TK-5410 Rebooting

[KK6ZTE]

Hello all,

I have a new to me TK-5410 v4 that's rebooting randomly. Sometimes it runs for hours, sometimes it'll reboot twice in fifteen minutes. No rhyme or reason from my viewpoint.

Has anyone else experienced this behavior? Battery is good and fully charged.

It's not a big deal as it's purely a scanner for me, so I've disabled the power on tone and now I have no idea when it happens. I just like things working properly.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks for the look,
John

 

[mmckenna]

I've got a TK-5410 and a TK-5210 both V3 and I've not had this issue with them.

Just off the top of my head, it either sounds like a battery issue or an issue with the battery contact pins on the back of the radio.
The batteries also have an internal thermal fuse. If the battery is getting hot, might be the issue, but it shouldn't get hot on just RX mode.

What brand/model battery is it?

 

[KK6ZTE]

It's a "factory" KNB-43L.

When I was at the Kenwood dealer two weeks ago getting my 180s upgraded to TFS (just got my 3180 back today---it's awesome!!!) the factory sales rep was there and said it wasn't a legit Kenwood battery as it was made in America. However, all the pictures I could find show a really crappy white label on the 43L.

What battery are you running in your P25s that last worth a darn?

 

[KK6ZTE]

I put my newest 54N on it and turned the power on tone back on to see if it makes a difference.

LiPo batteries are too light...they feel empty.

Thank you for your response.

 

[mmckenna]

I've got a couple different flavors of batteries I use, mostly testing them out to see what we like and offering them to customers to try out. The LiPO's do feel empty.

I'm using a lot of the 43's direct from Kenwood with no issues. We've had good luck with "PowerProducts" brand, too.

Who was the factory rep? I know a few of them in California, just wondering if it was one of the guys I know.

 

[KK6ZTE]

I didn't catch his name. Kenwood dealer is Coast Electronics in Morro Bay. Bill's a great guy to deal with.

 

[mmckenna]

I didn't catch his name. Kenwood dealer is Coast Electronics in Morro Bay. Bill's a great guy to deal with.

OK, that's good to hear. I know the radio guy down at CalPoly and I know they have some analog Kenwood repeaters on the campus.
I'm up in Watsonville. I've got a couple of different dealers we use, MetroMobile, Silke and one or two others.

 

[KK6ZTE]

Yeah, CalPoly has a nice setup. The 50 series repeaters are great.

Just rebooted with the other battery installed.

Odd.

 

[mmckenna]

Is it still under warrantee?
I'd send it back. It shouldn't be doing that.

I haven't seen any bulletins about this sort of behavior. Haven't seen anything in the firmware releases, either.

 

[KK6ZTE]

No, not under warranty, and it's not annoying enough to pay to fix.

Just more of a curiosity. Like I said, the only reason I know it happens is I hear the power on tone.

 

[mmckenna]

What firmware version is it running?

 

[KK6ZTE]

2.01.00

Thank you for your time and assistance,
John

 

[mmckenna]

If the V4 is the TK-5410D, the one that supports P25 Phase 2, then the latest firmware release is 2.05, released January of 2016.

I don't have any indiction that what you are experiencing is a firmware issue or not, but it ~might~ be worth trying to update the firmware and see if it resolves it.

 

[KK6ZTE]

Yes it is a 5410D, so I'll give it a shot. Thanks!

 

[KK6ZTE]

The issue is definitely related to scanning.

If I take it off scanning it'll run for hours. Turn scan back on, it'll reboot after fifteen minutes.

I will get the updated firmware when I go back to morro Bay and get my 2180 back, and I'll post if that helps.

 

[mmckenna]

That's a strange issue. I'd love to hear what the fix is.

I scan with mine frequently, haven't noticed it doing this. My power on tone is activated, so I probably would have heard it.

 

[KK6ZTE]

My WAG is a memory overflow or something like that. No evidence though.

 

[KK6ZTE]

Firmware update fixes nothing. Interesting.

Only reboots when scanning is enabled.

Scan Type is set to Conventional (Multi-Zone). Averages about 3 minutes between restarts.

 

[KK6ZTE]

For posterity's sake, this radio was fixed by starting a fresh data file and re-entering the settings and personalities manually. I've been unable to find the offending setting/mismatch, but it works as designed now!

John

 

[mmckenna]

That's good to hear. I guess some little bit of corruption in there throwing a wrench in the works...