Programming and tuning the TK-730

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k6whp
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 11:36 am

Programming and tuning the TK-730

Post by k6whp »

for a while I have had a decent Kenwood TK-730 VHF radio and I wanted to program it to the ham bands. A little back story: did get a brand new TK-730G off of eBay and found that this was not able to be programmed +below 145 MHz. (PLL went out of lock.) This model is a *Canadian* model -- i.e., no FCC label; "DOC" tag instead. This *will* take frequencies -- even down to 139.xxx MHz -- without going out of lock. However, the power below 146 MHz is greatly diminished. As an example:

139.800--4 Watts
141.000--5 Watts
141.600--5 Watts
143.600--7 Watts
143.700--7 Watts
144.600--7 Watts
149.300-18 Watts
150.300-24 Watts
150.600-24 Watts

Bottom line: is it possible to re-tune the final stage to handle the 2m band (and slightly below) so I can get the normal power out? Any advice, URLs, references, copies of service manuals, or just plain sympathetic shoulders to cry on most welcome.

72,

k6whp
W. H. Phinizy, k6whp
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ka7wnf
Posts: 365
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2004 1:37 pm
Location: Seattle, Washington

Re: Programming and tuning the TK-730

Post by ka7wnf »

I have one of those "Canadian" radios and it's the 136-156 bandsplit. It works just fine putting out 45 watts. It you truly have that version then perhaps someone tuned it to work on the higher frequencies. It should tune back down without any trouble. However your mileage may vary.
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