[Kenwood] Modified VHF/UHF rigs

Sun Aug 21 00:45:48 EDT 2005

I am sorry Fern, I didn't mean to get a flaming war started and didn't mean
to doubt your vast knowledge of radio electronics. All I know with the two
radios I have I do know the Alinco 600 series all you have to do is open the
case and cut the blue wire and put it back together and power it up and you
have all the commercial and public service bands. No programming, they are
in the chip but locked out. With the Radio Shack HTX-420 HT it clearly
states in the manual on page 9 how to do a soft mod by turning the radio
off, holding down the I believe 1 and 9 button and turning the radio on and
you have MARS/CAP and GMS/FRS, and UHF commercial. This is clearly stated in
the manual that was also provided to the FCC when the radio was type
accepted. No programming. They are in the chip from the factory. I am not in
any way saying I would use them out of band but that in no way makes the
point any less true.

If you doubt any of the information I stated in this email please email me
off list and I will provide you with sources to verify my data so we can
take this argument off list.

Thank You

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fern Rivard" <crc at cyberlink.bc.ca>
To: "Walter Daniels" <waldan at cox.net>; <kenwood at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2005 10:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Kenwood] Modified VHF/UHF rigs

> Wally, they are NOT preprogrammed for any of those out of bands 
> frequencies.  You have to manually program them.  Also, I would suggest 
> that you ask that question either to the FCC or Industry Canada.    Fern
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Walter Daniels" <waldan at cox.net>
> To: <kenwood at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2005 9:14 PM
> Subject: Re: [Kenwood] Modified VHF/UHF rigs
>
>
>> Sounds logical but one question. If these radio are not designed to 
>> operate on these bands then why do they program them into the chip and 
>> lock them out with a simple easy to remove diode? Wouldn't it be better 
>> to not program them in to begin with?
>>
>> Wally
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Fern Rivard" <crc at cyberlink.bc.ca>
>> To: "Walter Daniels" <waldan at cox.net>; <kenwood at mailman.qth.net>
>> Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2005 9:38 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Kenwood] Modified VHF/UHF rigs
>>
>>
>>> Wally:
>>>    I much disagree with you statement. None of the ham radio vhf or uhf 
>>> radio radios are designed for used in the commercial bands. For one 
>>> thing, the PA module alone is designed for 144 to 148 mhz in the case of 
>>> vhf radios. Also, when going above 160 mhz, most of those rigs the 
>>> deviation will go way out of whack...........and rapidly increase to 7 
>>> or 8 khz with a fair amount of distortion. I have seen many of those 
>>> rigs come in for repair with blown PA's only to find that they had 
>>> opened the rig up to transmit out of band. Let's face it as you only get 
>>> what you're paying for. The commercial rigs may be more money but heck 
>>> the new ones now cover from 136 mhz to 174 mhz with excellent specs. I 
>>> have only worked in mobile radio communications for over 45 years so I 
>>> have a bit of an idea of what I'm talking about. Also, the commercial 
>>> radios are now very reasonably priced so if one wants to operate "out of 
>>> the amateur bands", spend the extra bucks and get a radio that's spec'd 
>>> out to work properly right thru the whole band. I don't know if you have 
>>> ever looked at the output of one of the ham band rigs on a spectrum 
>>> analyzer when operated out of band but you will be surprised at all the 
>>> garbage that is emitted on xmit when operated beyond it rated frequency 
>>> range.  Just my 2 cents worth.
>>>
>>>    Cheers from Fern
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Walter Daniels" <waldan at cox.net>
>>> To: <kenwood at mailman.qth.net>
>>> Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2005 6:14 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [Kenwood] Modified VHF/UHF rigs
>>>
>>>
>>>> Actually Darrell, you are incorrect in that statement. The radios that 
>>>> are able to be modified for out of band TX are designed to TX out of 
>>>> band or the capability would not be in the radio to be brought out with 
>>>> a snip snip of a diode. Most ham radios are designed for operation in 
>>>> many countries not just the United States. In these countries they have 
>>>> different laws governing radio operations . In many countries operating 
>>>> in these bands that are illegal here are legal there so the radio 
>>>> manufacturers lock out the functions that are illegal in the countries 
>>>> they are selling the radio in hence the A and E designations on many 
>>>> radios with A being America and E being Europe. So to be completely 
>>>> technical and in all honesty the radios we buy here are already 
>>>> modified from the factory and hams unmodified them back to original 
>>>> design specifications.
>>>>
>>>> Wally
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>> From: "VA3DG" <va3dg at rogers.com>
>>>> To: <kenwood at mailman.qth.net>
>>>> Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2005 6:14 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Kenwood] Modified VHF/UHF rigs
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Paul K4PDM, wrote in part:-
>>>>
>>>> ***Modifying rigs is one of the things hams traditionally do.......***
>>>>
>>>> To which I reply, "I will never buy another used Amateur radio, for 
>>>> fear that it has been 'modified'."
>>>>
>>>> I buy radios for what they're designed by the manufacturers' engineers 
>>>> to do, not by what somebody thinks they should do and then messes 
>>>> around internally with them.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers....
>>>> Darrell
>>>> VA3DG/VE3DDG
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
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