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I own several of the Kenwood TM-261a radios and use them for mobile and base station use. If used as a base station rig, you'll need at least a 12 amp power supply. This radio is very easy to program and use. If you're new to Kenwood it may take awhile to get the jest of it. The radio is very robust and has a total of 62 memory locations which you can also assign a name to. I really like that this radio has 3 output power levels at 5, 10, and 50 watts and selection is via a single button. When running 50 watts for an extended length of time, you can grill hot dogs on the heat sink. The receive frequency range is 118-173.995 mhz while the transmit range is 144-148 mhz. The radio can be used on all repeater systems right out of the box. The manual is not the greatest as with most radio manuals and I have found important information including programming steps that were left out of the manual. This radio can also be operated by the hand mic which is very convenient especially when driving. There are advantages of this radio over the newer higher powered radios which is why I still use the 261a. By the way, the "a" on the end of 261 stands for the American market.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
But I, recommend getting a owners manual, It does have ctcss toning into repeaters. You can also purchase a module board, but It is not required. It needs the data type mic. And, you can do a mod set-up for hi-power transmitting with small computer fans. Find mods on the internet. Yes, I tech license is need for ham radio, not to hard to get, but do have to take a test. I got all that information from arrl
Verified purchase: No
Previous reviewer, evidently, is misinformed. The stock radio has a tone encoder and will work with any repeater. Now if you want full ctcss, there is an optional tone decoder available. Decoder is nice to have but not required. While on the subject of tones, this radio when equiped with the decoder, is capable of using 2 different tones on the same channel. As an example, 100hz tx, and 69hz rx. And yes there are some repeaters setup to operate that way. Again just to be clear, a tone encoder is all that is needed to operate through a repeater. A decoder is only needed if there is so interference or another repeater on the same freq some distance away that is only strong enough to open your squelch. I have 3 of these radios and love them. Always get great audio reports!
Verified purchase: No
This radio is perfect for use as a packet radio transceiver when connected to a Terminal Node Controller (TNC) also known as a packet modem. This radio is not suitable for repeater work because it does not have a tone board installed. Most repeaters require a tone and therefore this radio will not work with them. There are VERY FEW repeaters operating now days that do not use tones. Use this radio for simplex packet communication, where no tones are required and this will be a great radio. You could also add a tone board if you have the technical expertise. You can buy the new Chinese radio's for around $100.00 and they are repeater ready. IT IS ONLY LEGAL FOR YOU TO OPERATE THIS RADIO IF YOU HAVE AN FCC TECHNICIAN LICENSE OR HIGHER.
Verified purchase: No
This item works as advertised, puts out 50 W. and is easy to use. I bought the MC-53DM separately so I could do everything with the hand-mike because of my "fat fingers."
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned