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Kenwood TK-6110 Programmed out of band?

JohnnyWatkins

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My dad has a Kenwood TK-6110-2 (the 35-50mhz model) but when I read the data from it, it shows 29.7-37 and the frequencies programmed are all in the 31 Mhz area.

Can you program the higher split model to do 31Mhz? Or is something else going on?
 

mmckenna

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Can you program the higher split model to do 31Mhz? Or is something else going on?

Unlikely. That's getting awfully far out of where the VCO would lock.

Makes me think that the radio has been recased, or someone really got into it and hacked it pretty hard.
 

JohnnyWatkins

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Unlikely. That's getting awfully far out of where the VCO would lock.

Makes me think that the radio has been recased, or someone really got into it and hacked it pretty hard.
He has probably 10 of these, I’ve checked two and they’re both -2 models but pulls up 29.7-37 in the software. I don’t know anything about who programmed them before but it was some radio shop. Also these radios are often converted to 6 meter or 10 meter but I don’t know what all goes into that.
 
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mmckenna

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OK,
FCC ID is for the high split model, as the TK-6110K shows.
If you've read the radio and it's showing 29.7-37 and the programmed frequencies are for that band, then there's something odd going on, like someone swapped cases.

There are actual component differences between the two models, so someone going through all the headache to swap out a bunch of miniature components and then go through the hassle of retuning the radio would be a huge waste of time and money.

If the radios work, then go with the case swap thing.
Or if the radios don't work, then it's possible some brute forced the file into them thinking they could make them work.
 

JohnnyWatkins

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If the radios work, then go with the case swap thing.
Or if the radios don't work, then it's possible some brute forced the file into them thinking they could make them work.
The problem is that they work lol. And he wants me to program some more that he got to match those. So I guess I’ll try programming 31 Mhz into it. I read somewhere of someone programming in 33Mhz and that the software will warn you but still let it go through. So I guess I will find out
 

mmckenna

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The problem is that they work lol. And he wants me to program some more that he got to match those. So I guess I’ll try programming 31 Mhz into it. I read somewhere of someone programming in 33Mhz and that the software will warn you but still let it go through. So I guess I will find out

Right, the software will warn you but allow it.

Problem is, if it was really a -2 radio, it wouldn't work very well since it's not tuned for those frequencies. If those radios work well, then there's something else going on here.
 

n2mci

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The 6110-2 can be detuned to able to work on the 10m (29.6mhz) and 6m (52mhz) ranges at the same time. I don't think the -1 has that range. So, someone could of swapped the board out, or forced a -1 code version into it and returned the receiver. From want I understand, the receiver is more of the issue than the transmitter.

Pete
 

JohnnyWatkins

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The 6110-2 can be detuned to able to work on the 10m (29.6mhz) and 6m (52mhz) ranges at the same time. I don't think the -1 has that range. So, someone could of swapped the board out, or forced a -1 code version into it and returned the receiver. From want I understand, the receiver is more of the issue than the transmitter.

Pete
I checked with the software and it will let you program any of the -1 frequencies in a -2 with a little warning. So any future radios I program that way would need tuned? Is there any good resources on tuning radios for beginners? I have electronics skills but have never really messed with these
 

mmckenna

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I checked with the software and it will let you program any of the -1 frequencies in a -2 with a little warning. So any future radios I program that way would need tuned?

Yes.

Is there any good resources on tuning radios for beginners? I have electronics skills but have never really messed with these

It requires some very expensive equipment to tune a radio. You would need a service monitor, and those run $30K for a basic model on the new market. Plus, they have a steep learning curve.

There's one other issue:
For any sort of business or public safety use, including your dad's business, radios M-U-S-T be FCC type certified for the radio service they are used on. In this case, the radio MUST have FCC Part 90 certification. The individual models/submodels are certified for their specific portion of the band. Once you tune them to operate outside that spectrum, the FCC type certification is null and void.

This does not apply to amateur radio use, but it absolutely does on business/commercial/public safety use.



It is much easier, cheaper and legal to just get the correct radio in the first place. Trying to make one of these do something it was not designed to do will be a headache.
 

AM909

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Unfortunately, most of the part differences that are easy to spot are on the bottom (foil) side, but I'm curious what the center-front-top of the main board looks like. This is from a -2 (high-split):

tk-6110-2.jpg
 
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