Thanks for the video. This is brilliant! I just ordered 2 identical Kenwood TK-880 radios and I am going to duplicate your system. No repeaters in my area that I can hit with my handhelds so I'm gonna make my own.
Have made several of these repeaters back about 20 years ago with new radios. Give you a hint, mount the radios in an old computer case. I stacked the radios on top of each other in the drive bays with a Zetron Repeaterman controller and interconnect. Both the same width to fit in the computer case. You can hide the duplexer and power supply within the cabinet as well. Nice thing about this style is that most people will not even notice that it is a repeater, especially if it is a server tower with a locking front cover. RX radio has no TX freq programmed into it. Another individual told me I could program a control frequency into the TX radio to use for control but I found it useless if the repeater is stuck in transmit mode. It is important to select wide narrow in receive to avoid interference from adjacent channels if this system is used for new narrow band frequencies. Off hook decode eliminates having to ground the hang up pin on the microphone jack to avoid having the repeater responding to any tone otherwise known as an "open repeater", COR needs to be activated as well with your tone. The timeout rekey is useless in this application since there is notification transmitted out informing parties using the repeater has. exceeded their transmit window. You could put a 40-50K pot instead of a fixed resistor to control repeated deviation.
Wish I found you years ago, love your explanations and videos!! Best kenwood content I've seen to date. I've been bubbling around with a pair of Tk-862G/HG radios for my budget repeater. I originally wanted the TK-880 series, but availability (Ebay) wasnt there, so my mini fleet of family radios and cheap repeater build went with the 862G and 863G radios for repeater/mobile use. Kinda limited on the 862G's in terms of software programming compared to the 880/863G. You're setup is far simpler and easier to wrap my head around than the birds nest I've made.
@@mikebanks683 It worked for a bit as a repeater set for a bit, but one radio died so I never set up a new pair. I still run the 862 and 863s daily though! Mobile units are the 863, the base is the 862HG. Both have been reliable and easy to work with so far.
I just got 11 Kenwood TK 880’s from my work. They were just going to throw them in the garbage. We all have work trucks and this is how they used to communicate with each other before cellphones I’m guessing. I am trying to do some research to see how I can use them today. Are they worth keeping and taking up space in my garage? Can you please make a video (What can I use Kenwood TK 880’s for in 2023?) I am very new into radios and getting these radios has kind of sparked my interest.
The 880 is a UHF analog transceiver meaning it transmits and receives. Assuming that they still are in working condition… if they are worth keeping in your garage? How useful it is to you depends on your need to send and/or receive radio signals. They are a old radio, only 25 watts, parts are not available to fix them. Depending on which version you have (it will have a K and a number) that will tell you which chunk of the UHF band the radio can operate in. One example… if you have the version that can do 450-470, you could use it on GMRS channels provided you have a GMRS license. Unfortunately, it’s not like a CB where you turn it on and 1-40 till you hear someone and start talking to strangers lol. There is software and cable, frequencies, CTCSS and there isn’t any legal license free frequencies you can use
What pin of the microphone does deo and sq go to? I’m attempting to make a single cable using a cat cable but not sure which pin of the rj45 connector they should go to
J. D., did you learn which pin number goes to the "SQ" and which pin number goes to the "DEO" on the RJ45 jack? I had the same question. It's a little confusing looking at this video and the mic's pinout but once figured out, it's easier to say that "SQ" should go to PIN #8 (CM) and "DEO" should go to PIN #1 (BLC) since the TK-880 mic jack is wired the same on every radio.
Thanks for making this. I have 2 TK-840's and want to make a repeater out of them. Not much out there on how to do it. This at least gets me off the ground.
I can’t remember what features all the radios have… if you have the software for the 840 load it up and see if it was the signal options for active hi/low. If it does, you should be able to do this setup however you might have a serial port or VGA port built into the radio instead of the soldier pads like in the 880. You’d just need to figure out where it’s sending the signal and hook into that.
FYI: The “Off Hook Decode” will automatically stop the radio from scanning when the Mic is lifted from the Mic Clip (which is supposed to have a ground wire connected to it). Then once you put the mic back on the clip, the radio will automatically start scanning and will receive any transmission coming in because the Mic Hook is active. In this case where a Mic probably isn’t being used on the Rx radio, you will need to check the box (as you have done) in order to allow the radio to transmit.
Do you still need a duplexer to use one antenna? I would think so. So why not just bypass the biscuit and wire directly the mic and ptt wires? Better yet, why not wire to the correct terminals (4&6) of the biscuit and simply plug the Kenwood cable into the CAT-5 terminal of the biscuit and into the mic terminal on the tx radio? What am I missing?
@@2manyhobbies76 yes you still need a duplexer, antenna, coax and hopefully a high place to mount it. The accessory cable to make a “port” for the TK-880 was very expensive. You can make a port (cat 5) for a couple bucks. Then you plug into the port… you could buy the KCT-19 and do it the right way. You could have soldered the radios directly to one another. You could even put a rainbow sticker on the biscuit and celebrate gay pride week or month… lol it will still work the same. This was a cheap way to make a port on the radio.
@@niknazzdThanks for the reply. I am in the process of making my own repeater like yours. Fortunately I have a 880 for rx and a 880H for tx. I was thinking that if the soldered wires coming out of the rx radio as you demonstrated were connected to the corresponding terminals in the biscuit that were the 4 &6 pins, then you could just run a inexpensive CAT-5 cable out of the biscuit and directly into the mic port of the tx radio. Is this wrong? It just seems cleaner.
@@2manyhobbies76 as long as the wires terminated to the biscuit are on the correct wires to correspond with the radio. There isn’t a wrong way to the connection. I would strongly recommend running a resistor or a VR on the audio side instead of just straight into the radio. If you don’t use some kind of resistor, you will ride the limiter and it will be the loudest radio ever heard. The background will be as loud as the person talking.
Great video for the most part ,but your busy tangled mess of wires are what you're used to ,but as a beginner, I need a flow chart in case of mis sneaking.
Hi James, you would put this on a duplexer or combiner… whatever you decide is best for your area. You could use a cheap Chinese mobile (flat pack) duplexer provided you’re not using it on a commercial tower or other high RF area. Just remember the duplexer wattage should be rated or exceed the wattage of your TX radio E.G. a TK880 for TX is 25 watt, TK8180 is 35 watt….
I’m looking to set up something exactly like this, however doing cross band with a 780. My question is, if I programmed the features identically and made the identical internal modifications, could I essentially connect the output of the 880 to the 780 and the output of the 780 to the 880 and have a duplex cross band repeater? In my head this makes sense, but thought I would leave a comment and get your thoughts on this.
