Hello Kenwood Protalk Fans, It has recently been reported in a current study that Kenwood Protalk Radios pay for themselves in under two months! How do they do this?! Well, it comes back to that age old truism " Time IS Money!" If you have an employee that makes $8.00 and hour and statically he can save 7 minutes an hour by using Kenwood Protalk two way radio.  That's 56 minutes a day!  That equates to $1,792.00 in savings for your company each year! If you had 12 employees using Kenwood Protalk two way radios, your annual savings would be $21,504.00 Not only do they pay for themselves but they actually earn you savings every year thereafter!  CLICK HERE to see details on even GREATER SAVINGS!

1. The BOX says this radio has an 18 mile range....true or false?  Well, I suppose it could be true ( if you were talking to somebody who was 18 miles above the face of the earth! ) But, mostly, this is a statement most manufacturers claim in order to sell you their product. Think about it....if radio propagation is dependant on line of sight (...and it is...) then even over water 18 miles would be impossible because you would loose the 'line of sight'. The horizon over water is about 5 miles away give or take a mile. The range you'll get from a two way hand held radio will vary with your environment. Certain factors come into play like, for example, the equipment, 1 watt, 2 watt, 4 watt, 5 watt, Vhf, UHF,  the terrain, the neighborhood, the trees, the walls, indoors, outdoors, even the weather! It all depends! It's been my experience that with a 4 UHF, watt radio with a freshly charged battery will talk about 2.5 miles reliably in the city and in the woods. A good rule of thumb: Don't believe what the box says!
2. FREE CHARGER with the purchase of each radio!......true or false?  FALSE! This is no more than a poorly contrived marketing ploy used by a desperate (...or ignorant) radio dealer. Think about it....have you ever seen a radio that was sold without a charger, or a battery, or an antenna. It would be equally as lame to say: "FREE ANTENNA with the purchase of every radio" . Here's an idea, the next time you order radios from that dealer, ask them to leave out the charger and discount your radio $30.00. They won't do that because quite simply, that's how the radio comes from the manufacturer. Standard equipment is not FREE. You pay for it with the package. Our Kenwood ProTalk two way radios come with a charger, and antenna, a belt clip, a manual, and information concerning FCC licensing. ALL STANDARD! Or, if I were desperate, ALL FREE!
3. No FCC License required with this radio. ....true or false?  Well there again, that depends. My philosophy is: When in doubt, get a license. The only time I can comfortably say you don't need a license is when you are using strictly FRS frequencies. Now-a- days, even the consumer end radios that are sold for recreational use have been loaded with one or two business band frequencies, so, how does the consumer know when they're transmitting on a frequency that should be licensed? Check the instructions. Avoid the frequencies that are not labeled FRS (Family Radio Service). Any other time....GET A LICENSE! It sure beats potentially getting busted by the FCC and paying an $8,000.00 fine as well as having all of your equipment confiscated. Better safe than sorry, I always say.

Thanks for reading our BLOG...see ya' next time.

Hey! Here's something different. Kenwood is soon to introduce this new TK-3230 Protalk XLS radio. Very close in features and size to the Kenwood ProTalk TK-3130, and Kenwood FreeTalk XLS, the TK3230 has it's most distinctive feature in it's new muscle. An increase in Rf power output f %50!. Now, most folks think that little radios can't talk big, (like larger radios). Well, to some degree they are correct. The maximum allowed Rf power output for a UHF two way radio is 4 watts max. Did you know that most 4 watt radios come from the factory at less than 2 watts out. The power setting is intentionally set low to extend battery life. The Tk3230 has no power setting. It comes full power, 1500 milliwatts. We anticipate a great response from the two way radio community when this radio becomes available. No dates set that I know of. We will let you know when it happens. Keep checking back!

   This week Kenwood USA announces it's newest addition to the ProTalk line of business two way radio. The Kenwood ProTalk TK-3230 is a close resemblance to its predecessor, the TK-3130. The most significant differences are not easy to see. Because of the successful ergonomics of the TK3130, Kenwood has kept the size profile nearly exactly the same. Mere ounces, not pounds!

   The unseen differences are the true high point with the TK-3230. An increase of %50 percent more power than the TK-3130, jumping form 1,000 milliamps of rf power, up to a significantly higher 1,500 milliamps of power output. The radio is filled with feature rich designs including FleetSync and scan capabilities.

   This is Kenwood's Pro Talk series of UHF, two channel, 1.5 watt radio. The Pro Talk XLS is the latest member of the Pro Talk family of on-site radios. This lightweight and compact radio has a number of innovative features and is ideal for use in retail, restaurant, educational and service industry applications. All the features are menu driven and the lighted display gives the user status icons.

   The Pro Talk XLS has 1.5 watt of power and has 8 pre-programmed "star" business frequencies. The user can choose which one or two of these frequencies to use. There are 38 conventional sub-channels/privacy tones and 83 additional digital sub-channels/privacy tones. The radio comes with a rapid rate drop-in charger, New! Lithium battery and spring loaded belt clip. FCC license information is included.

