TBR-180 Military UHF Mobile Communication System Handset

 

TBR-180 is a handhold device in the mobile battlefield communication system PLA developed around 2000. As a handhold device, the TBR-180 basically is a modified Kenwood TK-385 which is a popular, durable and reliable professional-grade UHF FM two-way radio. The TBR-180 is a trunking UHF FM two-way radios with a conventional mode as backup. The exterior of the 180 keeps the same as that of a Tk-385, and the operations are also largely the same as that of a TK-385.

In trunking mode, 180 needs a base station/controller in order to work. Instead of communicate from radio to radio like the conventional two way radios do, the trunking radio would communicate to the base station with the frequency assigned by the controller and the the controller would relay the voice data to the other radio or radios. It works more like a cellphone than a conventional two way radio.

With a communication network built by a number of stations, a 180 can reach far more than its communication range. With this network, it could not only able to reach another radio, but also can reach to a wired phone in the network. It provides great flexibility in terms of battlefield communications.

180 needs a configuration software to setup, like channel frequency, button to toggle between high power and low power. The handhold device cannot do the configuration by itself (these limitations are overcome by the B model).  

As a military radio, the 180 has features that TK-385 does not. The major one is that the 180 could add an encryption/decryption module to communicate in a secured way. It also has a remote lock feature to lock a radio in case the radio is lost to an enemy’s hand.

The 180 has a frequency range of 400 to 430 MHz, with a high output power of 4W and a low power of 1 W. The radio weight 0.4 kg with antenna, battery and back clip. The dimension is 150x60x50mm without the antenna.