So I'm a little new to the x90 series radios. I've got several 790s, 690s, and one 890 right now. I've been checking the power on a dummy load and this 890 has low output power, ~40 watts on the 440 repeater band and ~30 watts or a little under for GMRS. I know the VCO adjustments for TX and RXH and RXL need to be properly set, when I originally got the radio I pretty much just set the receiver to lock on my 440 ham and GMRS freqs, and as long as it would transmit I didn't bother to check the power (didn't have a meter at the time). Since borrowing a meter, I'm getting the above power output, and I've adjusted the MAXPOW setting in the adjustment done on the control head (holding down PF 1 while turning the radio on) to its max value (255) as well. Any help here would be appreciated. The voltages on the CV test point are in the neighborhood of 5-7 volts for TX. Thanks
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Kenwood TK 890 Low Output Power
- Thread starter KO4OTL
- Start date
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Are you testing into a 50Ω load, or into your antenna?
If you are testing into the antenna, the reflected power is going to mess with the reading on your meter.
As for adjusting the power, make sure you follow all the steps in the service manual. It is a bit more involved than just turning the knob.
40 watts is normal, but the bandpass filters are about 20MHz wide. Setting the radio up to put out 40 watts on 440-450 is going to result in some roll off of power up at 462/467MHz. 30 watts sounds about like what I'd expect. Doesn't sound like it's broken, just working within the limitations of the design.
If you are testing into the antenna, the reflected power is going to mess with the reading on your meter.
As for adjusting the power, make sure you follow all the steps in the service manual. It is a bit more involved than just turning the knob.
40 watts is normal, but the bandpass filters are about 20MHz wide. Setting the radio up to put out 40 watts on 440-450 is going to result in some roll off of power up at 462/467MHz. 30 watts sounds about like what I'd expect. Doesn't sound like it's broken, just working within the limitations of the design.