Hi, I have never tried this but I can’t think of a reason why this would not work. It would 100% work in one direction. We built a crazy one that RX was UHF and the TX was 11 meters. Give it a shot and let us know in these comments. I would suggest that you turn on BCL (busy channel lockout) incase 2 stations go into the repeater at the same time.
Can you add a splitter to the Tx radio to attach a mic so you can transmit out of the repeater from the repeater itself? Or would this cause issues backfeeding the Rx radio?
I’m really not sure. I don’t have one handy to try it on right now. In this video I used a cat 5 biscuit. I imagine if you plugged a mic into that and keyed it up, nothing would happen. You won’t break anything for sure but the desired outcome wouldn’t be achieved. Try it and let me know.
Hi Mark great video but I need a little bit more info on how you wired the end of that microphone to that little white box is it anyway you can email me a photo of that picture cuz I don't know what to do with the rest of the wires is they garbage or ? Im only using the PTT and audio wires from the microphone that's going to connect to my DEO and SQ wires correct?
Hi Tank, Yes, the rest of the wires are for other features like changing the channel or however you set up the radio. In this case, it's a repeater so you only use those 2 wires. One is your relay, the other is your audio. Assuming you are using the same power supply for both radios, you'll have the ground for everything. All the others won't be used so feel free to cut them, tie them or I just terminated the to get them out of the way. In the real world, this repeater is now on the air since the video was made. We added a resistor because the audio was screaming loud, we also added a DTMF tone to the end of the transmission on the TX radio due to having no squelch tail.
@@niknazzd Thank ypu so much I'm actually in possession of two of the 880 Kenwood radios today just came in the mail because of you brother thank you so much for dedicating your time and knowledge to the Hobby for the low-budget Preppers
@@KO4RXE-WRMR358 No problem. Glad I could help. If there is anything else you need in the future with your build let me know. I have a bunch of ideas for other videos and things you can do with these radio's and as soon as time allows I'll be making more. 73's WRMS758
@@niknazzd Hi Brother well I'm in the mode of cutting (1) kenwood kmc35 mic.. I have everything soldered & freqs set..I guess I'm lost on the pinout 🥵 of which wire is (ptt & which is mic) colors vary I see ...I have the exact same everything brother...shh what #pin looking from a front view if pin#8 is 1st left ...to right pin#1 did you connect to DEO- & SQ?...🤥😖😖😖..WRMR358..
So this setup would work with any repeater controller However, this would be a hard way of doing things. Most controllers are plug and play. This was more of a how to with things you have around the house. If you were fancy and have the controller, you would just take the SQ and DEO and put it to the appropriate in’s on the controller and select the signal type (active high/active low) that your controller uses.
Just to double check. The Transmit wire goes to the PTT pin and the Audio goes to the MIC pin, right? All I need is just those two wires going into the TX radio right? I have everything ready to test but just wanted to be sure (not sure this will even post - for some reason none of my posts are showing up)
Yes one wire on PTT for TX radio and the other on the mic + of TX radio. You can you a volt meter to check. If you reverse them leprechauns won’t leap from inside the radio it will simply not work. Flip them and Tryit again.
@@niknazzd Everything seems to be working ok even though I seem to have some strange voltages on the DEO and SQ pin. Sitting idle, DEO is showing 2.9 volts and SQ is showing 5.03 volts. Keying up my HT, activating the repeater, DEO jumps a bit to 3.0 volts and SQ drops to 0 volts. Also my RX radio randomly is flashing green, even though there is no signal being transmitted that it would be picking up
@@billley7661 there should be voltage on both. I’m not sure the values. As long as it’s working, great! If your radio is keying up when nothing is there and Unkeying when you TX on the HT, change your active high/low setting. I have had 880’s turn on the green light like they were RXing but if you program yourself a monitor button you’ll find nothing there. The 880 isn’t a top notch quality radio but for something where you’d put it in a cabinet or in a shack at the bottom of a tower and otherwise forget the radio… they work good.
How is a repeater without the required ID mechanism "ready to use". There are also requirements for the modulation that are being ignored. Also, as long as the Receive conditions are set to OR, then any carrier that comes along will activate the repeater. Since the tone is not being carried through from the RX to the TX (because you are using the mic jack) the TX will transmit a tone, even when the RX receives a carrier with no tone or the wrong tone. This video is the basic premise, and that part is good, however anyone seeing this should know that there is more to setting up and operating a repeater.
@@danthompson8991 for GMRS, there is no requirement to ID unless transmitting. When you key up and say your call sign, you have ID’d. The setting for the radio to react to a tone or use any tone is the TOR and COR setting. TONE OPERATED RELAY if you want to have a tone CARRIER OPERATED RELAY if any carrier regardless of tone. The TX tone or repeater out is whatever tone you put on that radio. This setup still requires power, antenna, coax, duplexer, mast or tower and preferably a high location. It doesn’t need a repeater, repeater controller or IPA’s to get it to the desired wattage. It’s not meant to be a Quantar level repeater. It’s a simple , cheap, rapidly deployable repeater using common parts. I know of 3 repeaters that are operational right now and they work just fine. Of the ones I know, they have a 50 watt radio for the TX.
@@niknazzd This covers you and the transmission for your radio. It does not cover the ID for the repeater transmitter. Especially since the settings are going to allow the repeater to transmit on any carrier that may or may not be identified. People trying to bend the rules is how messes get made, and when there finally is a crackdown, those who get nicked cry victim.
@@danthompson8991 obviously your a HAM operator. This is exactly why I let my ticket expire and never looked back. It’s people like you who are killing this hobby. Read the GMRS rules.
@@niknazzd oh, I do read the rules. If a repeater is operated solely by the licensee, then it does not need to identify. However, you may have missed the point that the way 5his repeater was set up, it will operate with open squelch. As such, any signal will cause the transmitter to transmit requiring that it needs to identify. Let's go a little deeper, there are also requirements for the repeater not to exceed 5kHz deviation. The transmitter would be fine if it was being driven by a standard microphone, but it is not. This also needs to be adjusted and set correctly. As I stated, this might be a starting point, but that repeater is not finished, or ready to be used. Fortunately, the splatter filter is still in place, that is a good thing, as well as the band pass filters, however the over deviation is going to swamp that. Simply adding a resistor into the audio line won't fix those thing properly.
@@danthompson8991 and how do you know the owner isn’t the sole operator ham cop? You are the hams that nobody wants to talk to. The repeater works fine, you’re missing the point. I don’t care what a ham cop thinks about my UA-cam video. The deviation factor is eliminated by the limiter circuit on all radios and like stated in the video adding a resistor or VR would improve audio quality. Here I’ll say it so you can stop trolling ready print it out and hang it up. Dan Thompson the ham operator is the smartest, sexiest man alive. He knows it all and everyone else is wrong including me who does this for a living. Thank you Dan Thompson ham operator, a man of extraordinary intelligence for going after UA-camrs and setting them straight.
