• 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.

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

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    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).

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KENWOOD TK 860

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I'm thinking about getting a KENWOOD TK 860. Can I program it using Chirp software also I want to make it a base unit. I have a 6amp 12v battery charger for a vehicle would that work?!
 

insanity213

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Not sure about the 860 but I have an 840 and 880 that I use for gmrs and 70cm ham. Both are great radios and easily programmed with kenwoods software. Chrip support of commercial radios isn't that good but you really don't need it.

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insanity213

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I'm sure you can find it at a very low cost if you google around a bit. Also the $10 programming cables on Amazon work great.

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insanity213

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Some kenwoods have mods available for manual programming. Do yourself a favor and grab the software and cable.

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insanity213

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Not sure on the 860. Theres a 6 pin cable and an 8 pin. I do know that i can use the 6pin from my 840 on my 880 though. The pinouts are probably all the same.

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mmckenna

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KPG-46 is the correct cable.

These radios will allow front panel programming, HOWEVER:
You need to turn the function on using the programming software.
It will NOT allow programming of the channel names with front panel programming.
It's WAY easier to use the software.

Make sure the software you purchase is the same market software as your radio. Sometimes buying software and/or radios off e-bay can land you with stuff from other countries. Other countries have different requirements and often the software is different. Make sure you know exactly what you are buying, or better yet, buy it from a Kenwood dealer.
 

N4KVE

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I have a 6amp 12v battery charger for a vehicle would that work?!
This would be horrible, as it's not filtered DC. You would transmit a very loud AC hum. You would need at least a 10 amp power supply like Astron, Samlex, or DuraComm to run that radio. A battery charger is ONLY for charging a car battery. Not running a radio.
 

swen_out_west

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This would be horrible, as it's not filtered DC. You would transmit a very loud AC hum. You would need at least a 10 amp power supply like Astron, Samlex, or DuraComm to run that radio. A battery charger is ONLY for charging a car battery. Not running a radio.

If you have to have it on a battery bank and will be operating when the Charger is on you can buy one of those big capacitors they sell at walmart in the Car Audio Section. They cost around $40. I got one for when I charge my batteries to shunt the ripple to ground, it works great. (SCOSCHE 500K microFarad) A side benefit is it has a digital voltage display to keep you aware when your battery is low.

They sell filtered power supplies fairly cheap on Ebay. Just make sure it's the one around $65 from an American company, not those $25 chinese crap ones. I can look up where I got mine from which works quite well, and I'm almost sure it was around $65.
 
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lmrtek

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car chargers are only good for charging car batteries and their ripple can destroy electronics

buy a name brand regulated 13.8v power supply capable of at least 9 amps continuous

Astron RS12A or equivalent
 
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