• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

Kenwood TK-8180 max transmit power

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R8000

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Old technician trick for a Bird wattmeter. Put an "N" connector on one side and a "UHF" connector on the other side. Make a jumper the same way, an "N" on one end and a "UHF" on the other. Now it will work with either type connector and only one jumper and you don't need any adapters.
bb

That's a great idea !
 

bharvey2

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Best mid range? yeah, get a used Bird 43 with the proper element for UHF and your wattage.

I bought a used one about 20 years ago and an assortment of slugs to handle everything from a 4 watt CB radio up to 100 watts on UHF.
MFJ is junk and I would not trust it to do any sort of reliable radio alignment at all.

A used Bird 43 will run you in the $100 to $150 range, if you shop around. Don't be concerned about looks, they are very simple devices. A line section, a cable and a meter. As long as it has all three of those, you are good to go. The box it sits in can be spray painted if needed. You can swap out the connectors on the end easily if the one you find doesn't have what you need (Get N connectors, much more useful/universal). Easy to find extra parts for them.

The elements are easy to find, but you'll pay from $30 to $50 each.

More costly than an MFJ meter, but it'll last you a lifetime. There's a good reason they've been around for so long.

+1 on buying decent quality test equipment. Buying junk will just frustrate you in the long run. The only reason to buy MFJ is to have an excuse to go back to the store to replace it (and wonder around again). I know that from experience.
 

richardbritt

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Old technician trick for a Bird wattmeter. Put an "N" connector on one side and a "UHF" connector on the other side. Make a jumper the same way, an "N" on one end and a "UHF" on the other. Now it will work with either type connector and only one jumper and you don't need any adapters.
bb
You probably learned that in Mobile Radio Technology magazine. That's where I learned that anyway. I used to look forward to each issue when I was a radio technician.

Regards

Richard
 
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