Hi Ryan, Yes, you would run the resistor on the audio wire to attenuate the signal from the RX radio going into your TX radio. As far as the value… it’s measured in Ohms not watts and there is no wrong answer. The amount could be 22K or 50K ohms depending on your preference. If you don’t have a bunch of resistors to try, or are unsure, you could use a Variable Resistor (VR). This will act like a volume knob and you can turn the resistance up or down until you achieve your desired sound level. If you want to lock it in, after you get the VR where you want it, use a ohm meter to measure the resistance of the VR. Then purchase a resistor that is close to that value. Hope that helps.
Ok. I used the driscriminator tap like you did. I was wondering if i used the ext speaker jack on the back if it would be a better option since that isnt raw audio and has a volume control? I am having a hard time with that raw audio being so loud and distorted the tx radio sounds like poop when it is a weak signal
@@ryandys8217 you could try the external speaker jack but I believe that is 2 watts out and it would certainly cause an impedance mismatch. It’s would be mixing balanced/unbalanced signal. Not saying it wouldn’t work…I really don’t know and in my head I can think of why it wouldn’t but I’m not the smartest man by any means lol. Try it an let me know what happens…
I put a 1/2watt 22k ohm resistor inline and a capacitor to ground and it cleaned up the audio a bit. I can key up 2 handhelds in the same room now without squealing. Thanks for your video its helpful to alot of people 😊
I just stumbled upon this video and it was very informative. Thanks for posting. I've been checking ebay for a couple of 880's but some are listed as 400-430 MHz while other 880's are listed as 450-490. Seeing that the Rx radio isn't transmitting, would one of the 400-430 radios work as the receiving radio? and would the higher power 45w 880H work as my tx radio?
Hi Bill, so there is some grey area there… Kenwood has different radios for different bands/countries and so forth to be compliant with government regulations. The US radios are K K2 K3 and signify the “band”. I have a stack of these ranging from v1.5 to V2.0 and they all say TK-880-1. No K anything. These un K’d radio do whatever I put in the software. Example, if I select 400-430 (K3) from the model information window, these radio do 400-430 and so on. If I try to program outside the freq range, I get an error message when entering the freq as demonstrated by one of my screw ups in the fleetsync video. Just because mine do what they are told doesn’t mean yours will especially if they are branded at K3 or whatever. I don’t want to steer you in the wrong direction. I have heard of people modifying the K3 radios to go out of band but I’ve never done it and never explored the option so I wouldn’t know if it strains other components possible causing the radio to fail prematurely. At the very least it voids the FCC license with the radio for whatever that’s worth. My best advice is get the radio for the band you are using. As for the TX radio, you could use anything. It doesn’t have to be another Kenwood radio. It could be a icom, Motorola, some flungpoo Chinese radio someone put together in their basement apartment at their moms house. As long as you know the radios mic pin out (just search “mic pin out for XXXX” on your favorite search engine) you can wire it up to this. The PTT pin and the mic + pin are all you need. You’d put the SQ on Mic + and DEO (detected signal output) on the PTT pin. Hopefully this helps you out. Thanks for your interest in this hobby.
@@billley3960 that’s interesting to know. I haven’t paid to much attention to the numbers until I started messing with the GMRS stuff. When I used to do radios for a living, we seldom had the lower 400’s come in for programming. Most of the lowers are for companies who lease radio service/tower out so they did their own. Most of ours were people who had the call sign and frequency and needed 75 radios for their cab company… It might just be open to whatever you set the software as. Over my years I’ve gone through a bunch of cables. My last one I purchased has like 10 ends on it for different radios and I paid $10 for it. It writes a little slower but works every time lol you don’t need to go crazy on an expensive cable. HOWEVER, it’s your money, you earned it, you can spend it. You just need the KPG49 and your good to go. Hope everything works out for you.
The CAT5 jack wiring isn’t specific. It was just a way to terminate wires and or add things like resistors for I/O. You would terminate the SQ and DEO to the appropriate wires on what ever radio you are using. If you we’re sending the TK-880 to a Cobra CB. You’d look up what wire is the PTT on a Cobra CB and screw it onto the DEO wire. You could use butt connectors or wing nuts with the same results HOWEVER, it wouldn’t be as secure and would be harder or impossible to add things like resistors to get the audio level that you’d like. Ultimately whatever you use to connect two wires together is up to you.
You are only using the 2 wires from RX radio SQ DEO (audio and signal). One wire goes on your mic + and the other on the PTT. You would wire it to your TX radio like you’d wire a mic. If you are unsure about the pin/wire configuration of your TX radio, look up “mic wiring diagram” for your radio brand and model. The ground for the PTT and audio really won’t matter in most applications provided you are using the same power supple for both. Feel free to terminate the ground if you run into any problems.
How are you getting KPG49 to work in Windows? I have KPG-49D and I can only get it to come up in DOS. I also can't get it to communicate with the radio. When I tell the software to read the radio I get the PROGRAM message then I get an error message in the software. I also have KPG-60D (windows) and get the same results. Any tips would be appreciated.
Hi Ken, Yes when I did this professionally the FPU was all DOS. I still have the DOS disks. I believe and don't quote me because I deal with a ton of different FPU's but 49D or 49DN version 1 and 2 are DOS and versions 3 could be DOS or Windows but version 4 is definitely windows. The version I was running was KPG-49D V4.02. The ebay guy I listed in the video has all that stuff and it's like $20 so it won't break the bank. It's not a paid endorsement I get no money from it nor do I know him personality. I'm just a dude helping out another dude with a way to get it done fast (he sends a download link) cheap, easy, safe. As far as the error message. Windows 'puters seem a little dumb (I'm a mac guy) and whenever I had those issues it was due to 2 things. 1) you need a driver for the USB/com wire and that driver is specific to the chip. If you plug it in, windows won't know how to talk to it without a driver. 2) You need to tell your computer/KPG49D where the cable is located in the computer. In your KPG49D go to setup in the menu and chose "Com Port" and tell it where the cable is. If you don't know do a windows search and type "device manager" and in that window locate the "ports (COM & LPT)" and see if you find your cable listed there. It would tell you what port it's in or if the computer doesn't recognize it at all (driver Issue) hope this helps.
