At the Police Department where I am a member of, I have had the fortunate experience of programming the new Portable radios that we received through a grant. At first I was nervous ab out the task, but after a little assistance from our sales rep, I was up and running with the program.

The new portables we received were the Kenwood TK-5210 Portable Radio. The TK-5210 offer conventional FM and conventional P25 digital operation for present and future interoperability requirements for law enforcement, fire and emergency services. It is available in a basic non-display, display and display with keypad models, the 16 Character LCD and controls provide an intuitive user interface simplifying P25 and FM operation for all user types.

The P25 trunked option permits operation on local, regional and statewide Project 25 compliant networked systems. The extra large capacity and Zone programming facilitate departmental, inter-agency interoperability, mutual aid and tactical channel organization. Encryption /ANI control permits basic to high level voice security and dispatch functions satisfying homeland security and confidentiality requirements. Standardized DES-OFB and AES encryption options permits advanced secure interoperable voice communications. Emergency Call and Man-Down for hazardous environment and jail/corrections personnel is supported for P25, FleetSync and MDC-1200/G-Star options.

The TK-5210 have the following features:

• 5W (136 - 174 MHz)
• 4W (450 - 520, 380 - 470 MHz)
• 50 Zones / 512 Channels
• Personality Lists
• Conventional FM / Conventional & Trunked P25 Digital
• FM Analog & P25 Digital Conventional (Standard)
• P25 Digital Trunking (Optional)
• DES 16-Key Secure Encryption Module Option
• AES FIPS 140-2 & DES 16-Key SCM Option
• Emergency Feature Set
• Voice Annunciation
• Tactical Group
• Immersion Option (MIL-STD 512.X, IP66/67)
• FleetSync® I/II
• Intrinsically Safe Options
• Easy Option Port

So far members of the department really like the radio. The only thing that I have heard complaints about was that when you first turn on the radio, it takes approximately five seconds for it to "boot up" so to speak. Otherwise it is a durable and when built radio. The programming software program is well worth the $600.00 spent considering the place we bought the radios through were going to charge us $60.00 a radio to program. With the 12 portables and 6 base radios in our fleet of vehicles, we have already saved money in programming costs.

Despite the one glitch on taking so long to turn on, I highly recommend the radio because of it's cost and user friendly appearance.