View Full Version : Kenwood TM221A Mars/Cap Mod
N6UGY
08-08-2008, 04:37 AM
Looking for the mod, but with a pic of the board showing the approiate resistors. Dennis
WA9SVD
08-08-2008, 04:48 AM
Looking for the mod, but with a pic of the board showing the approiate resistors. Dennis
Your MARS orgianzation will provide you with the info; likewise, if you mail or fax your MARS authorization to the manufacturer, they will provide you with the instructions.
BTW, there's no longer such thing as a "CAP" modification; CAP now requires certificated equipment for participation in CAP activities, whether training or actual exercises.
looking for the mod, but with a pic of the board showing the approiate resistors. Dennis
PM sent ...............
WA9SVD
08-08-2008, 01:08 PM
Looking for the mod, but with a pic of the board showing the approiate resistors. Dennis
In case you are not aware, or haven't followed any of the previous threads here, just be advised that while such a mod itself is NOT illegal, there are drawbacks:
1. Possible damage to your radio due to inaccurate instructions
2. Unless you are actually MARS authorized by NTIA/DoD, use of modified Amateur equipment on other than Amateur frequencies is blatantly illegal. ALL other Radio services (in the U.S.) require FCC certified equipment.
3. Even "accidental" out of band transmissions are FCC violations and can be subject to forfeitures up to $11,000 PER DAY of violation, PER RADIO. (That's not tax deductible, and can really eat into your vacation savings.)
4. Unless you ARE MARS authorized, there's no rational reason to modify perfectly good Amateur equipment.
5. Rationalization (Volunteer firefighter, Law enforcement officer, EMT personnel, etc.) is NOT accepted as reason or justification for use of modified Amateur equipment on other than Amateur frequencies. It may be inconvenient, but if you have legitimate reasons for carrying a radio in performance of any public service duties, you either have to carry two radios (if you must have Amateur Radio with you) or convince your organization to peogram Amateur frequencies into the radio you are issued, if that is a possibility.
6. There are NO exceptions to the FCC rules; "authorization" or "permission" from your agency to use modified Amateur equip,mewnt is not valid, and leaves both you AND your agency in violation of FCC regulations, and can jeopardize the licenses of both.
W0LPQ
08-08-2008, 01:52 PM
9SVD that is why you, myself and several others suggest contacting your local MARS director for the info.
But ... these days ... we are a minority .. we care.
WA9SVD
08-08-2008, 04:59 PM
9SVD that is why you, myself and several others suggest contacting your local MARS director for the info.
But ... these days ... we are a minority .. we care.
Yes. And there are those that who do not respect the rules and regulations, and often gleefully advocate use of Amateur equipment "out of band" that will gladly provide the "mod" information from other sources.
Yet many of the same individuals claim and complain about "lack of respect" from other Amateurs.
Yes. And there are those that who do not respect the rules and regulations, and often gleefully advocate use of Amateur equipment "out of band" that will gladly provide the "mod" information from other sources.
And there are those who - upon reading our 'disdainful' replies to these questions - insinuate that we're merely trying to up our post count... :rolleyes:
WA9SVD
08-08-2008, 05:05 PM
And there are those who - upon reading our 'disdainful' replies to these questions - insinuate that we're merely trying to up our post count... :rolleyes:
Perhaps one of the best improvements to QRZ would be to do away with post counts!:D That sure would weed out a lot of the chaff!
I obviously have to make a lot of posts to catch up with you...:D
Quite honestly, I never even notice unless someone else points it out. TO me, it's as much a matter of quality as quantity. Sometimes a humourous comment seems appropriate, particularly after a L o n g - d r a w n - o u t thread spirals into an irrelevant morass of unrelated arguments.
N6UGY
08-08-2008, 05:20 PM
If you were being beaten to death by a bunch of hoodlems, and a ham with a modified radio saved your life, would you feel the same way ? I don't think so... In an emergency, it is legal to operate on any frequency you have available to you, period. Dennis
Perhaps one of the best improvements to QRZ would be to do away with post counts!:D That sure would weed out a lot of the chaff!
I obviously have to make a lot of posts to catch up with you...:D
Quite honestly, I never even notice unless someone else points it out. TO me, it's as much a matter of quality as quantity. Sometimes a humourous comment seems appropriate, particularly after a L o n g - d r a w n - o u t thread spirals into an irrelevant morass of unrelated arguments.
