Kenwod TK-3180 Programming question

[Punar]

Hi all, new to this whole radio thing. I have a TK-3180 that my work programmed for me. A co-workers radio quit transmitting on channel 1, which goes over a repeater, it receives just fine but will not transmit. It works fine rx and tx on all other channels (not going over the repeater) the lady at work that programs our radios tried for hours and was not able to get it working, she told me something was wrong with the radio. I've been playing around with chirp, I don't understand a whole lot but from what info I've managed to soak from these forums, if it transmits and receives on other channels then it should on the repeater too... right?
I've downloaded my radio settings (which works fine on all channels, including channel 1) and cloned it to my co-workers radio, completely overwriting his, it still won't transmit on channel 1.
I guess what I'm wondering if there's some chip or crystal or something the radio uses just for the tone or whatever it uses to connect to the repeater that might have quit working.

 

[n7maq-1]

How far away from the repeater are you? If it's not local/on-site, then it could be low RF out of the radio. Even with only a few hundred milliwatts on direct radio close by will hear it. If it just stopped working without having been programmed it is probably a radio issue. I don't know if CHIRP works with the 3180, but the correct software is KPG-89D.

You might want to reach out to your radio dealer or whoever maintains the repeater.

 

[buddrousa]

A watt meter, service monitor, dummy load and a service manual will help you more and faster than guessing what is happening when you key the radio.

 

[mmckenna]

Hi all, new to this whole radio thing. I have a TK-3180 that my work programmed for me. A co-workers radio quit transmitting on channel 1, which goes over a repeater, it receives just fine but will not transmit. It works fine rx and tx on all other channels (not going over the repeater) the lady at work that programs our radios tried for hours and was not able to get it working, she told me something was wrong with the radio. I've been playing around with chirp, I don't understand a whole lot but from what info I've managed to soak from these forums, if it transmits and receives on other channels then it should on the repeater too... right?

Not necessarily.

Without knowing how your radios are programmed, it would be impossible to accurately diagnose this issue.

I've downloaded my radio settings (which works fine on all channels, including channel 1) and cloned it to my co-workers radio, completely overwriting his, it still won't transmit on channel 1.

That would indicate that it is not the programming that is the issue, more than likely.

I guess what I'm wondering if there's some chip or crystal or something the radio uses just for the tone or whatever it uses to connect to the repeater that might have quit working.

TK-3180's are pretty solid radios, but they have been on the market for a long time. Your's are at least several years old, maybe more.
There are a number of things that can happen with radios as they age:
-They can take a substantial amount of abuse in their day to day lives. Could be the antenna jack is damaged. Could be the antenna itself is damaged.
-The components inside age, and as they age, the radio will start to wander out of alignment, and this can present itself as not having enough range to reach a repeater, but work fine on simplex to nearby radios. Frequency can drift, QT/DQT deviation can drift, and a number of other things.

Realignment may bring the radio back, but that's not a do-it-yourself sort of thing. It requires a service monitor, and the KPG-89D software which has a service section that permits aligning the radio.

Chirp won't do that.
Also, don't go looking for KPG-89D and start messing with the settings in the service side. Those settings are specific to that particular radio, and you cannot take alignment data out of another radio and put it in and expect it to work.

Here's what I'd suggest:
If the radio belongs to your employer, let them deal with it.
Have them send it to a Kenwood shop and let a professional look at it. They'll have the test equipment necessary to diagnose the issue and repair/realign as necessary.

If the radio is not repairable for a reasonable price, just have your employer get a new radio.

 

[EWC_BDN]

This might not be clear, but that radio is pretty old. Like minimum 10 years old.

It's probably time for a new one once they start failing. radios don't last forever.

 

[Punar]

Thank you all for the replies and info. I'm going to try to answer all the questions lol. We bought the radios ourselves so our employer is not going to do anything to repair or replace it.
The repeater is onsite. I wouldn't even know where to begin as far as realigning it or anything like that, I was testing a theory that the programming somehow got corrupted. my new theory is that it got dropped a couple times too many. we drop or fall on our radios very often... hostile work environment lol.
anyway I live out in the boonies and there's no "local" shop I can take it to. so my last question, where would you guys recommend having it repaired? (someplace I can ship it to) and would it even be worth repairing?
Thank you all again!!

 

[mmckenna]

(someplace I can ship it to) and would it even be worth repairing?

Not sure where you are located, so recommending a shop would be difficult.
You can try these guys, but give them a call first:

Repairs

used-radios.com

As for it being worth repairing, consider that RF tech bench time often starts at $80USD/hour and maybe be higher. Re-aligning the radio may fix the issue, or it may actually be something broken inside the radio. The radio may require physical repair. That will add to the cost. Also, it may be difficult to find parts for these. Most shops don't do component level repair, they tend to just swap out boards.

That's a lot of hassle when you can go online and search for a working model from a reputable seller:

Kenwood TK-3180 UHF (450-520MHz) Portable Radio

Kenwood TK-3180 | UHF (450-520MHz) Portable Radio

used-radios.com

They have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Well worth the extra cost.

Be careful buying radios off e-Bay, you never know how badly someone treated the radio you may rely on.