   All in all this radio is something to talk about. For the price and features, ergonomics and outstanding warranty, this Kenwood TK-3230 is some of the best bang for the buck.

LIGHTER AND MORE COMPACT - New Kenwood ProTalk® TK-3230XLS offers 18 hours talk time, higher durability(Suwanee, GA) The new Kenwood UHF ProTalk® TK-3230XLS is ideal for industrial job sites, retail, hospitality and contractors at only 5.5 oz and a standard Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery, plus a full 1.5 watts of power. The two channel portable has 56 programmable pre-stored frequencies and new features such as scan, SelCall and FleetSync™
capability and automatically adjusted mic operation.

The TK-3230XLS hand-held meets eight (8) categories of Mil-Spec standards and features an extra durable polycarbonate case and heavy-duty fixed antenna.

Each TK-3230XLS is ready to use out of the box with the high capacity 2000 mAh battery, 2.5 hour fast charger, fixed antenna and belt clip and features a full 2 year warranty.

Kenwood U.S.A. Corporation-Communications Sector is a worldwide provider of mobile and portable radios and custom systems to public safety, government and commercial users as well as amateur radio equipment.

We've talked about ROI and how radios will pay for themselves in three months using the Return On Investment formula. But did you know this? Target Stores did a study on the effect that two way radios had in their stores concerning the bottom line. PROFIT! What they found was that an existing department that had 5 employees running around in it...let's say Housewares...after injecting 2 way radios into the mix, they could reduce the staff by 20% and run that same Housewares department with 4 employees. 20% reduction in staffing costs by adding a radio that will pay for itself in three months anyway! It's all gravy after that. For retail stores and restaurants Kenwood has come out with a remarkably powerful little radio called the TK-3230 XLS. Fifty percent more powerful than the earlier model TK-3130. Let's get honest about the economy. It's getting tight everywhere. Buy tools that produce results! Increase your bottom line with two way radio. In 2008, 2 way radios will make you money!

New rebate for February - April 2008

Kenwood has rolled out another reason to buy Kenwood ProTalk two way radios. They'll cost LESS!

I don't know how your industry is doing in these woeful economic times, but what I'm seeing has been a steady downward trend ever since April of 2001. (pre 911) Wouldn't you agree. I've heard talk about how the terrorist have put fear in the hearts of all Americans, and that's why we're sliding steadily into a recession....(there, somebody had to say it...recession!) But, do you want my opinion? It's BULL****! We belong to the greatest nation in the history of the world! Just a squeak over 200 years old and here we are...not just A superpower....THE superpower. We make up 6% of the planets population, yet we ponied up over 50% of the international aid to the world. We have the greatest agricultural system ever known to man.      And, we're one of the largest debtor nations in the world. Which, in my opinion is why we're slipping into recession. The average American has about $8,000 dollars worth of unsecured debt. (CREDIT CARDS) The bane of our existence. I know I've maxed out my share in years past and by God, I'm never goin' there again. We're getting smarter, but it's taking a long time to educate the masses. Most people know by now that the greatest benefit to credit cards goes to the banks! Did you know that the banks call people "Deadbeats" if they pay off their monthly balance every month? That's right! "Deadbeats"! Because they can't make any money unless they find somebody like you and me who miss a payment now and then, that gives them the right (...you signed an agreement, so that gives them the right...) to charge exorbitant interest rates that jack up your balance and shred your credit rating. But, fear not! because in today's economy you can still qualify for a house payment you can't afford, a car payment you can't afford, oh, and why not apply for a few more of those credit cards....after all, you've been PREAPPROVED!

It's not just individuals, it's businesses too. Business owners have to cut costs where ever they can. By far the most expensive liability that businesses have today is in their workforce. I could run my business for roughly $30,000.00 annually. the expense comes when I hire employees, (including myself...) Just 2 employees equals a liability of about $150k annually . 4 employees equals a liability of over 1/4 of a million dollars annually.

So what do we do? You've got to have a labor force. Well, let's try this...work smarter...not harder. Did you know that with two way radios you can produce the same amount of work as five people can produce with only four people wearing radios? It's true...Target stores did a study back in the 90's to prove it....that's why they use them. And then, if you're going to invest in radios, you should want to know what your ROI (return on investment) will be. In an earlier blog we wrote about that. Scroll up a few entries and you'll see the numbers proving that the break even point is about three months, then the radios start making you money!!

Start small. See if I'm not right. Heck if I'm wrong, you can always use the radios for ski trips, hunting trips, maybe a paperweight....You've got nothing to loose and much to gain! The TK-3200u2p and the TK-2200V2P radios are a great value this quarter. Save as much as $1,000 with the new 2nd quarter rebate.

 We'll make it through this together. Until things begin to turn upward, we'll have to hunker down and do the best we can with what we have. Radio Service will be here for you. Give us a call if you think radios could help. 231-744-6940 and ask for Bill.

Subject Headings

Opening entry log for our new BLOG

HUGE Return On Investment

Radio Facts versus Radio Fiction!

New TK-3230 Kenwood Protalk

TK-3230 Roll Out

Kenwood ProTalk TK-3230 press release

Radios will MAKE money for you!