Since I posted this I found 49D 4.02 and one other newer version. I have 4.02 working perfectly and I even figure out how to get it to except freqs below 450MHz for Amateur Radio. I plan to get my GMRS license on April 19 when the price drops from $70 to $35. I have the TK-880H -1 version 2 programmed for all the FRS/GRMS + GMRS Repeater freqs. All the local Repeaters are programed with Encode tones ready to go for the license. I'ts not that active like it is for Ham Repeaters. I am active on DMR which is far more active. Something new to play with.
Did just as it says, hooked them up to a duplexerbset to my frequency, they can hear me, but I can't hear them (just makes a static noise). I'm able to reach my buddy on simplex 10 miles away on the same antenna. Anyone have any advice? It's a diamond gmrs antenna 30ft in the air.
If you did what I said great we can start looking at other stuff… I’m not sure what you mean here. Your TX radio can reach someone 10 miles but the RX radio can’t hear? Just use your RX radio for now with no duplexer and try your friend on simplex. Did it work? If it did work, add the duplexer. If it didn’t work, check the RX radio and make sure it is aligned and functioning properly. A poorly tuned or damaged receive will make weaker signals non existent. If you added the duplexer see if the RX radio still received the signal. The speaker in the radio will still work as usual and the light should turn green. If it works without the duplexer, the duplexer needs to be tuned because it’s filtering out the wrong frequency. Doing this repeater setup isnt special really. It isn’t modifying your radio. Your radio was built to TX/RX on a assigned frequency and we haven’t changed that. The only thing we have changed is what we want the radio to do when it gets the assigned frequency. Hopefully this will steer you in the right direction.
Hi I have a kenwood tk880 and I have bought it for around $20 and it was in pretty bad shape but the radio still powers on and is able to add channels and remove them. But I have 1 big issue and I put a test channel in on those free channels and the radio will not work when I push the microphone in. It sends back out a beep tone and it will not receive as well. I was wondering if u can make a video about how to fix it and make it receive and transmit. I’m not giving up on it since it still powers on and it lets me add channels. Thanks for your help.
Hi Ipodbuff, it sounds like you have a radio format conflict. Check the sticker on the back of the radio and it should have a K, K2, K3. Load up your copy of KPG49 and in the menu bar select model
@@niknazzd hi Mark. I have tried your experiment I believe the radio covers 450-490 I am able to add channels around that coverage. Do you think of anything else could be wrong? I think it may have something to do with the receive part of the radio. Where ever that piece is located inside.
@@ipodbuff this is really hard without meeting this radio in person lol but I love this. Hook up your dummy load and boot up KPG49 and in the “model” menu you select model info. It should be type 880>frequency 450-490(K) and let’s do the conventional because the LTR trunking will produce a 2 tone hi-low hi-low if it doesn’t get a response from the control channel… type in something in the range say 460.000. That should be it… if not… try the K2 and K3 and put those frequencies in example do K3 and try 424.000 see if it work. This way you will know for sure if it’s a K K2 K3. Write back if nothing works and we’ll take her to test mode.
@@niknazzd hi. I just wanted to let you know that I have changed the channel model and it is 400-430 and I put a test channel of 401.100 and it receive and transmits. Now my next project is to figure out how to change the band because there isn’t any frequency’s around my area that covers those frequencies that I tested on. Thanks for your help so far I really appreciate it 😀😀
@@ipodbuff I have heard of people modifying the 880’s to go out of band. Some say it’s works others say it doesn’t. I’ve heard about them TX’n ok but RX is really weak. I’ve never attempted so I can’t help you out further in that department. I would suggest after you do it check the radios TX and RX. Make sure it’s still aligned. It might be like tuning a antenna. Just because you changed the frequency does mean the antenna is good on that frequency. Good luck with your project.
I'm not really sure what you are asking Barry. Whatever radio you use as your TX radio would have a duty cycle rating. I assume you are asking because it's a mobile radio and not designed to be keyed up all the time... This radio that I used in this video was a TK 880 25watt radio. It's been field deployed the day after the video was made in Buffalo NY and also has a Zello link. The only mods we made to it was adding a resistor to the audio, adding a DTMF tone to the EOT, and a small 12 volt fan to keep it cool. It's still going today and gets used for for several hours on end daily. I wouldn't recommend using it for a large city police dept but it doesn't even get warm using it for the WQTL614 South Buffalo Repeater.
Hi Scott, I like where you’re going with this question. Putting some boom boom behind it. The answer is yes. This video is more about the TK880 and it’s ability to control another radio. So it will key up any other radio. I assume you’d want the 890 to TX not as the RX radio…
@@niknazzd I want to have a gmrs repeater capable of 50 watts. I know the 890 will do 100 watts but maybe it cold be throttled down? I would like to duplicate your 25 watt repeater first just to see if I can do it but i lack the radios. The 890 seems easier to find. I thought I might try the 890. Any help would be appreciated.
@@cogburn2006 it’s not any harder than wiring up the 880. You’d start with getting a old mic or plug connector for your 890 so you can plug wires into the mic jack/radio. Then just hit up your favorite search engine and type “mic wiring diagram for kenwood TK890” it will tell you which pin (if you’re using just a connector end or color of wire if you hacked up a mic cord) is the P.T.T. And which is the mic. Typically, the mic positive wire is inside a bare wire similar to coax to shield it from picking up hun.
I’m not sure. I’m going to see if I can get a guy who has one will chime in here and tell you how he did his. I know he has a computer doing it but that’s about it. This was supposed to be a low class ball’n-on-a-budget repeater and you want to put lipstick on the pig lol. It can be hooked up to an external unit like a repeater controller or maybe they make an ID’r that can toggle a PTT and send audio. Hopefully the local club guy will jump in.
You would probably be able to do this with an Arduino quite easily, all it needs to be programmed to do is key up, do it's thing and count until 15 minutes and do it again, optionally you could add some sort of activity monitor to only transmitt the callsign if someone has recently keyed.
Thanks for the video. This is brilliant! I just ordered 2 identical Kenwood TK-880 radios and I am going to duplicate your system. No repeaters in my area that I can hit with my handhelds so I'm gonna make my own.
Have made several of these repeaters back about 20 years ago with new radios. Give you a hint, mount the radios in an old computer case. I stacked the radios on top of each other in the drive bays with a Zetron Repeaterman controller and interconnect. Both the same width to fit in the computer case. You can hide the duplexer and power supply within the cabinet as well. Nice thing about this style is that most people will not even notice that it is a repeater, especially if it is a server tower with a locking front cover. RX radio has no TX freq programmed into it. Another individual told me I could program a control frequency into the TX radio to use for control but I found it useless if the repeater is stuck in transmit mode.
