Lee announced on our nightly members live stream that there was a fire in Japan (see article here) that affected chip production for two-way radios. Kenwood has said that they will not be producing their lower model radio, they will only produce their higher model radio and they will only be making half as many radios.
What does this mean for you?
This means you will need to place your mock radio order immediately!
Please visit our store and do a mock order so Lee can get pricing and the bulk order placed, he will be calling them on Tuesday.
My notes from the live stream on additional things you may like to know…
Radios can do way more than what Zello can do.
That being said, your radio(s) will also be tied directly into the Zello system Lee has created, yes the one we have been using, that will allow us to tie into other repeaters across the country.
Lee got the software for the reflector capability that will allow us to tie directly into the Zello system that we have been using and allow us to tie into other repeaters that we can put out across the country.
Yes, these Kenwood radios are scrambled.
Yes, they can be used on unscrambled channels too.
No, there is no monthly fee for the SafetyNet on the radios when you are a member of the SafetyNet with the KLW Zello network.
The radios will be programmed to allow you to:
This is the most redundant and independent communication system that Lee has ever designed. It is designed so that you can communicate amongst yourselves, you can communicate with other people, you can communicate through our network globally, and you can communicate through other GMRS systems – all of those with your radio. What you have is a wide variety of ways to communicate so if they try to smack down one it doesn’t matter. It’s like whack-a-mole, we’ve got various ways for you to communicate if any of the other systems should go down.
They do not have a VOCODER, so all of our voice on the radio is going through a VOCODER, which is a piece of hardware. It’s not software. First it goes through the VOCODER, then the scrambling, then it goes out. This means anyone on the other end, trying to listen in, can’t make heads or tails of what you’re saying.
Lee’s Analogy…
“It’s like a can of alphabet soup and saying there’s a hidden message in this can. Pour out the can and put it together. They have no way to put it together because they don’t even know where it starts.”
“We knew they were going to take down KLW World News and Inventor Lee Wheelbarger… and so we designed this, so we can be outside of their control. We are NOT part of their system. We are not on their radar. They do not throttle or control our IP addresses and everything is behind firewalls and so forth. They have no way to see it. They have no way to track it. They don’t know what it is and so it does them no good.”
I have designed the system so that they cannot take it out. It’s what I do. I’ve been designing resilient communications systems for the government and military for over 30 years. And, for lack of a better word, this thing is bad-ass.”
Lee is also working on a way that you can get a device that on your GMRS (General Mobile Repeater Service) channel, with your GMRS license, by using an adapter you can connect through the internet to other GMRS users in other states.
Get your GMRS license here… yes, you will want this and Lee strongly recommends getting the GMRS license.
A bit more about the radios
The Kenwood (mobile): NX-5800
- Comes with an antenna, power supply and handheld mic.
- Note: you may want to order a lapel mic and a dongle (you only need one).
- On the digital display, of the NX-5800, you will see the channel names just like you see on our Zello network that we’ve been using these past weeks.
Accessories, if not necessities, to go with your radio: lapel mic, charger, antenna.
The Kenwood (portable) NX-5300
With the handheld (walkie talkie style) 1 MHz Digital Transceiver radio it is highly advised to order the numeric keypad (16-key model). To learn more about the specs click here.
- Includes
antenna (1), battery charger (1), and battery (1)– you may want to order an extra of any of these for back-up (redundancy). (From the factory the radios do NOT come with an antenna, battery charger and battery, these have to be ordered sperate. We do combine them for you.) - Note: the belt-clips, lapel mic and the dongle (you need only one) are separate.
- On the digital display, of the NX-5300, you will see the channel names just like you see on our Zello network that we’ve been using these past weeks.
