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Fake Kenwood TK-3207G Radios from EBAY - I just had to check one out

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michy

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When I saw these Kenwood TK-3207G radios on EBAY, it peaked my interest to see if it was refurbished, or if they would have just remanufactured a new TX-RX board, so I decided to try one (since it was pretty cheap).
I had purchased similar (but motorola) radios before off EBAY, and they were refurbished, so I was curious to see what these were).

As soon as it arrived I was eager to test the programming, which was successful using Kenwood programming software. I only tested one channel on a frequency I had licenses for so far, and didn't test anything else.


Here are photos showing the branding of the boxes, and both charger and radio as they were unpacked:

First Box: Charger

Charger 1 - Box
Charger 2 - Front of Charger - Cheap looking and did not actually match the one advertised on the EBAY AD

(just wait until you see inside it)

Charger 3 - Back of charger

Next Box: Radio

(They spend a fair amount of effort to make the box look so authentic)

Radio 1 - Top of Box
Radio 2 - Left Side of Box
Radio 3 - Right Side of Box
Radio 4 - Lets open it 1
Radio 5 - Lets open it 2
Radio 6 - Lets open it 3
Radio 7 - Lets open it 4


Next, I wanted to go inside and check the quality (or lack thereof):

Chassis Foilside
Chassis Left Side
Chassis Right Side
Chassis Top
Chassis Bottom
Case 1
Case 2

Notes:
1) If you search that part number (HLD3207v12), results don't show up, and they are not Kenwood (obviously).
2) The metal chassis appears authentic?

EBAY Seller Supplied Charger
(no circuit/overheating/overcharging protections - is just four diodes, a transformer, a few caps which is a basic AC-DC power supply) and comparing it to a TYT DM380 circuitry:

Comparison of Charging Circuitry between EBAY and stock DM380 chargers
(Most likely a fire hazard that will not stop charging the battery once its charged.)

These were the images that I used when I confronted the seller about selling fake/counterfeit radios:

Showing that the radio is missing waterproof sealsTesting

(youtube video showing a water test and disappointed, yet expected results - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4n5AwxDb1c )

Comparison between Fake TX-RX and counterfeit board

Another Comparison between Fake TX-RX and counterfeit board


I found it interesting how cheap the TX-RX board was, and the complete lack of seals, etc. These are pretty well junk, although I'd like to see how clean they are on a spectrum analyzer.

This seller was also selling ICOMs (fake of course), and after presenting some of the pictures above he refunded my money with no arguments.

I could put his name here, but, the price made it obvious that they could be fake and/or low quality.
 
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mmckenna

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Thanks for the write up.

Not at all surprising, lots of counterfeit junk out there. Glad you got your money back. I'm sure there are a fair amount of people buying these thinking they are "real".

I've been tempted to do similar purchases to do comparisons like this. Mostly with the Tram/Browning antennas to see how they compare to the name brand stuff.
 

michy

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I've seen some pretty good fakes where you were hard pressed to determine if they were not authentic.

Sometimes the fakes function very close to the real ones, but some are downright dangerous (especially if they plug into a wall).

I did a post back about four years ago about fake motorola chargers what also lacked protection circuits... although this recent one was worse:

https://forums.radioreference.com/m...who-have-bought-hong-kong-sellers-ebay-2.html
 

mmckenna

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Tram/Browning antennas.. JUNK.

Yeah, I'm aware. Each year they have a display at IWCE, this year I finally caught one of their guys and asked him a few questions. I didn't know where they were manufactured, but from what I saw, looked like China. A lot of them looked like copies of Larsen and Laird antennas. I asked him why I should buy their antennas for my fleet rather than the other brands, and not tell me "price". He didn't have an answer and sort of wandered off.

I've been using Larsen for almost 30 years now, never had a failure or issue. Been using Laird for about 5 with good results.

My point was that I want to take one of their antennas for a trip on my band saw table and open it up to see what the internal quality is like compared to the Larsen's. Trouble is it means I'll have to buy one of them, or a few for destructive testing. I guess I need to start searching the ham-fests.

From what I've seen the CCR crowd and amateur radio operators seem to like them, I guess based on price or maybe for some, the fact they have bought the old Tram and Browning brand names.

If I ever get around to it, I'll post photos.
 

AK9R

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Guys, while the discussion of cheap antennas is interesting, it kinda wanders off of the original topic. The antenna discussion might a good one for the Commercial Antennas forum.
 

michy

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Another comparison of a counterfeit Kenwood radio (TX-RX board):

Another Counterfeit Kenwood Branded Radio - Picture of TX-TX Board

The chargers that came with these have a transformer (120v to 18v), four diodes (Full wave rectification), and a resistor to power the red LED which is about as basic and cheap as you can get.

There is no other protection circuitry to protect against over temperature, no voltage regulator, no switching that will shutdown the charger once the battery is charged.

Plus, the transformer is secured to the case with cheap two way tape, and reached temperatures of near 200F when charging a battery .
 
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