Relm Portables

[DanRollman]

I wanted to follow up with everyone here. After all the miss information I got when attempting to get a quote on the Relm KNG P800, it IS after all programmable in a receive mode only.

Have you received your KNG radio yet Chuck? And do you love it, or do you REALLY love it? Any first impressions (or pros/cons) you can share with the group, assuming you've got it up and running?

Dan

 

[cpetraglia]

Yes I have. I do love it. It blows away my Unication G4. Mike almost talked me into a mobile/base radio. That price was too steep for me at this time. I have 9 systems and 14 zones programmed all receiving from an outdoor co-linear ant. Unbelievable. I have around 7 scanners that I may begin to sell. I am sure I'll keep 1 or 2. The only con I see is the coiled cord on the speaker/mike. I have to use that to access the earphone jack. Should be a simpler way, however I understand this was not designed for us scanner folks. So I really don't have anything negative to say about it. Next step is raising my ant. for more distance. That will wait till spring.
Thanks again for hooking me up. I would not have it otherwise. !!!!!!
Chuck

 

[IAmSixNine]

Hows the audio on it? Been chatting with Mr Todd at Relm and i have pricing for the KNG-P800 and KNG2.
Differences are
KNG V1.6 vocoder, KNG2 V1.8
KNG normal display KNG2 color display
KNG 2 has bluetooth (option i probably wont use)
KNG 2 has louder speaker. Thats something he is pointing out.

Me personally i dont like the color displays on most radios. My Hytera and XPR7550 units have ugly color displays. My apx7000 has a better color display. So color display is not much of a selling point.
However the newer version of the vocoder is something i like, and although im not in a loud environment a louder speaker can sometimes mean an improvement in audio quality since your not having to drive it as hard to be loud.

Im sturggling to make a decision as its about 400-500 more for the KNG2.

 

[cpetraglia]

My audio sounds great. I listen thru my mixer/amp setup. I really don't rely on the speaker. But the speaker sounds fine. If the BT is not any better than the Unication, I would not consider that as a reason for the KNG2. The vocoder may make some difference, but from my end it does just fine. Who cares about a color display. Once you get it up and running, tweaked, all I look at the display for is Zone/Channel info. If you get the KNG2, let us know how you like it. Have you priced it thru a dealer?

 

[SCPD]

On the subject of the relm, I recall it having mdc however did they update the firmware to mute mdc? Recall it was something they were going look at long time back.

 

[DanRollman]

My audio sounds great. I listen thru my mixer/amp setup. I really don't rely on the speaker. But the speaker sounds fine. If the BT is not any better than the Unication, I would not consider that as a reason for the KNG2. The vocoder may make some difference, but from my end it does just fine. Who cares about a color display. Once you get it up and running, tweaked, all I look at the display for is Zone/Channel info. If you get the KNG2, let us know how you like it. Have you priced it thru a dealer?

I heard a KNG2 at the Relm booth at IWCE in Vegas. It was incredible. Personally, if I could get a KNG2 for $500 more than a KNG, I probably would. That's unusual. The spread is typically much wider than that. I agree, though, that my KNG(1) radios still sound great. I'd take too big a hit to sell these and "upgrade". I have to believe Relm's implementation of BT is better than Unication's, but who knows.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[IAmSixNine]

Im getting mine through Relm direct. Ill be going with the KNG2 and should have it finalized today.

 

[DanRollman]

Im getting mine through Relm direct. Ill be going with the KNG2 and should have it finalized today.

Well notwithstanding what I said above, I just took the plunge and ordered a KNG2 myself from Mike Todd at Relm. I'm not "upgrading" my KNG's per se, but rather adding a third Relm to my portfolio. It will be interesting to see how the KNG and KNG2 compare side by side on the same transmissions locally. I'll probably use the KNG2 primarily in the car, where the better/louder audio will be useful, and out and about, where the Bluetooth feature will be handy.

For anyone using their new KNG in a mobile environment, I strongly recommend ProClips. Their item 848636 (Padded Adjustable Holder with Tilt Swivel - ProClip USA) holds my KNG well on my dash (belt clip is required and clips around the back of the mount to hold the radio in). I actually ordered this clip to hold my Uniden 436, which it does well, but found that adjusting the size allows it to hold my KNG instead.

Proclips also makes a custom KNG mount that charges/powers your radio (Relm KNG-P800 - type II & III Two-Way Radio Holders - ProClip USA).

The Proclips are awesome because they are very sturdy, the second half of the mount is customized for an exact mounting location in your exact car, they allow me to keep the KNG up at dashboard level (where the antenna naturally sticks above the dash for exposure out the windows), clearly see the screen and easily manipulate controls from the driver's seat, and easily pop the radio out to hide it (when parked) or take it with me.