It is important to select wide narrow in receive to avoid interference from adjacent channels if this system is used for new narrow band frequencies. Off hook decode eliminates having to ground the hang up pin on the microphone jack to avoid having the repeater responding to any tone otherwise known as an "open repeater", COR needs to be activated as well with your tone.
The timeout rekey is useless in this application since there is notification transmitted out informing parties using the repeater has. exceeded their transmit window. You could put a 40-50K pot instead of a fixed resistor to control repeated deviation.
Wish I found you years ago, love your explanations and videos!! Best kenwood content I've seen to date. I've been bubbling around with a pair of Tk-862G/HG radios for my budget repeater. I originally wanted the TK-880 series, but availability (Ebay) wasnt there, so my mini fleet of family radios and cheap repeater build went with the 862G and 863G radios for repeater/mobile use.
Kinda limited on the 862G's in terms of software programming compared to the 880/863G. You're setup is far simpler and easier to wrap my head around than the birds nest I've made.
How did your 862 setup work? I have a bunch that I could press into service... TIA
@@mikebanks683 It worked for a bit as a repeater set for a bit, but one radio died so I never set up a new pair. I still run the 862 and 863s daily though! Mobile units are the 863, the base is the 862HG. Both have been reliable and easy to work with so far.
I just got 11 Kenwood TK 880’s from my work. They were just going to throw them in the garbage. We all have work trucks and this is how they used to communicate with each other before cellphones I’m guessing. I am trying to do some research to see how I can use them today. Are they worth keeping and taking up space in my garage? Can you please make a video (What can I use Kenwood TK 880’s for in 2023?) I am very new into radios and getting these radios has kind of sparked my interest.
The 880 is a UHF analog transceiver meaning it transmits and receives. Assuming that they still are in working condition… if they are worth keeping in your garage? How useful it is to you depends on your need to send and/or receive radio signals. They are a old radio, only 25 watts, parts are not available to fix them. Depending on which version you have (it will have a K and a number) that will tell you which chunk of the UHF band the radio can operate in. One example… if you have the version that can do 450-470, you could use it on GMRS channels provided you have a GMRS license. Unfortunately, it’s not like a CB where you turn it on and 1-40 till you hear someone and start talking to strangers lol. There is software and cable, frequencies, CTCSS and there isn’t any legal license free frequencies you can use
If you still have one, I bid $65 and I pay shipping :)
so for the kenwood cable what wires did you use?
JUST TWO WORDS “WIRE MANAGEMENT”
What pin of the microphone does deo and sq go to? I’m attempting to make a single cable using a cat cable but not sure which pin of the rj45 connector they should go to
I could explain but your best bet is to search the net for something like “kenwood mic wiring diagram” and you’ll get pictures.
J. D., did you learn which pin number goes to the "SQ" and which pin number goes to the "DEO" on the RJ45 jack? I had the same question. It's a little confusing looking at this video and the mic's pinout but once figured out, it's easier to say that "SQ" should go to PIN #8 (CM) and "DEO" should go to PIN #1 (BLC) since the TK-880 mic jack is wired the same on every radio.
Thanks for assistance @guysmith561. It depends on what radio you are wiring it to. You could wire this to an old realistic CB radio.
Nice job!
Thanks for making this. I have 2 TK-840's and want to make a repeater out of them. Not much out there on how to do it. This at least gets me off the ground.
I can’t remember what features all the radios have… if you have the software for the 840 load it up and see if it was the signal options for active hi/low. If it does, you should be able to do this setup however you might have a serial port or VGA port built into the radio instead of the soldier pads like in the 880. You’d just need to figure out where it’s sending the signal and hook into that.
@@niknazzd thanks.
FYI: The “Off Hook Decode” will automatically stop the radio from scanning when the Mic is lifted from the Mic Clip (which is supposed to have a ground wire connected to it). Then once you put the mic back on the clip, the radio will automatically start scanning and will receive any transmission coming in because the Mic Hook is active.
In this case where a Mic probably isn’t being used on the Rx radio, you will need to check the box (as you have done) in order to allow the radio to transmit.
Do you still need a duplexer to use one antenna? I would think so.
So why not just bypass the biscuit and wire directly the mic and ptt wires? Better yet, why not wire to the correct terminals (4&6) of the biscuit and simply plug the Kenwood cable into the CAT-5 terminal of the biscuit and into the mic terminal on the tx radio? What am I missing?
@@2manyhobbies76 yes you still need a duplexer, antenna, coax and hopefully a high place to mount it.
The accessory cable to make a “port” for the TK-880 was very expensive. You can make a port (cat 5) for a couple bucks. Then you plug into the port… you could buy the KCT-19 and do it the right way. You could have soldered the radios directly to one another. You could even put a rainbow sticker on the biscuit and celebrate gay pride week or month… lol it will still work the same. This was a cheap way to make a port on the radio.
@@niknazzdThanks for the reply. I am in the process of making my own repeater like yours. Fortunately I have a 880 for rx and a 880H for tx. I was thinking that if the soldered wires coming out of the rx radio as you demonstrated were connected to the corresponding terminals in the biscuit that were the 4 &6 pins, then you could just run a inexpensive CAT-5 cable out of the biscuit and directly into the mic port of the tx radio. Is this wrong? It just seems cleaner.
@@2manyhobbies76 as long as the wires terminated to the biscuit are on the correct wires to correspond with the radio. There isn’t a wrong way to the connection. I would strongly recommend running a resistor or a VR on the audio side instead of just straight into the radio. If you don’t use some kind of resistor, you will ride the limiter and it will be the loudest radio ever heard. The background will be as loud as the person talking.
Great video for the most part ,but your busy tangled mess of wires are what you're used to ,but as a beginner, I need a flow chart in case of mis sneaking.
AGREE!. I watched for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, then I was done....
how do you hook them up to a antenna so they both work i do like the concept i do have two kenwoods like that
i did subscribed to your page i will keep a eye on this
Hi James, you would put this on a duplexer or combiner… whatever you decide is best for your area. You could use a cheap Chinese mobile (flat pack) duplexer provided you’re not using it on a commercial tower or other high RF area. Just remember the duplexer wattage should be rated or exceed the wattage of your TX radio E.G. a TK880 for TX is 25 watt, TK8180 is 35 watt….
I’m looking to set up something exactly like this, however doing cross band with a 780. My question is, if I programmed the features identically and made the identical internal modifications, could I essentially connect the output of the 880 to the 780 and the output of the 780 to the 880 and have a duplex cross band repeater? In my head this makes sense, but thought I would leave a comment and get your thoughts on this.
Hi, I have never tried this but I can’t think of a reason why this would not work. It would 100% work in one direction. We built a crazy one that RX was UHF and the TX was 11 meters. Give it a shot and let us know in these comments. I would suggest that you turn on BCL (busy channel lockout) incase 2 stations go into the repeater at the same time.
