Is the TK3180 any good?

[hamfan22]

I am thinking about getting my first Kenwood and I'm looking at the TK 3180 since I found one for a decent price. Is it a decent radio for a mix of Ham and GMRS and some occasional monitoring of LTR systems?

But I am wondering can I monitor LTR systems with it? I have seen conflicting information whether it works on trunking or not. I was also wondering if it can be programmed with a wildcard talk group to receive all talk groups? Or if all talk groups have to be programmed to receive them.

 

[a417]

Yes it works on LTR & Passport systems. Old company used to issue those. Don't know the answer the the scan question, because it was a single talk group. The scan on conventional was quite slow.

 

[Ant9270]

I tried out a 3180 as my first Kenwood radio as well. Although I will admit I am a through and through “Motorola guy” I enjoyed the 3180. I thought it was very user friendly, easy to use and navigate CPS, and had great sensitivity. The speaker was fairly loud, and the buttons were responsive. Give it a shot, if you’d like.

 

[mmckenna]

I have a few UHF analog systems at work that I have to monitor/maintain. I needed a basic UHF radio. I picked up a used TK-3180 until we get our APX-8000's.
Kenwood stuff is usually pretty good, and for an analog radio, these are. Solid radio with a number of good features. Easy to program, too.

It's the same chassis used by the Kenwood NX-210/410 radios, so there are a lot of options for batteries, microphones, accessories.

A good analog UHF radio.

 

[ramal121]

All 3180's have LTR trunking. Passport was an option though. You can set up a channel to monitor a single talk group or you can set a range of talk groups (including all) without having to scan.

 

[MTS2000des]

Still have both a TK-2180 and TK-3180, thought I rarely use them. These are great analog radios, they do all kinds of signaling (MDC1200, FleetSync, DTMF,2-tone, etc) and have great sensitivity. Large channel capacity make them great for amateur use and they're miles above the Chinese broadband noise making garbage pail radios and don't get desensed by wireless routers or LED lights like the "walkie talkie on chip" Chinaturd radios do and can be had for about the same cost on the used market.

KPG-89D is a breeze to use, and aftermarket cables can be had for $15 or so. As many of these get deadlined, they're becoming widely available, and unlike offshort garbage pail radios with dubious and questionable FCC certfications, these 80 series Kenwoods still have legit part 90 certifications and are fully narrowband compliant, for those who care about being legal when the zombies return and they need good reliable radios for their "bug out" kit.

 

[rapidcharger]

I am thinking about getting my first Kenwood and I'm looking at the TK 3180 since I found one for a decent price. Is it a decent radio for a mix of Ham and GMRS and some occasional monitoring of LTR systems?

But I am wondering can I monitor LTR systems with it? I have seen conflicting information whether it works on trunking or not. I was also wondering if it can be programmed with a wildcard talk group to receive all talk groups? Or if all talk groups have to be programmed to receive them.

I have owned a 2180 and 3180, the same ones, for the past 13 years with heavy use. I got them both new from a dealer. The only problem i had with one of them was with the antenna connector going limp when I connected an external mobile antenna to it and probably put a lot of stress on that connection.
They do seem to perform better than another popular brand of commercial radio with the stock equipment.
Also thanks again to the previous poster who was nice enough to recently give me another one for free. Thanks!
Wish I could find my programming cable.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wish I could find my programming cable.

You can buy a USB programming cable for less than $30...

 

[rapidcharger]

You can buy a USB programming cable for less than $30...

I realize that but I had an OEM one from an authorized dealer (with a serial connector) that I paid a lot more money for and I can't find it and it's driving me nuts.

 

[kayn1n32008]

I realize that but I had an OEM one from an authorized dealer (with a serial connector) that I paid a lot more money for and I can't find it and it's driving me nuts.

Fair enough. And of course the minute you buy a new one, you will find the old one.

 

[BK87]

Does anyone know the difference between K1,2,3,4 versions of this radio. Are all versions of 3180 good for GMRS band?

 

[kayn1n32008]

Both band splits cover GMRS, @mmckenna would know the meaning of K1 to K6. I don’t know the TK-3180 that well.

 

[KK6ZTE]

K1 = Four key 450-512 MHz
K2 = Four key 400-470 MHz
K3 = Full Keypad 450-512MHz
K4 = Full Keypad 400-470 MHz

Personally I prefer the K2/K4 as I don't have anything T-band. Both will work with GMRS (462/467). However, only the K1/K3 is Part 95 certified so you can legitimately use it on GMRS (but they're identical...go figure)

K5/K6/K7 only apply to the newer radios, not this one.

 

[BK87]

Thanks for the explanations. Is the stock antenna good on 3180 or do I need to upgrade for better performance? Also what aftermarket batteries should I be looking at? There are a lot of unbranded batteries on ebay but I’m not sure if their quality is good.

 

[KK6ZTE]

The factory KNB-43 is the best out there... massive li-ion that’s super lightweight. Pricey though. The 33 is good but less capacity. I would stick with the lithium ion to keep weight down.

Factory KRA-26 (~6” whip) is fantastic and you really can’t improve on it at uhf frequencies.

I have five of them. I also have the TK5310 and the NX5300K6. I still prefer the TK3180 for anything analog.

 

[hamfan22]

I agree with KK6ZTE on the antenna. Mine is great. I have had the 3180 for a few weeks and I love it. It works very well and is super sturdy. I have fallen in love with Kenwoods and just received my NX 210. I will never go back to any of the cheap Chinese radios or some of the amateur junk out there.

 

[kayn1n32008]

I agree with KK6ZTE on the antenna. Mine is great. I have had the 3180 for a few weeks and I love it. It works very well and is super sturdy. I have fallen in love with Kenwoods and just received my NX 210. I will never go back to any of the cheap Chinese radios or some of the amateur junk out there.

The difference between a quality radio and a CCR is amazing. In every aspect.

I alway read people saying the ‘TX audio is great’ ‘the RX audio is loud’ ‘the build quality is good’ and laugh. Most don’t have anything to compare it to, and when compared to most anything else out there, the CCRs show how awful their quality actually is.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Thanks for the explanations. Is the stock antenna good on 3180 or do I need to upgrade for better performance? Also what aftermarket batteries should I be looking at? There are a lot of unbranded batteries on ebay but I’m not sure if their quality is good.

Buy OEM batteries. They cost a bit more, but are known quality.

Unless you buy a hammy-tastic whacker antenna, OEM will work just fine and give you adequate performance.