The VHF and UHF P25 portables. Controls, the whole programmable function list, the menu, P25 calling, and the parts of this radio that only a dealer can change. Condensed from the English section of the instruction manual.
The one thing that shapes everything else
This is a commercial radio, not an amateur one. There is no front panel frequency entry, no VFO and no keypad channel programming. Frequencies, zones, channels, color equivalents, key assignments, which menu items even appear, and most features are all written by a dealer with the KPG programming software.
The manual says so itself: it "covers only the basic operations of your portable radio", and repeatedly refers you back to the dealer. Half the functions in the list below will do nothing until someone programs them.
So when something described here is missing on your radio, it is almost always because it is not in the codeplug, not because the radio cannot do it.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Selector knob | Top. Selects a zone or a channel. Which one it selects is a dealer setting, so if it has been changed you use the assigned keys instead. |
| Power switch and Volume | Top. Clockwise past the click to switch on, then volume. |
| Auxiliary key | Top. Programmable. |
| PTT | Left side, upper |
| Side 1 key | Left side. Programmable. |
| Side 2 key | Left side. Programmable. |
| Keypad, on keypad models | Sends DTMF tones. Can also carry secondary programmable functions if a key is programmed as Function. |
| Six front keys | All programmable. Two of them also act as Up and Down for certain settings. |
| Universal connector | Right side, under the cap. Speaker, microphone, headset, and programming. |
| LED | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Transmitting |
| Green | Receiving a call |
| Orange | Receiving an optional signaling call, such as 2-tone or DTMF |
| Blinking red | Battery low while transmitting |
The LED only does any of this if the dealer enabled it.
| Icon | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Monitor or Squelch Off is on |
| Musical note | Blinks when an incoming call matches your optional signaling |
| Down arrow | The current zone or channel is in the scan list. Left icon is the zone, right icon is the channel. |
| Circular arrows | Scan running. Blinks while the scan is paused. |
| Envelope | A message is stored. Blinks when a new one arrives. |
| P | The current channel is a priority channel |
| Circle | Operator Selectable Tone is active |
| Bars | Signal strength |
| Battery | Power remaining |
| Antenna | Talk Around is on |
| Diamond | Encryption is on |
| H | High transmit power. L appears for low power. |
| House | VOX is on |
| Wave lines | Vibrator active. Blinks when inhibited. |
| Person | Lone Worker is on |
| Clock | The time |
| Bottom line | The current functions of the three keys beneath the display |
Anything on this list can go on the Auxiliary key, Side 1, Side 2, the six front keys, or the microphone keys. Which ones your radio has is entirely a dealer decision.
1 Analog operation only. 2 Needs the VGS-1 optional board. 3 Auxiliary key and the orange speaker microphone PF1 key only. 4 P25 operation only. 5 Microphone programmable function keys only. 6 Needs the Secure Cryptographic Module.
Worth reading twice
The footnotes are the interesting part. Selcall, Status, Short Message, Autodial, 2-tone, Operator Selectable Tone and Squelch Off are analog only. Talkgroup, Individual, Encryption and Zeroize are P25 only. So the radio behaves like two different radios depending on which kind of channel you are on.
If the dealer set a transceiver password, PASSWORD appears at power on. On a keypad model just key it in. Otherwise pick each character with the Up and Down keys and press the confirm key for each one. Up to 6 digits. A wrong entry sounds an error tone and the radio stays locked.
Zones with the keys programmed as Zone Up and Zone Down. Channels with the Selector knob, unless the dealer changed what the knob does, in which case use the assigned keys. A key programmed as Display Format toggles between showing zone names and channel names.
Channels programmed for P25 already have a talkgroup assigned, so a group call is simply PTT. To choose a different talkgroup you need a key programmed as Talkgroup:
A group call is heard when the group ID matches yours and the Network Access Code matches. An individual call rings, and if the NAC matches and the squelch type is Selective Call, the caller's ID appears on the display. Press and hold PTT to answer.
Press the key programmed as Menu. Up and Down move, the confirm key or * selects, the back key or # goes up a level, and the exit key leaves. On a keypad model you can key the category and function numbers directly.
These are the possible menu items. Which of them appear is a dealer setting.