Can you add a splitter to the Tx radio to attach a mic so you can transmit out of the repeater from the repeater itself? Or would this cause issues backfeeding the Rx radio?
I’m really not sure. I don’t have one handy to try it on right now. In this video I used a cat 5 biscuit. I imagine if you plugged a mic into that and keyed it up, nothing would happen. You won’t break anything for sure but the desired outcome wouldn’t be achieved. Try it and let me know.
Hi Mark great video but I need a little bit more info on how you wired the end of that microphone to that little white box is it anyway you can email me a photo of that picture cuz I don't know what to do with the rest of the wires is they garbage or ? Im only using the PTT and audio wires from the microphone that's going to connect to my DEO and SQ wires correct?
Hi Tank, Yes, the rest of the wires are for other features like changing the channel or however you set up the radio. In this case, it's a repeater so you only use those 2 wires. One is your relay, the other is your audio. Assuming you are using the same power supply for both radios, you'll have the ground for everything. All the others won't be used so feel free to cut them, tie them or I just terminated the to get them out of the way. In the real world, this repeater is now on the air since the video was made. We added a resistor because the audio was screaming loud, we also added a DTMF tone to the end of the transmission on the TX radio due to having no squelch tail.
@@niknazzd Thank ypu so much I'm actually in possession of two of the 880 Kenwood radios today just came in the mail because of you brother thank you so much for dedicating your time and knowledge to the Hobby for the low-budget Preppers
@@KO4RXE-WRMR358 No problem. Glad I could help. If there is anything else you need in the future with your build let me know. I have a bunch of ideas for other videos and things you can do with these radio's and as soon as time allows I'll be making more. 73's WRMS758
@@niknazzd yes sir i sure will...73's Brother...WRMR358KY
@@niknazzd Hi Brother well I'm in the mode of cutting (1) kenwood kmc35 mic.. I have everything soldered & freqs set..I guess I'm lost on the pinout 🥵 of which wire is (ptt & which is mic) colors vary I see ...I have the exact same everything brother...shh what #pin looking from a front view if pin#8 is 1st left ...to right pin#1 did you connect to DEO- & SQ?...🤥😖😖😖..WRMR358..
Could you run an ID-O-Matic between the two radios to act as a controller?
So this setup would work with any repeater controller However, this would be a hard way of doing things. Most controllers are plug and play. This was more of a how to with things you have around the house. If you were fancy and have the controller, you would just take the SQ and DEO and put it to the appropriate in’s on the controller and select the signal type (active high/active low) that your controller uses.
@@niknazzd Got it. Thanks!
Just to double check. The Transmit wire goes to the PTT pin and the Audio goes to the MIC pin, right? All I need is just those two wires going into the TX radio right? I have everything ready to test but just wanted to be sure (not sure this will even post - for some reason none of my posts are showing up)
Yes one wire on PTT for TX radio and the other on the mic + of TX radio. You can you a volt meter to check. If you reverse them leprechauns won’t leap from inside the radio it will simply not work. Flip them and Tryit again.
@@niknazzd Everything seems to be working ok even though I seem to have some strange voltages on the DEO and SQ pin. Sitting idle, DEO is showing 2.9 volts and SQ is showing 5.03 volts. Keying up my HT, activating the repeater, DEO jumps a bit to 3.0 volts and SQ drops to 0 volts. Also my RX radio randomly is flashing green, even though there is no signal being transmitted that it would be picking up
I meant keying up the HT and activating the Rx radio
@@billley7661 there should be voltage on both. I’m not sure the values. As long as it’s working, great! If your radio is keying up when nothing is there and Unkeying when you TX on the HT, change your active high/low setting. I have had 880’s turn on the green light like they were RXing but if you program yourself a monitor button you’ll find nothing there. The 880 isn’t a top notch quality radio but for something where you’d put it in a cabinet or in a shack at the bottom of a tower and otherwise forget the radio… they work good.
How is a repeater without the required ID mechanism "ready to use". There are also requirements for the
modulation that are being ignored. Also, as long as the Receive conditions are set to OR, then any
carrier that comes along will activate the repeater. Since the tone is not being carried through from the
RX to the TX (because you are using the mic jack) the TX will transmit a tone, even when the RX receives
a carrier with no tone or the wrong tone. This video is the basic premise, and that part is good, however
anyone seeing this should know that there is more to setting up and operating a repeater.
@@danthompson8991 for GMRS, there is no requirement to ID unless transmitting. When you key up and say your call sign, you have ID’d. The setting for the radio to react to a tone or use any tone is the TOR and COR setting. TONE OPERATED RELAY if you want to have a tone CARRIER OPERATED RELAY if any carrier regardless of tone. The TX tone or repeater out is whatever tone you put on that radio. This setup still requires power, antenna, coax, duplexer, mast or tower and preferably a high location. It doesn’t need a repeater, repeater controller or IPA’s to get it to the desired wattage. It’s not meant to be a Quantar level repeater. It’s a simple , cheap, rapidly deployable repeater using common parts. I know of 3 repeaters that are operational right now and they work just fine. Of the ones I know, they have a 50 watt radio for the TX.
@@niknazzd This covers you and the transmission for your radio. It does not cover the ID for the repeater transmitter. Especially since the settings are going to allow the repeater to transmit on any carrier that may or may not be identified. People trying to bend the rules is how messes get made, and when there finally is a crackdown, those who get nicked cry victim.
@@danthompson8991 obviously your a HAM operator. This is exactly why I let my ticket expire and never looked back. It’s people like you who are killing this hobby. Read the GMRS rules.
@@niknazzd oh, I do read the rules. If a repeater is operated solely by the licensee, then it does not need to identify. However, you may have missed the point that the way 5his repeater was set up, it will operate with open squelch. As such, any signal will cause the transmitter to transmit requiring that it needs to identify. Let's go a little deeper, there are also requirements for the repeater not to exceed 5kHz deviation. The transmitter would be fine if it was being driven by a standard microphone, but it is not. This also needs to be adjusted and set correctly. As I stated, this might be a starting point, but that repeater is not finished, or ready to be used. Fortunately, the splatter filter is still in place, that is a good thing, as well as the band pass filters, however the over deviation is going to swamp that. Simply adding a resistor into the audio line won't fix those thing properly.