When you ask Fred to do away with the post count ask him to delete this too
> http://www.qrz.com/download/main/mods.html
KC0BUF
08-08-2008, 07:17 PM
N6UGY++. Anyone who's ever had a flat tire and no cell phone service can attest to the fact that ham radio is still one of the most effective emergency communication systems available.
If you were being beaten to death by a bunch of hoodlems, and a ham with a modified radio saved your life, would you feel the same way ? I don't think so... In an emergency, it is legal to operate on any frequency you have available to you, period. Dennis
If I ever find myself in that situation, I'm going to be reaching for the item shown below instead of a microphone. Additionally, you had better check with the FCC and your local law enforcement community as to what constitutes an "emergency". If you choose to operate on a frequency for which you aren't licensed and have any other means of communication (cell phone, pay phone, megaphone, etc) at your disposal, you could be charged with violating a federal statute or two.
http://www.kimberamerica.com/images/pistols/gold_combat_rl_2.jpg
N6UGY++. Anyone who's ever had a flat tire and no cell phone service can attest to the fact that ham radio is still one of the most effective emergency communication systems available.
Which a "MARS/CAP mod" has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with.
The 'ham radio' works fine AS IS.
Your MARS orgianzation will provide you with the info; likewise, if you mail or fax your MARS authorization to the manufacturer, they will provide you with the instructions.
BTW, there's no longer such thing as a "CAP" modification; CAP now requires certificated equipment for participation in CAP activities, whether training or actual exercises.
Apparently, the originator is a member of neither....
W0LPQ
08-08-2008, 08:51 PM
Right on Fred ... another "I'm gonna mod my radidio so'z I can talk to the police on their freekencies" ... his license ... not mine.
Very sad ... 6UGY ... you need to rethink why you are into amateur radio.
Me First ... Me First ... we don't need no stinkin' rulez...
Enough of this BS.
People don't want to listen ... go for it. Appears you have more money than sense.
As Glen, K9STH has said very many times ... these questions keep popping up on QRZ. We try to discourage those who demand instant answers about mods, we respond with solid ideas why not. The Philly FD learned the hard way. But, people still wanna play ...!
Go for it. Your license ... not mine.
WA9SVD
08-08-2008, 10:57 PM
If you were being beaten to death by a bunch of hoodlems, and a ham with a modified radio saved your life, would you feel the same way ? I don't think so... In an emergency, it is legal to operate on any frequency you have available to you, period. Dennis
Then you can call for help on your local repeater... or cell phone, which will probably get a faster response than some unauthorized person breaking into the police frequencies... or beat them over the head with your H-T.
N6UGY
08-09-2008, 12:38 AM
In a real life and death emergency, you don't have time to waste talking cell phone 911 operators, so they can connect you to the real 911 operators, or looking for someone on a repeater to make a call for you. You can think what you want about me, I could care less. I've been running modified rigs since 1989, and luckily, in those 19 years, I have not yet had to alert law enforcment by radio, but should the need ever arise, I have the capability to get help within seconds instead of minutes, and that could mean the difference between life and death, and like I said before, it would be perfectly legal in a life and death situation. Dennis (N6UGY)
ab8ro
08-09-2008, 05:14 AM
In a real life and death emergency, you don't have time to waste talking cell phone 911 operators, so they can connect you to the real 911 operators, or looking for someone on a repeater to make a call for you. You can think what you want about me, I could care less. I've been running modified rigs since 1989, and luckily, in those 19 years, I have not yet had to alert law enforcment by radio, but should the need ever arise, I have the capability to get help within seconds instead of minutes, and that could mean the difference between life and death, and like I said before, it would be perfectly legal in a life and death situation. Dennis (N6UGY)
Since you've never done it, you don't actually know that it's true. I suspect that police are very skeptical of any unauthorized transmission. Moreover, just because you can transmit on their frequencies doesn't mean that their systems will respond to you. Perhaps someone with experience with modern trunking systems can explain whether that works as you'd expect? If nobody has received a control packet to listen to the frequency that you're transmitting on then will anyone even be able to hear you?
It's been asked before and I'd like to see the discussion followed up on, but, is there any actual example of such "emergency" communication saving a life or property? Is it recent, i.e., in the era of modern trunking radio usage?
