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Connecting a Communications Specialists ID-8 to a Kenwood TKR-720 or TK-820 Repeater By Butch Herring W5BE

Many hams have successfully moved TKR-720/820 series repeaters into the ham bands. In the original configuration however, these models do not have any form of station identification. Otherwise, the repeater is a great little self-contained unit that obviously includes its own controller circuitry. This makes it unnecessary to add an external controller, which is sometimes done just for the sake of adding the ID feature.

The ID-8 is a CW ID board that can be added to the repeater to satisfy identification requirements. Because of its small size it can be installed directly inside the repeater. The board can be mounted in an open area adjacent to the signaling unit board, which is located in a tray under the top cover of the TX-RX unit. All connections are made directly to the signaling unit, which allows all wiring to be kept short.

The ID board can be mounted using double-sided foam tape. To insure the ID-8 is mounted where the programming keypad can be connected in the future, the keypad can be attached before placing and sticking the board in the open space. Click on any photo for a larger view.

Connections to the signaling unit board are as follows:

ID-8 Leads	Pin / Color	TKR Conn.	Signal Name
B+	1 / Red	CN1 pin #1	B+
PTT	2 / Gray	CN1 pin #3	Key Line
Ground	3 / Black	CN1 pin #11	Ground
Inhibit [1]	7 / Blue	CN1 pin #7	Same As Trigger
Trigger [2]	8 / Orange	CN1 pin #7	COR Line
Audio out [3]	9 / Violet	CN2 pin #2	Modulation Line

Notes:
[1]: The ID-8 Inhibit (if used) should be programmed for active "low".
[2]: The ID-8 trigger should be programmed for active "low".
[3]: To prevent loading of the audio line at CN2 pin #2, audio from the ID-8 is fed to the signaling unit through a 100K resistor.

Don't forget to reconnect the plugs going to CN1 and CN2. Pin 1 on both connectors is at the top of these photos.

Other CW ID units, such as the ID-O-Matic, can probably be connected to the signaling unit board in a similar fashion as mentioned here. However, due to space limitations such units may need to be mounted elsewhere inside the repeater and the wiring routed accordingly.

Contact Information:

The author can be contacted at: herribe [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com.

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This page originally posted on 24-Mar-2016.

Article text and photos © Copyright 2016 by Butch Herring W5BE.
Converted to repeater-builder format by Robert Meister WA1MIK.

This web page, this web site, the information presented in and on its pages and in these modifications and conversions is © Copyrighted 1995 and (date of last update) by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors. All Rights Reserved, including that of paper and web publication elsewhere.