@@danthompson8991 and how do you know the owner isn’t the sole operator ham cop? You are the hams that nobody wants to talk to. The repeater works fine, you’re missing the point. I don’t care what a ham cop thinks about my UA-cam video. The deviation factor is eliminated by the limiter circuit on all radios and like stated in the video adding a resistor or VR would improve audio quality. Here I’ll say it so you can stop trolling ready print it out and hang it up. Dan Thompson the ham operator is the smartest, sexiest man alive. He knows it all and everyone else is wrong including me who does this for a living. Thank you Dan Thompson ham operator, a man of extraordinary intelligence for going after UA-camrs and setting them straight.
I built one of these repeaters. Where do i run the resistor? Inline with the audio wire? And also would a 1/2watt resister be big enough?
Hi Ryan, Yes, you would run the resistor on the audio wire to attenuate the signal from the RX radio going into your TX radio. As far as the value… it’s measured in Ohms not watts and there is no wrong answer. The amount could be 22K or 50K ohms depending on your preference. If you don’t have a bunch of resistors to try, or are unsure, you could use a Variable Resistor (VR). This will act like a volume knob and you can turn the resistance up or down until you achieve your desired sound level. If you want to lock it in, after you get the VR where you want it, use a ohm meter to measure the resistance of the VR. Then purchase a resistor that is close to that value. Hope that helps.
Ok. I used the driscriminator tap like you did. I was wondering if i used the ext speaker jack on the back if it would be a better option since that isnt raw audio and has a volume control? I am having a hard time with that raw audio being so loud and distorted the tx radio sounds like poop when it is a weak signal
@@ryandys8217 you could try the external speaker jack but I believe that is 2 watts out and it would certainly cause an impedance mismatch. It’s would be mixing balanced/unbalanced signal. Not saying it wouldn’t work…I really don’t know and in my head I can think of why it wouldn’t but I’m not the smartest man by any means lol. Try it an let me know what happens…
I put a 1/2watt 22k ohm resistor inline and a capacitor to ground and it cleaned up the audio a bit. I can key up 2 handhelds in the same room now without squealing. Thanks for your video its helpful to alot of people 😊
I just stumbled upon this video and it was very informative. Thanks for posting. I've been checking ebay for a couple of 880's but some are listed as 400-430 MHz while other 880's are listed as 450-490. Seeing that the Rx radio isn't transmitting, would one of the 400-430 radios work as the receiving radio? and would the higher power 45w 880H work as my tx radio?
Hi Bill, so there is some grey area there… Kenwood has different radios for different bands/countries and so forth to be compliant with government regulations. The US radios are K K2 K3 and signify the “band”. I have a stack of these ranging from v1.5 to V2.0 and they all say TK-880-1. No K anything. These un K’d radio do whatever I put in the software. Example, if I select 400-430 (K3) from the model information window, these radio do 400-430 and so on. If I try to program outside the freq range, I get an error message when entering the freq as demonstrated by one of my screw ups in the fleetsync video. Just because mine do what they are told doesn’t mean yours will especially if they are branded at K3 or whatever. I don’t want to steer you in the wrong direction. I have heard of people modifying the K3 radios to go out of band but I’ve never done it and never explored the option so I wouldn’t know if it strains other components possible causing the radio to fail prematurely. At the very least it voids the FCC license with the radio for whatever that’s worth. My best advice is get the radio for the band you are using. As for the TX radio, you could use anything. It doesn’t have to be another Kenwood radio. It could be a icom, Motorola, some flungpoo Chinese radio someone put together in their basement apartment at their moms house. As long as you know the radios mic pin out (just search “mic pin out for XXXX” on your favorite search engine) you can wire it up to this. The PTT pin and the mic + pin are all you need. You’d put the SQ on Mic + and DEO (detected signal output) on the PTT pin. Hopefully this helps you out. Thanks for your interest in this hobby.
@@billley3960 that’s interesting to know. I haven’t paid to much attention to the numbers until I started messing with the GMRS stuff. When I used to do radios for a living, we seldom had the lower 400’s come in for programming. Most of the lowers are for companies who lease radio service/tower out so they did their own. Most of ours were people who had the call sign and frequency and needed 75 radios for their cab company… It might just be open to whatever you set the software as. Over my years I’ve gone through a bunch of cables. My last one I purchased has like 10 ends on it for different radios and I paid $10 for it. It writes a little slower but works every time lol you don’t need to go crazy on an expensive cable. HOWEVER, it’s your money, you earned it, you can spend it. You just need the KPG49 and your good to go. Hope everything works out for you.
can we get the pin way for the cap 5 jack
The CAT5 jack wiring isn’t specific. It was just a way to terminate wires and or add things like resistors for I/O. You would terminate the SQ and DEO to the appropriate wires on what ever radio you are using. If you we’re sending the TK-880 to a Cobra CB. You’d look up what wire is the PTT on a Cobra CB and screw it onto the DEO wire. You could use butt connectors or wing nuts with the same results HOWEVER, it wouldn’t be as secure and would be harder or impossible to add things like resistors to get the audio level that you’d like. Ultimately whatever you use to connect two wires together is up to you.
does anyone know what pins in the mic jack are used? I'm going to use a cat 5 cable from the interior of the RX to the exterior of the TX
You are only using the 2 wires from RX radio SQ DEO (audio and signal). One wire goes on your mic + and the other on the PTT. You would wire it to your TX radio like you’d wire a mic. If you are unsure about the pin/wire configuration of your TX radio, look up “mic wiring diagram” for your radio brand and model. The ground for the PTT and audio really won’t matter in most applications provided you are using the same power supple for both. Feel free to terminate the ground if you run into any problems.
@@niknazzd I am using the Kenwood TK880
wiring in radio diagram?
How are you getting KPG49 to work in Windows? I have KPG-49D and I can only get it to come up in DOS. I also can't get
it to communicate with the radio. When I tell the software to read the radio I get the PROGRAM message then I get an error message in the software. I also have KPG-60D (windows) and get the same results. Any tips would be appreciated.
Hi Ken, Yes when I did this professionally the FPU was all DOS. I still have the DOS disks. I believe and don't quote me because I deal with a ton of different FPU's but 49D or 49DN version 1 and 2 are DOS and versions 3 could be DOS or Windows but version 4 is definitely windows. The version I was running was KPG-49D V4.02. The ebay guy I listed in the video has all that stuff and it's like $20 so it won't break the bank. It's not a paid endorsement I get no money from it nor do I know him personality. I'm just a dude helping out another dude with a way to get it done fast (he sends a download link) cheap, easy, safe. As far as the error message. Windows 'puters seem a little dumb (I'm a mac guy) and whenever I had those issues it was due to 2 things. 1) you need a driver for the USB/com wire and that driver is specific to the chip. If you plug it in, windows won't know how to talk to it without a driver. 2) You need to tell your computer/KPG49D where the cable is located in the computer. In your KPG49D go to setup in the menu and chose "Com Port" and tell it where the cable is. If you don't know do a windows search and type "device manager" and in that window locate the "ports (COM & LPT)" and see if you find your cable listed there. It would tell you what port it's in or if the computer doesn't recognize it at all (driver Issue) hope this helps.
