Kenwood TK-809

This page details the programming of a Kenwood TK-809 (T4) radio. Many of the radios in this series are the same, and use the Kenwook KPG-20D programming software. The Kenwood KPG-20D software is available on the internet and on many user groups. The version I have came from the radio-programming Yahoo group. I have also included a copy on this page with my channel data down the page.

Radios

The only experience I have is programming the Kenwood TK-809 (T4) radio. There are however many radios in this series that can be programmed in this way. See the manual for Kenwood KPG-20D for more details regarding the radios and their frequency ranges. The radio I mention (TK-809 T4) is shown below

The Conversion

The data file (M1GEO_70.DAT) includes 432MHz to 435MHz at 25KHz spacing. It also has PMR-446 frequencies programmed in. There is no CTCSS or SellCall data set, but this may be modified inside the program.

	Standard LCD Display showing frequency, 3_500 translates to 433.500.
	The LCD Display changes to reflect that there is a TX shift for repeater use.
	PMR 446, Channel 1 through 8.
	All segments and symbols on the LCD to test display.

Inside the Radio

Inside the radio, there are 3 variable resistors that allow you to adjust certain parameters. The red pot allows you to set the deviation on the radio. This is the same as microphone gain. The green pot allows you to set the maximum RF power output. Note that there is also a setting in software, allowing you to set (typically) 5 watts or 25 watts. You should set this to 25 watts when the radio is in the high power (25 watt) mode. The blue pot allows you to set the squelch level.

Red	Set the deviation level
Green	Set the high RF power (set in software) level
Blue	Set the squelch level

Microphone Connections

The microphone socket on the this series of Kenwood radio has a 6-pin connector on the front panel. Connections for the Kenwood KMC-18 microphone are given below. There is a Instruction Manual and a Service Manual for the microphone.

Pin	Symbol	Connection
1	N/C	Not connected
2	SB	Power Supply (+13.8 volts)
3	E	Ground
4	PTT	Press To Talk (Transmit)
5	ME	Microphone Earth (ground)
6	MC	MIC/DTMF signal output
7	HK2	Hook switch output (I've no idea what this does yet?!)
8	N/C	Not connected

I tried to make a simple elektret microphone but without success. I could get no signal onto the carrier. I am working on this...

KGP-20D Software

The software, combined with the programming lead, will enable you to program this series of radios. The printscreen below shows the channel listing.

Kenwood KPG-20D Software

Download

As I've mentioned, the Kenwood KPG-20D programming software seems to be freely availiable and various people are distributing it freely. I could not find a manual for the software or an EULA for the software - I have assumed it is freely distributable.

Kenwood KPG-20D Programming Software

Running under DOSBox

If you are running an operating system other than Microsoft DOS or a DOS based version of Widnows (95 or 98), for example Ubuntu Linux or Windows XP/Vista (God help you)/7 you are likely to have trouble with running DOS programs. For some reason, Microsoft seem to excel at removing backwards compatability from their software. A simple away around this is to use DOSBox.

"DOSBox is a DOS-emulator that uses the SDL-library which makes DOSBox very easy to port to different platforms."

-- http://www.dosbox.com/information.php

Using DOSBox we can run the Kenwood KPG-20D under newer versions of Windows (or any other OS supported by DOSBox). It's pretty simple:

• Get DOSBox. Install it.
• Edit Dosbox.conf to set the serial port settings. You need to set serial1. Change com1 to whatever com port you need. Use ttyUSB0 for unix systems. Check Dosbox.conf for details. Under Windows, use DOSBox x.xx Options to edit this file. Under unix, it's in /home/USER/.dosbox/

serial1=directserial realport:com1

• Run DOSBox. You need to mount your hard drive so you can access it in the DOSBox enviroment. At the DOSBox terminal:

mount c c:\

c:

cd DOCUME~1\CHRIS\DESKTOP\KPG-20D\ (change directory into wherever you extraged the program - here the desktop)

KPG-20D.EXE (run the program - refer to Usage section below)

Click to enlarge

Usage

The usage of this software is quite complex. I wasn't able to find a manual for this program though there is apparently one. So this small section aims to outline basic functionality.

From the Main menu, enter the Basic level KPG-20D.

• Press F3 to load a datafile. My datafile (with program from above) is called M1GEO_70.DAT
• Set Priority channel: OFF
• Set Preference channel: OFF
• Pressing F7 enters the Channel menu
  • The ch column is the channel number, and it determinds the channel order
  • The ds column is the string appearing on the screen for the given channel. This may be alphanumeric or numerical, depending on Main menu > Setup radio > Channel readout mode
  • tx.freq. and rx.freq. are the transmit and receive frequencies in MHz
  • SAT tx and SAT rx allow for CTCSS, DCS and SelCall to be set. Press F1 for more.
  • scan allows for individual channels to be include or exclude from a scan
  • clk allows for the clock frequency of the radios CPU to be moved to reduce possible interfearance.
• From Main menu > Advanced options, you can select either Keys, microphone or Keys, front panel to set microphone and front panel button functions.
• Under Main menu > Advanced options > Configuration you can select the TransLink port (the programming cable port), Licencing information, and the like.
• Have a look around, using the help (F1) to see if you can tweak anything.
• Set the Encode scripts (See below)
• Return to Basic level KPG-20D from Main menu
  • Press F5 to program the radio via the TransLink cable.
• Job done :)

Encode Scripts

A common problem reported is that when pressing PTT, the radio transmits a carrier but no audio. This is probably due to the Encode Scripts (left image). These are set already in M1GEO_70.DAT. Under Advanced Options > Encode formats: F4 and F5 go through scripts. TXM enables the TX Mic audio - This fixes the problem with no TX audio.

You next need to assign this to the PTT press (right image). From the Main menu > System parameters > F2. Use the up/down arrows to select Encode PTT-Press. Then select the script you created above: Use Insert key to get list of scripts.

Click to enlarge

When the PTT button is pressed, the script (here called TXPRESS) is run. This sets the modulation source to be the microphone. Job done.

If you require sending tones, data, etc. this can be done with Encode scripts. Check out the Kenwood documentation in the section below.

Errors

From the Kenwood ICM Manual:

Error	Meaning
Err 1	Hardware Fault: Tested on power-up. No real meaning behind this, other than something is wrong with the hardware
Err 2	EEPROM Error: Tested on power-up. This means that the program/channel data is corrupt (CRC error). Try reprogramming?
Err 3	PLL Out of Lock: Tested continuously. Appears when PLL is out of lock in TX or RX. Adjust VCO?

Documentation

Some useful documentation regarding the Kenwood TK-809 Radios.

• Kenwood TK-809 User Manual (seems dead)
• Kenwood ICM Functional Specification
• Microphone instruction and service manuals.
• Notes regarding the KPG-20D Software