PMR Kenwood radios...impressive service

[gavinbell]

Just taken the leap and ordered 2 kenwood 3107's from the chinese guy at www.radios2u.com

ordered at the weekend...excellent response to any questions I had.

Shipped on monday....delivered weds morning!!

and half the price than in UK...

Praise where its due!

Now...
does anyone know about extending the aerial to a better location for use in countries where it is legal...
As these are import units the aerial unscrews.

can i simply use a length of co-ax and suitable connectors?
or will it cause problems? Thinking of having option of mounting the aerial up by the tobinators for better reception.
Gavin

see I am not just a whinging bugger....only if I get onto subject of par.......

 

[Greg Masters]

These 4w radios pop up on eBay - maybe the same vendor.

The only slight issues are that they are not 446 radios (so you won't find too many people to talk to) and they are ever-so-slightly illegal!

Greg

 

[judge]

The only slight issues are that they are not 446 radios (so you won't find too many people to talk to)

Ooh that bit I didn't know - good job I hung on to my 446's then

and they are ever-so-slightly illegal!

Ah that bit I did

 

[gavinbell]

actually....

they talk to my kenwood funky sets with no problems at all!

A few others from the forum have bought these through this guy...and are perfectly happy!

There are some dodgy dealers out there...but I bought on the recommendation of Silverfish and others from here!

59.99 + 8.99 shipping! no tax either!!

Have the programming lead as well!

Still happy ...but you had me worried for a second!

Gavin

 

[SilverFish]

The only slight issues are that they are not 446 radios (so you won't find too many people to talk to)

Are you sure about that Greg? I can hear general 446 chatter on mine, and Eddy802 did a fair bit of testing here

 

[Greg Masters]

OK, I wasn't quite right.

The guy on eBay (audio_sky) is selling 3107s on 462MHz with a channel 16 which can be set on 446MHz.

The guy referred to by gavinbell is offering 3 different 3107s, only one of which is a 446MHz unit.

But that is an interesting radio!

Greg

 

[Eddy802]

Secone unit arrived

My second unit arrived today. Brace yourselves for another round of reporting...


PS.
For those with a Belstaff Explorer jacket, I found that the small pocket intended for a mobile phone is ideal for PMR radios like the 3107 which fit). The pocket which is normally folded away in the left breast pocket, but unfolds and snaps to the outside of the jacket, holds the aerial upright and elevates the unit.

Maybe other jacket models have similarly useful options.

Jseus, I'm starting to sound like the Viz "top tips" section!!

 

[peten]

Hi Eddy

How is the testing coming on? There are people out here with credit cards in their sweaty hands waiting to buy the 'right' radios....

Your views are eagerly anticipated...

TIA

Pete

 

[Eddy802]

I have to be honest I have only done an around the block test , which proved better quality and performance as our Motorola pair.

Sorry to have rasied expectation, I've been uber-busy!. We're spending a 4 day tour of Wales this weekend. A full report to follow the trip. Our set up is one on radio battery power, and the other pwered via Autocom. We will both be postioning our radios over the breast pocket with aerials vertical.

If you've read my previous testing reports you'll see that early indications are good, and I'm certainly confident I made the right choice.

The only negative point I have to mention on the 3107's is that the unit is quite big compared to Intaride and Motorola. But if you intended to buy Icom or the UK Kenwood offering anyway.....

...you could reduce unit size by remoting the aerial(and you can)..

 

[Pukmeister]

I have the 'Funkey' Kenwood PMR446 radio for my Autocom system, and couldn't get it to work with a mates TK-3101 Kenwood radio. I expect the 3107 uses the same frequencies as the 3101.

It turns out there is a table of compatible channels and group-modes (sub-channels) in the Funkey manual you need to follow, a copy of which is attached for the benefit of anyone else scratching their heads over this problem.

 

[Eddy802]

Here it is....

Quick reminder of our set up:
Mine - powered from bike through Autcom Pro 7
Alex's - battery powered (she has the Easy 7 so no Autcom power)
Relying completely on Autcom Vox, no PTT in place.

Transmission types were short, for drectional indications and pointing out the occasional sight or point of interest.

The transmission quality of the 3107's cannot be knocked.

I didn't perform any special testing distance, I let the traffic naturally seperate us, and the terrain provided any masking. In all these areas I was pleased by radio performance. As an example I made an overtake that SWMBO elected not to, our seperation opened up to beyond a mile, and sight was lost between us in forrestry - no problem.

Down sides/Surprises:
Alex got through her first battery in under 5 hours! At which point the radio emits a painful constant tone after transmission. There is no warning of this and I wonder how the 3107 manages it? Alex had to unplug the radio from her Autcom to escape (the radio was in her jacket pocket.

Over our 4 day tour, with about 7-8 hours/day on the road, we found 5 hours to be a standard life of a battery charge. I guess this is the penalty for transmitting at 4watts?!

Autocom priority was the other hinderance. Described

here

I will be looking at remote aerial options to allow me to bury my unit in the tool tray or a tank bag. And will be seeking bike power for Alex's radio, delivered somehow other than an Autocom upgrade.

I believe Greg Masters has come accross another potential hinderance. This is riding with others who expect you to use a channel that has a sub freq set. You need the data cable and small software prog to perform these settings. you'd also need to know what combination your fellow riders intend to use before hand too. You could ask the rest of the group to chnage to your channel though.

 

[Greg Masters]

Unfortunately, it was me that set the channel/sub-channel for Tossers-on-Tour, and it would be a bit churlish to have everyone reset their various radios.

I'll try to pick up a cable tomorrow and have a go with the reprogramming software. If I get it all sorted, I'll simply replace my bike mounted and powered 3101 with the 3107.

Greg

 

[Greg Masters]

I've now had a pair of 3107s from www.radios2u.com - unfortunately one of them was faulty. However, the proprietor, Mark Lau, has been absolutely marvellous in helping to sort the problem.

The radios are a fraction of the price of Kenwood TK3101s bought in the UK, they are more powerful and radios2u are giving excellent service.

Recommended!



Greg

 

[Deleted account 250319001]

i also bought from this guy. A TK3207 446. has 8 446 channels and 8 freetalk channels.

I had to have the charger replaced
had to have a battery replaced
and the charger light dosent turn green when fully charged.

other than that. all ok!