Kenwood TH-K20a 2 Meter Radio Review

Kenwood uses buttons that are more squishy than the clickier ones you are probably used to from Baofeng style radios. My fingers stick a little more to the buttons than some, which keeps me from slipping off. Since the buttons are opaque, the backlight works exceptionally well.

There are two knobs on top of the Kenwood TH-K20A, which is a design I really like. It is a little odd in that the center knob is the volume/power while the right knob is what they call the encoder, a fancy name for the dial that lets you change frequencies, adjust settings, etc instead of using something like up and down arrow buttons.

Both knobs are excellent and smooth, with the encoder giving just the right amount of tactile feedback so you can feel the steps in the frequency or options in the menus.

The screen on the Kenwood TH-K20A is nothing fancy, just an old-fashioned monochrome LCD. If it looks small, remember that this is a single band radio, so it only has to display one frequency on the screen. Typically, you have the frequency in big numbers more or less vertically centered, and taking up about 75% of the screen from the left to the right. On the right of that is the memory number, then a power meter below that and small icons on the top and right side. Kenwood put a really nice LCD on it and everything is very clear, the backlight is also very nice and is like a light orange color.

Just like a Baofeng, the Kenwood has a menu key and a menu to change your radio’s options. This key is located at the top left, just under the F/Lock button. Pressing it enters menu mode, and then you can use the encoder to scroll through your menu options. Unlike the Baofengs, once you find the option you want to change you press the F button, not the menu button. Rotate the encoder to change the option, then press F again to store the setting.

To program the Kenwood TH-K20A, you unfortunately can not use CHIRP (unless they added it after I wrote this). You do have a couple of options including the MCP clone utility from Kenwood which you can download here, or of course RT Systems has a version of their paid software for the radio. Funny enough, since Baofeng copied Kenwood with their headphone/microphone connections and programming cables, my old programming cable for my UV-5R worked perfectly.

Normally I might find fault with not having CHIRP compatibility, but this is such as basic single band radio that the Kenwood software is just fine.

I also would not spend money on the RT Systems software unless you want the software, cable, and support all-in-one with excellent software that is sure to be updated for later operating systems. Since the Kenwood TH-K20A is discontinued, there is no telling how long Kenwood will support the software for it.

Performance:

You are about to see the second reason why I love Kenwood.

Looking at the Kenwood TH-K20A’s antenna chart, you can see the antenna is doing a fine job at 2m where it should since this radio only works on that band. Oddly enough, there is also a little bump at around 335MHz, I have no idea why. Both SWR and return loss are good for a factory antenna.

Power output is 4 watts, which is above average for most radios. More often than not, radios are advertised for 10 watts only to put out 2.5. Looking at the spectrum analysis, you will see the most perfect power output of any radio I have ever looked at. This radio does one thing, and does it very, very well.

Every time I key up a Kenwood radio, I get compliments on the audio quality, and the Kenwood TH-K20A is no exception. Transmitted audio is very clear, very little sibilance, a very low noise floor, and extremely crisp. Listen to the recording to hear what I mean. The biggest problem with the transmitted audio is most people don’t have a speaker good enough to hear it right.

Images:

Radio Specifics:

Test Images:

• Conveniently compact and robust
• High Sound Pressure for audio clarity
• 200 Channels with 6-Digit memory name
• Li-ion Battery and desktop Cradle Charger
• Weather Alert/RX/Channel Scan (US only)
• Direct Function Keys
• Internal VOX
• PC Programmable with MCP-5A
• Backlit LCD screen and keypad
• CTCSS and DCS Encoder/Decoder, plus Cross Tone capability
• Tone Alert (Bell)

Included with the Kenwood TH-K20A is the radio, battery, belt clip, drop-in charger, and an absolutely wonderful manual. This manual is not the typical manual that tells you enough to get you in the middle of something, then you can’t understand the translation well enough to get out of it. It is a proper manual that most people today have never seen. If you want to know how to do something, it absolutely is in the manual, step-by-step.

Conclusions

So if you think I am a fanboy on this radio, you are right. It doesn’t have wideband coverage, GPS, wireless cloning, app programming from your phone, USB-C charging, or a huge full color screen. What it does have is amazing output, a great receiver, a manual that is actually a manual, and a great display.

No, it doesn’t do fifty things at once. It does one thing, and it does it better than any other radio, period.

Here are some reviews of the Kenwood TH-K20A!