Kenwood
| Kenwood | |
|---|---|
| Type | Brand of JVCKenwood Corporation |
| Founded | 1946, as Kasuga Radio Co. |
| Former names | Trio Corporation (1960–1986); Kenwood Corporation (1986–2011) |
| Headquarters | Yokohama, Japan (JVCKenwood) |
| Amateur radio | |
| Known for | HF transceivers; handhelds and mobiles with built-in APRS |
| Well-known models | TS-520, TS-830S, TS-2000, TS-590S, TS-890S, TH-D75 |
| Older radios | Often badged Trio or Trio-Kenwood |
| Status | Active; amateur radios sold under the Kenwood brand |
| Today | |
| Website | jvckenwood.com |
Kenwood is a Japanese electronics brand whose amateur radio products, many of them originally sold under the name Trio, date back to 1958. Its line has included HF transceivers for the home station and VHF/UHF handhelds and mobiles, and the company is closely associated with APRS, which it built into many of its radios. Since 2008 Kenwood has been part of JVCKenwood, a Yokohama-based group that also uses the Kenwood name for car electronics and professional two-way radio.
History
The company began as Kasuga Radio Co., Ltd., established in December 1946 in Komagane, Nagano Prefecture. It began with radio components such as high-frequency transformers and moved into audio and communications equipment in the 1950s; its first amateur radio went on sale in 1958. In 1960 the company was renamed Trio Corporation.
Trio opened its first overseas office, in the Los Angeles area, in 1963. The Kenwood name came from its American importer: it was made up by combining "Ken" and "wood." The Kenwood brand became better known than Trio, and in 1986 the company itself was renamed Kenwood Corporation. Depending on the market and the year, radios from the earlier decades carry the Trio, Trio-Kenwood or Kenwood name.
In October 2008 Kenwood and the Victor Company of Japan (JVC) combined under a joint holding company, JVC Kenwood Holdings. The group was renamed JVCKenwood Corporation in 2011 and absorbed Kenwood Corporation, which ceased to exist as a separate company; Kenwood continues as a brand. Its communications business, which makes land mobile and public-safety radios, includes the amateur line. Kenwood and Icom jointly developed NXDN, a digital standard for commercial radio.
Kenwood equipment has also traveled into orbit: in 1995 Kenwood amateur gear was carried aboard the Russian Mir space station.
Amateur radio products
- Hybrid and early solid-state HF rigs. Trio's TS-520 series of the 1970s used a solid-state exciter with vacuum tubes in the driver and final amplifier, and models such as the TS-820S and TS-830S followed. Many of these radios still turn up at hamfests as boat anchors.
- Later HF transceivers. Kenwood's later solid-state line included models such as the TS-940S and TS-950SDX, and the TS-2000, an all-mode radio covering HF, 6 meters, 2 meters and 70 centimeters in one cabinet. The TS-590S and its successor, the TS-590SG, are 100-watt radios for HF and 6 meters. The TS-990S, announced in 2013, and the TS-890S are the current base-station models.
- Handhelds and mobiles. Kenwood has built APRS into handhelds such as the TH-D7 and TH-D72 and mobiles such as the TM-D700 and TM-D710. The TH-D74 of 2016 combined APRS, GPS and D-STAR in one handheld, and its successor, the TH-D75, followed in 2023. The TM-D750, a D-STAR and APRS mobile, was shown in prototype form in 2025, including at Japan's Ham Fair that August. The US version, which covers 2 meters, 1.25 meters and 70 centimeters, received FCC certification in early 2026, and Kenwood scheduled Japanese sales of a dual-band version for late August 2026.
In 2026 Kenwood's US amateur line consisted of the TS-990S, TS-890S and TS-590SG HF radios and the TH-D75 handheld, while the TM-D750 was on sale in Japan and Europe. Many earlier models, including the TS-2000, TS-480, TM-V71 and TH-D72, have been discontinued.