Kenwood TK-762G Firmware Question

[762mm]

It doesn't surprise me at all. Flashing different firmwares won't help in your case.
You have some strange, possibly franken-radio. Contents of the Chirp's image file show that it is a TK-762GHˇ, market code K, but your radio responds to commands with a string of non-existent TK-762GH model, market code M! No wonder KPG56D doesn't recognize it.

All is not lost, though, I have to think about possible solution.. Are you willing to take the risk of bricking it?

Thank you for all your help. Yes indeed, I will take the chance of bricking it, as I need to adjust the sensitivity on it.

This radio came in a box full of radio stuff along with a TK-760 VHF (32 channel). Whoever had that equipment had cranked the sensitivity of the other (TK-760) radio to the max, so that every single channel sounded like static. I cranked it back down to mid-level in the DOS software under the "tuning" menu. I believe that this TK-762HG also has the sensitivity cranked up, for some strange reason.

In any case, it is unusable on Wide band as it is now, as it's always playing static. I need to get in there and make some adjustments that CHIRP can't do. If you wish, I can share the two firmwares I have collected (BB5B and 1C99). Since product firmwares (bug fixes) for consumer products are typically free and part of general product support, I don't think this would violate the forum rules...?

Thank you once more and have a nice weekend!

 

[ojfd]

Ok, lets try this.
1. Load the modified module into Chirp.
2. Download from radio.
3. Open attached .img file in another window in Chirp.
4. Try to upload it to radio.
5. If upload succeeds, restart Chirp and try to download from radio without using modified module.

 

[762mm]

Ok, lets try this.
1. Load the modified module into Chirp.
2. Download from radio.
3. Open attached .img file in another window in Chirp.
4. Try to upload it to radio.
5. If upload succeeds, restart Chirp and try to download from radio without using modified module.

Success! You are a genius!

I've done as you indicated and now both CHIRP and KPG56D can communicate with the radio!

Thank you so much for all your help. I don't know who you are, but you definitely got some talent my friend. Now the radio reports as being a simple K-model in CHIRP as well, without the M variant.

I can also access "Test Mode" in KPG56D now and play with the sensitivity settings and squelch tight / open. I can't figure out how to get the continuous static removed from Wide-band channels (changing sensitivity and squelch doesn't seem to affect it), but that's another adventure...

 

[762mm]

I've created a blank (new) image file in KPG56D, populated it with desired frequencies (all 8 of them, lol) and re-uploaded to the radio. It took it and works fine. This is awesome! The radio is essentially de-Frankensteinized !

Now I'll be doing some research into my static on Wide-band issue. It's as if the "Monitor" function was always activated or the squelch was set to level 0, whereas I've set it as high as 7 without any changes. I've been playing with the settings in Test Mode, but am not (yet) sure of how it all works and how to set it :

 

[762mm]

As discussed over PM with ojfd, I have saved image files from both KPG56D and CHIRP. I have saved the files as "BLANK" meaning a blank file created with KPG56D and uploaded to the radio and "PROGRAMMED" meaning with my custom frequencies, options and key assignment. Frequencies are MURS 1-5, SEA 9 (call), SEA 16 (sos) and local Weather channel. Both versions of images are included in the .zip file below, for testing.

Interestingly, even after loading a "blank" (new) file into the radio from KPG56D, CHIRP still reads the programmed frequencies when doing a download. The radio unit shows all channels as not being there on the front panel (each channel displays as "--" instead of a number) , however CHIRP is still reading the frequencies from stored memory, somehow.

 

[762mm]

Update : Regarding the static I was getting on Wide-band channels, I was not able to tweak it in Windows very well. I tried with the DOS version of KPG56D (v2.10) and was able to raise the Squelch Tight and Squelch Open settings a bit, to the point where the "Monitor open" effect disappeared on those channels.

I know that I shouldn't be playing with those settings without specialized testing equipment to tweak the radio, but the radio was not usable on Wide-band channels, lest one didn't mind listening to open squelch all the time between radio transmissions. I'm not sure how to do a memory reset on these units, I didn't see such a setting in the software. I'll keep looking.


KPG56D v2.10 :





Here she is, finally working !

 

[ojfd]

Interestingly, even after loading a "blank" (new) file into the radio from KPG56D, CHIRP still reads the programmed frequencies when doing a download. The radio unit shows all channels as not being there on the front panel (each channel displays as "--" instead of a number) , however CHIRP is still reading the frequencies from stored memory, somehow.

Yes, this is odd. I have observed similar behaviour with the TK-270G. That means that KPG56D is not completely erasing contents of the memory. Maybe only some pointers and Chirp is still managing to pull that previous data from the radio.
In case with my handhelds, memory reset on the device itself helped, but you can not do it with 762, only with 760.
I'll see what could be done here.

 

[762mm]

Update : After a lot of back and forth communication and work with ojfd, my radio has been re-set to communicate like a normal K-model both with CHIRP Next and KPG56D (problem #1 solved), the out of whack squelch calibration issue is now fixed by doing a total factory data reset (problem #2 solved) and I also managed to get the latest firmware with checksum 24B3 and flash it to the unit (problem #3 solved).

Everything is now essentially factory spec with my TK-762HG-1 all thanks to this forum and, especially, to one particular member above with some very awesome talent!

Thanks a million, good Sir!

 

[ojfd]

I'm glad I was able to help.
It was pure coincedence that I stumbled upon this thread while doing my research on 60 series radios and decided to join, which I rarely do.

What inerests me more, though, is how and by whom this radio was set up in a way that no software could recognize it.
Is this particular radio a counterfeit product?
Is it something that was made off-hours, with bogus serial number and was sold under counter?
Is it something made for some specific market and/or customer and proper custom software was provided with it?
Or maybe it was set up by dishonest service provider, so, that only they coul configure this radio and customer doesn't go anywhere else or try to do it by himself?

This is not the first time that unreadable Kenwood 60 series radio pops up on the radar. I know three more cases - two TK-260G and one TK-360G where their ID string contained wrong characters.

I've read that there are a few Kenwood dealers present in this forum. Have you, gentlemen, have ever heard of anything like this?

 

[buddrousa]

I see this as more of someone trying to hack firmware to get more out of the radio.
Take an entry level radio and try to make it a mid-level or add more channels who knows.

 

[ojfd]

I see this as more of someone trying to hack firmware to get more out of the radio.

Firmware was not hacked in those cases, as can be noted by correct checksums. It was the user changeable region of the radio's memory that was tampered with, i.e. fake IDs assigned.

As a result, programming those went like this:
Kenwood software to Kenwood radio: "Hello radio! How are you?"
Kenwood radio: "I'm fine, thank you."
Kenwood software: " I'd like to program you"
Kenwood radio: "Sure, you can try, but you're not my father."
Kenwood software: "Oops!"

 

[buddrousa]

As a tech in a Kenwood Shop helping out my friend the Kenwood Dealer you would be surprised what we have seen or heard of being done.

 

[ojfd]

Such as? I love to be surprised. I'm an EE by trade.

 

[762mm]

The only piece of information I can offer is that the guy I got this radio (and a few other radios from) is a HAM enthusiast and he was apparently buying the radios from government auctions, at some point. My TK-860HG came from the same guy and he had a whole bunch of them, saying that they're all ex-police radios.

He never mentioned that the TK-762HG had a serious issue with programming, however. Not very nice, if he knew about it. That being said, the 3 other units I got from him were in working order and could be programmed with regular software without issue.