Since I posted this I found 49D 4.02 and one other newer version. I have 4.02 working perfectly and I even figure out how to get it to except freqs
below 450MHz for Amateur Radio. I plan to get my GMRS license on April 19 when the price drops from $70 to $35. I have the TK-880H -1 version 2
programmed for all the FRS/GRMS + GMRS Repeater freqs. All the local Repeaters are programed with Encode tones ready to go for the license.
I'ts not that active like it is for Ham Repeaters. I am active on DMR which is far more active. Something new to play with.
Did just as it says, hooked them up to a duplexerbset to my frequency, they can hear me, but I can't hear them (just makes a static noise). I'm able to reach my buddy on simplex 10 miles away on the same antenna. Anyone have any advice? It's a diamond gmrs antenna 30ft in the air.
If you did what I said great we can start looking at other stuff… I’m not sure what you mean here. Your TX radio can reach someone 10 miles but the RX radio can’t hear? Just use your RX radio for now with no duplexer and try your friend on simplex. Did it work? If it did work, add the duplexer. If it didn’t work, check the RX radio and make sure it is aligned and functioning properly. A poorly tuned or damaged receive will make weaker signals non existent. If you added the duplexer see if the RX radio still received the signal. The speaker in the radio will still work as usual and the light should turn green. If it works without the duplexer, the duplexer needs to be tuned because it’s filtering out the wrong frequency. Doing this repeater setup isnt special really. It isn’t modifying your radio. Your radio was built to TX/RX on a assigned frequency and we haven’t changed that. The only thing we have changed is what we want the radio to do when it gets the assigned frequency. Hopefully this will steer you in the right direction.
@@niknazzd I will make a video and post it here on UA-cam with a link
Hi I have a kenwood tk880 and I have bought it for around $20 and it was in pretty bad shape but the radio still powers on and is able to add channels and remove them. But I have 1 big issue and I put a test channel in on those free channels and the radio will not work when I push the microphone in. It sends back out a beep tone and it will not receive as well. I was wondering if u can make a video about how to fix it and make it receive and transmit. I’m not giving up on it since it still powers on and it lets me add channels.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Ipodbuff, it sounds like you have a radio format conflict. Check the sticker on the back of the radio and it should have a K, K2, K3. Load up your copy of KPG49 and in the menu bar select model
@@niknazzd hi Mark. I have tried your experiment I believe the radio covers 450-490 I am able to add channels around that coverage. Do you think of anything else could be wrong? I think it may have something to do with the receive part of the radio. Where ever that piece is located inside.
@@ipodbuff this is really hard without meeting this radio in person lol but I love this. Hook up your dummy load and boot up KPG49 and in the “model” menu you select model info. It should be type 880>frequency 450-490(K) and let’s do the conventional because the LTR trunking will produce a 2 tone hi-low hi-low if it doesn’t get a response from the control channel… type in something in the range say 460.000. That should be it… if not… try the K2 and K3 and put those frequencies in example do K3 and try 424.000 see if it work. This way you will know for sure if it’s a K K2 K3. Write back if nothing works and we’ll take her to test mode.
@@niknazzd hi. I just wanted to let you know that I have changed the channel model and it is 400-430 and I put a test channel of 401.100 and it receive and transmits. Now my next project is to figure out how to change the band because there isn’t any frequency’s around my area that covers those frequencies that I tested on. Thanks for your help so far I really appreciate it 😀😀
@@ipodbuff I have heard of people modifying the 880’s to go out of band. Some say it’s works others say it doesn’t. I’ve heard about them TX’n ok but RX is really weak. I’ve never attempted so I can’t help you out further in that department. I would suggest after you do it check the radios TX and RX. Make sure it’s still aligned. It might be like tuning a antenna. Just because you changed the frequency does mean the antenna is good on that frequency. Good luck with your project.
Do you know the duty cycle with this set up ?
I'm not really sure what you are asking Barry. Whatever radio you use as your TX radio would have a duty cycle rating. I assume you are asking because it's a mobile radio and not designed to be keyed up all the time... This radio that I used in this video was a TK 880 25watt radio. It's been field deployed the day after the video was made in Buffalo NY and also has a Zello link. The only mods we made to it was adding a resistor to the audio, adding a DTMF tone to the EOT, and a small 12 volt fan to keep it cool. It's still going today and gets used for for several hours on end daily. I wouldn't recommend using it for a large city police dept but it doesn't even get warm using it for the WQTL614 South Buffalo Repeater.
Will kenwood 890 work as a repeater?
Hi Scott, I like where you’re going with this question. Putting some boom boom behind it. The answer is yes. This video is more about the TK880 and it’s ability to control another radio. So it will key up any other radio. I assume you’d want the 890 to TX not as the RX radio…
@@niknazzd I want to have a gmrs repeater capable of 50 watts. I know the 890 will do 100 watts but maybe it cold be throttled down? I would like to duplicate your 25 watt repeater first just to see if I can do it but i lack the radios. The 890 seems easier to find. I thought I might try the 890. Any help would be appreciated.
@@cogburn2006 it’s not any harder than wiring up the 880. You’d start with getting a old mic or plug connector for your 890 so you can plug wires into the mic jack/radio. Then just hit up your favorite search engine and type “mic wiring diagram for kenwood TK890” it will tell you which pin (if you’re using just a connector end or color of wire if you hacked up a mic cord) is the P.T.T. And which is the mic. Typically, the mic positive wire is inside a bare wire similar to coax to shield it from picking up hun.
@@niknazzd ok. I need to get an 880 for receive radio and some software. I’m starting from scratch.
@@cogburn2006 yes Scott. You would use the 880 as the RX. The 880 will RX the signal and control the TX radio. Save the 100watt radio for your TX.
how can i install a cw id
I’m not sure. I’m going to see if I can get a guy who has one will chime in here and tell you how he did his. I know he has a computer doing it but that’s about it. This was supposed to be a low class ball’n-on-a-budget repeater and you want to put lipstick on the pig lol. It can be hooked up to an external unit like a repeater controller or maybe they make an ID’r that can toggle a PTT and send audio. Hopefully the local club guy will jump in.
You would probably be able to do this with an Arduino quite easily, all it needs to be programmed to do is key up, do it's thing and count until 15 minutes and do it again, optionally you could add some sort of activity monitor to only transmitt the callsign if someone has recently keyed.
So get on with it!