Dan

 

[IAmSixNine]

Those are nice looking clips. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to hearing your comparison between the KNG and KNG2 units.
I ordered mine this morning, waiting for a call / email back to confirm all went though ok and get a shipping estimate.

 

[BenScan]

Regarding scanning, do those 16 talkgroups have to be on the same system, or can they be spread across multiple unrelated systems and sites? I live in an area where I'd like to be able to monitor a half dozen or more different systems without having to manually switch to one specific system/site, like with a Unication G5.

I'm trying to decide if a KNG or KNG2 might replace several scanners.

Also, as I understand it, so far, to be able to scan Phase II trunked systems I would need at least the following 5 things.

KNG2 P800 radio
KZA0578 P25 OTAR
KZA0579 P25 Trunking
KZA0593 P25 Phase II
Software
Probably a charger, assuming they don't come with one.

Is there anything else important that I'm missing?

Thank You,
Ben

16. With two levels of Priority.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[DanRollman]

Regarding scanning, do those 16 talkgroups have to be on the same system, or can they be spread across multiple unrelated systems and sites?

Cannot scan across multiple trunked systems/sites at the same time. For a system with multiple sites, and talkroups that aren't all active on all sites, your best bet is to program a softkey to be a "Site Lock" button and another softkey to be a "Site Select" button. When you turn the radio on, activate Site Lock (otherwise the radio will pick a site with the strongest signal even though it may or may not regularly carry the talkgroups you're interested in) and then use Site Select to pick a site that carries the traffic you want to hear.

If you want to simultaneously scan two agencies on different systems (or even different sites of the same system), you need two radios. I do this when visiting Tucson, Arizona - One KNG radio monitors mostly law enforcement agencies on Simulcast A and one KNG radio monitors mostly fire agencies on Simulcast B, since there's minimal overlap between them.

Dual Mode Scan will allow scanning talkgroups (on one system/site) and conventional channels at the same time.

Also, as I understand it, so far, to be able to scan Phase II trunked systems I would need at least the following 5 things.

KNG2 P800 radio
KZA0578 P25 OTAR
KZA0579 P25 Trunking
KZA0593 P25 Phase II
Software
Probably a charger, assuming they don't come with one.

They don't come with anything. A la carte. I don't think you would need OTAR (Mike Todd at Relm would know for sure). But you need to add a programming cable, a battery, and an antenna to your list above.

Dan

 

[BenScan]

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply Dan. I think I'll save my money for now, or put it towards a second G5, and hope Unication comes through with Phase II support.
Ben

Cannot scan across multiple trunked systems/sites at the same time. For a system with multiple sites, and talkroups that aren't all active on all sites, your best bet is to program a softkey to be a "Site Lock" button and another softkey to be a "Site Select" button. When you turn the radio on, activate Site Lock (otherwise the radio will pick a site with the strongest signal even though it may or may not regularly carry the talkgroups you're interested in) and then use Site Select to pick a site that carries the traffic you want to hear.

If you want to simultaneously scan two agencies on different systems (or even different sites of the same system), you need two radios. I do this when visiting Tucson, Arizona - One KNG radio monitors mostly law enforcement agencies on Simulcast A and one KNG radio monitors mostly fire agencies on Simulcast B, since there's minimal overlap between them.

Dual Mode Scan will allow scanning talkgroups (on one system/site) and conventional channels at the same time.



They don't come with anything. A la carte. I don't think you would need OTAR (Mike Todd at Relm would know for sure). But you need to add a programming cable, a battery, and an antenna to your list above.

Dan

 

[gesucks]

Not being able to scan multiple trunked systems is a deal breaker then. Not only for personal use but also for Agency use.

 

[DanRollman]

Not being able to scan multiple trunked systems is a deal breaker then. Not only for personal use but also for Agency use.

Yeah that was my big reservation about buying a Relm. I used to use an XTS for (Phase I) multi-system scanning, but realize just how slow it did that and how much I was missing as a result of the slow speed to move from one system to the next and back again. I now don't bother (obviously) and don't miss it very much. I sold off my XTS.

My brother (a fire captain) has the same complaint with his Phase II APX, and says they generally don't bother scanning multiple systems either because of the slow speed. Of course, it makes sense, given the radio has to constantly reacquire control channels to scan like that. After playing with my KNG radios and comparing the cost, he wishes his department would just buy more radios (given they could afford 2 or 3 KNG radios for the cost of 1 gold-plated-and-diamond-studded APX, depending on how it's equipped). That way they could directly monitor different channels on 2 or 3 systems simultaneously when needed.

I hope that Relm will add a multi-system (or multi-site) scan feature. Maybe someday they will (heck, true no-Syskey RX-Only trunked monitoring, which Motorola radios still can't do, was a new Relm feature add a couple of years ago in response to a request from a public safety agency customer). But even if they add it, I can't imagine I'll use it that much, and most of the public safety professionals I talk to think it's a "nice to have" but rarely actually used.

Dan