Kenwood TK880 receive issues

[K2NEC]

I recently bought a Kenwood TK880 and it works great! (sort of) I have a local repeater on 442.000 that is known for having birdies on Baofeng's and Wouxun's (maybe that has something to do with my issue?) and when I first turn on the radio I cannot receive anything but I can transmit and talk just fine. Even when I turn the monitor on it doesn't even get a signal. However what is weird about it is that after talking with someone for a few minutes (I have to have another radio on so I can hear what they are saying) the radio magically starts receiving. All of the programming is right (I triple checked that the repeater info is right) so I know it isn't something in the software (unless I am missing something?). A fellow HAM suggested that the radio might need to be tuned because it is a problem with the tuning which is something I really don't want to mess with because I am not really sure what I am doing with it.
Here is my info:
Kenwood TK880 450-490
VER 2.0
Repeater:
RX:442.000
TX: 447.000

 

[kd4efm]

I would venture to say your 12 Mhz out of the pass band, and the vco is not able to get down there in time, so yes, it will need to be benched and returned. Most only get you 10 Mhz, 12 is asking a little much, but it can be done with the 880.

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[K2NEC]

It's only 8 it should handle it. I have a frequency on 443.100 that has no issues at all.

 

[12dbsinad]

Sounds like a bad ceramic filter. Very common across many brands, 2007 ish era radios it is very common.

The good news is, it's a 2 dollar part.

The bad news is, it'll take some soldering skills to repair.

 

[K2NEC]

Sounds like a bad ceramic filter. Very common across many brands, 2007 ish era radios it is very common.

The good news is, it's a 2 dollar part.

The bad news is, it'll take some soldering skills to repair.

I solder almost every day so should not be a problem. Now what part am I looking for and where can I find it?

 

[12dbsinad]

I misread your freq range, I see you're trying to RX at 442 Mhz. That can be beyond it's limit. Try shifting the PLL down first.

http://www.interceptradio.com/wiki/index.php/Kenwood_TK-880

 

[K2NEC]

I misread your freq range, I see you're trying to RX at 442 Mhz. That can be beyond it's limit. Try shifting the PLL down first.

Kenwood TK-880 - InterceptRadio.com Wiki

What is the PLL? And as I stated I am RXing 443.100 just fine is 1mhz enough to cause it to not receive?
EDIT:I just opened the link never mind.

 

[WRCM]

I misread your freq range, I see you're trying to RX at 442 Mhz. That can be beyond it's limit. Try shifting the PLL down first.

http://www.interceptradio.com/wiki/index.php/Kenwood_TK-880

I know this is a year old, but I'm adding some information. In the linked document the instructions say to adjust TC106 clockwise 1/4 turn to lower the VCO receive lock frequency. I found this to be incorrect on my TK-880H V1. It would receive down to 444.175 but not 443.75. I changed the sensitivity as directed in test mode, then started tweaking TC106 clockwise. Nothing seemed to be happening until I noticed it would no longer receive at 446!
So I started back in the other direction and watched 446.000 come back, then 444.175, then kept going counter-clockwise until it locked and received at 442.000. I stopped there.
It would transmit at 442.000 (but not 440.000) with no tweaks to the tx side, so I left that alone. I don't need to transmit below 446.000 anyway.

I have a couple of TK-880 V2s that receive down to about 443 with no tweaks, so I can already work lots of repeaters with those. I experimented on my 880H first because it was unusable for 70cm repeaters. Now it's more usable than the pair of V2s, and I feel confident to tackle them next.

 

[WRCM]

I tackled one of the V2s today. Same deal: sensitivity 60-135-200 (was 26-124-240), tweaked TC106 less than 1/4 turn CCW, now it receives 440.000 (rx only down to ~443.250 before). Didn't test any lower. Still rx great at 470. Didn't touch anything else. Transmits to ~442, but not 440.000.