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Kenwood Dual Band Setup

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airboss1634

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Mar 28, 2010
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I recently acquired a Kenwood TK-630H & TK-830 married with a KRK-4DB to make it a dual radio single head setup. My issue is that when the radio is on the low band functions normally, but when I turn to a uhf freq the display begins to flash and I cannot transmit on UHF. Does anyone know if this is a programming error, or a hardware error. I have checked the fuse going to the uhf radio and it is fine.
 

davidgcet

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it's been a LONG time since i fooled with a setup like this, but if i remember correctly you have to have a matched chip in both radios and the head and both radios have to be programmed as a dual band unit. last time i fooled with this was in '97, so i may be off on this!
 

airboss1634

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Update

Both radios have the FAB chip, and the 630 powers on fine, but the 830 does not power on. I removed the remote mount items and placed the control head on the 830 and did a test program and it operates fine. Why would the 830 not power on when in the dual band setup. The programming is set to single head dual radio. radio 1 is the 630, and radio 2 is the 830.
 

DPapay

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Morris County, N.J.
You mentioned when you convert the uhf back to a dash, you can program it. Can you reprogram it when it is set up as dual band? There is probably modifications that need to be done to both radios also, if not done already. You probably cannot just take two radios and throw the kit on them and they work. Do you have the manual that covers the conversion method?
 

airboss1634

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OK, got the power issue resolved. Both radios are now in sync and operate well. I now need to find the microphone gain and turn it up on radio 2. Don't know if I can find it, but I'll look around.
 

airboss1634

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I think I can help

Lets see if I can walk you thru this one Cap.
I assume that you are trying to join a VHF and UHF TK series radio together into one control head using the KRK-4DB. First, you have to pick your primary radio. This is the first radio connected to the control head. In my case it was the TK-630H low band. You must connect it to the control head via the port that states "To control head". Next you have to modify the second radio. In my case it was the TK-830(G). Remove the four screws that fasten the top cover of the radio. This is the shorter of the two half covers. Inside you will find the firmware chip (I believe they MUST match, however, I am not certain. If they are not compatible, they will not see each other.) Mine are FAB/FAB. Now look for W102. It is located to the right of the three grouped white connectors in the middle of the board. This resistor wire must be cut, but leave in a position that they can soldered back together if you wish to someday reverse the process. Now, find solder points A and C. They are clearly marked and are quite easy to locate. A is toward the front of the board near the rainbow connector. C is right next to the W102 resistor that you cut. You must now solder a jumper wire between solder points A and C. Reassemble the radio and connect radio 2 to radio 1 via the KRK-4DB and apply power to both radios. You should hear the relays click in both radios indicating that they are both operating.

Notes:
1. The total number of channels will be shared over both radios. You may make it in any combination you wish, but cannot exceed the total number of channels per one radio.

2. Both radios must be capable of the same number of channels. If not, I recommend purchasing the "Kenwood TK-630/TK-730/TK-830 KCH-5 160ch Upgrade Kit" via eBay Item #350397363026.
This will work for the Basic KCH-3 as well, and will upgrade it to a 99ch. You will need 2 of these kits in order to upgrade your dual band kenwood (you will receive 4 chips, but require only 3). They come with detailed install instructions (WITH PICTURES, unlike mine).

3. You can connect the speaker to 2 different places (this will conduct audio traffic from both radios).
A- to the remote head via the 6 pin connector with pins 9&12 jumped on the 15 pin accessory plug on the back of radio 1.
B. to pins 6 & 12 of the 15 pin accessory connector on the back of radio 1.

4. The pin config on the accessory connector was not numbered in the order I expected, see below

3 6 9 12 15
2 5 8 11 14
1 4 7 10 13

Good luck and reply with any questions you may have. I hope you have a steady hand with a small soldering iron. Be extra cautious. I wouldn't want to see a good radio go to waste (LOL). If all works well I garuntee you will love this rock solid setup. I know I do.
 

Firecapt311

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Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Messages
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Location
Verde Valley, Arizona
Kenwood TK Dual band

Thanks for the assistance. It works great. I went thru this about four times yesterday and know there had to be some mods. The Radio 2 would not allow the VCO to lock on the frequencies. I just could not find the correct answer and the instructions that comes with the dual band kit on Ebay didnot have any of this.
Thanks again
 

Jester580

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Feb 10, 2010
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Is there any way to make this work if Radio 2 does not have the FAC firmware? I only have FAA chips
 
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