| Display | What it is |
|---|---|
| 2-TONE | 2-tone mode |
| AUTO REPLY MSG | Auto reply message on and off |
| AUTO DIAL, AUTO DIAL PROG | Autodial, and autodial programming |
| AUX | Auxiliary on and off |
| CLOCK, CLOCK ADJUST | Clock on and off, and setting it |
| DIRECT CH1 SEL to CH5 SEL | Direct channel 1 to 5 select |
| DISP FORMAT | Display format on and off |
| ENCRYPTION, ENCRYP CODE | Encryption on and off, and the code |
| FIXED VOLUME | Fixed volume |
| GPS POS DISP | GPS position display |
| HOME CH SEL | Home channel select |
| INDIVIDUAL | Individual call mode |
| KEY DELETE | Encryption key delete |
| LOW TX POWER | Low transmit power on and off |
| MONITOR | Monitor on and off |
| OST, OST LIST | Operator Selectable Tone on and off, and the list |
| PLAYBACK | Playback mode |
| PRI CH SEL | Priority channel select |
| SCAN, SCAN DEL/ADD | Scan on and off, and scan delete or add |
| SELCALL, SELCALL+STATUS, SELCALL+SDM | Selcall, and its combined modes |
| SEND GPS DATA | Transmit your GPS position |
| SHORT MESSAGE | Short message mode |
| SQUELCH LEVEL, SQUELCH OFF | Squelch level, and squelch off on and off |
| STACK | Stack memory |
| STATUS | Status mode |
| TALK AROUND | Talk around on and off |
| TALKGROUP, TALKGROUP RESET | Talkgroup mode, and reset |
| PASSWORD | Transceiver password mode |
| VIBRATOR | Vibrator on and off |
| VOICE MEMO | Voice memo mode |
| VOX LEVEL, VOX | VOX level, and VOX on and off |
| ZEROIZE | Zeroize, wipes the encryption keys |
| ZONE DEL/ADD | Zone delete or add |
Two ways. With the Up and Down keys, which cycle A to Z, 0 to 9 and a space. Or with the DTMF keypad, where each key cycles through its own set:
| Key | Cycles through |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | A B C a b c 2 |
| 3 | D E F d e f 3 |
| 4 | G H I g h i 4 |
| 5 | J K L j k l 5 |
| 6 | M N O m n o 6 |
| 7 | P Q R S p q r s 7 |
| 8 | T U V t u v 8 |
| 9 | W X Y Z w x y z 9 |
| 0 | space, then 0 |
Press the key programmed as Scan. Scan pauses on a busy channel and stays there until the signal ends. At least two channels must be in the scan sequence or it will not run.
| Task | How |
|---|---|
| Temporarily drop a channel | While scanning, select it and press Scan Delete/Add. It returns when scan is stopped and restarted. |
| Add or remove a channel | Select it, then press Scan Delete/Add |
| Add or remove a whole zone | Zone Delete/Add, or hold Scan Delete/Add |
| Choose the priority channel | Priority-channel Select, then pick NORMAL, PRIORITY 1, PRIORITY 2, or PRIORITY 1 and 2 |
With one priority channel the radio switches to it whenever a call arrives there, even mid call on a normal channel. With two, priority 1 wins over priority 2.
| Setting | PTT transmits on |
|---|---|
| Selected | The channel selected before the scan started |
| Selected + Talkback | The same, plus you can answer on the channel where the scan paused |
| Priority 1 or Priority 2 | The priority channel |
| Priority + Talkback | The priority channel, plus you can answer on the paused channel |
| Last Called + Selected | The selected channel, plus you can answer on the last channel a call arrived on |
Analog only
FleetSync is a JVC Kenwood alphanumeric two way paging protocol. None of it works on a P25 channel.
An ID is a 3 digit Fleet number plus a 4 digit ID number.
Two digit status messages, up to 16 alphanumeric characters each. Status 10 to 99, with 80 to 99 reserved for special messages. The stack memory holds 15 received messages, combining status messages and short messages.
To send: Status key, pick the station, confirm, pick the status, then PTT or Side 2. "COMPLETE" appears when it is delivered.
Press the Stack key, or hold Selcall, Status or Selcall + Status. Messages are marked I for caller ID, S for status, M for short message. Hold the display key for one second to cycle ID name, status or message, channel, and time stamp. Delete one with the back key then confirm; delete all by holding it for a second.
A GPS unit must be connected to the radio. Then Send the GPS data, or the menu item. The dealer can set it to transmit automatically at an interval.
DTMF calls work in conventional FM only.
Manual dialling: hold PTT and key the digits. Releasing PTT ends the transmission even mid number. If Keypad Auto PTT is enabled you can just press the keys.
Store and send: key up to 30 digits, then press PTT.
Autodial: the Autodial key or the menu, then pick from 32 stored numbers, then PTT.
Stun code
For a stolen or lost radio. A call containing the stun code disables the transceiver. It is cancelled by a call containing the revive code.
Hold the key programmed as Emergency. Ask the dealer how long it has to be held. The radio switches to the emergency channel and begins transmitting the way the dealer set it up. Press it again to exit, or it ends by itself after a set number of cycles and returns to the previous zone and channel.
The dealer can make it silent: no tone, or the speaker muted throughout.
Press the key programmed as Encryption, or use the menu. With it on, pressing PTT encrypts what you send.
It needs hardware
The Secure Cryptographic Module has to be installed. Without that board the encryption function is not available at all, and neither is Zeroize.
Quiet Talk and Digital Quiet Talk are Kenwood's names for CTCSS and DCS. A sub audible tone or code so you do not hear other users of the same channel.
