emergency Information"
-On that screen, near the lower right, you'll see a field called "Man-down".
-There's a field for "Man-down Switch", set that to "None".

Under the "Program" button on top, select "Write data to the transceiver".
Save the file for that radio with the new settings. Name it something different than the original file. -Always save a fall back-

That will disabled the man down switch.
Repeat for the rest of the radios.

I'd strongly recommend not making any other changes. The radios will be set up to work within the requirements of the license. Changes you make can easily put these radios into violation of that license, and that can get your employer in trouble, including hefty fines.

 

[mmckenna]

I'll add that you may have some trouble getting a -legal- copy of that software in Canada. You may need to take these radios to a local Kenwood dealer and have them disable the man down switch.

Actually, based on the cost of the Kenwood branded programming cable and a legal copy of the KPG-111DN software, and the fact that you have not done any radio programming before, I'd really, strongly, suggest that you tell your employer that's the way to go. Bench time can vary a bit. Down here in the USA, $85/hr is normal. Reprogramming 10 of these radio to take the man down function off will take less than an hour, so it would probably be cheaper and easier. Spending a bit extra and have them do a once over on the radios to make sure they are still operating in spec, can really extend the life of the radios.

Reprogramming your own radios as a hobbyist is one thing. Doing it with employers radios is a different thing. There's less room for error.

 

[kd4efm]

I'll add that you may have some trouble getting a -legal- copy of that software in Canada. You may need to take these radios to a local Kenwood dealer and have them disable the man down switch.

Actually, based on the cost of the Kenwood branded programming cable and a legal copy of the KPG-111DN software, and the fact that you have not done any radio programming before, I'd really, strongly, suggest that you tell your employer that's the way to go. Bench time can vary a bit. Down here in the USA, $85/hr is normal. Reprogramming 10 of these radio to take the man down function off will take less than an hour, so it would probably be cheaper and easier. Spending a bit extra and have them do a once over on the radios to make sure they are still operating in spec, can really extend the life of the radios.

Reprogramming your own radios as a hobbyist is one thing. Doing it with employers radios is a different thing. There's less room for error.

If your in Canada, our hands are tied software wise. Sorry.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[bcard519]

Is it possible to turn off the man-down option without software, going thru the screens on the front of the radio.

Just wondering.
I am a industrial electrician, I do a lot of PLC programming so I should be able to figure out the software, providing the Radio's don't have a password.

Thanks guys

 

[mmckenna]

Is it possible to turn off the man-down option without software, going thru the screens on the front of the radio.

Not sure if that's a menu option. However, if it is, it would only be possible if the radios were programmed to offer that option in the menu.

Just wondering.
I am a industrial electrician, I do a lot of PLC programming so I should be able to figure out the software, providing the Radio's don't have a password.

Different beasts all together.
Figuring out the software is one thing. Understanding what all the options are, and more importantly, how the work together, is another. The Kenwood software has fairly decent help menus, however it doesn't cover everything.

 

[Res21cue]

bcard519 PM me