New Kenwood TM-271A radio

[scottm]

This new Kenwood looks great - mil std construction, ruggedized for vehicle use, 60 watt output, user programmable (I am not a fan of non-user programmable radios), only $179. Has anyone tried it? PCI, will you sell them wired for intercom?

Kenwood TM-271A

 

[Shred918]

I think this is a radio I have used before and it doesn't have a squelch on it. It got really annoying after a long period.

I am not positive it is the same model but worth mentioning.

 

[scottm]

Apparently it is a new model, ont know if it has squelch.

 

[Fourstroker]

The intercom cables go to the speaker jack and mic port on that radio. Pretty sure PCI will not touch a user programmable radio.

 

[CADTech]

ya we use that radio i belive. It works great (except the one i dropped). We race plaster city and can hear loud and clear all day long. It is very nice having it all programmable. I am not radio savy but i read the manual one time and it looks like it does all kinds of neat stuff. It does have a squelch setting. If i remeber its kind of tricky to set.

 

[CADTech]

oh and i ham radio outlet down here in san diego has them for $140 i belive.

 

[Double_Down]

Pretty sure PCI will not touch a user programmable radio.

Pretty sure PCI won't touch this because it is actually an amateur radio that must be modified to work on race/business band frequencies.

Not judging, just saying.

 

[diirk]

ya we use that radio i belive. It works great (except the one i dropped). We race plaster city and can hear loud and clear all day long. It is very nice having it all programmable. I am not radio savy but i read the manual one time and it looks like it does all kinds of neat stuff. It does have a squelch setting. If i remeber its kind of tricky to set.

So, do you have this in your racecar? Intercom? How did you set this up?

 

[Fourstroker]

Pretty sure PCI won't touch this because it is actually an amateur radio that must be modified to work on race/business band frequencies.

Not judging, just saying.

That's what I was trying to say without opening a can of worms / argument. Everyone has their opinion on this type of radio.

 

[Nick_A]

I was looking to get a radio for chasing as well as communications for the big green machines out at the farm.

Maybe im not following, what is the downside to user presets?

 

[TreyP]

I have this radio in the race car. It is a pain in the rear as far as I am conserned. It will be replaced soon with a real race radio. The squelch adjustment is a pain to do while racing. You need to push a bunch of buttons to adjust it. It's a great Ham unit but not great for a race car. I had it laying around when I got the car and had other things to buy for the car at the time. PCI did have a kit to mate it to the intercomm. But they will not sell it or service it.

There are better chase radios if you want to go the modded Ham style radio. And all those wonderful features on this radio can not be used unless you have a Ham license and operate in the Ham freqs. And DON'T even think about operating in Ham freqs w/o a license, you will be hunted down by rabid dogs and prosecuted. The Hams are a tough nerdy bunch.

I give this radio a 1 on the 1-10 scale for race cars.

 

[xterra]

Thanks TreyP for your input. I was following closely this thread, since the price seemed like a bargain. I am finishing my car in the next month, and last items to buy are raceradio and gps. What would be a good radio to start with for a racecar and chase? something on the budget side, or there is not such thing? BTW, the ham thing was not an issue for me since I race in mexico only.

 

[TreyP]

Thanks TreyP for your input. I was following closely this thread, since the price seemed like a bargain. I am finishing my car in the next month, and last items to buy are raceradio and gps. What would be a good radio to start with for a racecar and chase? something on the budget side, or there is not such thing? BTW, the ham thing was not an issue for me since I race in mexico only.

If you are on a budget for a race car radio I suggest you look at Ebay or RDC for a commercial radio that is set up for racing. I used to think the Ham units were OK but for a race car they are not.

They are great for chase if you know what you are doing, but 90% don't.

I picked up a Kenwood 790 for $250 on Ebay, not the norm but it was a great deal. It is a great radio and will go in my chase/pit car. I'm watching for another deal like it or will probally just buy a PCI unit as it is set up from the box to do what I want and they back it like nobody else. I used to think PCI was too costly until I started to see what they provide.

Sometimes it is worth the extra few dollars to buy the best and get what you pay for. I have to say PCI provides that extra service that you can't get else where.

 

[Zambo]

I have this radio in my prerunner/chase truck. It works fine, however changing channels while racing would be difficult due to the small size of the tuning knob. For racing I prefer a commercial radio with buttons on the front that I can preset to the channels I want to use, but for a chase truck I like having the option to program new channels. This comes in real handy when I go out to help other teams and don't have their freq programmed already.

 

[kdneo]

I paid $400 for each of my TK-790H's on ebay. I then paid $65 for the kenwood software, and $80 for the programing cable. I can now program any of those radios right from my laptop! Makes things pretty easy! I got 2 radios and all the extras for the price of one new one! Keep your eyes open, there are deals out there.

 

[loose nut dan]

We have a handful of those radios, and they work great! Spend a day with the manual and playing with the radio, and you'll have it dialed. If all of your race and chase radios are tuned well, the squelch is not an issue, in my experience.

 

[Waldo]

And DON'T even think about operating in Ham freqs w/o a license, you will be hunted down by rabid dogs and prosecuted. The Hams are a tough nerdy bunch.

Hey Trey....I resemble that remark!!! Been a ham radio operator since '97.

 

[loose nut dan]

Why would you need to change channels while racing?? Also, you can program 200 channels, and the tuning knob will only scroll through your presets, unless you hit the button to tune manually. If you select 100 channels to program, you can even name them so you don't have to recognize frequencies...Race...chase 1...chase 2...bitd...wthrman...etc.

 

[Sheaco]

Why would you need to change channels while racing?? Also, you can program 200 channels, and the tuning knob will only scroll through your presets, unless you hit the button to tune manually. If you select 100 channels to program, you can even name them so you don't have to recognize frequencies...Race...chase 1...chase 2...bitd...wthrman...etc.

Sometimes changing your radio frequency is quicker then the horn or Bumper to pass a slower race car.

 

[sweetdevil]

Why would you need to change channels while racing?? Also, you can program 200 channels, and the tuning knob will only scroll through your presets, unless you hit the button to tune manually. If you select 100 channels to program, you can even name them so you don't have to recognize frequencies...Race...chase 1...chase 2...bitd...wthrman...etc.

You may need to change the channel to call BITD, Weatherman, BFG Relay or your pit club to use a relay because you are using a radio that isn't meant for off road racing and transmits under less power in the illegally modified to transmit frequency range of 150 and above! (trying to be funny)