kenwoodproblem
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HI, I have a set of kenwood tk-3110 s, but they only seem to work 200 metres line of sight, as opposed to the quoted 10km range. any ideas? thanks in advance
kenwood TK-3101 problem
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blackacid
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I believe they are talking about the tk-3101 which is a 2 watt uhf radio.
kenwoodproblem
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tk-3101
hi Sara,
sorry, it's a tk-3101
hi Sara,
sorry, it's a tk-3101
kc4jgc
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Looking at the brochure on line, this unit is used for on site comms. In fact it states:
So, assuming these unit's power output is about 1 watt or less (not mentioned in the brochure), 200 meters sounds about right. Ten km is far, far beyond line of sight for any handheld no matter the power output unless you're standing on a mountaintop. Where does Kenwood claim that kind of coverage?
Kenwood Canada said:
So, assuming these unit's power output is about 1 watt or less (not mentioned in the brochure), 200 meters sounds about right. Ten km is far, far beyond line of sight for any handheld no matter the power output unless you're standing on a mountaintop. Where does Kenwood claim that kind of coverage?
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I disagree. I've had reliable line-of-sight coverage between two UHF portable radios (Motorola HT1000s, 4 watts) over a measured 7.2 mile path, over water. The signals at that range weren't full quieting but
they weren't far from it.
Two miles over land is not unreasonable unless you're in a section of city with a lot of buildings in the way.
1 watt radios should be good for more than a few hundred meters. I'd expect a mile. Are the antennas trashed and do you have the whip antenna rather than the stub antenna?
There's a big difference between whip and stub antennas. It's typically good for at least 3 and
sometimes 6 dB, which makes a big difference in coverage. Whip antennas are superior,
and gain whip antennas are by far the best solution if they're available.
Elroy
they weren't far from it.
Two miles over land is not unreasonable unless you're in a section of city with a lot of buildings in the way.
1 watt radios should be good for more than a few hundred meters. I'd expect a mile. Are the antennas trashed and do you have the whip antenna rather than the stub antenna?
There's a big difference between whip and stub antennas. It's typically good for at least 3 and
sometimes 6 dB, which makes a big difference in coverage. Whip antennas are superior,
and gain whip antennas are by far the best solution if they're available.
Elroy
According to Kenwood, these are 2 watt, 15 channel GMRS radios. I would expect that you should get a reliable mile of communications in an urban area and much further with elevation or over water. As Elroy said, these radios shipped with the stubby UHF antenna, which drastically limits the range. The first thing I'd do is pick up a full length whip like the one at http://cgi.ebay.com/Radio-Antenna-f...=39:1|66:2|65:1|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14. That should more than double your range.
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