With a key programmed as OST you can change the QT or DQT setting per channel yourself, which is unusual on a commercial radio.
NAC is the P25 equivalent of CTCSS. The squelch opens only when the correct NAC is received. It is a dealer setting per channel.
| Type | What it does |
|---|---|
| 2-tone | Squelch opens only on a matching pair of tones |
| DTMF | Squelch opens only on a matching DTMF code |
| FleetSync | Selcall, as above |
| MDC-1200 | A data system using Audio Frequency Shift Keying at 1200 baud, on 1200 and 1800 Hz tones |
Hands free transmission. The dealer has to enable it, and it needs a KHS-11, KHS-14, KHS-15-BH or KHS-15-OH headset.
Setting the gain: connect the headset, press the VOX key, Up and Down to set levels 1 to 10, speak into the microphone to test, then the confirm key to save. Your voice is not transmitted during that test.
Using it: hold the VOX key for 2 seconds to turn it on, speak to transmit, and hold it for 2 seconds again to turn it off.
A trap worth knowing
With a speaker microphone connected while VOX is on and the gain set sensitive, a loud received signal can key the transmitter.
| Function | Notes |
|---|---|
| Clock | A key set to Clock shows it. Clock Adjustment sets year, month, day, hour and minute with Up and Down. Leaving the battery off for a long period clears the clock. |
| Vibrator | Needs the optional vibrator fitted. Alerts on a signaling call. |
| Time-out Timer | Cuts a long transmission and sounds an alert tone. Release PTT to clear it. |
| Battery Saver | Reduces power when nothing is being received and nothing is being operated |
| Key Lock | These keys still work while locked: Emergency, Backlight, Monitor, Monitor Momentary, Squelch Off, Squelch Off Momentary, Speaker Attenuation, Function, Key Lock and PTT |
| Low Battery Warning | Four battery icon states: high, sufficient, low, very low. The dealer can add an alert tone and a blinking red LED. |
| Signal Strength | Four states: strong, sufficient, weak, very weak. No icon means no signal. |
| Compander | Removes noise from transmitted signals for clearer audio. Per channel, dealer set. |
| Busy Channel Lockout | Blocks transmit on a channel already in use. With BCL Override programmed you can talk over it: hold PTT, hear the warning tone, release and press PTT again quickly. |
| PTT ID | The radio's unique ID, sent at PTT press and release. Analog only. |
Everything here needs the VGS-1 optional board.
| Function | What it does |
|---|---|
| Auto Recording | Records everything transmitted and received, keeping the last 30 seconds |
| Voice Memo | Press Voice Memo, speak, press the confirm key to store. The remaining time counts down on screen and recording stops when memory is full. |
| Auto Reply Message | Answers an individual FleetSync call automatically after 3 seconds with GREETING. If memory is available the caller can leave a message and Msg Rcvd appears. If not, the caller gets "I am not available" and your screen shows MEMORY FULL. Press any key to cancel the auto response. |
| Playback | Entries are marked AR for auto recorded conversations, RM for auto reply messages, VM for voice memos. The radio announces the time and channel, then plays. END OF MESSAGE at the finish. |
| Voice Guide | Announces the new zone and channel when you change them, and announces new settings when you change a function |
Under the cap on the right side. Useful if you are building a cable rather than buying one.
| Pin | Name | Description | Impedance | I/O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SSW | External and internal speaker switch input | High | In |
| 2 | SP+ | BTL output plus, for external speaker | 8 or 16 ohms | Out |
| 3 | SP- | BTL output minus, for external speaker | 8 or 16 ohms | Out |
| 4 | MSW | External microphone switch input | High | In |
| 5 | EMC | External microphone input | 1.8 kohms | In |
| 6 | ME | External microphone ground | GND | |
| 7 | PTT | External PTT input | High | In |
| 8 | PF | Programmable function key input | High | In |
| 9 | OPT | Man down input | High | In |
| 10 | E | Ground | GND | |
| 11 | 5V | 5 V power supply output | 5 V | Out |
| 12 | TXD | Serial data output | CMOS | Out |
| 13 | RXD | Serial data input | CMOS | In |
| 14 | NC | Not used |
Antenna terminal is 50 ohms. The battery terminal uses a spring plate, the negative terminal connects to the chassis ground, and the battery slides onto the rear of the radio.
Two physical cautions from the manual
Do not remove the black sheet from the reverse side of the radio. It is part of the waterproofing.
Do not put stickers on or near the orange seal on the reverse side, or on the reverse of the battery pack. It will break the waterproof seal.
Condensed from the Kenwood TK-5220 and TK-5320 Instruction Manual, B62-2494-10, English section only. JVC KENWOOD Corporation. This sheet is a summary and does not replace the manual, and the safety, battery and RF sections there should be read before use. AMBE+2 is a technology of Digital Voice Systems, Inc.