Let's play along for a bit:
In a real life and death emergency, you don't have time to waste talking cell phone 911 operators, so they can connect you to the real 911 operators, or looking for someone on a repeater to make a call for you.
"In a real life and death emergency, you don't have time to waste" doing the following:
A) Trying to find which memory channel a given district's or agency's repeater pair is programmed into;
B) Attempting to make a call and getting met with silence;
C) Stepping through the rig's CTCSS menus and trying each individual tone pair, on the chance that the agency that your're trying to reach has changed their PL tones;
D) Finally getting through to someone and attempting to convince them that your situation is legitimate.
Incidentally, I own a 'stack' of the TMx21-series radios. The -221 is somewhat cumbersome to use in a tactically-focused situation. Additionally, its memory capacity is somewhat limited - meaning you're not going to be able to program all area agencies into the unit. Odds are you'll still have to manually hunt around for an agency pair...a process that can take precious minutes.
To quote your example: "If a gang of hoodlems (sic) is beating you to death..." - in the time that it took me to write the paragraph above, they would have finished the job.
I gave you sage advice about what to reach for in a situation of that nature and it isn't a microphone.
You can think what you want about me, I could care less.
It's not what I or anyone else thinks of you; it's what the FCC thinks that matters. The agency's employees DO read these forums.
I've been running modified rigs since 1989, and luckily, in those 19 years, I have not yet had to alert law enforcment by radio
...and the odds are that you won't for another 19 years...
but should the need ever arise, I have the capability to get help within seconds instead of minutes
A cellphone with '911' capabilities is going to summon help FAR faster than you can with your modded rig...assuming you can raise an agency in the first place.
You have no way of know this beforehand, correct? So you're banking your survivability (and possibly that of your family's) on a cr@p-shoot.
Flawed logic at best. Amateur radio should be the last line of defense for you, not the first.
and that could mean the difference between life and death
If you're faced with a pack of 'bangers, drop the mic and pick up the Kimber. Should you forego the 1911 and opt for "playing radio" in that scenario, best you can hope for is an agency's dispatcher possibly hearing you then a patrol showing up to catch one or two of the perps after the fact.
and like I said before, it would be perfectly legal in a life and death situation. Dennis (N6UGY)
Are you a licensed attorney in your state? Are you licensed to practice law in any state, for that matter?
If not:
Please refrain from dispensing legal advice to others, especially when it is the wrong advice.
Should you find yourself in your so-called "life or death scenario" and it is later determined that you had other means (any other means) of communications at your disposal - and you did not employ those means initially - you probably will be charged with violating federal regulations as a result. Further, you have stated intent to do so on QRZ.
Think about that.
It's been asked before and I'd like to see the discussion followed up on, but, is there any actual example of such "emergency" communication saving a life or property? Is it recent, i.e., in the era of modern trunking radio usage?
You know the answer I'm betting on.
To wit:
If such were the case, you had better believe the ARRL would be picking up the trumpet (so to speak) and the story would be splashed across QST's pages.
It would also make the RAIN Report.
And immediately afterwards, onto forums like QRZ...
Looking for the mod, but with a pic of the board showing the approiate resistors. Dennis
The original author of this thread asked a question about a mod NOT IF IT WAS OK TO DO ONE. If you don't have the answer about this specific mod then don't post comments non relating to the thread.
I think alot of hams mod their radios not because they anticipate using it out of band but just because it makes them feel good to have a FreeBand radio.
End of story !
(This thread needs locking with the dead chicken.)
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The closing of the PJ forum is creating withdrawls and people are looking anywhere to start an arguement.
(Including myself, I guess)
ab8ro
08-09-2008, 07:20 PM
The original author of this thread asked a question about a mod NOT IF IT WAS OK TO DO ONE. If you don't have the answer about this specific mod then don't post comments non relating to the thread.
I think alot of hams mod their radios not because they anticipate using it out of band but just because it makes them feel good to have a FreeBand radio.
End of story !
(This thread needs locking with the dead chicken.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The closing of the PJ forum is creating withdrawls and people are looking anywhere to start an arguement.
(Including myself, I guess)
He was told where he could find the mod and responded to that information. We have every right to respond further. The question is still on the table, has chicken little ever been right?
This thread has gone way off topic and now it's time to put it out of it's misery.