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Kenwood TK5310 Microphone

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codymw623

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Hello all,

I have a general question about my Kenwood TK5310 portable radio i have. I have been doing some research on the internet and see that Kenwood makes a Microphone that has the Antenna built on the speaker. The models they have listed are KMC-26 and KMC-49(with RF adapter). Is anyone currently using one of these microphones? Do they work better than having the antenna attached to the actual radio. I owned a Public saftey mic for an XTS2500 and was very pleased with the quality of the transmissions both receive and transmit.

I also see with the KMC-26 it doesn't have the RF adapter like the KMC-49.

I also attached the links to the websites where i found these products.

Thank you in advanced,

Cody

Kenwood Speaker Microphone w/Antenna Connector (KMC-26)

Kenwood Speaker Mic with Antenna (KMC-49)
 

mmckenna

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"work better" is debatable.

The coaxial cable is very small and it's pretty lossy. The microphone also doesn't provide much of a ground plane.
KMC-26 has a 3 foot straight cable. Not having the coil in the cable probably helps a bit.
KMC-49 has a coiled cord that I'd guess is closer to 6 feet if you stretched it out straight.

So, the 49 has about twice the cable loss of the 26, and a possible drawback from the "coily" cord part.

I've never tried one on UHF, however I've tried similar mics on 800MHz Motorola MTS-2000's.

- I wasn't impressed -

There is probably a bit of benefit to having the antenna a bit higher, but some of that benefit will be lost in coaxial losses. Also, using the full 6 inch UHF antenna on there (or in my case, the 800MHz whip) is really a pain the ®ear. So, you'd probably want the stubby antenna, which reduces performance a bit.

Probably a slight advantage. If they didn't really help out at least a bit, they wouldn't sell many of them. Unless you are a cop or paramedic, someone could also argue that there is the "dorky" factor to it (no offense intended)

At least for me, the very negligible improvement in performance was beat out by the dork factor (I'm not a cop or a paramedic, just a telecom guy), and the hassle of having a cord always in the way.

And personally, I'd rather that RF get absorbed by my gut than my skull.

Of course, your milage may vary.
 
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