Kenwood: TM-281 programming?

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N5TWB

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I’m assisting a 98-year-young ham with his new radio & part of the programming has stumped me. The ham is legally blind so using the controls is difficult. His preferred local repeater doesn’t use PL and was easy to program once I deciphered the key sequence. His son-in-law thought it would be good to have some of the other local repeaters programmed in the memory. I put in a couple that use a PL & could not figure out how to get the memory to turn on the PL automatically. It would hold the tone yet had no place in the memory list where it was toggled on when switched to that location in memory. You could go to that memory location & press F then Tone but there’s no way the legally blind ham can reliably do that. The manual says it is one of the memory parameters but I can’t figure out how to do it. TIA for any assistance.
 

chief21

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With most amateur radios, if you select the PL mode and frequency PRIOR to saving the channel to memory, the PL information will be retained and automatically utilized whenever that memory channel is selected. Selecting PL is normally a two-step process... first select the "tone' (encode) function, and then select the correct tone frequency needed to access the repeater, then save the channel to memory.

Hope this helps.
 

N5TWB

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With most amateur radios, if you select the PL mode and frequency PRIOR to saving the channel to memory, the PL information will be retained and automatically utilized whenever that memory channel is selected. Selecting PL is normally a two-step process... first select the "tone' (encode) function, and then select the correct tone frequency needed to access the repeater, then save the channel to memory.

Hope this helps.

Your recommendation is exactly how the manual has you set up a memory location and then acts like it’s not there when that memory is selected. The only way I was able to get the “T” indicator on the screen is to activate it manually with the “F” the “Tone” keystrokes.
 

wrath

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If he has a visual impairment why did you get a 281 ? The V71/710 has a speech and storage chip available,it will tell you everything on the display ,including mode .
I have them and it's a great help everytime you hit a key or change modes it tells you what you have done,
Also if you need a talking SWR /power meter MTC in Texas has them .

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
 

AK9R

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I've not used a TM-281, but if it's like other Kenwood mobiles, configure a repeater with the correct frequency and tone in the VFO, then do a Memory Write keystroke [F], [MR] to save the VFO to a memory channel. All of the parameters you configured should be saved.
 

robertmac

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Follow the TFM as it is stated in there. If this doesn't get the PL and frequency into memory, explain exactly what you are doing in order. This may help someone know what steps or steps you are doing incorrectly
 

N5TWB

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If he has a visual impairment why did you get a 281 ? The V71/710 has a speech and storage chip available,it will tell you everything on the display ,including mode .
I have them and it's a great help everytime you hit a key or change modes it tells you what you have done,
Also if you need a talking SWR /power meter MTC in Texas has them .

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

Good points on assistive technology but I don’t get where you think I bought the radio. The ham’s son-sin-law bought it for him after his previous radio of 1980’s vintage quit working. The SIL contacted me because my name was on the club website.
 

N5TWB

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I've not used a TM-281, but if it's like other Kenwood mobiles, configure a repeater with the correct frequency and tone in the VFO, then do a Memory Write keystroke [F], [MR] to save the VFO to a memory channel. All of the parameters you configured should be saved.

Did exactly that and it does save those parameters with the keystrokes you state. What is missing is a step while in VFO mode to switch on the Tone function. From your input and on thinking about it a little, I’ll go visit him again this week to try something that I don’t recall being in the manual of doing the F/Tone keystrokes while in VFO mode before doing the F/MR memory storage.
Follow the TFM as it is stated in there. If this doesn't get the PL and frequency into memory, explain exactly what you are doing in order. This may help someone know what steps or steps you are doing incorrectly

Your input is rude and not helpful. Please keep your disrespectful language some place other than my thread.
 

AK9R

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I don't think it's rude, disrespectful, or unhelpful to ask someone to read The Fine Manual.

We are trying to help you. The manual clearly states on page 29 to start in VFO mode, select your frequency, select the repeater offset, select the tone and CTCSS/DCS function, and then save all those settings into a memory. If those steps are followed on every Kenwood mobile radio I've ever owned (at least 6 of them), all of the settings are saved and you don't have to re-enter them again.
 

N5TWB

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I don't think it's rude, disrespectful, or unhelpful to ask someone to read The Fine Manual.

We are trying to help you. The manual clearly states on page 29 to start in VFO mode, select your frequency, select the repeater offset, select the tone and CTCSS/DCS function, and then save all those settings into a memory. If those steps are followed on every Kenwood mobile radio I've ever owned (at least 6 of them), all of the settings are saved and you don't have to re-enter them again.

Ok, it’s a “fine” manual & it does state exactly as you write (working from memory here) yet there is no step to turn on the tone function in the memory. Just entering Tone data in the memory does not turn on the function. I followed the steps on page 29 with information for a local repeater with PL and saved it to a memory. Upon switching to that memory, I attempted to contact the repeater without success. Using the F - Tone sequence while still in memory mode turned on the programmed PL & I was able to connect to the repeater.
 

kayn1n32008

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Ok, it’s a “fine” manual & it does state exactly as you write (working from memory here) yet there is no step to turn on the tone function in the memory. Just entering Tone data in the memory does not turn on the function. I followed the steps on page 29 with information for a local repeater with PL and saved it to a memory. Upon switching to that memory, I attempted to contact the repeater without success. Using the F - Tone sequence while still in memory mode turned on the programmed PL & I was able to connect to the repeater.

Do the following steps in the following order:

Step 1: set your receive frequency and transmit offset in the VFO.

Step 2:
ede676334f256a085c446453dfbefbc1.jpg


Turn on PL encode(Tone), PL encode/decode(CTCSS) or DPL encode/decode(DCS)

Step 3:
b90c07594caf92b10e4dc38fe5a58840.jpg


Select the tone/code you need to access the repeater.

Next post will contain the final steps to store. Tapatalk won’t let me load more than 2 images.


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kayn1n32008

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Now follow steps 2 through 6 in the following 2 images to save to memory:

3baadb6dfae9946a37ef07ae6e837fe1.jpg
c9d771b1b4d3072f9dbe41a8a4599075.jpg



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N5TWB

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Do the following steps in the following order:

Step 1: set your receive frequency and transmit offset in the VFO.

Step 2:
ede676334f256a085c446453dfbefbc1.jpg


Turn on PL encode(Tone), PL encode/decode(CTCSS) or DPL encode/decode(DCS)

Step 3:
b90c07594caf92b10e4dc38fe5a58840.jpg


Select the tone/code you need to access the repeater.

Next post will contain the final steps to store. Tapatalk won’t let me load more than 2 images.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your sequence is what is I was referring to in my Post #8. I will do it this week after I make arrangements to stop by the gentleman's apartment. I've also re-read the online manual and now see where the tone is activated in the programming sequence.
 
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